HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: dale@cec1.wustl.edu (Dale Frye)
Subject: Re: Does AUTOCAD kill harddrives???     
Organization: Washington University, St. Louis Mo.
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1992 15:11:40 GMT

In article <22.29e31946@wrglex> l_seibert@wrglex writes:
>We use a 386 PC for an electrical application, which is based on AutoCAD V11.
>After about one and a half year of use we have a lot of trouble with our
>harddisk. Our vendor claims that this is a known poblem with AutoCAD that the
>disks are heavily a accessed and fail after one or two year. He is willing to
>sell a new one, but we have to expect that it will break within the next 24
>month. So I have the following questions.
>
>1 Has anyone made the same experience, that AutoCAD _kills_ the harddisk?
>
>2 If so, has anybody a suggestion, how to extend the lifetime of the disk?
>
>3 I saw that some manufactors sell harddrives with a 5-year-warrenty. Will the
>  use of AutoCAD be cover by the warrenty?
>
>4 Or is everything mentioned above only a stupid excuse for the bad quality of
>  the harddisk?

The answer is #4. Or perhaps the bad quality of the vendor. (How many 
ex-used-car salesmen went into computer sales?) I have a student lab that
runs AutoCad (24 hours a day!) and I have not had a single hard disk failure.
(Floppies are another story. Students are hard on floppies!)

Dale Frye
Washington University in St. Louis
From: bent@lccinc.UUCP (Ben Taylor)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Replacement parts for Compaq Plus lugable
Keywords: portable, lugable, motherboards, power supplies
Date: 8 Apr 92 20:10:49 GMT
Organization: LCC Inc., Arlington VA

I am looking for some replacement parts for a Compaq Plus (the old
beige one).  Specifically I would like to get a better power supply
of about 200 watts or so.  Also, I am looking for a 286/386sx/386dx
motherboard replacement for the Compaq plus.  Preferably drop in, so
I don't have to rewire the keyboard connector, otherwise, I will just
rewire the keyboard connector.  Last, but not real important is 
a color tube replacement.  I've seen them out there, but not sure
how much one would cost.  E-mailed replys would be appreciated.

Thanks.
Ben Taylor
uunet!lccinc!bent
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: Iskandar Taib <ntaib@silver.ucs.indiana.edu>
Subject: Re: 386 the same as 286????
Organization: Indiana University
Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1992 14:10:19 -0500

In article <1992Apr10.212852.8109@doug.cae.wisc.edu> terryh@cae.wisc.edu (Terry Henning) writes:
>Hi,

>Just a simple question:  I have an Acros model 525; i.e. a 386/25 made by
>Acer.  Anyway, when I do a Norton SI it says that the computer type is
>an IBM XT/286????  It identifies the CPU as a 386.  Anyone have any
>idea why it says this?

>Oh, one more thing.  I've "heard" on the net that os/2 has some problems
>with certain computers made by Acer, probably because of the proprietary
>BIOS.  Has anyone who has an Acer (or better yet an Acros Model 525) computer
>have any experience running os/2 on them?

Well, for a time IBM really did sell a box called the XT/286. I 
can guess that there might have been differences between these
and the real AT's (I do remember hearing that AT cards were too 
tall to fit in the case! Oops..).. they did have a 16 bit bus, 
but there might have been differences in terms of interrupts, 
BIOS and CMOS setup RAM. They also stuck an XT-speed 80 ms hard
drive in the thing. Yuck! Maybe your computer has a BIOS like 
a XT/286?




-- 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Iskandar Taib                          | The only thing worse than Peach ala
Internet: NTAIB@SILVER.UCS.INDIANA.EDU |    Frog is Frog ala Peach
Bitnet:   NTAIB@IUBACS                 !
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: jfw@technix.mn.org (Jerry Wallace)
Subject: Re: SIPP ---> SIMM
Organization: Technix Inc., St. Paul, MN, USA
Date: Wed, 08 Apr 1992 22:48:50 GMT

Stan Heitmueller writes:
>Mike 'Vogon' Margolis writes:
>
>>Does anyone know of a way to convert a SIPP to a SIMM? I've just purchased a ne
>
>>motherboard and I have some old SIPPs lying around. The best option would be if
>>some manufacturer sold an adapter that the SIPPs could plug into on end, and
>>have the printed circuit edge conector on the other end. Thanks for any help.
>
>I have looked carefully at SIPPS, and I think it's possible. I haven't got
>the nerve to do it yet. If you find out something let me know too.
>Thanx..
>---
> * SLMR 2.0 * -------------------Ace@Saviour.UUCP-----------------
>                                                                                                                              
Simply desolder the SIPP pins from the module and you have a SIMM.  I know
it works because the machine I'm using now has a 4 256x9 SIMMs that used
to be SIPPs.  No problems with fit or function.

-- 
Jerry Wallace                    jfw@technix.mn.org
Technix, Inc.
From: edm@hpfcmdd.fc.hp.com (Ed Moore)
Date: Wed, 8 Apr 1992 15:48:02 GMT
Subject: Re: MKS tools would the latest version stand up!!!!
Organization: HP Mechanical Design Division
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware

I have MKS 3.2, so I know it exists.  It was acquired as a corporate,
multi-copy purchase.
From: feg@cbnewsb.cb.att.com (forrest.e.gehrke)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: Does AUTOCAD kill harddrives???
Date: 10 Apr 92 14:07:10 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: AT&T

In article <2365@ispi.COM> jbayer@ispi.COM (Jonathan Bayer) writes:
>l_seibert@wrglex writes:
>
>>We use a 386 PC for an electrical application, which is based on AutoCAD V11.
>>After about one and a half year of use we have a lot of trouble with our
>>harddisk. Our vendor claims that this is a known poblem with AutoCAD that the
>>disks are heavily a accessed and fail after one or two year. He is willing to
>>sell a new one, but we have to expect that it will break within the next 24
>>month. So I have the following questions.
>
>>2 If so, has anybody a suggestion, how to extend the lifetime of the disk?
>
>>3 I saw that some manufactors sell harddrives with a 5-year-warrenty. Will the
>>  use of AutoCAD be cover by the warrenty?
>
>>4 Or is everything mentioned above only a stupid excuse for the bad quality of
>>  the harddisk?
>
>
>Your vendor is making excuses.  Would he/she make the same claim regarding
>database applications?  How about running netnews?  What about file
>servers?  Etc, etc, etc.
>
The original poster did not state the type of failure.  However, 
he mentions that AUTOCAD is disk intensive and I would expect that
autocad would be that kind of an application.

If the failure was related to this, I would call that more stress 
in a year and a half than is normally seen  by the average HD.
His vendor may not be making excuses.

If rapid and many disk accesses are the cause of this problem, the
cure would be a software disk cache program which provides for
delayed writes.  My recommendation would be HYDK431, one of the 
best of its class for this application.  This program would drop 
disk accesses from thousands to dozens in many disk intensive 
applications.  In particular it would reduce the "machine-gun"
accesses that take place with great rapidity in some applications
which really reduce HD life.

Forrest Gehrke feg\@dodger.att.com
From: newberry@astro.as.arizona.edu (Mike Newberry)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: Video Upgrade
Date: 15 Apr 92 20:27:26 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ


	[deleted]

>Screw the Boca, and get the Diamond Stealth.  At $280 (street, with 1Meg), it  
>beats the pants off my ATI Ultra--in fact, I dare say that, overall, the  
>Diamond Stealth is the fastest SuperVGA card around (faster even than TIGA)!   
                                                     ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>I've seen benchmarks (in the aforementioned magazines--recent issues) to back

I'd be careful about that blanket statement.  faster maybe when the TIGA is
being coerced into VGA emulation by, for example, Windows 3.0 drivers.
Xref: sparky comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware:13926 comp.sys.amiga.hardware:8957
From: jad@expert.cc.purdue.edu (John Dormer)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware,comp.sys.amiga.hardware
Subject: Still looking for RS422 boards
Summary: still looking
Keywords: RS422, 8 bit
Date: 16 Apr 92 23:30:56 GMT
Article-I.D.: mentor.45825
Followup-To: "Looking for RS422 boards for Amiga and IBM"
Organization: outstanding.
Originator: jad@expert.cc.purdue.edu


  A few days ago, I posted requesting info on the availability of RS422 boards
for the IBM 8-bit and Amiga computers. I requested email responses, which I 
guess was the mistake I made, as I received none whatsoever. If any of you have
info, I'd be really happy if you told me what you know.

:	John Dormer
:	Purdue Daemons
:	jad@expert.cc.purdue.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: libove@libove.det.dec.com (Jay Vassos-Libove)
Subject: Kouwei-524 board info needed
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation, Detroit Ultrix Resource Center
Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1992 19:36:32 GMT

I have a Kouwei or Kouwell 524 serial/parallel/(game?) port
board. I managed to lose the manual however, and do not know
how to reconfigure the board now since the jumpers are not
labelled particularly.

Please, if you have this board or can get me in touch with
the manufacturer, contact me!

Thanks
--

Jay Vassos-Libove                  libove@det.dec.com
Digital Equipment Corporation      decwrl!det.dec.com!libove
Open Systems Resource Center       Opinions? They're mine, mine, all mine!
Farmington Hills, Michigan         and D.E.C. Can't have 'em!
From: bdm1@Ra.MsState.Edu (Billy D. McNair)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: What is this stuff??? (ie. got some junk, don't know what it is)
Date: 14 Apr 92 19:47:00 GMT
Organization: Mississippi State University

Hi.  I recently obtained 3 parts and I am not sure what they are.  Below is
a description of each.  I think they may all be either line conditioners (?)
or Uninterruptable Power Supplies (?).  I have opened the cases on all 3
and each one contains a HUGH transformer and five or six Batteries (?)...
maybe NICAD...

Anyway, here is the info available on each.   Thanks for any help....

	(1)	POWER BACKER (tm)
		RBS = AC
		Reserve Power System
		Control Technology, Inc.
		Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

		600 VA Max Continuous Load      3 AC supported Outlets
		Output Waveform   HLR		120 VAC 60 HZ  675 W MAX


	(2)	TOPAZ Line 2 Power Conditioner
		Maximum Output Current	16.7A
		part no.  70306
		input:  90 - 135.6 VAC 60HZ  17.7A
		output: 120 VAC  +6%, -8%  60HZ  16 - 17A


	(3)	SOLA - A unit of General Signal
		has 2 ouput plugs @ 120V 8.34A Max
		input:  120V  60HZ
		Constant Voltage Transformer
		Harmonic Neutralized Type CVS
		Cat. No. 63-13-210
		Input V  95 - 130
		Input A  11.8
		Output V 120
		Freq   60 Hz
		VA	1000

Again, thanks for the help.

Dewayne McNair
bdm1@ra.msstate.edu
From: rhenrie@emdeng.DaytonOH.NCR.COM (Roland.Henrie)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: AT Attatchment (ATA) Interface purposal (IDE standard). Where is it?
Date: 9 Apr 92 21:18:05 GMT
Reply-To: rhenrie@emdeng.UUCP (Roland.Henrie)
Organization: NCR, E&M Dayton

Please help me get a copy of the purposal for the IDE standard.  I have
tried to get it through ANSI but they can't find what I am talking about.
It is the AT Attatchment Interface standard for IDE interfaces.  I do not
have access to FTP and the news service is not reliable, so please send
any information you can give me through E-Mail.

Thanks for helping,
Roland.
-- 
rhenrie@emdeng.DaytonOH.NCR.COM     ||   
NCR of AT&T - E&M Dayton            ||     
Xref: sparky comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware:13476 comp.dcom.modems:6453 comp.sys.mac.system:6952
From: aaron@spectrx.saigon.com (Aaron Anderer)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware,comp.dcom.modems,comp.sys.mac.system,comp.sys.mac.com
Subject: Re: Zoom 14,400 Modem/fax
Keywords: 12,000bps
Date: 9 Apr 92 04:47:00 GMT
Organization: SPECTROX SYSTEMS (408)252-1005 Silicon Valley, Ca

naddy@rhrk.uni-kl.de (Christian Weisgerber) writes:

> mikeh@microme.uucp (Michael L. Hasenfratz) writes:
> 
> >Zoom V.32 Turbo:	12Kbps max, no fax, been on the market for
> >			quite some time (6-9 months).
> 
> Is this modem based on Rockwell's RC9696/12 data pump?
> I can't imagine that anybody else also implemented this strange feature.


actually I think Ven-Tel made a modem based on that chipset that did the
same v.32bis fallback

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aaron Anderer, System Operator                aaron@spectrx.saigon.com
SPECTROX SYSTEMS +1 408 252 1005              szebra!spectrx!aaron          
                    Jerry Brown - Jesse Jackson '92
From: lon@edsi.plexus.COM (Lon Ponschock)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: V-Com Computer Co. Who has had any Experience With them?
Summary: Seeking information on V-Com Computer company
Keywords: v-comm
Date: 6 Apr 92 18:20:42 GMT
Article-I.D.: edsi.1992Apr06.182042.11624
Organization: Enterprise Data Systems Incorporated, Appleton WI


	A company called V-Com is currently advertisng in PC Magazine
(April 14, 1992 issue.)  Their product line looks very attractive
per price and features.

Please forward any experience you have had with this company and I 
will post a summary to the net based on information received.

Thanks in advance.

lon
-- 
lon@edsi.plexus.com
'Pugs don't even qualify as dogs in the run and fetch sense... Unless
all you require of a pet is to sleep, eat, slobber and wheeze.'
                                  -- National Public Radio   04/03/92
From: layes@ug.cs.dal.ca (Jonathan Layes)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: Bashing (was Re: Gateway 2000 - $195 v.32bis modems?????)
Keywords: Okay, enough already
Date: 7 Apr 92 16:23:20 GMT
Organization: Math, Stats & CS, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada

In article <7m2t!sb@rpi.edu> ncc1701@acm.rpi.edu writes:
>A couple of people (actually, several people) have complained about
>Gateway's "lousy service" and "untruthfulness."  I noticed that most of these
>people haven't gotten out into the real world yet (i.e. are still in
>college or somesuch).
>
>I hate to tell you guys this, but welcome to the real world.  You'll 
>find that a HECK of a lot of stuff works just like this--people
>try to do their best, tell you what they know, and it turns out
>to be wrong.  It'll even happen to YOU, and somebody's gonna flame your
>ass off for it.  They'll claim you were lying, that you knew the
>real situation, and you should be sued etc etc etc...Well, 
>hopefully it won't be that bad.

Sorry, I'm not in the real world, so I guess you'll have to take this
for what its worth.  In my home town, I knew four people who ordered
from Gateway.  And in my home town, I knew four people who had to send
their computers back for one reason or another, and three of those
had to send them back (or parts of the system) a second time.  That isn't
performance, and I wouldn't put up with it, being a university student
or some corporate exec making 100 grand a year.  Their shipping 'promises'
are, from what I've seen, lies.  Their track record has been dismal.  Now
these could be isolated incidents, but in my experience I've seen 0/4
and that just isn't good.  Yes, they have good prices, but as I'm in
Canada and can find 1) better prices with a company who 2) has better
warantees and 3) has been in business longer and 4) have had much, much
fewer problems, sorry, Gateway just doesn't cut it.  I'm buying a 486
in a month, and it won't be from Gateway.

/--------------------------------------------------------------------\
| Jonathan Layes                   _      _     "In case of fire.... |
| Physics/Computing Science       / \    / \       shout FIRE!"      |
| Dalhousie University           |  *|  |  *|                        |
| Halifax, Nova Scotia            \_/  \ \_/    "If it doesn't work, |
| Canada                               _)          hit it with a big |
| Internet: LAYES@UG.CS.Dal.CA	       	             stick."         |
\--------------------------------------------------------------------/
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware,comp.os.msdos.programmer
From: ara@zurich.ai.mit.edu (Allan Adler)
Subject:  Combatting Idleness
Organization: M.I.T. Artificial Intelligence Lab.
Distribution: comp
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1992 06:43:46 GMT


I am posting this for a friend of mine. Please reply to him at
SHOTLAND@SBBIOVM.BITNET and not to the address above.

========================================================================


OK all you DOS experts  --  here's a problem that has been bothering me for
some time.  

When you request disk services from Microsoft DOS or the BIOS, the
actual data transfer takes place using DMA, right?  So DOS/BIOS must just be
sitting there waiting for the DMA to complete.  

QUESTION: Assuming this is correct, does anyone know how to get
control back while the tranfer is taking place, or while the heads are 
moving into position, for that matter?  

I have a very tight data  acquisition task that could use this 
dead time for several purposes. 


If there is a flag DOS or the BIOS sets to indicate that it is currently 
idle, that would be a big start, because I could schedule an interrupt 
to occur shortly after I ask for disk access, and do some additional 
processing contigent upon this flag's being set.


Any ideas?  I know DOS is not meant to do preemptive multitasking, but this 
is a much limited version of that problem.

Tom Shotland
shotland@sbbiovm.bitnet
From: mullens@jamsun.ic.ornl.gov (James A. Mullens)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: Bashing (was Re: Gateway 2000 - $195 v.32bis modems?????)
Date: 8 Apr 92 17:13:08 GMT
Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory

I don't have the source of a test program handy, but you can test it with a very
simple C program:  just divide by 0.0.  There are 2 things you need to watch out
for:

   1 do not let the compiler optimize out the divide (if it attempts to it should
     also warn you at compile time that you are trying to divide by 0, but...)
   2 it does not hang the system every time;  on mine it did it reliably the
     second time the program ran.

I used Borland C++ 3.0 under DOS 5.0, someone else I know used Microsoft FORTRAN.
I imagine you could write the test program in assembler if you wanted.

I have heard that the problem lies in either Micronics Gemini Rev E system boards 
or a batch of mismarked Intel 486's that were installed on these system boards.
In any case, Gateway wants the entire s.b. back because they don't want customers
trying to remove/install 486 chips.  My replacement board is a Micronics Gemini
Rev F1, and it works fine.  You receive a new board before you are required to
return your old board.

The Gateway rep you talk to may be under the impression that the problem only
occurs in FORTRAN programs (where it was originally reported).

jim mullens
mullens@jamsun.ic.ornl.gov (128.219.64.31)
voice: 615-574-5564
Now you know everything I know.
From: berger@atropa (Mike Berger)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: TSENG ET4000AX SVGA CARD PROBLEMS
Date: 14 Apr 92 18:11:20 GMT
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana

russest@ampex.com (Steve Russell) writes:
>In article <9204130854.AA08848@nettlerash.berkeley.edu> MED40030@NUSVM.BITNET (David Cheong) writes:
>>Hello all,
>>          I figured that this would be the best place to turn to. I just
>>bought a SVGA card with the Tseng et4000ax chip and I've run into a few
>>problems. First, how can I tell if it's 32K colour or 256K colour? (The
>>manual didn't say). Secondly, the card doesn't work properly on my system.
>>In text mode, coloured blocks of text appear and eventually the system hangs.
>>In graphics mode, erasure after redraw is incomplete, and the computer hangs.
>>         I have a 386DX-25 with Soundblaster v2, 1990 BIOS (with no password
>>and 1-page advanced setup options, AMI). I'm also using Stacker 2.0, QEMM 6.0
>>and Smartdrv. The Tseng SVGA card works though, I tested it on a 386DX-33 with
>>1990 AMI BIOS (with password and 2-page advanced setup), at default settings.
>>My motherboard has no DIP switches. I figure its either my AMI BIOS which is
>>incompatible or that the Tseng is incompatible with the Soundblaster.
>>         Anyone else has this problem? I would really appreciate any help
>>in rectifying this problem. Please E-mail me at med40030@NUSVM or post a reply.
*----
I'd bet on one of the following:
QEMM doesn't know about the VGA memory.  It should be explicitely
excluded on your device=qemm.sys... line.

The VGA is set up for 16-bit access conflicting with another board
set up for 8 bit access in the same memory page.


You can see if the former is the problem by disabling qemm and booting.
--
	Mike Berger
	Department of Statistics, University of Illinois
	AT&TNET     217-244-6067
	Internet    berger@atropa.stat.uiuc.edu
From: km4c+@andrew.cmu.edu (Ke-Wei Ma)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: New Logitech Trackman???
Date: 14 Apr 92 06:28:28 GMT
Article-I.D.: andrew.YdubiAi00YVXM5xW4t
Organization: Sophomore, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA


    Where does one go, either mail-order or store, to purchase the
Logitech Trackman (not the original, or portable but the one that kinda
looks like a ergonomic trackball gone mad thing)????


Ke-Wei
From: wilson@schaefer.math.wisc.edu (Bob Wilson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: notebooks with built-in mouse substitutes
Date: 14 Apr 92 17:11:01 GMT
Reply-To: wilson@math.wisc.edu (Bob Wilson)
Organization: Univ. of Wisconsin Dept. of Mathematics

I am interested in getting a high performance notebook to take to
schools to run demos. Some of the demos really need at least a 33MHZ
386DX or better a 33MHz 486, not a 386SX. I also want to be able to
use it conveniently with mouse-oriented software, which for a truly
portable rig means at least one of the little trackballs which mount
on the side of the case, but now the airlines are outlawing the use of
a mouse or other device connected by an external cable. (Because of
the potential for radio interference radiated from the cable.)

Compuadd has a 386SX notebook with a built in trackball in the
keyboard, which looks good but I need more processor power. Everex
also has a notebook where one of the keys acts like a joystick to
emulate a mouse, but it also is a 386SX.

Two specific questions:

(a) Has anybody used those mouse substitutes? How well do they work?

(b) Do you know of a system which has such a mouse substitute and a
more powerful processor? I'd like any recommendations of such.
(Yes, it may have battery life problems and the like
because of the greater power draw, but I'll deal with that.)

Thanks,
Bob Wilson
wilson@math.wisc.edu
From: slackey@BBN.COM (Stan Lackey)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Help on Scanman Plus
Date: 7 Apr 92 14:43:02 GMT
Reply-To: slackey@BBN.COM (Stan Lackey)
Distribution: na
Organization: Bolt Beranek and Newman Inc., Cambridge MA
NNTP-Posting-Host: bbn.com

I have been hacking around with a Scanman Plus, and would appreciate
help with a few questions.

1 The device is advertised as "32 gray levels."  Does it really convert
  the image to a representation with 32 gray levels per pixel?

2 How do I find out the format of the image file it creates?

-Stan
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware