HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: aloks@angelo.amd.com (Alok Singh)
Subject: Help on 1701 error on IBM PC XT.
Organization: Advanced Micro Devices, Santa Clara, CA
Distribution: ba
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1992 21:31:56 GMT

    I am building a PC XT. When I turn pc on it gives 1701
  error and ask to hit key "F1" to resume. I know it is about 
  hard disk error.  After hitting F1 it boots up and gives prompt a:> . 

    It has 128K memory because it checks 128K only during bootup.

    I know my controller, ribbon cable, hard disk are fully functional.
  because they work on other PC.

    I have SW1 only on mother board. following switch are on: 2,7,8. 
  I have co-processor, one floppy drive and one hard disk.

    When I change dir to c: it says invalid disk. 

  Question: What should I do to make DOS look for Hard disk. I don't
  care if I have to loose data on hard disk by formatting it.
 
    Please email me direct I will appreciate it. I will post summary of 
  responses if there will be interest.


--
ALOK SINGH
Sr. Design Engineer
Advanced Micro Devices
Sunnyvale CA 94088 USA ph. (408)987-2967.
From: nbladt@autelca.ascom.ch (Norbert Bladt)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: Adaptec 1540B SCSI Controller Drivers
Date: 6 Oct 92 12:16:20 GMT
Organization: Ascom Autelca AG, Guemligen, Switzerland

csa@cup.portal.com (CHUCK - ARAKAWA) writes:

>I am trying to locate some drivers for an ADAPTEC 1540B SCSI Adapter Card.
>Does anybody have a lead on this?

>ASW-1410 DOS Driver
>ASW-1420 OS/2 v1.1 driver
>ASW-1440 Novell 286/386 drover
Buy it from your dealer where you got the board.
You can either buy a board (w/o this software) or including software.
Or you can buy the software later, for a certain amount of money more,
of course, then you would have paid if you had bought the board
incl. software !
Every dealer should really tell his customers what he gets if he orders
a board w/o software !
I can imagine, however, that this is very difficult for mail-order
companies, though. And people are just looking for the "cheapest" price !

Hope this helps,

Norbert.
-- 
Norbert Bladt, Ascom Autelca AG, Worbstr. 201, CH-3073 Guemligen, Switzerland
Phone: +41 31 999 65 52			FAX: +41 31 999 65 44
Mail: nbladt@autelca.ascom.ch   UUCP: ..!uunet!mcsun!chsun!hslrswi!aut!nbladt
From: harding@hpavla.avo.hp.com (Ken Harding)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: Shopping for a CD-ROM drive
Date: 3 Oct 92 00:15:52 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Avondale Division

In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware, wbarnes@sura.net (Bill Barnes) writes:

> [Please
> keep in mind that I'm trying to find a good inexpensive CD-ROM drive,
> say under $300, if such a beast exists, so don't just say, "Buy the
> most expensive one you can afford!" 8-/  I am also not interested in one
> of those multimedia bundle kits as I already have a sound card.]

> -- 

I just bought a Mitsubishi CD-ROM Drive at a "Tri-State Fairs" computer show in
Delaware for $172.  It was brand new and came with multimedia extensions and
drivers to run the drive using DMA or Interupts.  Xfer rate 150k, access time
is a slow 1 sec max.  It included a driver card w/ stereo L,R outputs, and also
included a stereo mini-plug headphone jack and volume control on the front of
the drive unit.  It plays audio CD's or data CD's (ie. Guiness Disc Of [World]
Records, Compton's Encyclopedia, works of Shakespeare, etc.), however no soft-
ware on CD-ROM was included with the purchase.  Load/unload is by pressing on
the front of the CD-ROM unit, and a "drawer" opens to access the CD area, which
is covered by a hinged cover.

If you can tolerate the slow speed access time, the price just can't be beat.
All of my file/disk management software (ie. XTree Gold Pro, Geoworks 1.2, 
Windows 3.1, DOSSHELL) recognize the drive and everything seems to work just
fantastic with no problems.

So, if this CD-ROM Drive meets your needs, you may wish to find out where the
next computer show/fair is, and do some shopping.  Maybe I was just lucky. 
Anyway, lucky or not, I'm more than satisfied that now I can enter the world
of CD-based programs (as much as 600Mb) and not need to fill up my hard
drive with alot of disk-intensive software.  I'll just pop in a CD when I need
it and pop it out when I don't.  Cool!

One of the things about it that I like the most, is that I can play my favorite
audio CD while using my favorite software at the same time.  And to think that
it cost me little more than a decent portable audio CD player would have cost.
Except I get double-duty out of it.  Real cool!

BTW, I'm using the CD-ROM Drive on a personally assembled 386SX25, 4Mb, 1.2M
and 1.44M, 120Mb hard drive stacked in partitions to 200Mb, 2400 bps modem,
2S/1P/1G ports, HP LaserJet IIP, WEN SVGA .31 color monitor, $10 mouse.


Later,

 /_/ /_/ /_/
/ / / \ / / arding, Jr.
harding@avo.hp.com
From: cgordon@vpnet.chi.il.us (gordon hlavenka)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: Looking for a small keyboard
Date: 30 Sep 92 03:21:36 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Vpnet Public Access


 scotty@gold.gvg.tek.com (Scott Murray) writes:
>Does anybody know where I can find an IBM compatible keyboard that
>is very small (~ 7"x5")?  It needs to have a standard 5-pin DIN
>connector.  Membrane switches are okay.

Try these two:
----------
Datalux Corporation
2836 Cessna Drive
Winchester, VA  22601

Voice: 1 (800) 328-2589
FAX:   1 (703) 662-1682
----------
Marquardt Switches, Inc.
2711 Route 20 East
Cazenovia, NY  13035

Voice: 1 (315) 655-8050
FAX:   1 (315) 655-8042
----------

These guys sell small keyboards for around $120 - $150 apiece; I've
used them both.  They're OK.

-- 
----------------------------------------------------
Gordon S. Hlavenka           cgordon@vpnet.chi.il.us
  Don't forget:  Dave Barry/Joe Walsh in November!
From: king@cogsci.ucsd.EDU (Jonathan King)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: CrystalScan 1572FS *and* Re: ATI Graphics Ultra Pro Local Bus...
Summary: what I heard was "ATI New Generation Graphics Ultra"
Keywords: gateway 200, ATI, local bus, video, drivers, 486
Date: 28 Sep 92 19:59:28 GMT
Followup-To: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Organization: University of California, San Diego

jclei@sage.cc.purdue.edu (Jason Lei) writes:
>mrosen@nyx.cs.du.edu (Michael Rosen) writes:
>>rantapaa@s6.math.umn.edu (Erik E. Rantapaa) writes:
>>>mrosen@nyx.cs.du.edu (Michael Rosen) writes:
>>>>They have changed the configuration of the 486DX/33 to now have 8 megs
>>>>of RAM, 8 standard slots and 2 Local Bus slots (I may have this wrong,
>>>>it may be 8 including 2 local bus), two IDE Local Bus controllers on
>>>>the motherboard, 

Interjection: when I just called Gateway, they were quoting a price of
$2235 for their 486/33, which comes with 8 total slots (two VL-bus and
6 16-bit ISA slots), the floppy/HD IDE controller on the motherboard,
an OverDrive (tm) socket, and *4* megs of RAM.  The disputed video
card takes up one of the VL-bus slots, while the others are open.  I
*might* have heard wrong on the RAM, I suppose.  For Video, read on.

>>>>and an ATI Graphics Ultra Pro Local Bus.
>>>Are you sure it was an Ultra Pro?  The video card they put in their
>>Yeah, I'm almost positive he said Graphics Ultra Pro.  I could call and
>>check though, just to be sure.
>
>My friend also ordered a 486DX/33 from Gateway and I was surprised when 
>she told me it will be equiped with ATI-GU-Pro on a local bus.  She 
>ordered 2 days ago.

Hmm.  What the guy I talked to said was this: ATI "New Generation"
Graphics Ultra.  Maybe they just switched to this card, or maybe they
just correctly informed their sales reps.  Or maybe they've all been
smoking Japanese-made Intel-based hallucinogens. :-)

The dude also said that this card would drive 1280x1024 (16 colors) at
some not very exciting refresh rate, but didn't volunteer exactly what
else it would do (and I, stupidly, didn't ask; I was too excited).

So the *real* question is: what the heck is this ATI New Generation
Graphics Ultra, and how can they offer it in their newer, beefier,
cheaper package and avoid bankruptcy?

The other question is: has anybody had anything bad happen to a
CrystalScan *15*" monitor (the CrystalScan 1572FS)?  They were
offering me one for as a $125 upgrade (!).  Is this sucker really just
an OEMed MAG MX15F, or is mildly (or majorly) retarded in some way, as
USA Flex's FlexVision 15" monitor is (e.g. lower vertical scan
frequency, different controls).

Answers to the monitor question can be by email (I'll summarize) or by
net if you think it's of general interest.  (Hey, I think that $2360 +
$95 shipping/handling for a 486/33 with 2 VL-bus slots, an ATI card, a
15" flatscreen monitor, and a piece of useful software is of general
interest, but what do I know. :-))

jking
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: andrews@msdrl.com (Richard Andrews)
Subject: Cleaning PC internals: a good idea?
Organization: Merck Research Laboratories
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 92 16:36:22 GMT

I have a friend who works in a smoke-filled environment.  I think that it is
wise to open the PCs up once in a while and clean them out.

Is there any documentation/proof that this is a good idea and will not harm
the PC in any way?

-Rich
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: bbrown@infonode.ingr.com (Bailey Brown)
Subject: Re: Why you shouldn't buy NEC. (More NEC 4FG horror stories!)
Organization: Intergraph Corporation, Huntsville, AL.
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1992 23:43:13 GMT


I've had lots of monitor problems.  My current monitor, a Nec 4D,
is perfect, though.  I would suggest that anyone buying a monitor
not succumb to the temptation of mail order and get it from a
superstore instead, even if this means a long drive and a few
extra $$.  Also, demand to see the very monitor you are purchasing
in all of its video modes (you may need your own software for this).
The best way to pick out dead pixels is to monitor in each of its modes 
and display all white pixels.  I remember PC mag mentioning using some
software package that was fairly cheap and designed specifically
for finding defects in monitors.

It has been my experience that Nec will advance replace a monitor.
So as long as it is usable, you don't have to do without a monitor
while they are getting you a properly working one.

------------
Bailey Brown                               "Above all else, confusion reigns."
Intergraph Corporation                                  
bbrown@casca.b11.ingr.com                              Procol Harum
From: hutch@bellman.lanl.gov (John Hutchinson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: Royal Computer
Date: 28 Sep 92 15:21:46 GMT
Article-I.D.: newshost.1992Sep28.152146.29190
Reply-To: hutch@bellman.lanl.gov
Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory

In article 3661@wvnvms.wvnet.edu, sh240031@wvnvms.wvnet.edu () writes:
>Does anyone have experience with Royal Computers?  Any info is welcomed.
>
>Thanks,				Carl

Not personally, but I have a friend who purchased a 486-33 local bus system
from them and he seems quite satisfied to date.

You might also wish to investigate ZENON computers whose system configurations
and prices are very similar to Royal's.

---

___________________________ John "HUTCH" Hutchinson _________________________
_________________ Fair Dinkum Technologies     Member - IAAD  _______________
________________ "No worries, mate... it's from Fair Dinkum!" _______________
____________ email: hutch@bellman.lanl.gov   GEnie: FAIR-DINKUM _____________
From: gsbg9079@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (G. Scott Braley)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Lost Mail!  Was RE: Using a Sun 2/120 case for a pc
Date: 29 Sep 92 02:03:03 GMT
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana


 Someone sent me a great message detailing how to hack a sun power supply
 for use with a pc.  I lost it.  I would really like to have the info.  
 Please send me the info again!   

					Thanks a lot,
					  Scott

-- 
*****************************************************************************
*  F.B.I.B.M.--The most feared merger  *  gsbg9079@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu         *
*****************************************************************************
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: int704v@aurora.cc.monash.edu.au (Mark Cosham)
Subject: Re: Question: Running window on Various PCs
Organization: Monash University, Melb., Australia.
Date: Sat, 3 Oct 1992 14:29:20 GMT

y1@wilbur.psu.edu (Zhaohui Yang) writes:

>Hi, netters, 

>I need your help on evaluating 286/386SX's performance on Running Window.
>1)	Can a 286 run window when it has more than 1 MB RAM?  
>2)	How about the 386SX running window? will it often hung up or be jerky?

>I am on a tight buget to buy a computer for word-processing and as a terminal
>and I prefer a GUI interface to DOS.  But since I always use 386 computer
>in my lab, I am not sure about the capability of PC earlier than 386SX.

>Any help will be appreciated.

>Yang
>-- 
>Zhaohui Yang			<>	 P e n n .  S t a t e
>Dept. of Eletrical Engineering	<>
>Pennsylvania State Univsity	<>	Tel.# : (814)863-7056
>University Park, PA 16802	<>	E-mail: y1@wilbur.psu.edu

The main difference between a 386 (sx or otherwise) and a 286 for Windows
is that on a 286 it will run in Standard mode and not in the 386Enhanced
mode.  This means that is is effectively a task switcher.  Also, there are
possibly (I'm not really sure) applications that will only run in 386 mode.

I used to run Windows 3.0 on a 386-16sx with 4Mb of memory at work and it
worked quite well, although it slowed down considerably when running three
DOS applications.

In Standard mode, Windows _will_ use the extra memory, but I believe that it
uses it to swap applications into.  Also, you cannot use virtual memory in
Standard mode.

Have a look in your Windows manual for the more technical aspects of the
difference.

Hope this helps,
	Mark
-- 
 Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty.
-----------> <-------> <-------> <-------> <-------> <-------> <-----------
 Mark Cosham   Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
    int704v@aurora.cc.monash.edu.au       cosham@yoyo.cc.monash.edu.au
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware,comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc
From: wbarnes@sura.net (Bill Barnes)
Subject: Shopping for a CD-ROM drive
Organization: SURAnet, College Park, MD, USA, NA, Earth, Milky Way
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 20:14:49 GMT

As the space on my hard drive dwindles, CD-ROM looks more and more
attractive, considering how many programs (read as: games 8-) that I'm
interested in come out on it.  However, I haven't paid close attention
to CD-ROM drive trends for years, so I'd like a few pointers on buying
a CD-ROM drive from the wise net.shopping.gurus, if I may.  [Please
keep in mind that I'm trying to find a good inexpensive CD-ROM drive,
say under $300, if such a beast exists, so don't just say, "Buy the
most expensive one you can afford!" 8-/  I am also not interested in one
of those multimedia bundle kits as I already have a sound card.]

1) How important is seek time?  I know Microsoft's multimedia standard
suggests a minimum of 500ms, and obviously the faster the better, but
just how noticable of a difference is there between using, say, a
700ms drive and a 350ms one?  I presume it's not actually twice as
fast, since the data transfer rate is probably as least as important.
What do people suggest as a minimum seek time that is "bearable" for
disk-intensive programs like games?

2) Related to (1), how important is the data transfer rate?  How fast
should it be?  Someone recommended to me a minimum of 150Kb - is this
a good minimum?  Again, how noticable of a lag is there among different
data transfer rates?

3) What sort of interface should the CD-ROM drive use?  Someone
suggested I get a SCSI CD-ROM drive.  Is there an industry standard
protocol for CD-ROM drives yet?  [An ad in DAK claimed it was High
Sierra/ISO 96000, but I'm not sure how much I trust good ol' Drew to
know...]  I remember this was a point of contention when CD-ROM drives
first came out, but that was some time ago.  Unfortunately, I haven't
been paying attention to the trends...

4) Any particular CD-ROM drives you would recommend I either get or avoid?

5) Anything else I may have forgotten to ask that you think I should
know, let me know here 8-).

Thank you for assisting this poor dumb user find a CD-ROM drive.  If people
E-mail me their answers and there is interest, I will summarize them.
-- 
Bill "Whassamatter?!  Can't you take a joke?!" Barnes   wbarnes@sura.net
Disclaimer:  The author apologizes for any thought-provoking material he may
	     have accidentally included and promises not to do it again.
Datclaimer:  My employers wouldn't WANT to share some of my opinions.
From: kylscott@mksol.dseg.ti.com (kyl w scott)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: FYI: Current Microsoft Product Support direct phone numbers
Date: 5 Oct 92 17:21:10 GMT
Article-I.D.: mksol.1992Oct5.172110.5360
Organization: Texas Instruments Inc

In <516@highett.mel.dbce.csiro.au> steveo@mel.dbce.csiro.au (Stephen Oakes) writes:

>In article <1992Sep29.044822.11415@nwnexus.WA.COM> osiris@halcyon.halcyon.com (David Ruggiero) writes:
>>[Since I live in Seattle and can download this from the MS BBS for free,
>> I thought I would post it for the rest of the civilized world, in the
>> hope that it saves you some dialing time and phone charges. Use at your
>> own risk.]

>Don't you mean the rest of the civilised country?

>These numbers are not of much use to me.  Why not post with a local
>distribution?

>>David

>Stephen

These numbers are certainly useful for anyone in the U.S., so a
"local" distribution would be a little too restrictive...  A "usa"
distribution would certainly be good, but, if you live outside of the
U.S., and microsoft doesn't have an office in your country, then calling
internationally would be the only phone access to microsoft, in which
case the "world" distribution seems appropriate.  Just because you don't
plan to use them, perhaps Canadians or someone is Europe will :)...


G'day

-Kyl
From: smp@myamig2.myamiga.mixcom.com (Steve Palm)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Distribution: world
Subject: Re: Serial port causing a SYSTEM REBOOT
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL4
Organization: Proud Linux Site, Milwaukee WI
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 92 20:51:24 +0100

alansari@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (Mohammad Al-Ansari) writes:
: 
: My question is: Is it at all possible that the above behavior (i.e.
: the machine rebooting) is caused by device conflicts or do I surely
: have a defective IO card?  I need to know that before I can decide
: whether to send the card back.

 You know......   :(
 
 I have an internal 2400 baud modem as well as my ZyXEL external.  I
 just sent the ZyXEL in for upgrading, and had to use the internal as
 a backup on the Fido bbs system here.
 
 Many times the computer just acts like it can't find the modem.  Then
 on other occasions, the system will reboot when the phone rings....
 But the modem has been in the system for quite some time now, and I
 never had this problem before I actually was USING it.
 
 If I just turn on the system, I'll never have a problem.  If I actually
 talk to the modem, then I'm game for a reboot upon ring.  Ugh.
 
 Any suggestions?

--
Steven M. Palm
smp@myamiga.mixcom.com   or   smp@myamig2.myamiga.mixcom.com (LINUX SITE)
Milwaukee, WI
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: mccall@mksol.dseg.ti.com (fred j mccall 575-3539)
Subject: Re: BERNOULLI BERNOULLI
Organization: Texas Instruments Inc
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1992 20:29:58 GMT

In <z-+pfwn@dixie.com> jgd@dixie.com (John De Armond) writes:

>jws@iastate.edu (James William Shoemaker) writes:


>>	I have used both, and in my experience the bernuli is the better
>>choice.  here are my reasons:

>>	A bernuli is much more reliable (syquest drives are fragile, and 
>>a bad drive can eat carts, and bad carts can kill drives)
>>	A bernuli is more robust.  Bumping the table next to a syquest can
>>cause it to crash, but you can drop a running bernuli without damage.

>Both Bernoulli and Syquest quote the same G specs for operating and storage. 
>Unless they've changed recently, Bernoulli does not warranty their cartridges
>very long.  

Bernoulli has been warrantying their cartridges for 5 years for quite
some time now.  You must have a very large 'recently'.

>Syquest warrants the drive and the cartridge for 2 years. 
>Since both drives use embedded servos, this warranty is important for the 
>instance when you accidently degauss your cartridge.  With bernoulli,
>you're SOL.  Syquest will replace the cartridge within the warranty.

>Since the technology used by Syquest is conventional Winchester, reliability
>and ruggedness has tracked that of more conventional hard drives.  I have
>dropped Bernoulli drives from an inch or so while operating just to see what 
>happens.  Error, retry and usually OK.  I've not gotten that brave with
>the Syquest yet because I rely on it so much but I HAVE jostled it 
>fairly hard on the desk.  No errors, no problems.

>Another consideration is cartridge life.  Since the Syquest is a conventional
>Winchester, it should last practically forever if not abused.  My experience
>with Bernoulli is that cartridges last about a year if the drive is 
>programmed not to spin down when idle.  If that is not done, one must
>be prepared to accept several seconds' delay for each read and write
>separated in time.

Your experience with Bernoulli's must be QUITE old.  This is like
comparing a Model-A to this year's Chevy and saying that Ford must
make lousy cars.  Why not simply admit that you have no modern
experience with Bernoulli drives.  Why is your experience with them so
at odds with everyone else's who has posted?

-- 
"Insisting on perfect safety is for people who don't have the balls to live
 in the real world."   -- Mary Shafer, NASA Ames Dryden
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fred.McCall@dseg.ti.com - I don't speak for others and they don't speak for me.
From: carl@Cayman.COM (Carl Heinzl)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: Intel 486 price changes (Re: THE WAR IS OVER)
Date: 30 Sep 92 23:33:08 GMT
Organization: Cayman Systems Inc., Cambridge, MA
In-reply-to: west@esd.dl.nec.com's message of 30 Sep 92 17:20:10 GMT
bcc: carl


>I was told the reason for the 486/33 price change was to put it closer
>to the 486/50 in price to increase 486/50 sales, so the price of the
>486/50 will not be going up.  The reason for this is that the 486/50
>chip is faulty and Intel wants to unload them quickly.  The proof of
>this is suppose to be that Intel will *not* warranty the chip at all
>after sale.

Geez.  I wish all the people with all the rumor mills who have no idea
what's *really* going on would just STOP IT!  Rumos about faulty
chips, come on people, grow up, will ya.

Prices on 486/50s *HAVE* gone up.  Some of my distributors have raised
their prices on 50 mhz systems as much as 33 mhz systems while others
have raised the price on the 50 but not quite as much as the 33.

When you buy a motherboard it comes with a ONE YEAR warranty.  If a
system that I sell goes bad I will stand behind the system.  I will
return the motherboard to my distributor.  They (or someone down the
line) will have to deal with Intel.

Just FYI, I have not seen even *ONE* hardware failure on the 50 mhz
systems that I have sold.

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