File: README.TXT PEST Model-Independent Parameter Estimation Version 6.05 April 2003 Center for Exposure Assessment Modeling (CEAM) National Exposure Research Laboratory - Ecosystems Research Division Office of Research and Development (ORD) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) 960 College Station Road Athens, Georgia 30605-2700 706/355-8400 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONTENTS INTRODUCTION DOCUMENTATION INSTALLATION OPTIONAL UTILITIES SYSTEM CONFIGURATION CONTACT INFORMATION ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INTRODUCTION This document (README.TXT) contains important installation information and should be reviewed prior to installing the PEST software. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- DOCUMENTATION Documentation for the PEST system include this file (README.TXT), a summary of the software and its scope (ABSTRACT.TXT), and the PEST manual PEST_MAN.PDF in Adobe Acrobat format. An Adobe Acrobat Reader (http://www.epa.gov/nerl/acrobat.html) is required to view PDF documents. The most recent version of the Adobe Acrobat Reader is available as a free download. An Adobe Acrobat plug-in for assisted technologies (http://www.epa.gov/nerl/access.html) is also available. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INSTALLATION Properly configured, this software system can be executed under a Windows 95/98/NT/2000 operating system DOS console. The following procedure will install the PEST system from the self-extracting file INSTALPE.EXE downloaded from the Internet: From the desktop, double click the My Computer icon. Browse for, then double click on the file INSTALPE.EXE. Follow the instructions presented within the dialog boxes. It is recommended that you accept the default installation directory (C:\PEST). Refer to the user manual, PEST_MAN.PDF, for proper usage procedures prior to executing the PEST system. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- OPTIONAL UTILITIES To expedite the use of the PEST system, the following resources are available for download from CEAM at the following URL: http://www.epa.gov/ceampubl/pest.htm PEST Surface Water Utilities The PEST Surface Water Utilities are a suite of programs designed to assist in the use of PEST with surface water models. The principal member of the Surface Water Utility suite is TSPROC, which assists in the automation and processing of time series data. User documentation (SWUTILS.PDF) for the surface water utilities is included. Alternate Version of HSPF A modified version of Hydrological Simulation Program - FORTRAN (HSPF) software and supporting documentation (HSPF_ALT.PDF) is available. The alternate version of HSPF reads numbers contained in input files with greater precision, enhancing its use with PEST. PEST Workshop A document (WORKSHOP.PDF) titled "Calibrating a HSPF Model Using TSPROC and PEST" is available to help users gain experience in using the comprehensive model post-processing functionality available through TSPROC in calibrating a HSPF model. Lessons learned through carrying out this exercise will be applicable to calibration and predictive analysis of many types of environmental models. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- SYSTEM CONFIGURATION Some systems (particularly Windows 95/98/NT/2000) may require that you add the location of the directory where PEST was installed (default is C:\PEST) to your system's PATH environment variable. After installation, locate your system's AUTOEXEC.BAT (Windows 95 and 98) or AUTOEXEC.NT (Windows NT and 2000) and add "C:\PEST" or other appropriate path to the end of the PATH statement. AUTOEXEC files can be located using the Find function located on the File menu of Windows Explorer or My Computer. They can be viewed and edited using an ASCII text editor such as Notepad. After modifying these files, you will need to restart your computer before attempting to execute the PEST system. When running PEST with certain older models, a message may appear asking if you would like to run the model in MS-DOS mode. To prevent this, use your right mouse button to click on the bar at the top of the DOS window in which PEST is running. Choose "Properties..." from the pop-up menu. In the "Program/Advanced" section of the pop-up dialog box, uncheck the "Suggest MS- DOS mode as necessary" box. To prevent this from happening the next time you execute the model, use your right mouse button to click on the model icon in Windows Explorer. Alter the properties as described above. When running PEST with certain models, a message may appear informing you that the computer is about to enter MS-DOS mode and that you should close all other programs. To prevent this, click on the model icon in Windows Explorer as described above and uncheck the "MS-DOS" mode box. In rare instances problems occur running PEST in the Windows NT and Windows 2000 environments causing the command line window to disappear. Problems encountered include the following: * A command line window used by PEST closes in the middle of a model run. * PEST reports that it cannot find a model output file when the model output file is actually present. * In a composite model written as a batch file and containing a number of executables run in succession, one of the programs is not executed. In many cases these types of problems can be rectified by re-compiling the model source code using a modern compiler. Old compilers used DOS memory extenders (some of which had memory leakage problems) to gain access to all of a machine's memory while other compilers used no extender at all. Windows NT and 2000 do not work well with either of these. If the problem persists after recompiling the model, make sure that the latest service pack has been installed on your operating system. You can also try running the models using the command.com rather than the cmd.exe command interpreter (or vice versa). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONTACT INFORMATION For questions or information concerning installation or testing of the PEST system, contact the Center for Exposure Assessment Modeling (CEAM): phone: 706/355-8400 email: ceam@epamail.epa.gov fax: 706/355-8104 mail: Center for Exposure Assessment Modeling (CEAM) National Exposure Research Laboratory - Ecosystems Research Division U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) 960 College Station Road Athens, Georgia 30605-2700 CEAM software products and their status are available through the World Wide Web (WWW) at the following Uniform Resource Locator (URL): http://www.epa.gov/ceampubl/ -----------------------------------------------------------------------------