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TSP FAQ (Frequently
Asked Questions)
Last revised: 18 May 2011
Here are some of the most common tech support questions we get from TSP users. You may also want to check our recent changes to TSP page.
General
- Does TSP run under Windows 98, 2000, ME, XP, Vista, 7, etc.? ANSWER
- Does TSP run under beta versions of Windows NT 5.0? ANSWER
- What is the relationship between TSP & QMS EViews? ANSWER
- Can I install TSP on a network server? ANSWER
- What's a good way for a beginner to learn econometrics using TSP? ANSWER
- Does TSP run on Linux? ANSWER
- What is the ECCN (Export Control Compliance Number) for TSP and TSP/Oxmetrics? ANSWER
Problems Getting Started
- I'm getting the message "OS/386: Requires 80386 processor." But I have a Pentium (or 486), etc. Will TSP run on my PC? (386 TSP 4.2) ANSWER
- There are a bunch of little programs (PATCH.EXE, TELLME.EXE, etc.) in my TSP folder. What do they do? ANSWER
Opening & Saving Files
- I'm using Windows 95/Windows 98/Windows NT and I'm having trouble distinguishing my input and batch files. They both have the same name and I can't see the .TSP or .OUT extensions. ANSWER
- TSP can't find my data file that I made in Microsoft Excel (Quattro Pro, etc). Where is it? ANSWER
Using TSP
- TSP doesn't seem to access virtual memory under Windows 95; I seem to be limited to available RAM. How do I get TSP to use virtual memory? ANSWER
- How do I obtain more regression diagnostics? ANSWER
- How do I obtain fewer regression diagnostics, for example, only the ones computed by earlier version of TSP ANSWER
- How can I use my own function in a TSP batch file? ANSWER
- I have tried to write the log likelihood for a GARCH(1,1) model in a FRML, for use with the ML command, but I'm not sure how to specify the lagged h(t) variable. How can I do this? ANSWER
- How do I use arrow key editing in the DOS/Windows version of TSP? ANSWER
- The Log L (log likelihood) in my FIML printout is positive, but I thought that probabilities were between zero and one, so that their logs were negative? ANSWER
- How do I find out the most up-to-date information about changes to TSP? ANSWER
Output & Display
- Why does a number like 1234.5678 become 1234.56775 in the printout? ANSWER
- My ID variables are 9 digit numbers (like 192837465) and TSP sometimes thinks two different IDs are the same. ANSWER
- I tried to make a graphics plot, but my screen just goes blank (TSP 4.3 or 4.4 only). ANSWER
- When I attempt to print a graph for the second time, my computer hangs or makes a 1"x2" graph. Why? (In DOS/Win TSP 4.3, 386 TSP 4.2B, or DPMI-GR TSP 4.2B only) ANSWER
- Whenever I have more than one screen plot in my batch file, my computer crashes. Why? (Windows NT 4.0 only) ANSWER
Printing
- When I try to generate a high-quality plot, TSP gives me an error message saying "Hardcopy graphics driver file not found in \TSP44 or current directory" What file is this and where I can get it? ANSWER
Error Messages
- What does ARCH mean by "one or more coefficients could not be estimated due to the singularity of the data"? (TSP 4.3) ANSWER
- I get the message, "LI-03 Wrong number of arguments..." What does it mean? ANSWER
Mac OS
- What are TSP's future plans for Mac OS development? ANSWER
- I have a Mac that runs on the 68LC040 chip. Can I run TSP? ANSWER
Unix
- What are TSP's future plans for Unix development? ANSWER
Last
- My question still isn't answered. What should I do? ANSWER
Answers to FAQs
General
Here is a compatibility table for TSP and various versions of Windows.
|
TSP version |
3.x |
95,98,NT (prior to 4/2004 Windows Update) |
2000,ME (prior to 4/2004 Windows Update) |
XP, updated NT, updated 2000 |
32 bit Vista/ 7(Seven) |
64 bit Vista/ 7(Seven) |
|
TSP 5.1 /Oxmetrics |
no |
? |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
|
TSP 5.0 /GiveWin (GiveWin 1.30,2.xx) |
no |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
|
|
TSP 4.5 /GiveWin (GiveWin 1.24) |
no |
yes |
no |
no |
yes |
|
|
TSP 4.5, 5.0 Win32 |
no |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
|
|
DOS/Win (TSP 4.5,4.4,4.3) |
yes |
yes |
yes |
no |
no |
no |
Newer versions of TSP run on XP, and the older ones apparently do not. For details on how to run the different versions, see the Appendices of the TSP User's Guide. One of the reasons we provided several different versions of TSP on the CD was to provide alternatives if "future" Windows upgrades like XP had compatibility problems like this.
The installers for TSP 5.0 and earlier do not function on 64 bit Windows systems, but there is a work-around available here.
These versions run on XP or
- TSP/Oxmetrics
- TSP/GiveWin (GiveWin 1.30 or higher)
- Win32 TSP (TSPW.EXE)
This version does not run on XP or
Win32 TSP and TSP/GiveWin should run fine.
In short, TSP & QMS EViews are separate programs made by separate companies that shared a common ancestor long ago. Look at our web page comparing TSP & EViews for more information.
Yes, you can run TSP over a Windows network. Please note that you must purchase or upgrade to a TSP site license in order to install TSP on a network server for shared use.
We recommend using our TSP supplement to Pindyck & Rubinfeld's authoritative textbook, Econometric Models and Economic Forecasts.
Yes, TSP does run on Linux. Right now it has been successfully run on the Intel Linux Debian 2.x (11/02/98) (aka Red Hat 5.x, clib6/glibc). Also still available for Intel Linux Debian 1.x (aka Red Hat 4.x, clib5). See our unix availability page.
There is none. TSP falls into the
exceptions (mass-market software sold by mail/internet/telephone order) for
which no ECCN is needed by the US Government.
Problems Getting
Started
- I'm getting the message "OS/386: Requires 80386 processor." But I have a Pentium (or 486), etc. Will TSP run on my PC? (386 TSP 4.2)
The EMM memory manager's NOEMS switch is not compatible with
4.2a and some 4.2b versions of TSP ("386 TSP"). To run TSP, delete
the word NOEMS from your config.sys file and reboot, or upgrade to version 4.3.
You can fix this problem another way if you can run plain DOS on your machine.
The above message occurs with 386 TSP (4.2 or earlier), and you are trying to
run it directly from Windows (or from the DOS Prompt icon in Windows). 386 TSP
uses an old "DOS Extender" standard which was invented before Windows
3.x existed, and is not compatible with Windows. You can run 386 TSP on your
PC, if you can exit completely from Windows to the plain DOS prompt. Or, you
can upgrade to DOS/Win TSP 4.3, which uses the Windows-compatible
"DPMI" standard for DOS Extenders.
- There are a bunch of little programs (PATCH.EXE, TELLME.EXE, etc.) in my TSP folder. What do they do?
These programs are utilities that can help you debug and
configure TSP.
PATCH.EXE: This program will set your printer defaults. These defaults can also
be set within the program. See graphics.doc for more information.
TELLME.EXE: This program measures the available memory on your computer. Use
TELLME | MORE to page its output. Use this program if you get the following
message when trying to start the program:
Phar Lap err 10118: Can't load EXP file: C:\TSP43\TSP.EXE
Memory error: insufficient physical memory available . . .
CFIG386.EXE: This program allows you to reconfigure the way TSP uses virtual
memory. It is unlikely that you will need to use it. For more information see
cfig386.doc.
- I'm using Windows 95/Windows 98/Windows NT and I'm having trouble distinguishing my input and batch files. They both have the same name and I can't see the .TSP or .OUT extensions.
One thing that will make your life easier using Windows 95/98/NT, and not just in running TSP, is to change the system settings so file types are always shown, as in DOS and Windows 3.1. You can do this by selecting Options... from the View menu of any open folder. Select the "View" tab of the Options dialog box and uncheck the "Hide MS-DOS file extensions for programs that are registered" option. If you do not make the file types visible, you will not be able to distinguish between the .TSP and .OUT files from most of the directory window views.
Actually, TSP can read files from the hard drive just fine, but
the problem is that you have to give TSP the *exact* location of the file.
Since a hard drive has many nested directories, this can sometimes be
difficult.
Unfortunately, Windows 95 hides the directory (folder) names to a certain
extent, which makes finding the exact location difficult. Even the Find command
from the Start menu will not give the full directory names if they are more
than about 15 characters in length. So sometimes it is necessary to use the
"My Computer" icon to search through folders, or to run the MS-DOS
Prompt.
To give TSP the full pathname, you should use a command like:
READ(FILE='\EXCEL\DATA\BOOTER.XLS'); . Finally, if you have a filename with
more than 8 characters (not including the file extension), such as
ARGENTINA85.XLS you will need to reduce the name to adhere to the DOS 8.3 rule
(8 characters for the file name plus three characters for the file extension),
because TSP can not currently read longer file names. This also applies to each
directory name, although the total pathname can be up to 128 characters in
length.
Using TSP
- TSP doesn't seem to access virtual memory under Windows 95; I seem to be limited to available RAM. How do I get TSP to use virtual memory?
Follow the directions in Configuring TSP under Windows 95/98/NT to access the Properties dialog for the TSP executable. Select the Memory tab. Change DPMI Memory from Auto to 65,535 (or possibly to -1 to obtain all available memory, although this may be a bit too greedy for everyday use).
Use the REGOPT command before the first OLSQ command where you want the extra diagnostics. Every later OLSQ command will compute the additional diagnostics, until the desired set is modified with another REGOPT command.
- How do I obtain fewer regression diagnostics, for example just the ones computed by TSP 4.3? (TSP 4.4 and higher)
Use the REGOPT command, with NOCALC or NOPVPRIN options,
before the first OLSQ where you want the diagnostics reduced. To reproduce the
TSP 4.3 output, use:
REGOPT (NOPVPR) DW FST T;
REGOPT (NOCALC) LMHET RESET JB;
You can do this with the INPUT command, for example, INPUT 'myfunction.tsp'; INPUT commands can be nested. What TSP 4.4 does not have is a "passive" include feature, in which you can call a procedure that has not been input yet. This feature is supported in TSP 4.5 and later versions, in batch mode.
- I have tried to write the log likelihood for a GARCH(1,1) model in a FRML, for use with the ML command, but I'm not sure how to specify the lagged h(t) variable. How can I do this?
GARCH(1,1) can't be done with the regular ML in a FRML, due to the recursive nature of the h(t) equation. You'll need to use the PROC interface to ML (see the ML PROC examples in the TSP examples library).
TSP offers simple line editing, when running interactively. Arrow keys are used to recall and/or edit lines that you've previously typed. This can be used to correct typographical errors, add/drop variables, or to execute a series of commands repeatedly (although the EXEC command might be simpler for this). It is functionally very similar to DOS command line editors like DOSKEY or CED. The following keys are used:
|
Arrow key up |
recall previous line(s) |
|
Arrow key down |
recall later line(s) |
|
Arrow key left |
move (cursor) left in current line |
|
Arrow key right |
move (cursor) right in current line |
|
Ins |
toggle typeover/insert mode (default: typeover for each line) |
|
|
delete character at cursor |
|
Backspace |
delete character to left of cursor |
|
Esc |
clear current line |
Any line which is typed on the keyboard, as well as
edited versions of previous lines, are stored. Up to 500 lines (or 15000 bytes
-- an average of 30 bytes per line) of text are held in a buffer for retrieval
and editing. If the buffer gets full, the first 50 lines are dropped, so that
the next 50 lines may be stored. The and keys remember the current line number,
and they work in a circular fashion. At most 80 characters in a single line may
be typed (you're not allowed to go past the right side of the screen), so the \
to continue long lines may still be useful. Note that if you're editing a
multiline command like this, the different lines may no longer be stored
together, so this feature is not without its limitations. The old EDIT and
RETRY commands are clearly superseded by arrow key editing, but the REVIEW and
EXEC commands may still be useful.
For example, say you have just typed 5 lines. You press [up arrow] once, and
recall line 5. You make some changes to it, and the new version is stored as
line 6. You then type [up arrow] twice, and recall line 4. You press Enter to
execute it, without making any changes. You press [up arrow] once and recall
line 3. You press [up arrow] twice and recall line 1. You press [up arrow] one
more time and recall line 6. You decide none of these lines is close to what
you want to do, so you press Esc to clear the line, and type a new one, which
is stored as line 7.
- The Log L (log likelihood) in my FIML printout is positive, but I thought that probabilities were between zero and one, so that their logs were negative?
It's true that probabilities are between zero and one, but the FIML likelihood function is a density (as opposed to, say, a cdf like in PROBIT). A density can take on any positive value, so its log can be positive (or negative, or zero). For example, the uniform density on the interval [0,.5] has the value 2 at all points. The normal density for a zero residual, with mean=0 and variance=(1/(25*2*pi)), is 5. So a normal density will be largest when the variance and residual are fairly small, i.e. the peak of the "bell curve" can be quite tall when it is narrowed by a small variance. Finally, the FIML likelihood function (in particular) includes the determinant of the Jacobian, which can also be larger than 1.
Look at our Recent changes to TSP page, which lists bugfixes and enhancements.
Output
& Display
By default, TSP uses single precision for storing series so only 6-7 digits in the printout have any meaning. If you would like to use double precision for storage of series, issue an OPTIONS DOUBLE; statement at the beginning of your TSP program.
- My ID variables are 9 digit numbers (like 192837465) and TSP sometimes thinks two different IDs are the same.
Use OPTIONS DOUBLE; when you have 7-15 significant digits in an ID variable. TSP 4.5 and later versions will automatically store an ID variable in double precision, if it has a large number of significant digits, and has been designated as an ID variable by a FREQ(PANEL) command.
TSP is trying to make a higher resolution plot than your monitor can handle. Create a LOGIN.TSP file in your TSP directory (usually something like C:\TSP50 unless you chose something different during installation) with the command: OPTIONS DISPLAY=VGA; .
- When I attempt to print a graph for the second time, my computer hangs or makes a 1 by 2 inch graph. Why? (In DOS/Win TSP 4.3, 386 TSP 4.2B, or DPMI-GR TSP 4.2B only)
This long-standing bug has finally been fixed! It was a bug in the Lahey hardcopy graphics driver, and it was fixed in September 1995.
- Whenever I have more than one screen plot in my batch file, my computer crashes. Why? (Windows NT 4.0 only)
This appears to happen due to an
incompatibility between the compiler we use for DOS/Win TSP and Windows NT 4.0.
To fix this problem, try the following:
In TSP, set options to display=vga; to set the monitor type conservatively.
Then run TSP in this manner:
1. First run the "Cmd" icon (MS-DOS), located on my PC in
\WINNT\system32\cmd.exe .
2. One of the important Properties of Cmd is that Display is "Full
Screen" (not Window).
3. CD \TSP44 or wherever your TSP
directory is
4. TSP PLOT
Printing
- When I try to generate a high-quality plot, TSP gives me an error message saying "Hardcopy graphics driver file not found in \TSP44 or current directory" What file is this and where I can get it?
Some early versions of TSP 4.4 shipped without the .bin files, which TSP needs to generate high quality plots. If your copy of TSP does not include these files, you can get them from TSP Tech Support.
Error
Messages
- What does ARCH mean by "one or more coefficients could not be estimated due to the singularity of the data"? (TSP 4.3 only)
It probably means a variance parameter tried to go to the boundary of the parameter space (i.e., 0 or 1), so that it was dropped from the estimation. This message was improved in TSP 4.4.
This is a bug in the WATCOM compiler used to make the old TSP 4.2B Windows and DPMI-N87 versions. You can run DPMI-N87 from DOS (not the Windows DOS prompt). If you have a math coprocessor (or FPU emulation software like Q387), you can run from Windows by upgrading to DOS/Win TSP 4.3 or higher.
Mac
OS
We will continue to offer TSP on the PowerPC Mac for the foreseeable future. The 68000 series (Mac II) binary will also still be available.
Unfortunately, no. Mac TSP requires a math coprocessor. The 68LC040 chip does not have one, and emulation does not work. If you're not sure whether your Mac has the 68LC040 chip, we have a list compiled from official Apple Computer sources.
Unix
However, we may make an X windows version of TSP for unix ("xtsp") at some point, which would do X graphics in the PLOT and GRAPH commands.
Last
Send email to TSP Tech Support. Please note that you must be a registered user of TSP in order to get tech support. Try to be able to answer the following questions:
· What version of TSP are you using? What is your serial number?
· What operating system are you using?
· If you are using a PC, who manufactured the machine you are using?
· If TSP crashed, at what point exactly did it crash and what did the error message say?
· Can you reproduce the crash(es) consistently, or do they seem to happen randomly?
If you have any
questions or comments about TSP please send an email to info@tspintl.com.
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