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MISC.DOC
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MISC.DOC
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==============================================================================
SERIAL
==============================================================================
The pinout of the serial connector, when looking INTO the serial port of the
HP 95LX, is:
SHIELD TRANSMIT RECEIVE SIGNAL
GROUND DATA DATA GROUND
SHIELD GROUND and SIGNAL GROUND are shorted together inside the HP 95LX, so
they're effectively the same.
==============================================================================
THE _SYS DIRECTORY
==============================================================================
_SYS is a hidden sub-directory that mostly contains miscellaneous files of
use to the system, but of little or no interest to the user. There are a few
things, however, that ARE of use. The actual contents of this hidden directory
will vary, as "international" versions of the HP 95LX have less room in the
ROM due to the fact that they contain all messages and help screens in two
languages (English and the "local" language). However, in the US versions of
the product, the _SYS directory contains these additional files of interest:
DEBUG.EXE The MS-DOS DEBUG program for DOS 3.22
1000.PCX A very nice alternative for the "business card"
TFOX.EXM A System Manager compliant version of TigerFox
HB.EXM A System Manager compliant game similar to minefield
SERINT.COM A program to enable/disable serial interrupts
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_
DEBUG is the standard program. If you don't know how to use it, you can find
out about it from almost any book about MS-DOS.
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_
To use 1000.PCX, go into the SETUP application, select OWNER, PICTURE-FILE,
then enter "C:\_SYS\1000.PCX" as the file name. Then, quit out of SETUP, and
quit any other applications that you have running, until you reach the
"business card".
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_
TFOX.EXM and HB.EXM are System Manager compliant games. This means that they
will act just like the other "blue key" applications, allowing you to switch
between them and the other applications at the press of a key without having
to quit them. (TF.COM is in the root of drive C: and is documented in an
appendix of the manual. It is a non-System Manager compliant version of the
game and can ONLY be run when all other applications are closed, except for
the filer). To use TFOX.EXM and/or HB.EXM, use the MEMO to create a file
called "C:\_DAT\APNAME.LST". In that file, place this text:
C:\_SYS\TFOX.EXM,1400,TigerFox
C:\_SYS\HB.EXM,2300,Hearts & Bones
After creating this file, reboot the machine by pressing CTL-ALT-DEL (be sure
that you've closed any data files that any applications might be working
with before re-booting, as any unsaved changes would be lost).
Now, after re-booting, ALT-T and ALT-H are the "hot" keys for accessing these
two programs. The entries in the APNAME.LST file consist of three components:
1) The pathname to the program.
2) The scancode for the key to which you wish it to be mapped.
3) The name that you want to appear in the low-memory "close-out" box,
if you should run out of memory and need to close an application.
The HP 95LX supports a maximum of eight entries in the APNAME.LST file. Also,
the drive letter (the first character on each line) should be capitalized (it
may work most of the time with lower case, but this is not guaranteed in all
situations).
Drive A: can also have an APNAME.LST file (in the root directory) for .EXM
files on drive A:. The format is exactly the same. Of course, the pathnames
in the drive A: APNAME.LST should start with A: instead of C:. Do NOT put
entries in the APNAME.LST file on drive A: that specify a drive letter other
than drive A:, and do NOT put entries in the drive C: APNAME.LST file that
specify a drive letter other than drive C:. If you do this, you won't get
an error message, but things probably won't work very well either.
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_
SERINT.COM is a small program that simply allows you to disable/enable the
interrupts from the serial port. On a normal PC, the serial port interrupts
are disabled by default, whereas on the HP 95LX, they're ENABLED by default.
If this causes problems when running programs which don't come with the
HP 95LX you can use SERINT to correct the problem before running those
programs. (Problems are only likely to occur with programs which use the
serial port by making calls to the BIOS INT 14 code, so 99.5% of people will
have no need for the program.)
If you run SERINT with no arguments it will display a VERY brief syntax
description. There's basically two options:
SERINT /D disables the UART from interrupting
SERINT /E enables the UART to interrupt
==============================================================================
TSR's, THE SYSTEM MANAGER, and EVERYTHING
==============================================================================
TSR's present a special problem for the the HP 95LX. Under many circumstances
you can run TSR's from the Filer or from the DOS command line, just like any
other DOS program. However, this can cause a couple of problems. One is
memory fragmentation if the TSR is run from the DOS command line. This is
because the System Manager has run a copy of COMMAND.COM which has allocated
some data space in the low end of memory. Then, the TSR gets run which
permanently allocates a block of memory above that. Now, when you exit
COMMAND.COM and go back to the System Manager, you have a small "hole" in
memory where COMMAND's data was. This "hole" may or may not be useable by
the System Manager. The only side effect of this, in terms of memory usage,
is that in some extreme cases, you might run out of memory when you otherwise
wouldn't have.
A more important drawback of running TSR's from the Filer or from the DOS
command prompt is that they then block the System Manager's ability to run
RAM-based System Manager-compliant applications (those programs that get
assigned to a "hot key" via the APNAME.LST file). This is not so good.
An alternate way to run the TSR is this: create a CONFIG.SYS file with the
line
SHELL=COMMAND /P
and an AUTOEXEC.BAT file that runs the TSR and then the System Manager, some-
thing like:
TSRNAME
$SYSMGR
This will cause the TSR to get loaded into memory first, BEFORE the System
Manager, and thus won't screw up the System Manager's memory management.
However, there's drawbacks to this, also. The System Manager takes over some
interrupt vectors without "chaining" on to the previous owner. This means
that if your TSR takes a vector that the System Manager also takes, your TSR
may not get control back when it expects to.
The System Manager takes these vectors:
INT 5 Print Screen
INT 6 Internal BIOS hook involving entering & leaving sleep modes
This is intended for internal uses only, and should not be
mucked with.
INT C (IRQ 4) Serial port interrupts
INT 1B CTRL-BREAK (the old value is saved, and then restored before
shelling to DOS COMMAND)
INT 1C 18.2 Hz timer tick application hook. The System Manager
"chains" this vector, so previous owners will still get
control.
INT 4A User Alarm - BIOS calls this when an alarm goes off. Proper
functioning of this interrupt is integral to the Appointment
Book alarm system, so it should not be mucked with.
INT 60 Calls to the System Manager
INT 61 Used by the System Manager to load its DS register
==============================================================================
HP 95LX DISPLAY REFRESH RATE
==============================================================================
The frame rate (the number of times the LCD is scanned, or refreshed per
second) for the HP 95LX changes, depending upon whether or not the AC adapter
is plugged in. When the AC adapter is plugged in, the LCD refresh rate is
73.14 Hz. When the AC adapter is not plugged in (ie, running off of batteries)
the refresh rate is 56.8 Hz.
==============================================================================