________________________________________________
Hard Disk LED v1.1 README FILE
Copyright 1996. Pragmatica Software Limited
All rights reserved.
________________________________________________

Thank you for trying Hard Disk LED. This file includes 
information on Hard Disk LED features and how to contact 
Pragmatica Software Limited.

Introducing Hard Disk LED
The main purpose of this program is to simulate a hard disk 
light that flashes every time there's a disk activity. The 
Hard Disk LED appears on the Windows 95 task bar and flashes 
every time the system accesses physical, direct access 
devices (i.e. your hard drives, CD-ROMs and floppy drives).

I created HDLED as a proof of concept for another project 
mainly to see how I can handle asynchronous communication 
between a VXD and a Win32 application. Then I realized that 
it may be quite useful. Now you can see if your PC is still 
rolling even if there's no activity on the screen and you're 
about to hit the Ctrl-Alt-Del key.

I run it for some time on different machines and didn't see 
any problems or performance decrease. If you find any bugs 
or have any ideas how to improve let me know.

KEY FEATURES
------------
Flexible
	* Supports all types of hard drives, CD-ROMs and 
	  floppy drives.
	* HD interface independent.

Customizable
	* Stop, resume, change color options.

High performance
	* VXD based.

NEW IN V1.1
-----------
Fixed bug causing GPF when changing colors.
Added support for CD-ROM and floppy drives.
Read and write lights.
Improved performance and accuracy.

REQUIREMENTS
------------
Windows 95

SETUP
-----
Unzip the distribution file in a temporary directory, run 
Setup, reboot the system and enjoy it.

The product is composed of 3 files:
HDLED.VXD	VXD that monitors hard disk accesses.
HDLED.EXE	Win32 application that displays the monitor 		
		light on the Windows 95 task bar.
README.TXT	this file.

Setup will copy HDLED.VXD to c:\windows\system\iosubsys\ and 
HDLED.EXE to c:\Program Files\Pragmatica\Hard Disk LED\. It 
will also create a shortcut in StartUp folder. If you 
experience any problems, terminate the HDLED.EXE program (see 
below) and remove HDLED.VXD from c:\windows\system\iosubsys\ 
or run Control Panel, select Add/Remove Programs and remove 
Hard Disk LED.

HDLED.EXE uses the shared version of Microsoft Foundation Class 
library. Files mfc42.dll and msvcrt.dll must be present on your system.
Setup will install these files, but if you install HDLED manually, make 
sure that these files are present on your system. You can also find 
these files on CompuServe, Microsoft and most of the web sites 
distributing shareware.

HOW TO USE IT
-------------
Once the setup is finished and you rebooted your computer 
the HDLED.VXD and HDLED.EXE will be automatically loaded. 
Press the left mouse button on the task bar Hard Disk LED 
icon to activate a popup menu. The menu contains following 
options:

About		Display about dialog box
Register	Display registration dialog box. Use this dialog 
		to enter your registration number
Turn off	Turn the Hard Disk LED off
Priority	Change Hard Disk LED priority. Use it to adjust the 
		HDLED accuracy
Set color	Change the light color of read and write LEDs
Exit		Terminate the Hard Disk LED

LIABILITY
---------
None whatsoever but I recommend that you practice safe 
computing.

REGISTRATION
------------
This program and its accompanying files are classified as 
shareware. They may be used on a single computer for a 
period of up to 30 days for evaluation, after which time 
they must be removed from the system or registered.

If you like the program and wish to register your copy, send 
cash, money order or a check for $5.00US (payable to Bohdan 
Raciborski) to the address below. If possible, mention your 
e-mail address.

You can also register it on-line on CompuServe:
GO SWREG, Registration ID: 11072.

Note: If you use an unregistered copy, the program will turn 
itself off after 30 minutes. 

SUPPORT
-------
Limited, only via e-mail.

HOW TO CONTACT PRAGMATICA
-------------------------
Bohdan Raciborski
Pragmatica Software Limited
5567 Oakwood Ave.
Montreal, Quebec, H4W 2A8
Canada

CompuServe:	70412,1536 (bohdan@compuserve.com)
Internet:	bohdan@alex.qc.ca
http:		//ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/bohdan/hdled.htm

