From: bjarne@hsr.no (Bjarne Steinsbo)
Subject: Re: 700RX problems (fonts and graphics memory)
Organization: Rogaland University Centre
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 12:33:32 GMT

In article <BtwqA6.5Et@csc.liv.ac.uk>, rkl@csc.liv.ac.uk (Richard Lloyd) writes:
> We've got about three dozen colour X terminals (700RX) and have been running
> into several problems with them that appear to be related to graphics memory.
> I think (!) we have 4MB of memory, but don't quote me on that :-) Here's a list
> of problems with the 700RX's:
> 
> 1. Do X terminal fonts HAVE to reside on the system disk on the machine the
>    700RX downloads them from ? We tried to set up an NFS directory with X
>    terminal fonts in it that were needed by some of our X programs and tftp
>    seemed to ignore them :-( At the moment, we've set up a local directory
>    (/usr/lib/X11/700X/fonts/local) and are maintaining it via rdist across
>    all our servers.

We use NFS (not tftp) to upload fonts, and there are no problems with
using fonts from one machine while connected (running the window manager)
to another.  I must admit I don't quite understand the connection between
".. tried to set up an NFS directory .." and ".. tftp seemed to ignore ..".

> 2. Do other sites have SERIOUS problems with 700RX terminals frequently coming
>    up with "Insufficient memory for graphics operation" and occasional spec-
>    tacular X terminal crashes because of this ? It happens more frequently if
>    you load a large GIF picture onto the background and then try and run an
>    X application afterwards. Ghostview in particular seems to crash on a
>    regular basis (try Magstep 4). I think that 4MB RAM just isn't enough for
>    medium-to-heavy duty use.

This is probably due to a bug in the server software which makes the
memory fragmented over time.  You can check what is happening by observing
the memory statistics.  Try turning the X terminals off and then on again.
Often, there is more than enough memory available, there just isn't a
fragment large enough for the application.

> 3. Anyone else noticed that /usr/lib/X11/rgb.txt and /usr/lib/X11/700X/rgb.txt
>    are *different* ??

Haven't checked.  We are using the rgb.txt from X11R5.

> 4. How come if I do an xlsfonts | grep iso8859-1^ on an X terminal, I get
>    nothing ? A lot of applications use iso8859-1 at the end of the font name
>    and you have to change them to hp-roman8 to get them to work :-(

Include the iso_8859.1 directory in the font path on the terminals (perhaps
you haven't loaded them from the distribution?).  If you're actually using
the "above 128" characters, I would also recommend getting the "misc" fonts
from X11R5 and not using the ones supplied from HP which are based on
X11R4 where several (most? all?) of the "misc" fonts are blank in the the
"upper half".

> 5. Anyone know of a cheap third-party vendor of 700RX expansion memory ?

Here in Norway, I've found a company which sells memory from "Dataram".  I'm
sorry I can't direct you to a similar company in England, although I'm
sure one exists.
                       --------------------
Bjarne Steinsbo (bjarne@hsr.no) | There wasn't a red button, instead there
Rogaland University Center      | was a blue button marked "Red". - D. Adams