HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: m14494@mwvm.mitre.org (Mike White)
Subject: Re: CD-ROM Comparisons
Organization: The MITRE Corporation
Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1993 14:42:13 GMT

Don - Hirschfeld writes:
> Is there a FAQ, review, or magazine reference for buying a CD-ROM?

The February issue of Computer Shopper has an extensive
write-up on CD-ROM drives, software, & multimedia, and
has as several pages of data on available drives and 
CD-ROM titles.



************************
* These are my opinions only.*
************************
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: hurley@epcot.spdc.ti.com (Brian Hurley)
Subject: Re: DEATH to floppies!!!!!!
Organization: TI Semiconductor Process and Design Center
Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1993 07:01:20 GMT

In article <1993Jan27.063559.71696@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu> ry01@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu (ROBERT YUNG) writes:
>I've had it! I'm always getting bad sectors on my 1.44 disk! They format fine,
>but when I put stuff on them, I'm screwed! I've tried name brand disks and even
>they can go BAD! IS there an alternative?
>

Partner,

If your floppies are getting bad sectors after just a few months of setting or
even using them you must have a problem with the drive, or controller.  I'd
replace the drive or have someone do it soon. 

There is no reason to get bad sectors as long as you don't leave them on top
of a monitor, in the sun, let the dog chew on them etc...

However, I do agree with you when you said "DEATH to FLOPPIES".  It had to go
from a 15ms HD to a SLOW with a capital 'SLOW' floppy.  I even cache my writes
on the floppy and I'd still rather go to the dentist and have some teeth
pulled...




>I guess it'll cost too much to buy a MO drive, so maybe a tape drive? How
>reliable ARE they? Can they last a month without data loss? Anybody got a WORM
>drive they want to donate? :)

May want to look into Bernulli (sp?) drives.  Much faster than floopies and
alot more reliable.  90meg, <19ms, and something like 500,000 hours MTBF.


>
>Maybe it's just me, but how are your floppies holding out? No, I'm not living
>next to a power station. Thank you for any input.
>

Out of the 300-500 hundred that I have in use I've found 5 bad and threw them
away right then.  Problems found during the initial format...




-- 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Brian Hurley          | Internet: hurley@spdc.ti.com                     |
|                       | Fidonet : Brian.Hurley@f8014.n124.z1.fidonet.org |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: hwstock@snll-arpagw.llnl.gov (stockman harlan w)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: ATI Ultra Pro: Good or SUCKS????
Date: 22 Jan 93 20:30:06 GMT
Organization: Sandia National Labs, Livermore, CA

In article <v4it79g@zola.esd.sgi.com> donl@glass.esd.sgi.com (donl mathis) writes:
>|> that the ATI is *AT LEAST* as fast.  Actually, I feel that it's
>|> Funny, I have a SPARCstation 2 on my desk, and my subjective impression is
>faster, but I
>|> didn't want to say that lest nobody believe me...

>Gee, if you had an IRIS on your desk, you'd understand what fast
>graphics really are!  :)
>(By the way, I have an IRIS on my desk at work, and an ATI on my desk
>at home.)

I have an IRIS in my labs and an ATI on my 486, which communicates with
the SGI via X11/SVR4. For X11 stuff, the ATI IS faster than the IRIS--
at least, IRIS programs redirected to my display run faster than on the
IRIS itself. 

However, the SGI isn't optimized for X11. The native mode SGI graphics
are very fast -- 3-D rotations, etc. Those applications won't run on a
generic X11 display, though, and tend to get dropped from most benchmark
suites.

It is interesting that in BYTE a few months back, a Compaq 486/50 with a
Matrox display list processor scored substantially better on CAD
benchmarks than a more expensive IRIS. That suggests to me that SGI just
hasn't gone after the CAD market with any enthusiasm.
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: jcmorris@mwunix.mitre.org (Joe Morris)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware,comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc
Subject: Re: Restricting boot from A drive (security)
Date: 25 Jan 93 17:01:36 GMT
Organization: The MITRE Corporation

imes@cis.ohio-state.edu (jeffrey imes) writes:

>In article <1jssp7INNeqn@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu> ck060@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Eric L. Hinson) writes:

>>Is there a way to make an IBM PC/AT [NOT] boot from the 'A:' drive?  Or
>>what programs are availible to make it so that if you DO boot from the A
>>drive, you can't access data on the C, D, etc, drives?  Your help would
>>be greatly appreciated.  Thanks

>You should be able to set this up through the BIOS settings you install prior
>to the boot up of your computer.  A line should read in which order the drives
>should be accessed for system boot-up.  Usually reads A:,C: or some similar
>combination.  By reassigning the A: and C: drives (C:,A:) or just removing the
>A: drive specification altogether, you could force a boot from the C: drive.

I don't think that the AT BIOS includes that feature.  You can specify
the type of disks installed, but my experience with true-Blue AT units
says that there was no way to select the boot search order.

OTOH, there were several major revisions of the BIOS over the life of the AT,
so it's possible that the feature appeared late in its life cycle.

There are various security packages on the market which do various nasty
things to the fixed disk, and which can undo these nasty things only if
the user enters the appropriate magic word.  The only one I have any
experience with is Fischer International's "Watchdog", and my experience
with it was nowhere enough to allow me to recommend or discourage its use.
It seems to be popular enough that Fischer has a booth at most of the
trade shows here (Washington, DC) which are aimed at government users.

>Of course, if the security measures are against computer-wizards, they can just
>as easily change it back.  At worst, you could disable the floppy drives by
>disconnecting it from the controller card (of course that defeats the purpose
>of having floppies, but if security is already that bad....)

Some of the recently-announced PS/2 units have provided an answer to this.
Their setup procedures include the ability to prohibit floppy boots, and
the external case is alarmed in a manner which disables the entire system
if someone tampers with it.

If the tamper switches are activated, you need a super-password to reset the
unit, and IBM documentation states that if you lose the super-password
there is no way of operating the box: you must replace the system board.
For a discussion of the new security features, see the current issue 
of IBM Systems Journal.

Joe Morris
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: daigle@apollo.HP.COM (Joe Daigle)
Subject: Re: 24 bit accelerator cards
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 19:54:12 GMT
Reply-To: daigle@apollo.hp.com
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Company, Chelmsford, MA

In article <74324@cup.portal.com>, DonH@cup.portal.com (Don - Hirschfeld) writes:
|> I would go for the Diamond Speedstar 24X which is faster and cheaper
|> than the 1280 . You can get it for about $160. You have to consider also
|> the speed of DOS operations. The 1280 was 50% slower than my cheapie
|> SVGA with DOS. The 24X was 2x the speed of 1280.


I too was thinking of getting the 24X.  However, I have seen quite a bit of
bad publicity about their Windows 3.1 drivers.  Does anyone know
if the drivers are bad first hand?  Any hope of a fix?


thanks,

Joe


-- 


Joseph W. Daigle
                          
DSEE Project Team
Open Systems Software Division   Hewlett Packard Company
MS CHR-03-DC                     508/436-4227
300 Apollo Drive                 EMail: daigle@apollo.hp.com
Chelmsford, MA 01824             HP TN: 436-4227


"Don't blame me, I didn't name it 'dizzy'"


"We are only immortal for a limited time"   --   Rush


Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: staggers@cup.hp.com (Ken Staggers)
Subject: Gateway info from PC Mag 2/9/93
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 22:35:17 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL8.1]

From PC Magazine 2/9/93 pg. 29:

"Computer Orders Delayed
 Compaq and IBM report record orders"
 -----------------------------------

 "The inability to meet demand is confined mostly to Compaq and IBM.  Dealers
  of AST Research and Hewlett-Packard systems report some delays but expect
  to clear the problems by the time you read this.  Direct mail vendors Dell
  and Gateway 2000 claim they are currently having no trouble meeting demand."

Here's the phone number for PC Magazine in case you want to dispute that
quote: 212-503-5255 (east coast) or 415-378-5500 (west coast).  By e-mail
its MCI mailbox 157-9301.

BTW, in this issue Gateway 2000, along with 6 others, win the PC Magazine
Readers Choice award in service and reliability for desktop systems.

--Ken

Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: frigo@psl.wisc.edu (Sean P. Frigo UW-Madison SRC (608)877-2332,-2001(FAX))
Subject: Re: NEC 5FG convergence
Reply-To: frigo@psl.wisc.edu
Organization: University of Wisconsin - Physical Science Lab
Date: Sat, 23 Jan 93 16:47:58 GMT

In article <1993Jan22.175607.2802@news.mentorg.com>, mikes@mikes.mentorg.com (Mike Stanbro) writes:
>In article <1993Jan21.232244.10395@gandalf.ca>, ralleger@gandalf.ca (Bob Alleger) writes:
>|> I recently purchased an NEC 5FG (actually my second, the first was DOA).
>|> The only problem with this monitor is that the upper left-hand corner of
>|> the screen is not as clear as the other quadrants.  It seems that the
>|> red gun is not in convergence with the green and blue guns.  A simple
>|> Windows-based test program that displays a dot pattern on a black background
>|> shows this right away.  Is it possible for an end user to adjust for this
>|> without the need for expensive test hardware?  If so, how?
>|>     .
>|> 
>
>Don't do it!!!  I use to do convergence adjustments on TVs so I assumed that 
>I would be qualified to do it on a computer monitor as well.  Well ... after
>trying to converg two or three different monitors (including a NEC 4FG), I 
>have come to the embarrassing conclusion that computer monitors are beyond my
>skills.  
>
>Because you are sitting so close to the tube when you look at a monitor, the
>gun alignment is critical.  I believe that monitor manufacturers must 
>invest a lot of money and time in developing equipment to aid in the convergence
>and alignment procedure during the assembly process.  Mere mortals don't
>stand a chance of duplicating their ability.
>
>Furthermore, it is my opinion that local computer repair technicians don't
>have the equipment or practice to do a decent job either.  If I were you, I
>would continue to return the monitor until you get one you are satisfied with.
>If you bought it locally, don't let the place you bought it from attempt to
>mess with it.

Yes, my local representative exclaimed "We've never seen this one before!"
when I brought in my 5FG for warranty repair.  What a fright...

>There has been a lot of discussion in this news group about the poor quality
>of the new NECs in terms of convergence and alignment.  I went through three
>4FGs until I got one that was OK.  It is a real shame that NEC doesn't do a
>better job of QA.  

I am on my 3rd 5FG and it displayed intermittent flyback transformer ringing
the day after receipt and there are unlit pixels.  I haven't gotten any
reply from a 2 page letter to NEC yet.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sean P. Frigo					    internet: frigo@src.wisc.edu
UW-Madison SRC and Department of Physics                  bitnet:  frigo@wiscpsl
3731 Schneider Drive                                       voice:   608-877-2332
Stoughton WI 53589-3097                                      fax:   608-877-2001

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: chienhua@simplex.ecn.purdue.edu (Chien-Hua Hsiao)
Subject: Which machine can use these simms?
Keywords: Western Digital,AP4200,CA2200,Specs,Info,Help
Organization: Purdue University Engineering Computer Network
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 23:44:16 GMT


Please help me to identify which machine can use following simms.

+---------------------------------+
| +-+ +-+ +-+ +-+ +-+ +-+ +-+ +-+ |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| +-+ +-+ +-+ +-+ +-+ +-+ +-+ +-+ |
||||||||||||||||| |||||||||||||||||
+----------------^----------------+
       |                  |
    32 pins            32 pins

These simms have 8 chips on it. The code on the chip is  AAA1M300J-08
                                                         NMBS    9130
Are the simms 1Mx8-80NS.

Thanks in advance. Please e-mail me.


Chien-Hua Hsiao
chienhua@ecn.purdue.edu
From: swlodin@kocrsv01.delcoelect.com (Steve Lodin)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: CS Dee One Systems - beware
Date: 27 Jan 93 15:57:33 GMT
Organization: Delco Electronics Corp.
Originator: swlodin@kocrsw15


In article <1993Jan26.201512.2660@porthos.cc.bellcore.com>, tfalk@decoy.uucp (25442-falk) writes:
> Just a warning, buyer beware.
> 
> Says a lot for their quality control........
> 

In a similar vein, my IDE controller had the serial port connector
backward.  I learned this after I sent it back and figured it out for
myself.

In addition, my original keyboard worked sporatically.  It would skip
keypresses, double or triple keypresses, and sometimes just beep.  A
replacement did the same thing.  A totally different model worked fine.

I have to agree with the above statement pertaining to Dee One Systems!


Steve

-- 
Steve Lodin	Internet: swlodin@kocrsv01.delcoelect.com  UUCP: deaes!swlodin

     "The nice thing about standards is that there are so many to
     choose from" -- Anonymous
From: B7QT@MUSICT.MCGILL.CA (B7QT)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: HELP!! Does 386/25 upgrade Multitask?
Date: 24 Jan 93 00:16:59 GMT
Organization: McGill University

Hi everyone,

I need some help.  I am in the market to purchase a an old 286 or
386 to use as a permanent Internet connection.  I have been offered
a 286 that was upgraded (via piggback board I think) to a 386/25.

My question is the following:

I plan to install Windows so that I can use the Helldiver newsreader
for Waffle.  Will this setup multitask or is the original architecture
of the 286 going to limit it to a glorified taskswapper?  Will I be
able to run Wffle in the background while using Helldiver to read
the posting?

Many thanks in advance for all your help!!!

Indy (Luis Escaleira)
B7QT@musicb.mcgill.ca
From: balog@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Eric J Balog)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: PROBLEM WITH TURBO
Date: 22 Jan 93 01:36:38 GMT
Organization: University of Pennsylvania

HELP! I am having a problem with my turbo button; my CPU is stuck at high speed--that is, the turbo button has no effect. I have an AMI BIOS (7-7-91). 

According to the mother board manual, it is possible to change the speed by using the keyboard [pressing ctrl-alt-minus to lower the speed or ctrl-alt-plus to increase it] but this, too, is not working. 

By the way, the "Optional Chipset Turbo Pin" is set to "Enabled".

Please help me!

balog@eniac.seas.upenn.edu
From: kevinf@agora.rain.com (Kevin Fowler)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Need help with mystery 286 motherboard
Summary: need jumper info
Keywords: configure 80286 motherboard
Date: 24 Jan 93 09:51:51 GMT
Article-I.D.: agora.C1CrEH.74C
Organization: Open Communications Forum


I've recently acquired at 286-12 system without docs.
What I need to find is the (probable) function of the jumpers.

Here is what I know about the system:

	286-12
	VLSI Chipset
	Phoenix Bios 3.10
	Made in Taiwan ROC
	There's a sticker on the board with RN8910 on it
	It appears to accept up to 1 meg of 41256s or
	4 meg of 44256 or 1x9 SIPPs

There are 7 (?) jumpers (what I'd like to know about):

	J1 - adjacent BIOS (for adjusting bios size?)
	J2 - \
	J3 -  - adjacent VLSI chip VL82C102A
	J4 - /
	J5 - Non Existent (at least I can't find it :)
	J6 - In the vicinity of the CPU
	J7 - \
	J8 -  - Near the keyboard/CMOS area

There are also 3 connectors (other than the Front Panel stuff)

	CN1 - Mystery 4 pin between CMOS and CN2
	CN2 - Keyboard connector
	CN3 - Power

Any information that can be added to this would be helpful

-- 
-- Kevin Fowler / kevinf@agora.rain.com ------------------------------------
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: tdbear@dvorak.amd.com (Thomas D. Barrett)
Subject: Re: Any 486 motherboards that use 36-bit memory modules ?
Organization: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.; Austin, Texas
Distribution: usa
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 93 17:26:48 GMT

In article <C18y4y.6rx@inews.Intel.COM> ttung@td2cad.intel.com (Thye-Lai Tung) writes:
>There is no interleave, but luckily, the cache system can cover up
>the problem somewhat. Doesn't that sound stupid anyway !

It depends on the memory arch and speed... 0ws page mode is quite
possible.  But, with two levels of cache (one or both being
write-back and one being 256K or larger), the very few misses do
indeed not make a big difference.  Especially to the folks who still
think Landmark SPEED is a good *system* benchmark.

>I find
>36-bit modules more flexible and suitable for 386DX and 486. But they are
>not widely used in clone systems, why ?

Customer demand... and I wouldn't say that 1M SIMMs are very flexible.
Until the 1Mx4 parts became available, it was hard to explain to folks
that they couldn't get beyond 8M in their system when other people
with 8-slots could get 32M.  There were a few companies with the x36
arch and who had 64-bit and 128-bit memory... again, it was a hard
sell.

>Theory aside, how do 16M, one-bank machines fare in real life with real
>applications ?

It's cheaper to throw a DX2 at the problem or add 16 more MBytes.

-- 
|Tom Barrett (TDBear), Sr. Engineer|tom.barrett@amd.com|v:512-462-6856 |
|AMD PCD MS-520 | 5900 E. Ben White|Austin, TX  78741  |f:512-462-5155 |
|"No is yes, And we're all free" ---Tracy Chapman, "Why?"              |
|My views are my own and may not be the same as the company of origin  |
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: Andrew McCallum <andrewm@zooid.guild.org>
Subject: Re: ThinkPads!
X-To: W.A. WILLIS
Organization: The Zoo of Ids
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 20:55:00 GMT

From waw5805@ultb.isc.rit.edu (W.A. Willis)
>Ok. What does everyone think about the new ThinkPads from IBM? How do
>they compare with the competition?

    ThinkPads?  Never heard of them.  (Then again, I'm not too up-to-date on
the moment.)
    What are they?  Some sort of mental I/O device?  Do they replace
keyboards?  Can I I.Q. test my cat?

---
    .sig's are neat,                   | Andrew McCallum
    .sig's are fun,                     \ andrewm@zooid.guild.org
    .sig's tell where to flame someone.  |andrewm@terranet.cts.com

                        I think, therefore I spew.

Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: colfelt@ucsu.Colorado.EDU (Andrew BW Colfelt)
Subject: Re: Gateway IS Responsive!
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 06:14:34 GMT

I ordered a 66V on Jan. 1, 1993, and was told that
systems were getting out in "about 3 weeks."
That put the receive date at Jan. 21, tomorrow.

My original configuration included upgrades to
Tower case, 256k cache, 2MB + RAMDAC for ATI,
CD-ROM drive, and Fax/Modem.

After reading here of horrific delays, I grilled my
sales rep about these delays, and my chosen
configuration.  She ONLY THEN admitted that
ALL of those things could contribute to delays
(esp. the cache, CD-ROM, and RAMDAC).  So I
asked if I could order these things before the
30-day 'grace' period expired, and still get the
"with system" price.  Yes.

So we re-worked the order to the stock configuration +
Tower and Fax/Modem (you can't get Towers, except "with
system," and the Fax/Modem was not expected to be a
problem).

Well, this friggin' company sent my machine one day
EARLY!  I can't believe it!  This is highly irresponsible
behavior, of which I do not approve, and I will notify
the company of as much IN WRITING.

This has caused me MANY problems.

1. I had to give up all the hard work I did preparing
	myself for a long delay.
2. UPS came while I was at work, and I got home too
	late to go pick it up.
3. I probably won't even have the cashier's check ready
	by tomorrow for the C.O.D. portion I need to pay
	to bring the sucker home.
4. I have to go to bed tonight, knowing that the sucker
	is scarcely 3 miles away, sitting in a cold UPS
	warehouse, inside its cow-spotted box, catching
	ridicule from all the employees.
5. I had to jump through many hoops to get the direct, local
	UPS warehouse number to speak with a local employee.
	When I made arrangements for the final transaction,
	I specified that the shipment was from a company
	called Gateway 2000.  He asked if it was in the
	boxes that look like cows.  I said, no, that's not a
	cow, that's my baby and you better wash your hands
	before touching it.
6. I lost one whole day's worth of interest on my money, which
	SHOULD HAVE been sitting in my account that day.
7. I have to endure a whole 'nother day (at least) of this
	piece-of-sh*t, slow-as-a-pig, worthless-proprietary-MCA,
	good-for-nuthin' PS/2 55sx.


I'm pissed about Gateway's shipping practices.


-- 
Andrew          
Colfelt@ucsu.Colorado.EDU

I got a Gate-way, and-you-don't-have-one.
From: exd@cad15.genrad.com (Erik X. Duus)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Display problems with TVGA8900 and CTX monitor
Date: 27 Jan 93 20:24:05 GMT
Followup-To: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Distribution: usa
Organization: GenRad, Inc.
NNTP-Posting-Host: cad15.genrad.com

I am having some difficulties with my SVGA display, and thought I would
ask the net before spending a lot of time tracking down the problem.

I have a TVGA8900C based video card and a CTX SVGA non-interlaced
monitor.  I have had no problems until recently;  now my display will
suddenly shrink vertically, so that it covers the middle half of the
screen.  After a while, it will correct itself, and sometimes it will
flicker between the two states.

Would any wise person be able to tell me if this kind of behavior is
symptomatic of a problem with the video card, or with the monitor
itself.  

Replies via email please.

    	    	Many Thanks,

    	    	Erik

-- 
Erik Duus  - exd@genrad.com     | The above opinions are mine, not those	
508-369-4400 x3207              | of my employer.	
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware