Steve Mccrystal,
28-Nov-97 18:01:33, Steve Mccrystal wrote to Andy Roberts
 SM> November 27 1997 Andy Roberts writes to Steve Mccrystal
          Subject: Win32s?
 AR>> AFAIK the larger file contains the full library.  Which may NOT
 AR>> be necessary, depending on what app you are going to install.
 SM> But one or more of them is needed to get support for Win32s in
 SM> WinOS/2.
Definitely.  But it is included on many CDs with the Win95 app.
 SM> The file you have will not, on it's own, provide such support.
 SM> It merely allows WinOS/2 to hook Windows Win32s code
Correct.  The little file with vw32s.sys is special for OS/2 while
the big file contains the common MS DLLs.
 AR>> As I mentioned in a previous msg, some Win95 apps will not run
 AR>> under Win-OS2 if you have any version of MS Windows installed on
 AR>> your HD.
 SM> That's not an issue for me personally -- I have a Win95 partition
 SM> that I rarely use.
If you have 2 separate Primary partitions that can NOT see each
other, then you are probably safe.  But if you have Win95 on the
only Primary partition and Warp on an Extended partition (the
typical locations) then you are going to be in for a very unpleasant
surprise sooner or later (depending on the app.)
It is not a matter that Win95 is not loaded and running.  The MS
written Install.EXE searches your entire HD looking for specific
files that are included in MS Win3.1 and Win95.  If it finds 1 of
those files then it will not run under Win-OS2.  But if it does not
find those files then it will run under Win-OS2.  And nothing you
change in your Config.Sys or Autoexec.Bat or any other setup will
have any effect of that situation.  It took me over 1 year to
discover that.
 AR>> Win95 apps that require Win32s v.1.30 may not run under OS/2 at
 AR>> all.
 SM> It's a rare app indeed that actually NEEDS v1.30 - at least in as
 SM> much as it *uses* the capability of v1.30.  What Microsoft has
 SM> forced ISVs to do to their code is another matter
I'm inclined to think there is very little if any functional reason
to all the Win32s upgrades.  There is evidence that it is all just a
MS marketing ploy to prevent apps from running on anything except
the latest MS OS so that MS can sell more software.  Just a gimmick.
 AR>> Some of the MS written Install.Exe for 3rd-party apps have been
 AR>> known to contain seek'n'destroy code aimed at any non-MS OS.  So
 AR>> be prepared to completely reinstall OS/2.  Maybe dozens of times.
 SM> One can only hope that a curent list of such apps would be
 SM> compiled and updated as required
I have not seen an organized list.  But I have seen msgs from many
users.  There must be at least 1/2 a dozen apps like that.  In some
cases it is just a matter of the app over-writing essential files.
OS/2 is not the only victim.  I've seen the same problem under
DrDOS6 and NWDOS7.
     Thanks and Good Luck,        Andy Roberts
                                  NetMail 1:109/921.1
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                                  andy@shentel.net
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