=== eComStation 2.2 BETA Release README === Thank you for participating in the eComStation 2.2 Beta programme. Please read the following before using this software. == BETA TESTING == This is a beta version of eComStation 2.2, provided to interested customers for the purpose of testing and evaluation. eComStation 2.2 includes many new features. While our in-house testing indicates that they are fully functional and reliable, we would appreciate as many reports from our beta testers as possible in order to complete our evaluation prior to final product release. Consequently, we would request that, when using the eComStation 2.2 Beta, you pay particular attention to testing and evaluating the following new or improved features: * CUPS printer support. Support for a large variety of printers is installed by default. We would appreciate reports of whether your printer is supported, how well it works with CUPS, and how easy or difficult the CUPS configuration is generally. * The new File Open Container. We are interested to know what you think of this replacement for the common file open/save dialog, and how well it works for you. * The new split view for desktop folders. * The new Adapters and Protocols configuration program. * PNG Desktop. Note that this feature is NOT enabled by default - you must select it explicitly under Advanced Mode installation (it is located under "System Extensions" -> "User Interface Enhancements" -> "High-resolution desktop icons"). Again, we would very much appreciate your evaluation of this feature. * ACPI power management, especially in combination with multiple processors. The ACPI support in eComStation 2.2 has been significantly overhauled relative to earlier versions. * Video driver performance with Panorama. Panorama has received considerable improvement since eComStation 2.1; in particular, widescreen displays should now be much better-supported. * WiFi support has been updated with new versions of the XWLAN widget and the WPA supplicant program. * A Java-based RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) client has been added to facilitate remote connections to Windows workstations and servers. * Your impressions of general system performance and stability are also appreciated. Please refer to http://www.ecomstation.com/support/ecs22beta for more information on this beta and guidelines to submit your reports. == TROUBLESHOOTING POTENTIAL PROBLEMS == Many of the new components in eCS 2.2 have been tested extensively (also released as public beta's). If your system does not start properly please try the following steps. * Read chapter 6.2 of the eCS manual about the key combinations ALT-F2 and ALT-F4. * In eCS 2.2 ACPI will be loaded automatically (when eCS is not installed inside a virtual machine). When ACPI is enabled and your computer hangs or traps on boot, try the following, one at a time: - In CONFIG.SYS, add the switch /MAXCPU=1 to ACPI.PSD - In CONFIG.SYS, add the switch /VW to ACPI.PSD - In CONFIG.SYS, add the switch /PIC to ACPI.PSD (only if the above is unsuccessful) - In CONFIG.SYS, disable ACPI by inserting REM in front of the line loading ACPI.PSD You may need to boot off the eComStation Installation Disc, or a maintenance partition, in order to perform the above steps. - If you have an Intel CPU, make sure that hyperthreading is disabled in the BIOS. * If the hang or trap still occurs. eCS 2.2 ships with new USB drivers. Disconnect as many USB devices or disable the USB driver in the pre-boot menu of the eCS 2.2 DVD and see if this fixes your problem. * The OS2AHCI.ADD is loaded first and then the DANIS506.ADD driver. If your system hangs at the eCS boot logo, check with the ALT-F2 key combination on which driver it hangs. Try setting your BIOS to legacy/SATA mode mode if the system hangs on the OS2AHCI.ADD or the DANIS506.ADD driver. If you have an ATA (AHCI/SATA/ATAPI) system and the eComStation installer or Installation Volume Manager report no hard disk drives present, try changing to a lower-performance host controller driver (e.g. one of the 'compatibility mode' options, or possibly the IBM rather than the DANI driver) using the preboot menu. Some users have reported hangs during the second phase of installation when installing inside VirtualBox for Windows. If this happens to you, try formatting your primary installation drive using HPFS rather than JFS. Also with regards to VirtualBox, some users have reported an error occurring during Peer (File and Print) installation. This does not appear to affect all systems or all versions of VirtualBox. We have not yet managed to isolate the cause. If you are affected by this issue, please report it to us through the bug tracker. If you install a CUPS printer and printing does not work, check the printer and job status by going into the CUPS Administration GUI (using the icon in the CUPS folder, or by opening the page http://localhost:631 in your web browser) and checking the 'Jobs' or 'Printers' pages. Note that you may need to adjust the default job options for your printer (such as paper size), as the CUPS Printer Wizard can only create printers with default job options. Use the CUPS Adminstration GUI ('Printers' page) to set a printer's default job options. Please refer to http://www.ecomstation.com/support/ecs22beta for more information on this beta and guidelines to submit your reports. == INTRODUCTION == eComStation 2.2 has all the features you are used to from previous versions of eComStation plus both major and small improvements. These include: - Major improvements to ACPI support. Many computer systems that were previously unsupported should now function smoothly, and the use of multiple CPU's, high IRQ's, and power management features should all be more reliable. - Significant compatibility and performance enhancements to the Panorama video driver, enabling eComStation to work with almost any modern video chipset. - The Common Unix Printing System (CUPS) has been integrated, adding support for a huge range of modern printers. - Networking has been further improved with additional NIC drivers from the MultiMAC project. Adapter and protocol configuration has been made easier with the addition of a new graphical user interface. CIFS networking via Samba has also been updated. - Better support for modern hardware while preserving support for legacy devices. - Multiple graphical user interface enhancements, including a new common file dialog, advanced drag-and-drop features, a split view for desktop folders, and optional support for high-resolution desktop icons. - Improved application compatibility with support for both Java 6 (via OpenJDK) and the QT4 toolkit. == DOCUMENTATION == Documentation available on this CD: [ eComStation Quick Installation Guide ] Located on CD: \QCKGUIDE.PDF This QuickGuide is intended to help you get started installing eComStation 2.2 on your computer or in a virtual machine. It provides information you may need to boot the installation CD and to get the graphical installer loaded and running. We especially recommend that you read Chapter 1 of the QuickGuide if you are installing to a large disk drive. [ Online help ] Located on CD: \ECS\INSTALL\GUIDPROC.HLP The online help provides detailed help for the graphical installer. It describes how to install eComStation 2.2 using either the Easy or Advanced installation method. Explains how to handle a migration from a previous OS/2/eComStation version. == SUPPORT == Please refer to the Quick Installation Guide chapter 6 for hints and tips, FAQ and support options. Online support is available via http://www.ecomstation.com/support/ == DISTRIBUTION / CREATING CDS == This product is provided as a downloadable ISO file, this is a raw DVD image that you can burn on DVD-R media. For instructions on burning the ISO image to DVD please consult the PDF document "howtoburncds.pdf" available in the same directory as the ISO files. == REGISTRATION KEY REQUIRED FOR INSTALLING == eComStation 2.2 Beta requires a valid eComStation 2.0 or 2.1 registration key for installing. You should have received this registration key as part of your previous eComStation 2.x purchase. You can download it (by logging in at http://www.ecomstation.com) in digital form, ready to be imported during the installation process. (c) 2001-2009 Serenity Systems International (c) 2010-2013 Mensys B.V. [eof]