08/29/96 Installing and Using Pentium Counters (P5CTRS) for Windows NT Performance Monitor The Pentium counters are extensible counters for Windows NT Performance Monitor that let you monitor the inner workings of Pentium (P5) and Pentium Pro (P6) processors. You can use the Pperf application to monitor the Pentium counters, or install the counters in Performance Monitor so that you can include counter data in Performance Monitor charts, logs, reports, and alerts. This help file includes instructions for installing the Pentium Counters in Performance Monitor, and for using Pperf to activate the Pentium Counters so that they display valid data in Performance Monitor. Required files: Pperf.exe Pdump.exe Pstat.sys P5Ctrnam.h P5ctrs.dll P5ctrs.ini P5perf.reg Note: Some Pentium counters are designed only for P5 processors; others are only for P6 processors. The installation utility recognizes the processor on the computer and installs only the counters for that processor. There are three tasks required to install the Pentium counters: -- Install the Pstat.sys driver for the PPERF application. -- Copy files from this CD to Windows NT system directories. -- Install the Pentium counter names into Performance Monitor. Step 1: Install the Pstat.sys driver. 1. Logon as the administrator of the computer. 2. From the Command Prompt, change to the subdirectory where the P5CTRS files are installed. The default is \PerfTool\P5CTRS. 3. Type: regedit p5perf.reg Step 2: Copy PPerf files to system directories 1. Copy the driver files, Pstat.sys, to the %Systemroot%\system32\drivers subdirectory. 2. Copy P5ctrs.dll to the %Systemroot%\system32 subdirectory. Step 3: Install the Pentium counter names and explain text in Performance Monitor. 1. From the Command Prompt, change to the subdirectory where the P5CTRS files are installed. The default is \Perftool\P5CTRS. 2. Type: lodctr p5ctrs.ini 3. Shutdown, then restart the computer. TIP: To verify that the Pentium counters were installed correctly, start Control Panel and double-click the Devices icon. In the Devices dialog box, scroll down to the entry for PStat, the Pentium counters driver. Its status should be "Started." Activating the Pentium Counters The Pentium counters must be activated by selecting them in Pperf before they can display valid values in Performance Monitor. Some Pentium counters require that one Pperf counter be activated; others require two Pperf counters. To determine which Pperf counters to select to activate the Performance Monitor Pentium counters, see either of the following sources: In Performance Monitor, select Add to Chart from the Edit menu (or click the + button on the toolbar), select Pentium from the Object list, and select the counter from the Counters list. Click the Explain button. The required Pperf counters are listed in the explantory text displayed at the bottom of the dialog box. - or - Use Counters.hlp, a help file listing the names and descriptions of the standard Performance Monitor counters. Counters.hlp is included on the Windows NT Resource Kit CD in the Performance Tools group (\Ntreskit\PerfTool\CntrTools). Double-click Counters.hlp, double-click Performance Counters by Object, and then double-click Pentium Object. The Pperf counter(s) that activate each Pentium counter are included in the description of the counter. Pperf lets you select two Pperf counters at a time and set monitoring options for the counters. Some Pentium counters require two Pperf counters to activate them. However, if you are activating a Pentium counter that requires just one Pperf counter, you can set the second Pperf counter field so as to activate a different Pentium counter or set it to the same counter. Do not set different monitoring options for the same counter. To select counters in Pperf: 1. Start Pperf.exe. 2. Click Select on the menu bar. 3. From the Internal P5 Counter # 1 drop-down list, select a counter. 4. Click the check boxes beside the counter to set the options for the counter. (It is recommended that you check both R0 and R3). R0 - (Ring 0) - Click this box to enable the counter to monitor kernel-mode (also known as privileged-mode) actity. The core operating system components run in this processing mode. R1 - (Ring 3) - Click this box to enable the counter to monitor user-mode activity. Applications, environment subsystems, and integral subsystems run in this processing mode. K - (Kilo) - Click this box to direct Pperf to display the counter data in units of 1K (1024). This setting does not affect Performance Monitor. 5. From the Internal P5 Counter # 2 drop-list, select a counter. 6. Click the check boxes beside the counter to set the options for the counter. (It is recommended that you check both R0 and R3.) The options are described under step 4 (above). 7. Click Ok. You can monitor the counters from PPerf or use Performance Monitor to chart, log, report on or set alerts on a counter. To use Performance Monitor to monitor the Pentium counters, 1. Start Performance Monitor (it's in the Administrative Tools (Common) program group). 2. Click the + button, or select Add to Chart from the Edit menu. 3. From the Object drop-down list, select Pentium. 4. From the Counter drop-down list, select the counters activated by the Pperf counter you selected, and click the Add button. If you choose a counter in Performance Monitor that you didn't first select by using PPerf, the value of the counters will always be 0.