MICROSOFT WINDOWS 3.1 & MS-DOS 5 UPGRADE

SYSINI.WRI
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Windows initialization files contain information that defines your
Windows environment. Windows and Windows applications can use the
information stored in these files to configure themselves to meet your
needs and preferences.

There are two standard Windows initialization files:

- WIN.INI, which primarily contains settings that Windows maintains to
  customize your Windows environment according to your preferences.

- SYSTEM.INI, which primarily contains settings that customize Windows
  to meet your system's hardware needs.

This document describes only a few of the settings in the SYSTEM.INI
file. You can get a more complete listing of the SYSTEM.INI settings
by purchasing the Windows Resource Kit for the Microsoft Windows
Operating System Version 3.1. The Resource Kit provides complete
technical information about Windows version 3.1 for the support
professional. It includes a technical reference manual and a disk
containing helpful utilities, system resource viewers, drivers, and
accessories.

To order the Windows Resource Kit within the United States, dial:

   1-800-642-7676

To order outside of the United States, dial the phone number for your
area. You can find this number on the International Subsidiary card.

Format of the SYSTEM.INI File
-----------------------------

The SYSTEM.INI file contains several sections, each of which consists
of a group of related settings. The sections and settings are listed
in the SYSTEM.INI file in the following format:

[section name]
keyname=value

In this example, [section name] is the name of a section. The
enclosing brackets ([ ]) are required, and the left bracket must be in
the leftmost column on the screen.

The keyname=value statement defines the value of each setting. A
keyname is the name of a setting. It can consist of any combination of
letters and digits in uppercase or lowercase, and it must be followed
immediately by an equal sign (=). The value of the setting can be an
integer, a Boolean value, a string, or a quoted string, depending on
the setting. There are multiple settings in most sections.

You can include comments in initialization files. You must begin each
line of a comment with a semicolon (;).

How to Read the Listings in This Document
-----------------------------------------

In this document, settings in SYSTEM.INI are listed alphabetically
within sections. However, the settings do not appear alphabetically in
the SYSTEM.INI file. To change a setting, you need to search for it in
the appropriate section.

The syntax, default value, and purpose appear in the following format.

SettingName=<value-type>

Default:  The Windows default value for this setting.
Purpose:  A brief description of the function of the setting.

<value-type> indicates whether the value should be an integer, a
letter, a range of numbers, a Boolean value, or something else. If you
want to enable a Boolean setting, you can set the value to: True, Yes,
On, or 1. If you want to disable the Boolean setting, you can set the
value to: False, No, Off, or 0.

Changing Settings
-----------------

When the Setup program creates the SYSTEM.INI file, it assigns default
values to many of the settings. Other settings have values that
correspond to the type of hardware you are using.

Some settings listed in this document do not normally appear in your
SYSTEM.INI file. Most of these settings have a built-in default value
that is present whether or not the setting appears in SYSTEM.INI. You
might need to change one or more of these values to improve the
performance of Windows or applications with your system.

To change the values of the settings described in this document, open
the SYSTEM.INI file and edit it by using a text editor, such as
Windows Notepad. Do not use a formatting editor, such as a word
processor in document mode; it can corrupt your SYSTEM.INI file. For
more information on how to use Notepad, see Chapter 12, "Additional
Accessories," in the Microsoft Windows User's Guide.

Any changes you make to SYSTEM.INI settings do not take effect until
you restart Windows.

Caution:  Do not change any settings that are not described in this
document. If you need to change additional settings, refer to the
Windows Resource Kit for the Microsoft Windows Operating System
Version 3.1. Always back up your SYSTEM.INI file before you change any
of its settings. That way, you can restore the original file if you
make incorrect changes. Be careful when making changes to the
SYSTEM.INI file. Your system will not work properly
if you edit this file incorrectly.

[boot] Section Settings
-----------------------

All settings in this section, except for CachedFileHandles, are
required. If you modify or delete one of these settings, Windows might
not work properly. There are no specific default values for these
settings; Setup assigns values based on your system configuration.

If you want to run a different application when you start Windows,
change the following setting.

shell=<filename>

Default:  None (Setup initializes this value as PROGMAN.EXE.)
Purpose:  Specifies the Windows application that runs when you start
          Windows. Unless you change this setting, Program Manager
          will run when you start Windows. For example, if you want to
          run File Manager instead of Program Manager when you start
          Windows, you could change this setting as follows:

             shell=winfile.exe

[NonWindowsApp] Section Settings
--------------------------------

The [NonWindowsApp] section contains settings that affect the
performance of non-Windows applications.

The [NonWindowsApp] section can contain the following settings.

CommandEnvSize=<bytes>

Default:  0 for MS-DOS versions earlier than 3.2. Otherwise, the
          default is the value for the /e: option in the shell=
          command line in the CONFIG.SYS file.
Purpose:  Specifies the size of the COMMAND.COM environment. Note that
          running batch files with the extension .BAT starts
          COMMAND.COM, so this setting also applies to batch files.
          The value for this setting must be either 0 or between 160
          and 32768. A value of 0 disables this setting. If the value
          is too small or too large, it will be rounded up to 160 or
          down to 32768. If the value is less than the current size of
          the actual environment, this setting will be disabled, as if
          it were set to 0. If you have specified the environment size
          in a PIF file for COMMAND.COM, the PIF-file setting
          overrides this setting.

DisablePositionSave=<Boolean>

Default:  0
Purpose:  When this setting is disabled, the position and fonts used
          by a non-Windows application are saved in the DOSAPP.INI
          file when you quit the application. If this setting is
          enabled, the position and fonts used by a non-Windows
          application whose settings have not been previously saved in
          the DOSAPP.INI file will not be saved. If enabled, the
          setting can be overridden for each non-Windows application
          by selecting the Save Settings On Exit check box in the Font
       dialog box in the application.

FontChangeEnable=<Boolean>

Default: 1 on systems that use Windows version 3.1 grabbers. 0 on
  systems that use Windows version 3.0 grabbers.
Purpose: Provides the ability to change fonts when running a non-
         Windows application in a window on a system that uses version
         3.0 of the grabbers (usually 3.0 display drivers). Windows
         version 3.1 video grabbers (used in 3.1 display drivers)
         include built-in support for changing fonts when running a
         non-Windows application in a window. If you are using a 3.0
         grabber that has not been updated to include the ability to
         change fonts and you want to use this feature, enable this
         setting. However, with this setting enabled, your screen
         may lose characters and the cursor may change size and
         position slightly.

LocalTSRs=<list-of-TSR-applications>

Default:  DOSEDIT, CED
Purpose:  Specifies which terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) programs
          work properly if they are copied to each instance of a
          virtual machine. When you start Windows, it detects any TSR
          programs that are currently running. If the TSR is on the
          LocalTSRs list, Windows copies the TSR to each virtual
          machine you run. Many TSRs will not run properly if they are
          added to this list. Make sure your TSR is fully compatible
          with Windows and can be copied to a virtual machine before
          adding it to the list.

MouseInDosBox=<Boolean>

Default:  1 if an MS-DOS mouse driver is loaded that has the extension
          .COM or .SYS and supports the use of a mouse with a non-
          Windows application. Otherwise, the default is 0.
Purpose:  Specifies whether the mouse is supported when running a non-
          Windows application in a window. Mouse support for a non-
          Windows application running in a window is automatically
          available if you are using a Windows 3.1 version of the
          grabbers. If you are using a Windows 3.0 version of the
          grabbers and you want mouse support, enable this setting. If
          you do not want mouse support, disable this setting.

NetAsynchSwitching=<0-or-1>

Default:  0, unless an application is running that supports the use of
          the Task Switcher API by the NetBIOS.
Purpose:  Specifies whether you can switch away from an application
          (running in standard mode) after it has made an asynchronous
          network BIOS call. If this setting is disabled, you cannot
          switch away. Switching away from some applications that make
          these calls might cause your system to fail. Once Windows
          detects an asynchronous NetBIOS call, you cannot switch away
          from the application, even if no more of these calls are
          made. Enable this setting only if you are sure that the
          applications you use will not receive network messages while
          they are inactive.

ScreenLines=<number>

Default:  25
Purpose:  Specifies the number of lines that will be displayed on the
          screen when you run a non-Windows application. An
          application that specifies a different screen mode can
          override this setting.

SwapDisk=<drive-colon-directory>

Default:  The directory that the TEMP environment variable points to;
          if there is no TEMP variable, the default is the root
          directory of your first hard drive (usually labeled C:). If
          you do not have a hard disk, the default is the root
          directory of your first floppy disk drive (usually labeled
          A:).
Purpose:  Provides the name of the disk drive and directory to which
          Windows running in standard mode swaps non-Windows
          applications.

[standard] Section Settings
---------------------------

The [standard] section contains settings that are specific to running
Windows
in standard mode.

The [standard] section can contain the following settings.

FasterModeSwitch=<0-or-1>

Default:  0
Purpose: Enabling this setting causes Windows running in standard mode
         to use a faster method of switching from protected to real
         mode on many 80286-based computers. When this setting is
         enabled, Windows responds quicker to hardware interrupts,
         allowing better throughput for interrupt-intensive
         applications, such as communications applications. In
         addition, you should enable this setting if you are using a
         Zenith Z-248 system and are losing characters while typing,
         or if you are using an Olivetti M-250-E and lose mouse
         functionality.

Note: This setting has no effect on 80386-based computers. Some early
IBM AT and compatible computers do not have the BIOS support necessary
to use this setting. Enabling this setting on these computers may
cause them to lock up when starting Windows.

Int28Filter=<number>

Default: 10
Purpose: Specifies the interval of INT28h interrupts, generated when
         the system is idle, that are made visible (or reflected) to
         software that is loaded before Windows. Windows will reflect
         every nth interrupt, where n is the value of this setting.
         For example, a value of 1 reflects every INT28h interrupt, a
         value of 2 reflects every second INT28h interrupt, and so on.
         Increasing this value might improve Windows performance, but
         may interfere with some memory-resident programs, such as
         network software. Set this value to 0 to prevent any INT28h
         interrupts from being reflected. Setting this value too low
         (from 1 to 9) might interfere with communications
         applications.

NetHeapSize=<kilobytes>

Default: 8
Purpose: Specifies the size (in kilobytes) of the data-transfer buffer
         that Windows running in standard mode allocates in
         conventional memory for transferring data over a network. If
         an application is not running correctly, your network may
         require a larger buffer than the default value. Increasing
         this value will decrease the amount of memory available to
         applications. If no network software is running, this setting
         will be ignored and no memory will be allocated.

[386Enh] Section Settings
-------------------------

The [386Enh] section contains information specific to running Windows
in 386 enhanced mode, including information used for virtual-memory
page swapping.

The [386Enh] section can contain the following settings.

AllVMsExclusive=<Boolean>

Default: False
Purpose: If enabled, this setting forces all applications to run in
         exclusive full-screen mode, overriding all contrary settings
         in the applications' program information files (PIFs).
         Enabling this setting might prolong the length of the Windows
         session when you are running network and memory-resident
         software that is incompatible with Windows.

COMBoostTime=<milliseconds>

Default: 2
Purpose: Specifies the amount of time (in milliseconds) to allow a
         virtual machine to process a COM interrupt. If, while running
         a communications application, you lose keyboard characters on
         the screen, you can try increasing this value.

COMdrv30=<Boolean>

Default: False
Purpose: If enabled, the Virtual COM Driver (VCD) uses its own copy of
         the interrupt handler for the serial communications driver.
         This improves performance of your COM ports. Enable this
         setting if you are using a Windows version 3.0 serial
         communications driver. Disable this setting if you are using
         the standard Windows 3.1 serial communications driver.

COM1FIFO=<Boolean>
COM2FIFO=<Boolean>
COM3FIFO=<Boolean>
COM4FIFO=<Boolean>

Default: True
Purpose: Specifies whether the FIFO buffer of a COM port's 16550
         Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (UART) should be
         enabled (True) or disabled (False). If a serial port does not
         have a 16550 UART, this setting is ignored.

Note:  These values are used by Windows for both standard and 386
enhanced modes.

COMIrqSharing=<Boolean>

Default: True for Micro Channel and EISA machines; False for all other
         machines.
Purpose: Specifies whether COM interrupt lines are sharable between
         multiple serial ports or with other devices. Enable this
         setting if your machine uses the same interrupt for COM3 or
         COM4 as it does for COM1 or COM2.

DOSPromptExitInstruc=<Boolean>

Default: Yes
Purpose: If this setting is enabled, when you start the MS-DOS prompt
         a message box appears with instructions on how to exit and
         switch away from the MS-DOS prompt. Disable this setting if
         you do not want to see the message.

DualDisplay=<Boolean>

Default: See "Purpose" below.
Purpose: Normally, when running in 386 enhanced mode, the memory
         between B000:0000 and B7FF:000F is used by the general system
         unless a secondary display is detected. Enable this setting
         if you are using a VGA-based color display and want
         EMM386.EXE to include this address space as an upper memory
         block (UMB). In addition to enabling this setting, you must
         include the i= option in the device=EMM386.EXE command line
         in your CONFIG.SYS file as follows:

            device=EMM386.EXE i=B000-B7FF

If this setting is disabled, the address range is available on EGA
systems, but not on VGA systems, because the VGA display device
supports monochrome modes, which use this address space.

EMMExclude=<paragraph-range>

Default: None
Purpose: Specifies a range of memory that Windows will not scan to
    find unused address space. This has the side effect of
         turning off the RAM and ROM search code for the range. The
         range (two paragraph values separated by a hyphen) must be
         between A000 and EFFF. This scanning can interfere with some
         adapters that use the same memory area. The starting value is
         rounded down and the ending value is rounded up to a multiple
         of 16K. For example, you could set EMMExclude=C800-CFFF to
         prevent Windows from scanning the addresses C800:0000 through
         CFFF:000F. You can specify more than one range by including
         more than one EMMExclude line.

EMMInclude=<paragraph-range>

Default: None
Purpose: Specifies a range of memory that Windows will treat as unused
         address space regardless of what may be there. EMMInclude
         takes precedence over EMMExclude if you specify ranges that
         overlap. The range (two values separated by a hyphen) must be
         between A000 and EFFF. The starting value is rounded down and
         the ending value is rounded up to a multiple of 16K. For
         example, you could set EMMInclude=C800-CFFF to ensure that
         Windows can use the addresses C800:0000 through CFFF:000F.
         You may specify more than one range by including more than
         one EMMInclude line.

EMMPageFrame=<paragraph>

Default: None
Purpose: Specifies the starting paragraph where the 64K page frame
         will begin when Windows (running in 386 enhanced mode) cannot
         find a suitable page frame. Allows an EMM page frame in an
         area containing some unused RAM or ROM. For example, you
         could set EMMPageFrame=C400 to start the page frame at
         C400:0000.

EMMSize=<kilobytes>

Default: 65536
Purpose: Specifies the total amount of memory available for mapping as
         expanded memory. The default value allocates the maximum
         possible amount of system memory as expanded memory. Specify
         a value for this setting if you run an application that
         allocates all of the available expanded memory. If this is
         the case, you cannot create new virtual machines. If this
         value is zero, no expanded memory is allocated, but the EMM
         driver will load. To disable EMM and prevent the EMM driver
         from loading, use the NoEMMDriver setting.

FileSysChange=<Boolean>

Default: Off in 386 enhanced mode; not supported in standard mode.
Purpose: Indicates whether File Manager automatically receives
         messages anytime a non-Windows application creates, renames,
         or deletes a file. If this setting is disabled, a virtual
         machine can run exclusively, even if it modifies files.
         Enabling this setting can slow down system performance
         significantly.

InDOSPolling=<Boolean>

Default: No
Purpose: If enabled, prevents Windows from running other applications
         when memory-resident software has the InDOS flag set.
         Enabling this setting is necessary if the memory-resident
         software needs to be in a critical section to do operations
         off an INT21 hook, but will slow down system performance
         slightly.

INT28Critical=<Boolean>

Default: True
Purpose: Specifies whether a critical section is needed to handle
         INT28h interrupts used by memory-resident software. Some
         networks do internal task switching on INT28h interrupts.
         These interrupts might lock up some network software,
         indicating the need for an INT28h critical section. If you
         are not using such software, you might improve Windows task
         switching by disabling this setting.

LocalReboot=<on-or-off>

Default: On
Purpose: Specifies whether you can press CTRL+ALT+DEL to quit
         applications that cause an unrecoverable error in 386
         enhanced mode. If this setting is enabled, you can quit the
         applications without restarting Windows. If this setting is
         disabled, pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL will restart your entire
         system.

MaxCOMPort=<number>

Default: 4
Purpose: Specifies the maximum number of COM ports supported in 386
         enhanced mode. Change this value if you have more than four
         COM ports installed in your computer.

NetAsynchFallback=<Boolean>

Default: False
Purpose: If this setting is enabled, Windows attempts to save a
         failing NetBIOS request. When an application issues an
         asynchronous NetBIOS request, Windows attempts to allocate
         space in its global network buffer to receive the data. If
         there is insufficient space in the global buffer, Windows
         typically fails the NetBIOS request. If this setting is
         enabled, Windows attempts to save such a request by
         allocating a buffer in local memory and preventing any other
         virtual machines from running until the data is received or
         the timeout period (specified by the NetAsynchTimeout
         setting) expires.

NetAsynchTimeout=<seconds>

Default: 5.0
Purpose: Specifies the timeout period (in seconds) when Windows will
         enter a critical section in order to service an asynchronous
         NetBIOS request. It is used only when the NetAsynchFallback
         setting is enabled. This value can include a decimal (such as
         0.5).

NetDMASize=<kilobytes>

Default: 32 on Micro Channel machines (IBM PS/2 or compatible); 0 on
         non-Micro Channel machines (IBM PC/AT or compatible).
Purpose: Specifies the DMA buffer size (in kilobytes) for NetBIOS
         transport software if a network has been installed. In this
         case, the buffer size is the larger of this value or the
         value of DMABufferSize.

NetHeapSize=<kilobytes>

Default: 12
Purpose: Specifies the size (in kilobytes) of the data-transfer
         buffers in conventional memory that Windows allocates for
         transferring data over a network when running in 386 enhanced
         mode. All values are rounded up to the nearest 4K.

Network=<filename-or-devicename>

Default: None (Setup assigns an appropriate value based on your system
         configuration.)
Purpose: Specifies the type of network you are using with Windows in
         386 enhanced mode.

PSPIncrement=<number>

Default: 2
Purpose: Specifies the amount of additional memory, in 16-byte
         increments, that Windows should reserve in each successive
         virtual machine when the UniqueDOSPSP setting is enabled. The
         setting that works best for your machine might vary depending
         on your memory configuration and the applications you are
         running. Valid values are 2 through 64. See the UniqueDosPSP
         setting for more information.

ReflectDosInt2A=<Boolean>

Default: False
Purpose: Indicates whether Windows should consume or reflect DOS INT
         2A signals. The default means Windows will consume these
         signals and therefore run more efficiently. Enable this
         setting if you are running memory-resident software that
         relies on detecting INT2A messages.

SyncTime=<Boolean>

Default: True
Purpose: If this setting is enabled, Windows periodically synchronizes
         its time with the computer's CMOS clock. If this setting is
         disabled, Windows usually maintains the correct time, unless
         TrapTimerPorts is disabled and you are running applications
         that can cause the system time to run faster or slower than
         the actual time. This setting is related to the
         TrapTimerPorts setting.

TimerCriticalSection=<milliseconds>

Default: 0
Purpose: Instructs Windows to go into a critical section around all
         timer interrupt code and specifies a timeout period (in
         milliseconds). Specifying a positive value causes only one
         virtual machine at a time to receive timer interrupts. Some
         networks and other global memory-resident software may fail
         unless this setting is used. However, using this setting
         slows down performance and can make the system seem to stop
         for short periods of time.

TrapTimerPorts=<Boolean>

Default: True
Purpose: Specifies whether Windows should trap read and write
         operations to the system timer ports that are performed by
         applications. If this setting is disabled, Windows will not
         trap these operations, allowing applications that frequently
         read or write to the timer to run faster. However, this may
         interfere with ability of Windows to keep accurate system
         time. If this setting is disabled, Windows can usually detect
         when an application has changed the timer interrupt interval
         and then make any adjustments to the time. If your system's
         time appears to be running fast or slow, enable this setting.
         If you do not want to enable this setting, enable the
         SyncTime setting. This causes Windows to check the time
         periodically and then make any necessary adjustments.

UniqueDOSPSP=<Boolean>

Default: True if you are running a network based on Microsoft Network
         or LAN Manager. See the NETWORKS.WRI online document to find
         out whether the network you are running is one of these.
         False for all other networks.
Purpose: If this setting is enabled, Windows starts every application
         at a unique address (PSP). Each time Windows creates a new
         virtual machine to start a new application, Windows reserves
         a unique amount of memory (i bytes) below the application.
         For example, if the first application is loaded ataddress M,
         the second application is loaded at address M+i, the third at
         M+2i, and so on. The amount of memory (i) is determined by
         the PSPIncrement setting. These settings ensure that
         applications in different virtual machines all start at
         different addresses. Some networks use applications' load
         addresses to identify the different processes that are using
         the network. Disabling this setting on such networks might
         cause one application to fail when you quit another, because
         the network interprets them as the same application. When
         this setting is enabled, slightly less memory is available
         for non-Windows applications.

VirtualHDIrq=<Boolean>

Default: On for AT-compatible computers; Off for all other computers.
Purpose: If enabled, Windows in 386 enhanced mode can terminate
         interrupts from the hard disk controller, bypassing the ROM
         routine that handles these interrupts. Some hard disk drives
         might require this setting to be disabled in order for
         interrupts to be processed correctly. If this setting is
         disabled, the ROM routine handles the interrupts, which slows
         down system performance.