HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
Organization: Mythos/Xcalbrin Inc.
X-School: Penn State University
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1992 15:39:09 EST
From: Mythos / Xcalbrin <JKK103@psuvm.psu.edu>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Summary so far: Fastmicro replies on 486dx33 Local bus

Well, I called fastmicro, and got a 3 week shipping time...and the same
basic info as was in the computer shopper add.  with some of the other data
as follows:
3% shipping
conner 212meg HD
toshiba floppies
ctx monitor and microsoft mouse and focus 6000 keyboard
the 2nd fan is mounted on the front left
and no bbs support that the sales rep knew about.

The following is a summary of ther replies I got wrt my post.
Thanks for all who helped.

************************************************************************
From: duggan@cc.gatech.edu (Rick Duggan)
To: JKK103@psuvm.psu.edu
Subject: Re: 486dx-33 VESA LB place to buy?

This question has recently been asked, with the result being a
sort of negative feeling about FastMicro (one person called them
SlowMicro).  Slow delivery, plus poor customer service/tech support
were some other comments.  I'm about to order a similar system
myself, and I think (99% sure) I've decided on Maximus Computer.
Check out their ad in Jan 93 Shopper, as their prices have
just come down a ton.  $1890 for a similar to FastMicro system,
though you don't get the software.

I called their local BBB; they're a member (since May 91) and
have 0 complaints.  One thing that I liked was that the
BBB said that Maximus was pre-committed to using the BBB
arbitration in case of a dispute.

Note, I haven't even ordered from Maximus yet, and I don't work
for them or own stock.  Plus, my advice is worth what you
paid for it as has no warranty blah blah blah ... :-).

-rick

****
    Sidenote: I called maximus after this reply, and was told that every
sales rep was busy now and could they have my name and number to return
my call.  Well i gave them
it and got no reply...maybe they forgot, dont know, minus points for them
tho, and the loss of a possible sale of a system.
****
************************************************************************

From: palane@iastate.edu
To: JKK103@psuvm.psu.edu
Subject: Re: 486dx-33 VESA LB place to buy?

Great hardware for the money, but lousy tech support. For those prices,
what can you expect. (Online plus a recent PC World review sources).

Paul

USA Flex is another decent choice. You trade the bundle for service.
From: jbuddenberg@vax.cns.muskingum.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: monitor flicker
Date: 29 Dec 92 15:02:06 GMT
Organization: Muskingum College


Before I bought my Magnavox Super VGA monitor, it had some flicker to it in 
the store.  I thought it was because of the flourescent lights.  I guess it 
wasn't because it still flickers here at home.  I've heard talk on the net
about a 'flicker fixer'.  Is this what I may need?  I was also told that if
the pins are bent, it could cause this but this isn't the case.  Thanks.
 
-- 
Jimmy Buddenberg       INTERNET:  jbuddenberg@vax.cns.muskingum.edu
Muskingum College
From: carl@Cayman.COM (Carl Heinzl)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: SCSI hard drive question
Date: 30 Dec 92 15:13:12 GMT
	<1992Dec28.230052.124433@zeus.calpoly.edu>
	<1992Dec28.214705.9575@doug.cae.wisc.edu>
	<1992Dec29.210836.14797@mksol.dseg.ti.com>
Distribution: usa
Organization: Cayman Systems Inc., Cambridge, MA
In-reply-to: mccall@mksol.dseg.ti.com's message of 29 Dec 92 21:08:36 GMT
bcc: carl


Another good reason for SCSI that I can think of is lack of
proliferation of controller cards.  I have a few friends who have
their systems packed (and they have 8 slot motherboards) and cannot
expand any further (easily).  If they had a single SCSI controller
that handled their disks, CDRom, Tape drive, etc they would have more
open slots in their machine.

I believe that this issue will become even MORE important as the trend
toward smaller motherboards with fewer slots continues.  A large
percentage of the motherboards today only have 6 or 7 slots.  I still
sell ISA motherboards (386/486 upgradables) with 256k cache that have
8 - 16 bit slots but these types of motherboards are few and far
between.

-Carl-
--
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: stmfarqu@atlas.cs.upei.ca (Michael J. Farquharson)
Subject: Need Help Choosing Motherboard Retailer
Organization: University of Prince Edward Island
Date: Sun, 3 Jan 1993 05:07:38 GMT

Hi all... I'm considering upgrading my old 286 motherboard to something
a bit more modern... probably a 486sx/25.  Can anyone recommend a place for
me to buy a good motherboard and, let's say 4 megs of RAM.  I'd like some
that's relatively cheap and has a good reputation for quality and customer
service?  Thanks a lot!

                                                        stmfarqu@upei.ca
                                                        Michael Farquharson
                                                        UPEI Engineering
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: s_fuller@iastate.edu (Steve Fuller)
Subject: Re: The maxtor 213 meg drive is NOT 213 megs!
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames IA
Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1992 17:36:27 GMT

In <1992Dec24.103209.21401@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU> lew@cory.Berkeley.EDU (Kevin A. Lew) writes:

>>>213,000,000 is not 213 megs (213 megs=213*1024*1024)

>213,000,000 bytes *IS* 213 Megabytes.  MS-DOS lists the free space
>you have on your hard drive in bytes.  Since MEGA = 10^6,
>213 Megabytes is 213,000,000 bytes.  In addition, 1 kilobyte is not
>1,024 bytes.  It is 1,000 bytes.  I just studied this stuff in
>a communication networks course and when I was studying for the CS GRE..

I hope that you are joking... every com sci course I have ever
taken lists 1 K as 1024 bytes, since it is an even power of two.
Most of the time, I have been told, it is safe to approximate
with 1000. I'd tend to take 1024 as the base figure for 1 K
myself.


>Hope this clarifies things..

-- 
---------------------=------------------------------
Steve Fuller	     = 
s_fuller@iastate.edu =   No witty quote here yet...
---------------------=-----------------------------
From: gerry@cmu.edu (Gerry Roston)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: Micronics (Gateway) VL-Bus motherboards don't accept regular SIMMs
Date: 22 Dec 92 16:43:30 GMT
Article-I.D.: onion.GERRY.92Dec22114330
Reply-To: gerry@cmu.edu (Gerry Roston)
Organization: Field Robotics Center, CMU

In article <palane.724969427@pv7426.vincent.iastate.edu> palane@iastate.edu (Paul A. Lane) writes:

   In <1992Dec21.121035.45833@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> nschaper@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu writes:

   >I think all of the Gateway VL-Bus systems use Micronics motherboards.
   >Anyway, it seems that these motherboards take some strange, non-standard
   >type of RAM.  Talking to a sales rep at Gateway, I found out that they want
   >$165 (U.S. dollars) for each additional 4Meg of RAM.  When I commented that
   >that price seemed high, the salesperson told me that these motherboards
   >do not accept SIMMs.  She said they take "EISA memory" (whatever that is).

   I believe Gateway uses a proprietary memory board to which you can add
   memory chips (perhaps SIMMs). $165/4MB is a bit steap but not excessive.

The bboard would be a much nicer place if people would stop posting
opinions and post facts instead.  The above comments are complete and
total bullshit!

The MIcronic motherboard (like the soon to be released Diamond
motherboard, and possibly certain others) uses 36 bit wide SIMM's.
This is basically 4 9 bit wide SIMM's rolled into a single module.
This was done to allow a greater amount of memory on the motherboard,
since the 9 bit wide SIMM could only handle up to 4 MB.  By switching
to the 36 bit wide, 64 MB (and maybe 128 MB, I am not certain) can be
placed on the motherboard.

This has absolutely nothing to do with Gateway 2000.

The prices are somewaht higher because the demand, thus supply, are
still low.

--
Gerry Roston (gerry@cmu.edu)    | Wherever the real power in a Government lies,
Field Robotics Center,          | there is the danger of oppression.  In our
Carnegie Mellon University      | Governments the real power lies in the
Pittsburgh, PA, 15213           | majority of the Community, and the invasion of
(412) 268-3856                  | private rights is chiefly to be apprehended,
                                | not from acts of the Government contrary to
The opinions expressed are mine | the sense of its constituents, but from acts in
and do not reflect the official | which the Government is the mere instrument of
position of CMU, FRC, RedZone,  | the major number of the constituents.  This is
or any other organization.      | a truth of great importance...  Thomas
                                | Jefferson
From: timhu@ico.isc.com (Timothy Hu)
Subject: Re: TAR for DOS?
Organization: Interactive Systems Corp., Boulder CO
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1992 20:25:22 GMT

Mike Stanbro writes:

> I am looking for a TAR utility for DOS or Windows that can read 
> standard UNIX TAR format on 1/4" cartridge tapes.  I am running
> a QIC150 tape drive controlled by an Adaptec 1542 SCSI board.  

Look in ftp.uu.net:systems/msdos/simtel20/dskutl/aspibin.zip

You'll also need the ASPI driver for the 1542 board. You get this from
Adaptec.


-- 
Timothy Hu timhu@ico.isc.com	 | The intelligence (or lack of) expressed
Interactive Systems Corporation  | above does not necessarily reflect the
Resource Solutions International | that of anyone else.
From: leonard@qiclab.scn.rain.com (Leonard Erickson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: POST/BIOS Error 601
Date: 2 Jan 93 17:29:40 GMT
Article-I.D.: qiclab.1993Jan2.172940.10742
Reply-To: Leonard.Erickson@f51.n105.z1.fidonet.org
Organization: SCN Research/Qic Laboratories of Tigard, Oregon.

ianst@qdpii.comp.qdpi.oz.au (Ian Staples) writes:

>Hi, I hope this is an appropriate group for this post.  Please help if you can.

>My LOGI 88-XT has lost its floppy disk drives:

>On bootup, I simply get the cryptic message "601" after the POST memory test.
>The machine then politely requests "Press F1 to continue".  When you press F1
>it continues to boot from drive C:, but there is no sign of "testing" the
>floppy drives as part of the boot process.  The drives remain dead.  If you
>try to read a directory or otherwise use one of them, you get the message
>"Drive not ready...".  There is no indication that the machine attempted to
>access the drive in question - i.e. no noise and no drive light on.

>Does anyone know what the error "601" indicates?  I assume it is a BIOS
>error message of some sort, relating to the failed FDDs.  Is it telling me
>anything useful, or is it just some sort of general statement of failure?

6xx errors mean "There's something wrong with the floppy drive/controller"
Something failed to respond during the POST, so the BIOS displayed the
601 error and then locked out the floppies.

So it's not terribly useful. Check your motherboard switch settings to
makes sure you have it set to indicate the correct number of drives. 
Also check to make sure the controller is properly plugged in and all
the cables (both data and power) are correctly connected.

If the error still shows up, borrow a floppy controller and see if the
drives will work with it. If not, swap the drives. If they *do* work
with it, then your original control is dead...

-- 
Leonard Erickson		      leonard@qiclab.scn.rain.com
CIS: [70465,203]			 70465.203@compuserve.com
FIDO:   1:105/51	 Leonard.Erickson@f51.n105.z1.fidonet.org
(The CIS & Fido addresses are preferred)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: no game port on Gateway 2k systems?
From: markh@GHOST.MCS.stcloud.msus.edu (Mark Holden)
Date: 29 Dec 92 03:23:20 -0600
Distribution: usa
Organization: Saint Cloud State University

In article <1992Dec29.084404.12805@lclark.edu> hulsej@sun.lclark.edu (Jose Hulse) writes:
>Then why do Gateway system ads say that that they only have 1 parallel and
>2 serial ports?  Are Gateway systems "port poor" or something?  What's
>the story? (Serial ports are for printers and external modems, right?  Game
>ports are for joysticks, etc, and what are parallel ports for??)

	Probably, Gateway doesn't advertise the game port because the majority
(read business related) of their sales don't care one way or the other if
there's a game port.  Plus, in general, it seems that Gateway is tending
away from listing all the details of their systems (I think this is wrong, the
details are what make the Gateways such nice machines).
	At any rate, every Gateway 2000 machine I've seen (and we have 50+)
has a game port. 

Gateway leaves a lot of details I'd like to see out of their ads, such as:

	V series machines have integrated serial/parallel ports on the MB
		both serial ports have 16550 UARTS.
	V series machines have IDE integrated on the MB, with support
		for up to 4 IDE drives.
	Cache upgrades from 64k to 256k are $30 or so.

There are others, but that's off the top of my head.

	If you're thinking of buying Gateway (and I do personally recommend
them), get the sales rep to fax or mail you a listing of all their products
options before you decide what configuration you want.

	Oh, and the parallel port is used for most PC-clone printers.  Yes,
you can have a printer on a serial port, but it's less common (unlike the Mac
world where everything is serial).

Mark Holden
markh@ghost.mcs.stcloud.msus.edu   "Not only do we get to wear these cool
markh@scsu_2.mcs.stcloud.msus.edu  uniforms, but we are members of an elite
l00017@eeyore.stcloud.msus.edu     fighting force!  The Tank Paratroopers!"
"Happy, Happy!  Joy, Joy!"
From: s106275@ee.tut.fi (Anssi Saari)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: The maxtor 213 meg drive is NOT 213 megs!
Date: 23 Dec 92 19:59:21 GMT
Organization: Tampere University of Technology, Finland


In <lestrade.725128294@Ra.MsState.Edu> lestrade@Ra.MsState.Edu (John Patrick Lestrade) writes:

>Well, am I he last person on earth to find this out?  My Maxtor 7213a
>(which all of the adds list it as 213 meg drive) is only 202 megs!
>213,000,000 is not 213 megs (213 megs=213*1024*1024)
>Thank you, I feel better now.

Neither is my Conner CP3204F a 212MB drive, but a 202.765625MB, even though
Conner has advertized it as 212MB. Every drive manufacturer seems to 
conveniently forget what a megabyte is... I guess someone started it and 
everybody else had to follow, so people wouldn't think they get better deals
for some drives (Wow, 10MB more for $5!!!).

Is the Quantum 240LPS really a 240MB drive, by the way?

Anssi
-- 
Anssi Saari s106275@ee.tut.fi                
Tampere University of Technology 
Finland, Europe                  
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware,bit.listserv.win3-l,comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy,comp.sys.ibm.ps2.hardware
From: tclark@news.weeg.uiowa.edu (Terry Clark)
Subject: Report WinMarks/$ to gauge value
Organization: University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1992 03:43:05 GMT

Here is a copy of a letter I sent today to Ziff-Davis regarding their
reporting of test results.  I suggested they report the results as
a function of the cost of the systems/boards/etc. in order to give
the readers a feeling for which vendor offers the most value.
I realize there is no perfect benchmark and therefore no perfect
report but it would aid in making a decision.
_____________________________________________

Bill Machrone
Russ Lockwood
Windows Sources
One Park Avenue
New York, New York 10016

Dear Sirs:

     I just finished the Hands-On Systems review of 486/66 MHz computer
systems in the premier edition (Feb.) of Windows Sources, and it was a
reasonably done piece.  But, I was struck when Russ Lockwood
recommended the Tri-Star over the Gateway for graphics work even
though the Tri-Star gave only 2.4% more Graphics Winmarks than the
Gateway and turned in only 78.6% of the Gateways HardDisk Winmarks.
(Yes, I know the Tri-Star had a 20" monitor).

   This got me to thinking that there needs to be a method of indicating the
value of one system in comparison to another.  In these times of tight 
finances it is usually money that is the final factor in determining which 
system a user buys.  To this end why not tabulate
a Winmark/$ figure for these tests to give an idea of how much
performance your dollar will buy from the various vendors.

 I did some quick figuring and came up with:
>(from data presented in the article, you will have to read it for 
   full details, divided by the systems cost)

          Graphics Winmarks/$    Harddisk Winmarks/$
Ares              3758                 60.4
Compaq            2160                 36.6
Compudyne         3691                 91.2
Dell DE           1003                 46.9
Dell SE            520                 40.3
Edge              2739                 28.5
ExpoTech          2984                137.1
Gateway           6156                142.5 *
HP                1378                 64.0
IBM Mod 77        1418                 53.9
Insight           2420                 78.5 *
Swan              1987                 54.4
Tristar           3818                 67.8 *
Zenith            1662                 52.9

* Editors Choices


    Now admittedly this sort of comparison suffers from all the other
problems any comparison study has, including no 2 systems are exactly
the same.  But all else being reasonably similar it does suggest where a
reader might get the most for their money.

_______________________________________________________________________
  Terry Clark P.A.-C.                           tclark@weeg.uiowa.edu
From: msp@msen.com (Jerry Foster)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Irwin Magnetics - help
Date: 30 Dec 1992 15:00:35 GMT
Organization: Msen, Inc. -- Ann Arbor, Michigan
NNTP-Posting-Host: garnet.msen.com
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL8]

I am trying to connect an Irwin tape drive to my Amiga, and I have a
couple questions about the Irwin.  It is the Irwin 125, 20 MB model and
uses mini cartridges. Does this model follow the QIC-40 specs, or are the
minis a separate specification?  (I can only get drivers for QIC-40 drives).

Does anyone have a phone number or address for Irwin Magnetics?

Thanks a bunch in advance.

--
  //  Jerry Lee "3P"
\x/   e-mail: jfos@msp.com
Organization: Penn State University
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 09:08:11 EST
From: <RFM@psuvm.psu.edu>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: CANNOT FIND DRIVE D:


In article <1992Dec23.063459.8105@phcomgw.seri.philips.nl>,
klomp@nlsce1.seri.philips.nl (Ernst Klomp) says:
>
>I recently installed a second harddisk. But lately I get the next problem:
>"Cannot find drive d:". The only thing to do is reset (and data is lost).
>The second harddisk is a SEAGATE ST3144 (130 M) and installed as a slave
>(IDE).
>Both disks are known in the BIOS (AMI) as user types. If I recall corectly,

1. Check & make sure cables are securely connected;
2. Redefine disk, etc. as per manual.
3. Pray.
4. Do you have tech support from where you puchased drive?
5. Pray/Cuss as appropriate.
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: palane@iastate.edu (Paul A. Lane)
Subject: Re: Gateway vs. Austin questions
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames IA
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1992 16:37:02 GMT

In <1992Dec29.144306.18594@inmet.camb.inmet.com> lipsett@lido.camb.inmet.com (Roger Lipsett) writes:

>So, in addition to soliciting general advice about these two systems, I have
>the following specific questions:

>1.  Is the ATI Ultra Pro card the same as the ATI Graphics Ultra Pro?  I
>    assume not, but it's impossible to tell from the advertising.  If not,
>    what are the differences?

It uses the new Mach 32 chip, ATI's best. I think Gateway claims this to be
faster than the Ultra Pro, but this may be due to the local bus implementation.

>2.  How does GUI acceleration compare to local bus implementations in terms
>    of overall Windows performance?  My family tends to be rather heavy
>    Windows users.  Another question:  how stable are the VESA local bus
>    standards, and do they really provide enough end-user benefit that they
>    will survive even for the presumed useful life of this machine?

The ATI just picked up an Editor's Choice from PC Magazine. You'll probably
not be able to do much better. VESA is new, but looks to be a good choice.

>4.  How about the monitors?  I have seen the CTX 15" at a store, and it
>    appeared to be pretty good in terms of clarity.  I've never seen the MAG
>    15".  What I really want is an NEC 3FG (or 4FG), but probably can't
>    afford it.  Does anyone have experience with both of these monitors?
>    How do they compare for clarity, reliability, etc.?  Should I try to
>    stretch to a 3FG?

The Mag has been picked as a winner by both PC World and PC Magazine. The
NEC is probably a better monitor, but not by much. 

>Are there any other mail-order companies I should be looking at?

USAFlex is a company I've been considering. They claim some rather high
Winmarks score for their VESA local bus computer and their service and
support has gotten very high ratings from reviews as well as a few online
folks.

I'm also looking at Legacy as their systems appear to be high-performance
(and affordable EISA). I plan to post once I make my decision.

Paul

Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: ntaib@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (Iskandar Taib)
Subject: Re: AMD rubbish????
Organization: Indiana University
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 18:26:10 GMT

In article <Bz9H1y.6oE@news.cso.uiuc.edu> berger@atropa (Mike Berger) writes:
>ken@sugra.uucp (Kenneth Ng) writes:

>AMD is using actual Intel microcode in their 386 line.  Nonetheless
>I opted for the 33 MHz Intel CPU because I wanted a genuine Intel
>math coprocessor, and they are only available up to 33 MHz.  But
>there's nothing wrong with AMD CPU chips.

Many motherboards allow the use of the Intel 387-33 and the AMD 386-40,
running the 387 asynchronously. 

I've heard is that non-Intel 387s can't run asynchronously - they will 
run at 40 MHz regardless of which way the jumper is set. 





-- 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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: titus@smith.phys.ucalgary.ca (Titus Mathews)
Subject: power good line from PS: what does it do
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 92 18:15:38 GMT
Organization: Institute for Space Research

Hi!  I would like to know what effect the "power good" line from the
power supply has on the PC.  Specifically, I want to know how toggling
this line differs from the pushing the reset button (I am told that
the PC resets if the power good line goes low).

I am in quite an urgent need for this info, so I appreciate
any and all info!  Thanks!


T.  =8)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware