Possibilities - Realities 8/90

Contact:   eSoft, Inc. (Makers of TBBS)
           15200 E. Girard Ave., Suite 3000
           Aurora, CO  80014
           (303) 699-6565      Voice
           (303) 699-6872      Fax
           (303) 699-8222      BBS
           support@esoft.com   E-Mail

REALITIES 8/90
--------------

*** From August 1990 Possibilities Newsletter ***
*** Copyright 1990 by eSoft, Inc.  All Rights Reserved ***

REALITIES...how to make it work
by eSoft Technical Support Staff

From the moment you first install TBBS, it's easy to see the possibilities are 
almost endless.  Turning those possibilities into realities can bring up 
questions.  For this reason, quality customer support is at least half the 
overall value of any software package. 

We recommend you call the eSoft Support BBS (303-699-8222) and read through 
the messages in each of the various support areas.  You could find answers to 
your questions, even before you've asked them!  You'll definitely get some 
useful tips and ideas for bringing possibilities to life with tbbs.  In this 
section of the newsletter, we will answer some of the more commonly asked 
questions we receive. 

Disappearing Message Areas...

Q. We recently set-up a new message area on our system.  I went into CEDIT, 
and defined the new board, then created the appropriate menu entries on the 
system.  The problem is, when our users try to access the area, the system 
reports the error "message board not defined in CEDIT."  I know I defined it, 
what's wrong? 

A.   As you know, there are two places that the board name must be given in 
order for a message board to be accessible.  First, in the CEDIT MESSAGE BOARD 
DEFINITIONS screen, and second, in the Opt Data field of menu entries that 
access the area.  The message board name used in the menu entry Opt Data must 
match what you gave in CEDIT exactly -- they are case sensitive. 

In other words, if you define a message board named "tech support" in CEDIT, 
then used the name "Tech Support" in your menu entries, TBBS will think that 
they are different, and report the error you're having.  To fix the problem, 
double-check both the spelling and case of the names you're using in CEDIT and 
in your menu entry Opt Data. 

Feeling the Crunch...

Q.   I just purchased TDBS.  I'm anxious to start using the program, but when 
I install it, my system will no longer load.  It says "Not enough memory to 
load tables."  What did I do wrong? 

A.   You really didn't do anything wrong per se, it's just that your system 
doesn't have enough memory to accommodate everything you're asking it to load.  
One of two problems may be occurring; you may not have enough base memory 
(640k conventional) available, or you may not have EMS -- or enough EMS -- 
available. 

There are a few things in a TBBS environment that must reside in your base 
640k of memory.  They are the TBBS program itself (MLTBBS.EXE), any option 
module code (TDBSOM.EXE, SYSOM.EXE, TIMS.EXE, etc.), and finally the message 
base table.  The remainder of  the memory that TBBS uses (up to a maximum of 
80k per user) may be placed in EMS memory if it is available. 

The size of the program and option module code obviously cannot be changed, 
but you can make changes that affect the message base table size.  Its size is 
directly related to two settings on the CEDIT MESSAGE BOARD OPTIONS screen; 
Maximum Message Capacity, and Maximum Online Message Size. 

Maximum Message Capacity can range from 100 to 30,000 (total messages allowed) 
and Maximum Message Size can be from 2,048 to 9,999 (measured in bytes).  You 
can make more memory available to the system by trimming those settings down a 
bit.  Things may "fit" at that point and run fine. 

If you still have a problem however, you'll need to add (or add more) EMS to 
your system.  What is EMS?  It means expanded memory (as opposed to extended 
memory, which is different), and follows the so-called LIM (Lotus-Intel-
Microsoft) 3.2 specification.  LIM 4.0, a newer specification, also works 
fine. 

On XT or AT class machines, this typically means adding an EMS memory card and 
driver program.  On 386 based machines, you'll need to add motherboard memory, 
and use an expanded memory management program such as QEMM (from Quarterdeck 
Office Systems) or 386MAX (from Qualitas Software). 

CAUTION!! You cannot successfully operate TBBS using programs such as LIMSIM 
which attempt to simulate EMS memory on an 80286 computer using Extended 
memory.  These are too slow and will cause loss of data.  You can verify 
proper installation of EMS memory or 80386 EMS emulators by running the 
program EMSTEST which is included on your TBBS master disk.  TBBS requires a 
page switching time of less than about 200 microseconds for reliable 
operation.  Speeds which are much slower than that (on the order of 1000 
microseconds or so) indicate you are using a simulator that will not work with 
TBBS. 

You can also make available more memory by removing any unnecessary TSR 
(resident) software or drivers from your CONFIG.SYS and/or AUTOEXEC.BAT files. 

A Machine Possessed...

Q.   My system is acting very weird!  Some files are becoming corrupted, and 
sometimes the system just locks-up unexpectedly.  The system is running on a 
386 machine, and I have a pair of large capacity ESDI hard disks.  What's 
going on? 

A.   There could be several different problems, none of which are caused by 
TBBS itself.  One of the most common causes involves situations where you're 
using EMS on a 386 machine with large capacity drives. 

If you're using an expanded memory manager (such as QEMM or 386MAX) you may 
need to alter its installation.  QEMM, 386MAX and programs like them allow you 
to "break the rules" of DOS by providing a means to "load high" certain TSR 
programs, drivers and DOS resources.  They can also be installed to "shadow" 
various ROM memory areas such as your BIOS or Video Card to increase overall 
system performance. 

"Loading high" means to place the programs in the small available portions of 
memory located above the base 640k of memory in your system.  This region of 
memory is usually not accessible directly to DOS, but is used instead for 
system ROM and video card memory.  Not all of the memory is generally in use, 
so these programs move some types of resident programs and drivers out of base 
memory and into that space, thereby making more base 640k memory available to 
your applications. 

Doing this is fine in many cases, but it amounts to breaking some rules of the 
PC and DOS environment, and with certain types of high capacity disk 
controllers can lead to peculiar problems and system lock-ups.  The solution 
is to reinstall your expanded memory manager, making certain that it DOES NOT 
attempt to "load high" any programs, drivers or DOS resources. 

"Shadowing" ROM and controller RAM means that these managers actually use the 
80386 memory management registers to copy that memory to faster speed 16 or 32 
bit RAM and map that RAM "over the top" of the "shadowed" area.  Again, with 
some SCSI or ESDI disk controllers, this causes erratic operation when TBBS is 
in use.  Again, the solution is to reinstall the memory manager telling it not 
to do any BIOS or Video RAM replacement. 

Refer to your expanded memory manager's documentation for details on disabling 
either the use of high memory for DOS or TSRs, or shadowing your BIOS ROM or 
Video Memory. 

The Case of the Missing User...

Q.   My system seems to be forgetting users!  I add them using the ULEDIT 
facility in SYSOM.  Then sometimes, these same users no longer are able to 
sign-on.  What's going on? 

A.  There are two parts to the userlog, where your user information is held.  
USERLOG.BBS holds the information itself, and USERLOG.INX is an index which 
makes it easier for TBBS to find users.  When a user is added in the SYSOM 
ULEDIT, USERLOG.BBS is updated, but only the memory image of USERLOG.INX is 
updated -- the disk based index is not.  When TBBS is brought down (either 
manually or through an external event) the memory image of the index is lost.  
When the system is brought back up, it's possible that the index is out of 
sync with the userlog file itself, and TBBS can't find the users you added. 

It's important to note that TBBS automatically rebuilds the index after each 
five new users, whether the new users are added in SYSOM ULEDIT, or by 
signing-on to TBBS themselves. 

You can make sure that the index stays current by adding a line to your 
RUNBBS.BAT file just prior to the line that says "MLTBBS" like this: 

del userlog.inx     (Add this line)
mltbbs              (Pre-existing line)

By deleting the userlog index each time before TBBS is loaded, it will force 
TBBS to rebuild it each time, and ensure that it is current.  This will mean 
that your users will always be found by the system, even if you frequently add 
them through SYSOM ULEDIT. 

If this problem has already occurred to your system, you must delete any 
duplicate userlog entries.  Any time the same user ID exists in more than one 
USERLOG record erratic operation for that user results! 

We are working to develop a field modification to SYSOM which will prevent 
this problem, but for now you can avoid duplicate or lost entries by using 
this technique.  Keep your eye on the STATUS section of this newsletter to see 
when this MOD is made available. 

- END -
PS0890-2
Rev. 8/90

Copyright (C) 1994 eSoft, Inc., All Rights Reserved.  Permission granted
to distribute this file in its entirety, without modification, to any
interested party.  Any other use requires the written permission of
eSoft, Inc.

IMPORTANT:  The information herein is subject to change without notice.
Please call or write to confirm factual information of importance to you
or your organization.

