HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: mark@physchem.ox.ac.uk (Mark)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: diskette drive puzzle - help!
Date: 22 Jan 93 13:56:40 GMT
Organization: Physical Chemistry Laboratory, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QZ
Originator: mark@joule.pcl


In article <1993Jan20.213619.19025@kronos.arc.nasa.gov>, chguest@pioneer.arc.nasa.gov ( Charles J. Guest ) writes:
> Okay folks I got one for you, how's this for an unusual problem:
> 
> Hardware: AMI 386
> Floppy drive a: 1,2 meg 5.25 inch
> Memory: 640+384  and 3 meg expanded on add in card.
> DOS: 4.01
> 
> I had un unusual failure last night.  I would put a 5.25 inch
> disk in drive a, do a 'dir' on it and get the information. I
> then put a new diskette in it and did a 'dir' and got the SAME
> information as on the first disk... problem was the diskettes
> were totally different.  Even the serial numbers on the diskettes
> showed the same.  This problem would go away with a power off
> or a reboot, that is to say it would now read the second diskette okay,
> but if I put in a third it would again show the same dir information
> from diskette two.
>  
> It would access files from the first diskette okay, but if I put
> in a new diskette and attempted to run a program known to be on
> diskette 2, it would not find it, seemingly because it still thought
> it had the first diskette in there.
> 
> The obvious question:  What the heck have I got broken here.
> 
> I checked for viruses with the new McAffee scan (99?) (97?) but
> nothing was found.  I was told possibly a bad drive, but I cant
> figure out how that would be the problem.  I am thinking controller
> card, but that same card also controls my HD, so I dont want to 
> mess with it if I dont have to.  I also am playing with the idea
> that it is something funny on the motherboard.  Ugh. Yea it was
> used, but an old QAplus checked it out okay before I installed it.
> 
> Any ideas?
> 
> Thank you. 
> Charles
> 
> +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> + *READ* ---> The opinions expressed above are to the best of my knowledge, +
> + however all options should be discussed with persons who have professional+
> + training with the subjects covered here. * ALL POSSIBLE DISCLAIMERS APPLY!+
> + ____FROM: chguest@pioneer.arc.nasa.gov =>or<= sun!ames!pioneer!chguest____+
> +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> +  ...One useless man is called a disgrace, two are called a law firm, and  +
> +     three or more become a congress....                                   +
> + A new Soviet/American truism - KGB does NOT stand for Kinder Gentler Boys +
> +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


You may find that the switch that senses the change of disk is not working.  If
this is the case, then when you try to do a dir, the computer will use the
information that it took from the last disk access.  The disk will still spin
though.


Mark


-- 
Mark 
______________________________________________________________________________
mark@uk.ac.ox.physchem
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: danb@shell.portal.com (Dan E Babcock)
Subject: Re: local bus hard disk
Organization: Portal Communications Company -- 408/973-9111 (voice) 408/973-8091 (data)
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 02:01:13 GMT

In article <1993Jan23.231824.24755@rose.com> gyl.midroni@rose.com (gyl midroni) writes:
>
>Date Entered: 01-23-93 18:08
>C(> 
>C(> >Didn't he say it was a VL card?  That means that the CPU can't do
>C(> >anything anyway, since when the disk controller has the local bus the
>C(> >CPU can't talk to memory or anything anyway.  This is why I don't see
>C(> >VL as a real win for anything except perhaps video; it will give you
>C(> >great burst mode numbers, but it impacts overall system performance to
>C(> >do that.  
>C(> 
>C(> Hmmm, it still has the internal I/D cache to run out of.
>
>    Could you explain this to me a little slower please?  I am about 
>to plunk down big bucks on a new system.  This particular vendor 
>offers local bus hard disk controller.  He says the bus is 100% VESA 
>compatible.  
>    It seems to me that local bus disk access will be a speed booster 
>for the reason of faster data communicatio with the CPU / memory.  It 
>is four times faster to get data off the disk at 33 MHz off the local 
>bus connection to the CPU and memory than at 8 MHz via the ISA bus. 
>As simple as that... no?   Why would this impact system performance 
>any more than getting data off the ISA bus.

First of all, bus master DMA on the ISA bus (which is a local bus, just
for the 286 instead of the 486) _will_ prevent the CPU from accessing
main memory. The big deal about having a faster bus is that on a hard
drive transfer (for example) instead of the CPU grinding to a halt
(because the bus is being used to capacity) it may still run at
80% of peak performance. This is a big deal if you're using a
multitasking OS like OS/2 or whatever.

Dan

Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: menaf00@DMI.USherb.CA (FRANCOIS MENARD)
Subject: Affordable mass storage device
Organization: Universite de Sherbrooke -- Dept. d'Informatique
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 01:07:23 GMT


Hello everybody,

I am in the market for something bigger than 500 megs ...

I expect the solution to be less than 3000 CDN$ ...

For what I have seen yet, big Hard-Disks are still not affordable.
May be I should consider buying something like a 128 megs floptical drive or
a 650 floptical HD, like the Pinnacle Micro...

Also I intend to use the device under OS/2 with a Gateway 2000 DX2-50 ISA 
system.  

Also, if I get another HD, this means that I have to add 400$ + 100$ for
Tape Backup Hardware+Software ...  So I can tolerate a +/- ~ 400$ margin.


I would appreciate comments from anybody using this kind of setup ...

Replies by E-Mail will be much more appreciated ...
From: johnk@cs.utexas.edu (John Knutson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: TIGA video board, anyone?, You Betcha!!
Date: 27 Jan 1993 08:50:47 -0600
Organization: CS Dept, University of Texas at Austin
NNTP-Posting-Host: latexo.cs.utexas.edu

In article <C1ICop.Hz@brunel.ac.uk> ma90alb@brunel.ac.uk (Ashley L Brandwood) writes:
>schludermann@sscvx1.ssc.gov wrote:
>: In article <C1DxDv.BEr@austin.ibm.com>, oquinn@elder.austin.ibm.com (Jim O) writes:
>: >   1)  Is TIGA still around, if so how to I get in touch with them.
>
>: I think it's still alive and well. I just bought a TMS34020-40 w/TMS34082-40
>
>They are definitely around.

"TIGA" isn't a company, it's an acronym for "Texas Instruments
Graphics Architecture", and yes, TI is definitely still around.


>The performance is out standing, due to the fact that the TMS340?0 chips are 
>full graphics co-processors, (not like S3 based video cards which are windows 
>optimised ) this means basically if the processor wants to draw a circle (for 
>instance), it sends the card the center of the circle, and it radius and colour
>and lets the card draw the circle, rather than transfering a picture of the 
>circle to the card.

Well there are two things to remember, hardware implementation isn't
always faster than software implementation.  For example, the loop
instruction on the '486 uses more clock cycles than using an
increment-compare-branch instruction sequence would to do the same
job.

Another thing to know is that the TMS340 only has instructions for
drawing lines as far as geometrical entities goes.  circle (and other
polygon) drawing will have to be done by software. (I could be wrong,
I might have missed the instruction while scanning my 340 user's
guide)  What it does have, is built in bit block transferring.

>If you are really rich and can afford the expense, it is definitely worth 
>getting a TMS34020 with its own co-processor TMS34082 board (as this makes it 
>rediculously fast)

FYI: the 34082 is an FPU (for those who didn't know)

>It should be able to work at all standard SVGA resolutions/colours and
>probably a lot more (like some are capable of >2048 resolutions) and upto
>24-bit colour.

The 34020 is capable of 1,2,4,8,16, and 32-bit color, the 34010 is
only capable of up to 16 bit color. The resolution is really dependant
on how much VRAM you have connected to it. (and what your monitor's
capable of)

I'm rambling, I know. If anyone really cares, I've got the 34020 and
34010 user's guide if you have any questions.


Disclaimer: I'm not affiliated with TI, I'm just a satisfied customer.


-- 
John Knutson (johnk@cs.utexas.edu)
	"A lot of people I know believe in positive thinking, and so
	 do I.  I believe everything positively stinks."
		-- Lew Col
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: rbsmith@sandia.gov (Randall B Smith)
Subject: Gateway 4DX2-66V & -66E Queries
Organization: Sandia National Laboratories
Distribution: usa
Date: Sun, 17 Jan 93 20:36:54 GMT

Hello:

It sounds like there is a lot of Gateway 486/66 experience
out there. I have a few questions regarding both the
4DX2-66V AND 4DX2-66E models:

Is the serial-i/o implemented with a 16550 style UART (one
that contains 16-word fifo's)?

Can one disable the serial-i/o and parallel-i/o to support
the use of the address space + irq for an i/o adpater card?

How many pins are in the CPU expansion socket (169, 238 or xxx)?

Has anyone had experience with the local bus SCSI option for
the 66V? Please provide details (manu, 500MB upgrade cost,
performance relative to motherboard IDE).

Does gateway also provide a non-local bus SCSI for the 66V?

How does a 66V with SCSI compare to the 66E?

In general, how does the 66E perform relative to the 66V?

Specific to 66E:

  Is the SCSI interface on a local bus?
  Can it support an ATI Ultra Pro LB card in addition to the
  SCSI?

  What is the Ultra Pro LB upgrade cost?

I though I understood Gateway's telephone "on-hold ad" to 
claim 9.4 MB/m on the $195 Colorado Jumbo 250 tape upgrade.
Does this upgrade include an accelerated interface?

What is the cost of a single 16MB simm upgrade?

What is the ramdac & 2MB upgrade cost for the ATI Ultra Pro?

Thank you, I will summarize responses.

Randall Smith - rbsmith@sandia.gov
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: canty@de-morgan (Yves Canty)
Subject: ATI accelerator cards and monitors
Organization: Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 18:04:06 GMT



I'd like some information about the following ATI cards:

ATI Vantage
ATI Ultra
ATI Ultra Plus
ATI Ultra Pro

Basically, all I want are the specs of these cards (modes supported, number
of colors, speed, compatibility issues, the difference between the 1 Meg and 2
Megs version of the cards, etc.).

I have already called 5 or 6 retailers in my region, but no one can give me
adequate information about the cards.  They sell it.  That's it.

Also, I want to buy a monitor to go with the card.  Up to now, I have
gathered the following specs, which are supposed to be caracteristic of
a good quality monitor:

1024 x 768 resolution, non-interlaced in all modes
Multisynch
0.28 mm dot pitch
15 "
70 Hz vertical refresh rate min. in all hi-res modes
Low radiation: MPR I or MPR II

Anyone can suggest a monitor that meets these specs?  I'm open to other
suggestions too (monitors with other specs).  Simply state the difference
in specs.

I would prefer E-Mail replies.  Be sure to use the address mentioned in my
signature below.

If I get sufficient information, I will post a summary on this newsgroup.

Thanks in advance for your help.

--
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
|            Yves Canty             |         Internet address            |
|   Computer Engineering student    |                                     |
|  Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal  |       canty@info.polymtl.ca         |
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: GERLACHJ@QUCDN.QueensU.CA (Jim Gerlach - Cancer Research Labs)
Subject: HP LaserJet4: Serial&Parallel?
Organization: Queen's University
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1993 20:34:32 GMT

I understand the new HP LaserJet4 has both a serial and an enhanced parallel 
port as standard features. Is this so? If it is, is it possible to use both 
ports simultaneously as a simple printer sharer? If it is possible, what 
happens if both machines try to submit jobs simultaneously?

Thanx in advance for any info.

Cheers,
Jim
---
Jim Gerlach - Cancer Research Laboratories
James.H.Gerlach@QueensU.CA                    Queen's University
GERLACHJ@QUCDN.QueensU.CA (NetNorth/BITNET)   Room A309A, Botterell Hall
tel (613) 545-6446                            Kingston, Ontario
fax (613) 545-6830                            CANADA  K7L 3N6
From: huhta@poe.ccs.itd.umich.edu (Christopher T. Huhta)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Need Advice on Motherboard Replacement
Date: 26 Jan 1993 18:23:43 GMT
Organization: University of Michigan - College of Literature, Science, and TheArts
NNTP-Posting-Host: poe.ccs.itd.umich.edu

	I have a 486DX-33 with a proprietary local bus motherboard, and I
have decided to replace the motherboard.  I guess I could just throw out a
bunch of specs for what I am looking for, but that might be too involved. 
I just want to know what manufacturers have the most advanced VESA Local
BUS or VL_Bus/EISA hybrids right now.  I have heard good things about
Mylex, AIR, Deico, and Micronics, but there is just so much variety. 
Also, if an of you know a price range for such 486 VLBus or 486 VLBUS/EISA
boards WITHOUT CPU, that would be cool also.

Thanks in advance.

Chris Huhta
huhta@milton.ccs.itd.umich.edu

Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: huot@cray.com (Tom Huot)
Subject: Re: Anyway to REDUCE NOISE from Gateway 2000 Desktop 486?
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL8]
Date: 21 Jan 93 15:21:16 CST

Richard Baughman (rich@bostech.com) wrote:
: I find that the fan seems to be making most of the noise.  I'm considering
: buying a super-quiet fan/power supply from a third party.  I think it's
: called Turbo-Cool.  Problem is, I'd have a perfectly good power supply to get
: rid of.  Does anyone know if you can buy just the fan, or does it have to
: be integrated with the power supply to work correctly and efficiently?
: -- 
: Rich Baughman / Boston Technology / Wakefield, MA
: rich@bostech.com

Wait! Before you buy another power supply, unplug the hard disk and
see if the noise goes away. The WD drives are screamers. I had
mistakenly thought it was the fan at first with my GW2K system also.

--
_____________________________________________________________________________
Tom Huot        			       
huot@cray.com 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware,comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc
From: kak1@birch02.cray.com (Kevin Kramer)
Subject: AST computers and COM2
Originator: kak1@birch02
Organization: Cray Research, Inc.
Date: 26 Jan 93 10:29:32 CST


My Bro-in-Law just got a AST 486DX 33 mhz computer.  It came with a internal
fax/modem and two com ports in the back.  The fax/modem was set to COM2 so the
COM2 port on the motherboard was disabled via the CMOS.  Well we don't want the
fax/modem, we want to use the COM2 port on the back of the machine, so we
removed the modem and then enabled COM2 in the CMOS setup, but nothing works
in the COM2 port at all.  We have tried a mouse and a mac-to-pc cable, but COM2
is dead!  (COM1 works fine for both) Is there any set-up that we don't know about?
The tech guy at Computer City didn't know anything (I had to tell him how to 
run the CMOS set up!)  I think that AST might just be crap because this is the
second machine we have had COM port problems with (the 1st machine we got 
neither COM port would work)  Any ideas?

Kevin

Kevin.Kramer@cray.com
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: wayne@backbone.uucp (Wayne Schlitt)
Subject: Re: Intel vs. Cyrix vs. TI CPU's
Organization: The Backbone Cabal
Date: Fri, 29 Jan 1993 01:59:03 GMT

In article <1993Jan26.150315.5641@newsgate.sps.mot.com> jennings@ssdt-tempe.sps.mot.com (Tim Jennings) writes:
> 
> I am currently trying to decide between buying a system with 
> an Intel motherboard vs one with a Cyrix board. Difference of
> about $200. I wish to know what is different between these 2
> processors. Am I likely to run into any compatibility problems 
> with hardware later?
> 

I can't say that I have any first hand experience with the Cyrix/TI
chips, but my guess is that if there were _any_ major problems with
them, Intel would have made the world _very_ aware of them.  (And we
would have seen complaints on the net...)


The scoop seems to be that the Cyrix chips and the TI chips (which are
really Cyrix designs), implement the full 486 architecture with _very_
few exceptions.  The differences between the Cyrix chips and Intels
are less significant that some of the differences between various mask
revisions of some of the Intel chips.  (i.e., the 32-bit multiply
problem with the 386, the tan problem with the 486, the over heating
problem with the 486-50, etc...)


The Cyrix chips do run slower than the "equivalent" Intel chips due
too their smaller cache, having to have an off chip floating point
processor and because they run with a 386 type memory bus.  This _may_
be significant for your application, on the other hand, it may not.
Try to get BAPco SYSmark or SPECmark numbers of the machines in
question if you can.  (but you probably can't.  *sigh*)


$200 is a fair amount of money, and I might be tempted to use that
$200 to by more memory, or a larger hard disk even if it ment having a
slower CPU...



-wayne

Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware,comp.sys.ibm.pc
From: dlowe@world.std.com (Miller Lowe)
Subject: Re: Help for a rattling Mitsubishi drive?
Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 08:29:41 GMT

I have the same drive MR535 formatted as an RLL and I too get a 
buzzing when the heads are in a particular spot.  I have learned
to do some sort of disk access when this happens.  For two years
I have assumed as you did that I have a rattle external to the 
drive....  I still expect that the buzz is external but I will 
pay more attention to it..

This has been little help....sorry..  I woulden't be opening the 
drive however unless you are Very sure of your environment (dust,
cathair & such)

D. Miller Lowe

Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: johnl@n3dmc.svr.md.us (John Limpert)
Subject: Re: What is a P23T processor?
Organization: N3DMC, Silver Spring, Maryland
Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1993 18:38:47 GMT
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5

Thomas D. Barrett (tdbear@dvorak.amd.com) wrote:
: In article <fictorie.727519530@athena.research.ptt.nl> H.Fictorie@research.ptt.nl writes:
: >So, what's a P23T processor, overdrive?, pentium? anything else??
: 
: The P23T is the DX2 OverDrive(tm) and the P24T is the 237-pin, 32-bit
: OverDrive(tm) which uses Pentium(tm) technology.  And... I think that
: they P23 was the 487sx (ie. the OverDrive(tm) DX).

My 486DX-33 motherboard has jumpers for 486, P23N and P23.  Any idea what
the P23N might be?

-- 
John A. Limpert
johnl@n3dmc.svr.md.us
uunet!n3dmc!johnl
From: psmedsha@ecst.csuchico.edu (Paul Smedshammer)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: NEC 4FG Monitor (Opinions?)
Keywords: NEC, Monitor
Date: 21 Jan 93 07:46:54 GMT
Organization: California State University, Chico
NNTP-Posting-Host: cscihp.ecst.csuchico.edu

I'm considering purchasing a NEC 4FG 15" monitor and was looking
for opinions on it's performance.  Currently I am running a 486-
33DX with an Orchid ProDesigner IIs w/1Meg.  I would like to
hear any good or bad experiences with this monitor.  Please
reply by e-mail.  Thanks.

Paul 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
psmedsha@ecst.csuchico.edu (Paul Smedshammer)

Graduate Student in Mechanical Engineering
California State University at Chico
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
From: egp41980@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (M)
Subject: Memory problems
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 06:00:29 GMT
Keywords: doesn't always count up full ram

I recently got a 486sx AMI motherboard, and am experiencing some problems
with the memory. I have 4 megs installed, but sometimes when I boot the 
count only goes up to 1 meg. I power off and then on thcomputer and 
everything is fine.  A couple of times nothing started up when I turned
on the computer.  I've never had a problem once its running, no crashes
or parity errors, so I don't think its bad ram. Could anyone give me an
idea of whats wrong? Is there some cable loose on the motherboard (I noticed
that a couple of cards were smothering some of the cables but I didn't feel
like playing musical cards) or is there some deeper more sinister problem
lurking around the corner. The board is under warranty but the place I bout
it from is back home, I'm down at school, and its rather far away for a couple 
of months, so I'd like to know if this is something serious or can I expect
this sort of performance from low priced motherboards.

Thanks for any help.


-- 
_______________________________________________________________________________
Emery Puskas            egp41980@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu
                         ep4287@coewl.cen.uiuc.edu
"If we took the bones out, it wouldn't be crunchy, now would it?"
Organization: University of Illinois at Chicago
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 12:08:00 CST
From: Darius Vaskelis <U39648@uicvm.uic.edu>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware,comp.sys.ibm.ps2.hardware
Subject: Re: PS/2 harddrive upgrade
 <1993Jan24.195937.10569@odin.diku.dk>

>>My Uncle has a veterinary clinic in Waverly, Ohio.  He presently runs
>>VBOSS on a PS/2 Model 55 SX, and needs to upgrade from his present 60MB
>>harddrive to ~120MB harddrive

>According to my info, this is a 16Mhz 80386XS with and IDE controller and
>2 disk-drive bays in the machine. In that case, you can buy almost any
>drive. I think the cheapest will be to buy a non-IBM drive (IBM usually
>uses Maxtor!) . It should be possible to use the existing 60
>meg drive together with a larger drive...

Whew!  Don't trust that info!

It is a 16MHz Intel 386SX-based machine, 16-bit Micro Channel
Architecture.  However, you cannot just plug in any old IDE drive.

It uses a proprietary bus interface for hard disks, and IBM used special
ESDI drives.  Flavors made by IBM were 30, 40, 60, 80, 120, and 160M.
These are PS/2 ESDI drives that can be used in Model 50 (with the right
interposer card), 50Z, 55SX, and 70.  They are 3.5" HH drives with power
integrated right into the interface.  (No seperate power cable...)

The 55SX has two 3.5" HH bays.  Generally, one is for the floppy and one
is for the hard disk.  So, to upgrade the drive, you'd need to swap the
original drive (IBM only sold them with 30/40/60/80M drives) for one of
the larger ones.  Additionally, IBM's drives for these machines were not
Maxtor OEMed drives.  Depending on the drive, they were either IBM-made,
or OEMed from Seagate or Western Digital.

Thank god IBM chose SCSI for its current PS/2 machines.  (Not mention
it's a very speedy SCSI implementation as well!)

- Darius

P.S. I used to post here now and then on an unofficial basis as an IBMer.
     I have left IBM since then, so any posts are now even more
     unofficial.  :)  And they will probably be much rarer, as my current
     job should keep me very busy.
--
   BITNET: U39648@UICVM             | "I'd rather laugh with the sinners
 Internet: u39648@uicvm.uic.edu               than cry with the saints,
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |  the sinners are much more fun,
  "Don't set fire to strangers."       and only the good die young."
  - Mr. Zarniwoop                   |  - Billy Joel