Testing Guidelines

Your system should *always* boot and run correctly with no PSD installed. If it does not, fix those problems first before testing a PSD.

Your system must have valid ACPI tables in order to use this software. This software is not supported on systems without ACPI tables, and this software is not supported on systems with bad ACPI tables.

You should be able to install the retail build initially. Use the included update.cmd command file to install the files in the correct places on your system.

The PSD= line in your config.sys should not have any switches. This is the normal configuration and should work for every system:

PSD=ACPI.PSD

This default, normal configuration attempts to start the system in Symmetric Mode, or APIC mode 2, or just Mode 2. You can always tell what mode the system is running in by using the AcpiStat utility included in the distribution package. In fact, the AcpiStat utility is the only way to determine what mode the system is running in. If this normal configuration doesn't work properly additional steps can be taken to restrict the PSD operation.

If you suspect IO interrupt configuration issues or PCI configuration issues, you can try using the /VW switch. When the /VW switch is used, the PSD does not alter the IO interrupt configuration and does not alter the PCI configuration from the way the BIOS has set it up. The APICs are enabled and multiple CPUs are enabled. This is known as Virtual Wire mode or APIC mode 1, or just Mode 1. ACPI and OEMHELP services are still available in Mode 1.

If you suspect multiple CPU issues such as reentrancy problems you can prevent the kernel from initializing CPUs by using the /MAXCPU=1 switch. This switch can be used with or without other switches.

You can disable almost all of the configuration that the PSD does by using the /PIC switch. When the /PIC switch is used, the PSD doesn't touch any of the interrupt configuration, it doesn't touch any of the PCI configuration, and it doesn't touch any of the APICs. As a result, only 1 CPU will be initialized. This system configuration remains in the state that BIOS has setup. The only reason you would want to run a system with the /PIC switch is for testing purposes. This is known as PIC mode, or Mode 0. ACPI and OEMHELP services are still available in Mode 0.

Your testing order should be:

1. PSD=ACPI.PSD
   If the system boots ok -> done.
   If the system won't boot, how far does it get?

a) If it stops when the desktop starts (Snap logo or blue screen), your problem is probably not with the PSD. Make sure you have the updated keyboard driver, doscall1.dll, etc. If you have a multi-core system you can also try the /MAXCPU=1 switch.

b) If it stops after the chkdsks run but before the desktop starts, probably one or more of the installed drivers is having trouble initializing. Check the USB drivers, mouse driver.

c) Otherwise, go to step 2

2. PSD=ACPI.PSD /VW
   If the system boots ok -> install debug version, collect logs, report problem
   If the system won't boot, how far does it get?

a) If it stops when the desktop starts (Snap logo or blue screen), your problem is probably not with the PSD. Make sure you have the updated keyboard driver, doscall1.dll, etc. If you have a multi-core system you can also try the /MAXCPU=1 switch.

b) If it stops after the chkdsks run but before the desktop starts, probably one or more of the installed drivers is having trouble initializing. Check the USB drivers, mouse driver.

c) Otherwise, go to step 3

3. rem PSD=ACPI.PSD
   if the system boots ok -> goto step 4
   if the system won't boot -> fix your system first before testing the PSD

4. PSD=ACPI.PSD /PIC
   if the system boots ok -> install debug version, collect logs, report problem
   if the system won't boot -> report problem

Reporting Problems and Submitting Tickets

Before you submit a ticket:

1. Download "testlog" from ​http://www.88watts.net/software.html
2. Install the debug version (from the "debug" directory) of ACPI.PSD and ACPI32.DLL. AcpiDaemon.exe and APM.ADD are optional.
3. Add the /DBGLVL=2 switch to the PSD= line in your CONFIG.SYS:
4. Use "testlog acpi" to produce a log. When prompted, type a short description of what the problem is.
5. Attach the ZIP file to your ticket.