Dr. Hardware Sysinfo: Problems, Restrictions, FAQs
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Foreword:
You will find the answer to many FAQs in the programs online help.
We will discuss here only the mainly important problems.


A. Known Problems and Restrictions:
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I.Principally...

1.Avoid nearly almost problems by running the program under  D O S and
  in R E A L  M O D E. Also try to free some memory. 580 KB free DOS RAM
  will be enough for all analysis steps.
2.Running under Windows: under Windows 9x it's possible; but results with 
  less precision may occur. Under Windows Me, NT, 200x and XP only few
  tests can be performed though.
  Tip: Run Dr. Hardware under DOS to test the hardware; if you like run it
  under WINDOWS to test the software.
3.Please be sure that all your important data are backupped. If a crash 
  occurs, data may be lost in... a) RAM-Disks b) Software Caches and C)
  Network Environment. 
4.Some analysis steps need some time to pass thru (e.g. drive test, 
  Modem Inquiry, IRQ/DMA Test, Network Analysis, System Benchmarks under 
  WINDOWS and OS/2)


II.Problems:

1.Problems under MS WINDOWS 3.X and OS/2 
  - partialy unreliable CPU Flag register analysis (-> e.g. can't identify 
    internal NPU)
  - Under OS/2 CPUs 386 or above will not be identified. 
  - Authentic Timer measurements under WINDOWS aren't possible. 
    Clock determination may differ +/- 2 MHZ (Clock determination only
    on Pentium-based systems). No determination of L2 Cache
  - IDE analysis not possible if the 32 Bit Access is activated. 
  - Less reliable logical drive determination under OS/2 
  - Problems while running video benchmarks  (Mode Switching)
  - Can't access a serial Port if a mouse is connected to

2.Problems under WIN 9x/Me
  Please start WIN 9x PCs in DOS mode (Press F8 on booting and select
  the option "Command prompt only" from the menu).
  Specific restrictions under WIN9x/Me
  - Modem identifation may fail
  - incorrect determination of free and used XMS Memory
  - Logical drive determination less reliable

3.The PCI Bus Test might cause a system crash. It can be disabled  
  under SERVICE/CONFIGURASTION or in the DRHARD.INI.
  (EMM386.EXE with the switch "HIGHSCAN" can cause a crash)

4.Clock and external Cache are determined via short time measurements. 
  Various hard- and software factors might take influence on them. So 
  please be always aware of unreliable results although results are most 
  often reliable.

5.L2-Cache Detection:
  If cache identification fails please activate or deactivate in the 
  Program Setup the option "Altern. L2 Cache".
  If the test fails again, this may have various reasons:
  A.Cache is okay, but Dr.Hardware can't detect it.
    Why?
    1.Under WINDOWS and OS/2 Dr. Hardware can't determine the cache size . 
      (=> Run Program under DOS)
    2.A Cache greater than 512 KB can't be detected at all.
    3.A Memory Manager takes influence on the measurement (=> test in Real
      Mode)
    4.System performance is so high (Pentium) and/or Cache is so inefficient
      so that Dr. Hardware can't find any difference between RAM and Cache
      transfer rate (but this is the way he tries to detect it!)
  B. Cache ist disabled (=> enable it in the Advanced Setup, often called
     BIOS-Setup)
  C. Cache ist bad (=> test again with some other test programs)

6.Dr. Hardware identifies all current Main Stream Processors; however 
  detection might fail for various reasons. If CPU isn't detected correctly,
  clock determination may fail accordingly, because of the use of
  CPU specific algorithms to determine the clock.
  The detection method for elder NexGen586 CPUs is not very realible.

7.Software Caches may affect the CD ROM Data Transfer result
  (Dr. Hardware disables Smartdrive and CD-BLITZ temporarily during the
   test procedure)

8.If the mouse fails to work properly, please enable the option 
  "Hard Mouse Reset" in the DRHARD.INI.

9.The Sound-Card-Tests (Menu DEVICES) can be disabled in the EXPERT SETUP
  (via PROGRAM SETUP) singularily, if the tests cause  a system crash. GUS 
  Test is disabled by default.

10.The IDE analysis can cause a system crash if there is no IDE device
   present but instead of it a SCSI device.

11.If Dr. Hardware determines the capacity of your hard drives different
   from what you expected this might have the following reasons:
  1.Capacity statement of the vendor may refer to the unformatted capacity;
    the formatted capacity is below that.
  2.The CMOS entry is not adequate for the fixed disk if for example
    only 1024 cylinders can be managed (elder BIOSs)
  3.The capacity statement of the vendor may base upon the equivalent
    1 MB=1000 KB resp. 1 KB=1000 B. Dr.Hardware however takes 1024 KB for
    1 MB and 1024 Bytes for 1 KB.
    
12.If a system crash occurs during the net benchmark please check all your
  local and remote drives for logical errors (e.g. lost clusters) 
  afterwards (CHKDSK or SCANDISK). If the TEMP file DRHNET.$$$ still
  exists please erase it.
  
13.Memory above 64 MB will often not be detected

14.Dr. Hardware can't detect... Scanner, Streamer, hayes-incompatible
  Modems, Cache Controller, SCSI devices if no ASPI- or CAM-
  manager is installed and various add-on-cards (radio card etc).


B. FAQs:
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F:What other hardware related software do you offer?
A:Dr. Hardware for Windows.

F:My vga adapter is VESA compatible. Does that mean that my PC has 
  a VESA Local Bus ?
A:Not necessarily. VESA VGA adapters can also be found in ISA boards
  
F:My PC has VESA Local Bus. Dr.Hardware however tells ISA!?
A:There is no way to detect the VL Bus via inquiry function. It's however
  often detectable via some tricky CPU->Memory-Transfer measurement.
  But there must be a VL Graphics Adapter installed.

F:Is there a feature to test the serial Port registers with a Loopback Plug?
A:No.

F:The Sound Check (Option SOUNDBLASTER DETAILS) sounds rather bad.
A:Please note: this check is based upon an 8-Bit mono wave file and it's
  played in Direct Mode. Shows whether your Sound Card produces sound
  but not the quality of it. 

F:I get a message at program start that there is not enough Memory to run 
  the program. Although I activate the Small RAM Option in DRHARD.INI I get
  the same message the next time.
A:This shows that there is absolutely not enough memory to run the program.
  
F:After opening Pull Down Menus or running some analysis procedures 
  the screen will be destroyed
A:This problem occurs very rarely. Seen for example on a Pentium-VLB/PCI
  Board with VL Graphics Adapter (no problems with other VGA adapters). 
  Unknown reason.
  
F:After program start I got a message that the trial period is over, that
  I should have tested the shareware version for 60 days and then it was
  aborted. But the fact is, that I have used it for the first time.
A:In this case you surely did receive the prgram package from another user
  who expired his trial period. It's however mentioned that if one shares
  the program he should do it in the original form.
  In order to enable the program to run again simply delete the file 
  DRINTERN.DAT. 