HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: reimert@mamacass.etdesg.trw.com (Scott P. Reimert)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware,comp.os.ms-windows,comp.os.ms-windows-setup
Subject: Re: dos/win31 file access, mscdex, audio cd, nec 84
Keywords: nec cdr-84, mscdex v2.2, audio cd
Date: 4 Sep 92 22:52:36 GMT
Organization: TRW Inc., Redondo Beach, CA

In article <zdzy0bf@rpi.edu> moncrg@rs6118.ecs.rpi.edu (Gregory Donald Moncreaff) writes:
>i have the following problem with my nec 84 cd-rom drive when 
>playing an audio cd:
>
>if the machine is rebooted it will halt in the autoexec.bat
>when it is trying to load the mscdex until the audio disk is
>ejected
>
>using various file commands in windows, including, sometimes,
>starting file manager, or using the file open command from 
>many various and sundry programs, including winword, will halt
>until the audio disk is ejected
>
>if mscdex puts the cd-rom at d:, and someone accidentally does 
>a log on to drive d, control does not return until the audio
>disk is ejected
>
>it seems that there is no way in which a program can reliably
>tell if the cd is data or audio....
>
>any comments or suggestions appreciated,
>g
>
I have a similar set-up, 486/33, Adaptec 1542b, NEC 83J CD-ROM. If your
machine is doing what I *think* it's doing, the CPU is not "hanging"
until the CD is ejected, it's trying to read an audio disk as digital.
You just have to either 1) eject the CD as you have been, or 2) wait for
the thing to time out. Whenever you try to access the CD-ROM, it tries
to read the directory structure on an audio CD.

That I know of, there is as yet no way to tell the system that you have
an audio CD in the drive, and to skip the directory query. The good news
is, your machine isn't "hanging," it's just waiting for the CD-ROM to time
out. 

			Scott

-- 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Scott Reimert  \    reimert@mamacass.etdesg.trw.com     /Standard disclaimer:
Redondo Beach, CA \______________________________________/"Blah blah blah ... "
__________________|Always store beer in a cool dark place|_____________________
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: kaz@iastate.edu (Jimmy Buffet)
Subject: Is NEC Dead?
Summary: Is NEC dead?
Keywords: NEC
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames IA
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 18:27:25 GMT

I own a NEC Pinwriter P5200 and just attempted to call them regarding
OS/2 drivers.  They have about 20 US numbers listed in the back of the
printer manual.  I tried 4, three of which were disconnected and one
was an old woman.  Has the international corporation NEC been reduced to
an old woman?  If anyone has a US number for them, or any info, I'd really
appreciate it.  Thanks!

Jeff "Kaz" Kaczmarek

Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: tvp@gibdo.engr.washington.edu ()
Subject: HELP: 286 motherboard design uses 1st meg of memory strangely
Organization: clearer than blir
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 03:07:55 GMT

Okay here's the story: My friend has an old 286/10MHz Leading Edge
computer. He says that for what he does with it the fact that its
antiquated wouldn't be so bad EXCEPT that it uses the first megabyte
of memory strangely. (He didn't know about this stuff when he got it.)

There's a jumper on the motherboard that allows you to switch between
512K main memory with 512K high memory (cuts it right in half!) or
640K main memory with no high memory. He got Quarterdeck's extended
memory manager for the 286 hoping it would solve his problem (by
grabbing lots of high memory in 512-512 mode) but it seemed to be
expecting a 640/360 split and just gave up on him. One of the
utilities he has from Quarterdeck reports that there's 390K(!) of
memory free in the high 512K, but he can't get to it. He used
optimization and went from 408K free (after some TSRs) to 412K.
Obviously this situation sucks. The BIOS is Phoenix and it's not the
problem; its setup allows you to set for 640/360, but if you try, it
sees the hardware setting (the jumper) and tells you that it's an
invalid setting, try again.

Because of this, he can't run a lot of the newer DOS apps and he feels
bad about it.  Plus he's currently unemployed and even though he wants
to just junk it and upgrade, he can't. Is there a simple hardware
solution to this problem? If not, is there a software way to get
around it? (For example, he was wondering if DOS 5.0 was smart enough
to figure it out.) Or is he screwed?

Thanks in advance.

-- Tad Perry   Internet:    tvp@gibdo.engr.washington.edu
               CompuServe:  70402,3020
               NIFTY-Serve: GBG01266




Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: kwang@zeus.calpoly.edu (Kevin Wang aka The Scarecrow)
Subject: Re: BIOS?
Organization: The Outland Riders
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 18:45:52 GMT

In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware exuptr@exu.ericsson.se (exuptr@exu.ericsson.se) writes:
>In article <18u2kgINNnen@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu> as232@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Michael Lerner) writes:
>
>
>>I have seen a few posts in this group where the poster refers to levels of
>>BIOS.  "AMI" or "Phoenix".  What is the main difference between the
>>different available levels?  And, what is the state of the art BIOS?  What
>>is the minimum level one should accept in a PC?  Sorry if these questions
>>sound naive...

Not a problem.

what they are talking about are MANUFACTURERS of BIOS.  AMI and Phoenix and
Award are different sources for bios, as is IBM, should you have one of
their machines 8>.  AST, Siemens, and other companies sometimes 
purchases/licenses BIOS source fom these companies and from there modify 
the code to their own likes.

>Always use AMI BIOS.  ;-)

that's if you have an AMI motherboard.  Or has AMI gone into the BIOS
writing business?  Last I heard they were only writing BIOS for
themselves...

Me, personally, I prefer Award, but I am biased.  I worked there for 4 years
8>

   - Kevin Wang
...And now, for your local station identification, on the hour, every hour...
kwang@hermes.calpoly.edu or kwang@gauss.elee.calpoly.edu
---
                               Say WHAT?!?!?!
   26. Up the proverbial polluted estuary without the accepted means of 
   propulsion.
From: william@natimuk.acci.com.au (William Lo)
Subject: Re: 15" monitors
Organization: IBM Australia/ACCI 
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 04:26:49 GMT

In article <dxryk-m@rpi.edu> gilem@aix02.ecs.rpi.edu (Michael R. Gile) writes:
>After looking around for a machine for a few weeks now, I have 
>decided that I will probably not have the money to buy a 17"
>monitor, because all the decent ones cost >$1k.  Does anyone 
>have a suggestion for the best 15" monitor available.  I would 
>prefer flat screen, and 70+ Hz refresh at 1024x768.  As far
>as quality is concerned, I would like a crisp image, and the 
>largest screen size possible.  has anyone ever seen the V6FS, 
>it looks promising...
>
>thanks
>gilem@rpi.edu
>

	An NEC 4FG is all that you're looking for(except it doesn't support
	72+ hz refresh rates - the max. is 70). But other features
	above-mentioned it has all. Should be the best 15" around. Another
	one could be the Viewsonic 6F 15" which however I haven't seen. 

	I've recently bought a MAG MX14 trinitron which is a pleasant baby, 
	too. Supports very fast refresh rates. And can do 1280x1024 at 64hz
	(NI) - that's quite good for a tiny 14"! Also has got an LCD displaying
	vga mode information(digitally) all the way. BTW, it's $100(A$) less
	expensive(but still expensive) than the NEC 15". Definitely worth
	considering! 

---Cheers,
	Bill 
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: jgd@dixie.com (John De Armond)
Subject: Re: BI-DIRECTIONAL PRINTER CARD FOR PC?
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 92 03:30:02 GMT
Organization: Dixie Communications Public Access.  The Mouth of the South.

schuster@panix.com (Michael Schuster) writes:

>Any parallel port can receive input by using the four status lines for
>data. They must be mutiplexed (i.e. two cycles of four for one 8-bit
>data byte) so reads take place at half the speed of writes.

>All parallel port kludges like tape drives, floppies, hard disks, EPROM
>programmers, ethernet adaptors, SCSI adaptors, etc use this approach  (EXCEPT
>the new Trantor MiniSCSI 2 which actually uses bidirectional ports
>when present).

Most any card that meets the IBM spec can do bi-directional I/O on the 
8 data bits.  This is so because the output lines are fed back to input
buffers originally meant for self-testing.  If an 0xffh is output to the
port and the port is driven from an external source capable of pulling
down the output of the buffers, the data may be read from the same
port.  The output does not have much drive when high so driving it 
is pretty simple.  I use this scheme for a wide variety of custom
devices around the lab here.  

Anyone who wants to play with this without writing code can obtain a 
copy of my PORT11 utility from Simtel and mirrors.  This program lets
you twiddle bits on the port, generate scoping waveforms and such
stuff.  I think it's in the SYSUTIL directory or something like that.

John

-- 
John De Armond, WD4OQC               |Interested in high performance mobility?  
Performance Engineering Magazine (TM) |
Marietta, Ga                         |Interested in high tech and computers? 
jgd@dixie.com                        |Write me about PE Magazine
Need Usenet public Access in Atlanta?  Write Me for info on Dixie.com.
From: wilken@plains.NoDak.edu (Scott Wilken)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: Should I buy the Cyrix chip ?
Date: 15 Sep 92 21:05:40 GMT
Organization: North Dakota Higher Education Computing Network

In article <1992Sep11.032439.1389@serval.net.wsu.edu> msmith@beta.tricity.wsu.edu (Dragon Lord) writes:
>>
>The question was wether or not to buy a Cyrix 387 coprocessor.  Nothing
>to do with the 486 is/is not debate.

Actually the question WAS dealing with the cyrix 486 clones (although if
i remember correctly, the original posting dealt with the 486DLC, and not
the SLC, but I am possibly mistaken on that point).

The original poster said he had heard that the math coprocessor section
of the 486 clones wasnt functioning properly. 

Several people who didnt know what they were talking about jumped in and
started talking about the Cyrix stand alone coprocessors (387's), and 
then the thread just drifted that way in the last week or so..

Scott


-- 
Go FAST!            |  Internet:  wilken@plains.nodak.edu   |     AMA #587126 
Take Chances!       |     UUCP: ..!uunet!plains!wilken      |     DoD #0087 
VF700F Interceptor  |        Bitnet:  WILKEN@PLAINS         |   
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: pdc@lunch.wpd.sgi.com (Paul Close)
Subject: Re: Who makes VESA local bus motherboards?
Originator: pdc@lunch.wpd.sgi.com
Reply-To: pdc@sgi.com (Paul Close)
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc., Mountain View, CA
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 23:22:11 GMT

Bob Blean (blean@rwb.esd.sgi.com) writes:
>|> - Two serial ports. National 87311 (16450 compatible). 
>
>I keep hearing about the importance of 16550's -- how does the 87311/16450
>compare?  Say running windows and a fast modem?

The 16550 is important for multitasking OS's that support it, like OS/2 and
unix.  To my knowledge, windows doesn't have a 16550-specific driver, so
getting one wouldn't help.  I don't know for sure, because I run windows
under OS/2 (Win-OS/2) which isn't the same.

>|> - Built-in IDE interface that will support two IDE hard drives.
>
>What does this mean for speed?  Effectively ISA speed?  Effectively local bus
>speed?

Even ISA is faster than all but the fastest hard drives.  ISA can do up to 4
megabytes/second, whereas most hard drives are in the 1-2 MB/s range.  This
means that wether your hard drive controller is on the ISA bus or local bus,
your hard drive performance will be the same.
-- 
Paul Close	     pdc@sgi.com	   ...!{ames, decwrl, uunet}!sgi!pdc

			No fate but what we make
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: ST403468@brownvm.brown.edu (Jack Tseng)
Subject: Re: 06 Finding seek time of disk drives
Organization: Brown University
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 19:00:35 GMT

------------------------- Original Article -------------------------
	I was wondering if anyone could help me. I need to find out the seek
times of different drives for a client of mine. A software method would be pre-
fereable. Are there any pd utilities that will do it? All norton will give me
is my harddrive time and I need floppy times. Your help will be appricated.


There is a program out there called CheckIt that will tell you everything about
your system.  I'm not sure where you can get it from (My friend had it on his
system.  He's not here right now, so I can't ask him.)

Jack
From: schuster@panix.com (Michael Schuster)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: Can my 3.5" 1.44M floppy handle >9 sectors/track?
Date: 15 Sep 92 13:24:33 GMT
Organization: PANIX Public Access Unix & Internet, NYC

In article <1992Sep14.182635.5810@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu> johnson@cps.msu.edu (Graham K. Johnson) writes:
>I am trying to create a disk for a 780K file that both a 386 and an
>Atari ST can read.  (A double sided disk)

The ST disk controller uses some funny inter-sector timings that
foul up on PC's. I've run into this too, evne on standard formats.

>I tried formatting a disk to 10 sectors/track on the ST, and on the
>386 dir and chkdsk worked fine (saying the disk was ~820K), but I
>wasn't able to write to it (drive not ready error).

That's a function of the problem above.

>I think my drive is a pretty standard internal drive.  Is it possible
>to get a double sided floppy formatted for other than 80 tracks & 9
>sectors to work on a 386?

Absolutely. You need to use a high capacity formatter like ATFMT or
FDFORMAT, found on many archive sites and BBS systems. Both include
a BIOS patch TSR for the PC (needed on some systems) which tell the
BIOS that "more than 9 sectors per track on a double density disk is
OK to allow".


>
>-- 
>   ___        "We dream of the mating season          johnson@cps.msu.edu
>  /__    ___     Feel the coming tidal wave        Michigan State University
> <__/raham /       We want to run but cannot move
>     K. <_/ohnson    Cause we're embedded in concrete"  -- Front 242


-- 
_______________________________Mike Schuster________________________________
NY Pub. Access UNIX/Internet: schuster@panix.com | 70346.1745@CompuServe.COM
The Portal (R) System: schuster@cup.portal.com   | MCI Mail,GEnie: MSCHUSTER
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: ludwig@sage.cc.purdue.edu (Mark Stephen Kidder)
Subject: Western Digital Ethernet Cards
Organization: Purdue University
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 13:21:59 GMT

I need the definitions of the jumpers on a Western Digital 
Ethernet Card+ (i think that is what it is called).  Any help
is appreciated....
thanks
Mark
-- 
          Mark Stephen Kidder       | Users of Happy Fun Ball beware:
    Mail: CIS Engineering, Purdue   | Do not taunt, throw, bounce, stare at,
Internet: ludwig@sage.cc.purdue.edu | or eat Happy Fun Ball.  If Happy Fun Ball
    ICBM: 40 25'11" N  86 55'02" W  | leaks ooze run away and seek shelter.
From: Jim_Johnson@abcd.Houghton.MI.US (Jim Johnson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: Info on Under-Ware Electronics
Date: 8 Sep 92 02:48:44 GMT
Article-I.D.: abcd.Jim_Johnson.089m
Distribution: world
Organization: Amiga BitSwap Central Dispatch

I purchased an Amstrad PPC640 (V30 based portable) - I have no problems
with UWE perse, but didn't find out until AFTER I tried calling the
included phone number for the USA office of Amstrad that Amstrad no longer
had an official presence in the U.S.A.  UWE was helpful in finding a U.S.A.
based Amstrad repair facility for out of warranty repair.

-- Via DLG Pro v0.995

Jim Johnson-
*** Remember, they're only tools - Not a way of life! ***
From: mir@chorus.chorus.fr (Adam MIROWSKI)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: 3.5 Drive Setup..
Date: 9 Sep 92 17:35:19 GMT
Organization: Chorus systemes, Paris, France
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL4

hho@usc.edu (*** N.T.K.C.D. ***) writes:
: 
: It is a Chinon FZ-357 3.5 inch 1.44meg drive.
: It has a bunch of switches: DS0, DS1, DS2, DS3, MM, MD, DC, RDY, and TTL/C-MOS
: Which ones should I set? :-)
: 

Somebody already replied about DS* and TTL* jumpers.
DC is Disk Changed. You *must* have it connected.
Don't connect RDY; it is exclusive with DC. Both
of them control the usage of the line 34. I ignore
what MM and MD are for, but some years ago my drive
(5'25) didn't work properly with both low and high
capacity diskettes until similar jumpers were setup
right.
-- 
Adam Mirowski,  mir@chorus.fr (FRANCE),  tel. +33 (1) 30-64-82-00 or 74
Chorus systemes, 6, av.Gustave Eiffel, 78182 Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines CEDEX
From: medici@dorm.rutgers.edu (Mark Medici)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: Program to erase IBM Mod 80 password (Was: Re: program to erase AMI BIOS passwd)
Date: 7 Sep 92 07:10:20 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.

ujlh@pool.info.sunyit.edu (James Henrickson) writes:
| >Does anyone have a program that will erase the password from an
| >IBM Model 80 PS/2?  If you can supply the source as well it would
| >be appreciated.
| 
| Does anyone know how to erase the password in an old 3com server?  I
| don't know the model, just that it's old.  A friend of mine has one
| that is collecting dust because he doesn't remember the password.

The PS/2's store their password in CMOS RAM.  Open the case and pull
the battery out for about 1/2 an hour, and you'll be surprised at how
much it can forget.  Don't do this, though, unless you've got a PS/2
Model 70/80 Reference Diskette with all appropriate files to restore
the hardware settings in CMOS.

I would assume that the 3Com serve is the same, just look for and
yank the battery.  However, I doubt that this will make it any
more useful <-grin->.

-- 
_________________________________________________________________________
RUCS     | Mark A. Medici, Systems Programmer III, User Services Division
User     | Rutgers University Computing Services, New Brunswick, NJ 08903
Services | [medici@gandalf.rutgers.edu]                    [908-932-2412]
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: dougw@ks25.chi.il.us (Doug Waldron)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: AOC 17" .26mm pitch Flat Screen 1280*1024 Super-VGA Monitor
Keywords: monitors
Date: 6 Sep 92 22:21:48 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: R. R. Donnelley & Sons

Sorry for the post, but Mail keeps bouncing

>From: herrod@crchh649.NoSubdomain.NoDomain
>I have decided to buy the AOC monitor and have looked into its reputation,
>etc. For me, the decision was between the Viewsonic 7 and the AOC (both 17").
>The only advantage I heard of for the Viewsonic was its radiation filters 
>(this wasn't too imnportant to me as I won't be spending TOO much time in
>front of it... besides, I eat sacharin all of the time). Anyway, the AOC 
>had a smaller pitch (.26 vs .28), weighed less, and saved me ~$300. The 
>picture looks great (It is running with the Diamond SS24X), and I would 
>recommend it.
>
>Hope this helps,
>Steve Herrod

I guess I missed most of this discussion.

Could anyone tell me how I can find out specific info about the
AOC monitor and Viewsonic?  Name of the companies that make them,
who to buy them from, Resolutions, actual screen display size,
prices...

I'm looking for a 17" monitor, SVGA, supporting 1280x1024 and 1024x???

Also, could you tell me why you chose a Diamond SS24X and
which compnay makes them?


]R

Replies to dougw@ks25.decwrl.dec.com or 
           dougw@ks25.inet-gw-1.pa.dec.com
         (DO NOT TRUST MY RETURN ADDRESS)
For Flames, please reply to wilson@cs.ucf.edu
(NeXT mail REJECTED)
VOTE ALL COMMIE MUTANT INCUMBENT TRAITORS OUT OF OFFICE
From: dusttheg@cs.utexas.edu (Steve Mekata)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: Opinions on Iomega Tape250 Insider
Date: 15 Sep 1992 22:20:12 -0500
Organization: CS Dept, University of Texas at Austin
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: needmore.cs.utexas.edu

I also have an Iomega Tape250 Insider...it is quite convenient, easy to
install, etc.  I suggest splurging for the accellerated controller, as
it really speeds things up (No, I haven't bought it...yet).  With that
controller, one would have extremely easy backups and restores.

I have had no problems with the unit, and the only qualms I have with the 
software (Central Point Backup) is that it doesn't have a format tape option.
You have to tell it to backup a file, and then it will format a blank tape.

It takes about 1 hour, 50 minutes to format a tape, but that is about standard
for tape backup units, I believe.  It backs up at about 500kbps, as this is 
the speed set by the floppy drive controller, from what I understand.
That's why the accellerator is an added plus.

-- 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internet : dusttheg@cs.utexas.edu   -:-  don't ever take a dusttheg seriously!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Xref: sparky comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware:24273 comp.sys.ibm.pc.games:13058
From: dfh@dwroll.att.com (D461-David_F_Haertig(Dave)83040)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games
Subject: What's the difference: SoundBlaster vs. Pro vs. Pro-Basic?
Date: 14 Sep 92 21:58:41 GMT
Reply-To: dfh@dwroll.ATT.COM ()
Organization: AT&T Denver Works

What's the difference between the SoundBlaster, SoundBlaster Pro, and
the SoundBlaster Pro Basic?  I'm looking mostly for a sound source for
game playing.  The SoundBlaster products seem to be the most prevalent
in my local stores, but what about the others (ThunderBoard, Adlib, etc)?

What's a MIDI Interface?  I guess since I don't know what one is, I
don't need one - but I'm still curious.

Email replies are probably best (fastest), since I may just go out and
buy one of these things this week.  The SoundBlaster is on sale for $89
this week at our local Best Buy store, so I'd like to get the sale
price if this is the board I decide on.  EggHead has the Pro-Basic
on sale for $159 also.  Are these good prices?

Thanks for your help.

Dave Haertig
haertig@att.com
Xref: sparky comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware:24018 comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc:12529
From: wai@sage.cc.purdue.edu (Benjamin Wai)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware,comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc
Subject: Opinions needed on Video Blaster or equivalents... (Re-post!)
Date: 11 Sep 92 19:11:15 GMT
Reply-To: wai@sage.cc.purdue.edu
Organization: Purdue University


	After spending the last month on understanding the functions of 
	Video Blaster (Creative Lab) from scattered info sources, I would 
	like to obtain some opinions from anyone who knows about the card 
	or any similar products from other companies, especially on whether:
		- is it worth the price, 
		- the advantages & disadvantages, 
		- other preferences, 
		- details to beware of, etc, etc. 
	I will make a summary of any info I received in the coming two weeks.

	So far I have received only two replies. I need to have more inputs
	in order to make a good sumary.

	I appreciate your helps.

	Thanks.


	- Benjamin Wai  < wai@cn.ecn.purdue.edu > < wai@sage.cc.purdue.edu >

	Why not get a Amiga AA with a Video Toaster and forget all these 
	trouble? Someone asked. - Tempting, but not after I have already 
	spent half my life so far and all my pocket money left on my 486. 
	No returns.                                                  8 )
---
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware,comp.os.msdos.programmer,comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.sys.ibm.pc.programmer,comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc