Late Release Notes for XFree86/OS2 3.3.6

(last updated: 09 Jan 2000)

This file contains latest information that did not make it into the documentation by the time the version 3.3.6 was finalized.

XFree86-3.3.6 is a bugfix and feature update to 3.3.5. To update, you usually only need a new server binary. The documentation still frequently refers to the version 3.3.5 or older. If so, it also applies to 3.3.6.
XFree86-3.3.5 had a nasty BIOS problem specific to OS/2. This should have been fixed now.
You might wonder what happened to 3.3.4 under OS/2. This version was never released. Simply skip from the last version 3.3.3.1 to 3.3.6.
Read the XOS2FAQ.HTM file which comes with this distribution. This file is HTML code and is best read with a Web reader, e.g. explore or netscape. It is located in the \XFree86\lib\X11\doc directory.
An all-time-problem as it seems, is probably the behaviour of Matrox BIOS vs. PCI card detection. If you have a Matrox card (Millenium, Mystique, G100, G200) and find your screen in an odd 320x200 mode, and the server output claiming to have detected a "Generic VGA" card with 64K, then manually add the option PCIProbe2 to the "ServerFlags" section of your XF86Config file.
Xprt, Xnest, and Xvfb are still broken in this version, and are not in the distribution (Xprt.zip, Xnest.zip, Xvfb.zip) even if some other docs claim the converse. These three programs are not too interesting anyway, IMHO.
XFree86-3.3.6 has been tested with Warp4/noFP, Warp4/FP9, Warp4/FP12 and WSeB (Aurora, Ver. 14.039F_UNI). In general, XFree86 is rather independent from FP fixes, so if you have problems they are most likely not to be influenced by up- or downgrading the FP level. Exception video drivers: some corruption problems switching between XFree86 and PM result from defective or bad written PM drivers, and either upgrading to a new version, as well as in some cases returning to an older version may changes something.
If you run WSeB, you must install the most recent XF86SUP.SYS driver version 1.511 which is included in the Xbase.zip archive. Older versions will cause a kernel trap.
Reporting bugs: There is the official XFree86/OS2 bugs page which is updated when new bugs are found (maybe even together with a workaround). Please consult this page before reporting a bug.
Read the FAQ and ALL OTHER DOCUMENTS that are available before claiming something is a bug.
Older versions, such as 3.2, 3.3.3.*, etc. are no longer supported, once XFree86-3.3.6 is available. I won't react to bug reports that refer to old code (unless you find out that XYZZY worked with an old version of XFree86, and now no longer does).
See the FAQ about the information needed to report a problem.
Commercial users: there is no warranty, nor do you have any title on getting an immediate fix. Read the file COPYRIGHT for details.
If you would like to write an article in a newspaper or magazine about this system, please feel free to do this (but understand: you get what you have paid for - it is usually considered as bad style to bash on software which you get for free).

Reply to: Holger.Veit@gmd.de

This file contains latest information that did not make it into the documentation by the time the version 3.3.5 was finalized.

XFree86-3.3.5 is a bugfix release over 3.3.3.1, and does not contain new features. To update, you usually only need a new server binary. The documentation still frequently refers to the version 3.3.3 or 3.3.4. If so, it also applies to 3.3.5.
You might wonder what happened to 3.3.4 under OS/2. This version was never released. Simply skip from the last version 3.3.3.1 to 3.3.5.
Read the X11OS2FAQ.HTML file which comes with this distribution. This file is HTML code and is best read with a Web reader, e.g. explore or netscape. It is located in the \XFree86\lib\X11\doc directory.
An all-time-problem as it seems, is probably the behaviour of Matrox BIOS vs. PCI card detection. If you have a Matrox card (Millenium, Mystique, G100, G200, G400) and find your screen in an odd 320x200 mode, and the server output claiming to have detected a "Generic VGA" card with 64K, then manually add the option
```
        PCIProbe2
  
```
to the "ServerFlags" section of your XF86Config file.
Xprt, Xnest, and Xvfb are still broken in this version, and are not in the distribution (Xprt.zip, Xnest.zip, Xvfb.zip) even if some other docs claim the converse. These three programs are not too interesting anyway, IMHO.
XFree86-3.3.5 has been tested with Warp4/noFP, Warp4/FP7, Warp4/FP9 and I am optimistic, from past experiences, that some other FPs also work. In general, XFree86 is rather independent from FP fixes, so if you have problems they are most likely not to be influenced by up- or downgrading the FP level. Exception video drivers: some corruption problems switching between XFree86 and PM result from defective or bad written PM drivers, and either upgrading to a new version, as well as in some cases returning to an older version may changes something.
XF86SUP.SYS has has been updated to behave correctly with Aurora beta, but there is still a problem with Aurora and XFree86, causing crashes. It is *not* recommended to use XFree86 with Aurora. Use it with Warp 3 or 4 (with or without fixpacks).
It has been reported that SHM.DLL is still broken. No surprise. It has also been reported that the use of a "small" server (S*.zip) will cure problems where the server crashes when programs using XShm run. Gimp is one of these candidates. Use GIMP without SHM (--no-xshm option (sp?)).
Reporting bugs: There is the official XFree86/OS2 bugs page which is updated when new bugs are found (maybe even together wit a workaround). Please consult this page before reporting a bug
Read the FAQ and ALL OTHER DOCUMENTS that are available before claiming something is a bug.
Older versions, such as 3.2, 3.3.3.*, etc. are no longer supported, once XFree86-3.3.5 is available. I won't react to bug reports that refer to old code (unless you find out that XYZZY worked with an old version of XFree86, and now no longer does).
See the FAQ about the information needed to report a problem.
Commercial users: there is no warranty, nor do you have any title on getting an immediate fix. Read the file COPYRIGHT for details.
If you would like to write an article in a newspaper or magazine about this system, please feel free to do this (but understand: you get what you have paid for - it is usually considered as bad style to bash on software which you get for free).