The World of Computer Software/World_Of_Computer_Software-02-387-Vol-3of3.iso/v/v93n02z.zip/V93N028.IBM

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Info-IBMPC Digest           Sun, 21 Feb 93       Volume 93 : Issue  28

Today's Editor:
         Gregory Hicks - Rota Spain <[e-mail]>

Today's Topics:
                      WorkPlace Shell tip (3 msgs)
                 ANNOUNCEMENT: Inexpensive CD-ROM Drive
           DSPINSTAL Selective Display Installation (3 msgs)
                              Date problem
                            EISA Power Specs
                            GO Corp address
               OS/2 app. bug report/impressions/questions
                          Polywell Poly386-40R
                           Standard Computer?
                         SUMMARY: UUCP for OS/2

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

Date: 3 Feb 93 14:32:19 GMT
From: "Douglas A. Bell" <[e-mail]>
Subject: WorkPlace Shell tip

Here is one thing that I do on my desktop that I think makes the wps
more usable.

For the command prompt folder, instead of displaying the fairly dull
looking and repetetive icons for each different command prompt, I went
into the settings for the folder and chose a non-flowed icon view with
invisible icons.  All that is left are the names of the different
command prompts.  Put the font size up to about 12-14 point, and you
have a nice menu-style scrolling window with informative names.

I recommend this highly.  It saves desktop space while making it
more legible.

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

Date: 3 Feb 93 16:56:45 GMT
From: Alan Ballard <[e-mail]>
Subject: WorkPlace Shell tip

 [e-mail] (Steven R Jacobs) writes:

>A good alternative to this is to add a "Prompts" cascaded menu item to
>the desktop menu, and put each of the prompts that you use frequently
>under this sub-menu.  Then you can call up any kind of command shell
>that you wish without having to bother with any folders, and you don't
>use up desktop space in the process.

>Hint: to get these to work properly from the menu, you may need to put
>a '%' in the Settings->Program->Parameters of the prompt's program
>object.

That solves one of the problems I has trying to use this approach to
starting command windows!  Thanks for the tip.

Has anybody found a way to get the programs started via the desktop
menu to honor the "window" settings from the program object (I like to
have my command prompts set up to minimize-to-desktop, and
start-another on open, which works fine from the command prompts
folder, but not when the copmmand window is started from a desktop
menu.

Alan Ballard                   | Internet: [e-mail]
University Computing Services  |   Bitnet: USERAB1@UBCMTSG
University of British Columbia |    Phone: [phone]
Vancouver B.C. Canada V6T 1Z2  |      Fax: [phone]

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

Date: 4 Feb 93 02:44:10 GMT
From: Steven R Jacobs <[e-mail]>
Subject: WorkPlace Shell tip

 [e-mail] (Timothy F. Sipples) writes:
>  [e-mail] writes:
>>A good alternative to this is to add a "Prompts" cascaded menu item to the
>>desktop menu, and put each of the prompts that you use frequently under
>>this sub-menu.  Then you can call up any kind of command shell that you
>>wish without having to bother with any folders, and you don't use up desktop
>>space in the process.
>>Hint: to get these to work properly from the menu, you may need to put
>>a '%' in the Settings->Program->Parameters of the prompt's program object.

>Gee...I never even knew you could modify the menu like that.  But that's why
>I read this newsgroup!  Now for the question: Is there any way to get it to
>start full-screen prompts from the menu?

> How about writing a short CMD file and running that?  The CMD file
> would contain the following:

> START /FS CMD.EXE             [or 4OS2 if you prefer]
> EXIT

No need for CMD files, you can just use a program object.  There are
already "WIN-OS/2 FS" and "DOS FS" objects in the Prompts folder.
These need to have a '%' added to the "Parameters" field as described
above, but otherwise they can be used as-is.  To make a full-screen
OS/2 prompt, bring up the menu of the existing OS/2 prompt object, and
select "Create Another->Default" to create the new full-screen object.
This opens the settings notebook for the new object, you need to put a
'*' in the "Path and file name:" field, and a '%' in the "Parameters:"
field.  The go to the "Session" page and click the "OS/2 full screen"
button.  Then go the to "General" page and change the name from
"Program" to something more appropriate like "OS/2 FS".  Close the
setting notebook, and you're all set -- just add this object to the
desktop menu.

In my desktop menu, I have a "Shell" submenu that includes windowed and
full-screen sessions of all kinds.  Another "Tools" submenu includes
"Pulse", text editors, resource editors, etc.  I also have a "Modem"
submenu with program objects for dialing up various machines.  It is very
convenient to have all these things within easy reach of the desktop
menu so that the desktop isn't cluttered with often-used objects.  Many
of these need a '%' added to the end of the "Parameters" field in order
to work correctly, but this does not seem to interfere in any way with
the behaviour of the program object.

Now if WPS would just allow more levels of nesting in the desktop menu,
and use *all* of the settings from the program object (especially the
settings from the "Window" page), then life with menus would be complete.
--
Steve Jacobs  ({bellcore,hplabs,uunet}!utah-cs!jacobs, [e-mail])
"Don't worry, I just have these harmless pocket rockets...."

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

Date: 2 Feb 93 19:07:13 GMT
From: "Timothy F. Sipples" <[e-mail]>
Subject: ANNOUNCEMENT: Inexpensive CD-ROM Drive

Looking for a CD-ROM drive for your system?  Want something guaranteed
to work with OS/2 2.x?

IBM is phasing out its first CD-ROM drive (Model 3510).  This drive is
an external, SCSI unit with 150K/second sustained data transfer rate
and 380 ms average access time.  The drive includes audio jacks (for
playing audio CDs), selectable SCSI ID, and it uses the de facto
standard CD-ROM caddies.

What doesn't this drive support?  CD-ROM/XA and Kodak Photo CD.  It
does, however, support ISO standard ("High Sierra") data CD-ROMs, which
is the vast bulk of the market.

This drive originally listed for over $1100.  Micro Exchange (tel.
201-284-1200 or FAX [phone]) is offering used and/or demo IBM 3510
CD-ROM drives for just $195 plus shipping, while supplies last.  (Price
reflects 4% cash discount.)

Note that, at this price, a SCSI adapter is not included.  If you need
a SCSI adapter for your system, check with Hi-Tech (tel. [phone]
or FAX [phone]).  Their offerings vary, but they advertise a
16-bit Future Domain SCSI adapter for $49.00.  Cables may also be
required to complete you CD-ROM installation, so be sure to ask both
companies about cables, caddies, etc.  Also, do double check to make
sure that the IBM 3510 will work with your SCSI adapter --
compatibility notes are contained in the OS/2 2.1 beta and in the file
os2cdrom.zip, available via anonymous ftp from software.watson.ibm.com.

You may also wish to attach this CD-ROM drive to an audio adapter with
a built-in SCSI port (e.g. MediaVision's ProAudio Spectrum Plus or
ProAudio Spectrum 16).  The drivers for MediaVision's adapters are
presently in beta (filename mvos2.zip, from ftp-os2.nmsu.edu via
anonymous ftp, directory /pub/os2/2.1/drivers, I believe) it should be
noted.  You will then have an inexpensive (under $400) multimedia setup
with 16-bit audio (PAS 16) and a fast, external CD-ROM drive.

Timothy F. Sipples      | READ the OS/2 FAQ List 2.0i, available from
[e-mail] | 128.123.35.151, anonymous ftp, in /pub/os2/all/info
Dept. of Econ., Univ.   | /faq, or from [e-mail] (send "HELP")
of Chicago, 60637       | [Post to ONE newsgroup only AFTER reading the List.]

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

Date: 3 Feb 93 03:41:12 GMT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Selective Display Installation

 [e-mail] (Eric Trepanier) says:

>[e-mail] writes in article <[e-mail]>:
>> One trick I havew found to make the swithch between modes easier is to load
>> both of the servicePack video disks into a directory on the hard drive.
>Then
>> point the DSPINTL dialog to that directory (its the 3rd or 4th dialog and
>has
>> a CHANGE button under the "a:").  It's a lot nicer than reading both disks
>> each time.
>
>I tried that, I MKDIR'ed \DISK1 and \DISK2, did an xcopy of both disks
>to those two directories.  When I tried to ask DSPINSTL to install from
>there, it kept asking me to "Insert disk in drive C" with a Retry and
>Cancel button...  Kind of stupid, isn't it?

>(Obviously, I couldn't put a disk in drive C, so I had
>to cancel...)

Eric,
     I installed the contents of both diskettes (simply  by copying
files) in a directory I called DSPINSTAL.  I then started dspinstl from
an os/2 win.  I choose the video mode that I wanted.  It went through
the SVGA ON routine, and then popped up the SOURCE DIRECTORY dialog.
At that point I pressed the change button and typed c:\DSPINSTAL in the
field.  I then pressed SET.  The default dirctory changed from a: to
C:\DSPINSTAL.  Choose the INSTALL button and you should be off.  Let me
know how it turns out.

Craig Martell
[e-mail]

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

Date: 4 Feb 93 17:54:32 GMT
From: Eric Trepanier <[e-mail]>
Subject: Selective Display Installation

[e-mail] writes:

>      I installed the contents of both diskettes (simply  by copying files)
> in a directory I called DSPINSTAL.  ...

Ok, so here is what I did:

[C:\]MKDIR \DSPINSTL
[C:\]CD \DSPINSTL
[C:\DSPINSTL]XCOPY A: /S (This is disk 1, labeled "DISP 1")
[C:\DSPINSTL]XCOPY A: /S (This is disk 2, labeled "DISP 2")
[C:\DSPINSTL]EXIT

Ok, then I close everything.  Then, I open system setup folder, click
on the Display Driver Install icon.  The DSPINSTL.EXE program appears.
I click the primary display check box, which reads "Super Video
Graphics Array (ATI)".  Then, from the listbox, I select "ATI
Technologies VGAWonder", and then the SVGA program runs, and I am
presented with the choice of 4 different screen resolutions (actually
three, with a 512Kb/1024Kb alternative on the 640x480 display mode).  I
select one of them (let's say 1024x768).  Now I get the dialog box
prompting me for the source directory.  The edit field reads "A:\".  I
click the "Change..." button and select the C:\DSPINSTL directory, then
I click "Set".  Now the edit field correctly reads "C:\DSPINSTL".  Now
I click "Install..." and I get...

...A STUPID DIALOG BOX THAT SAYS:

  +------------------------------------+
  | Insert Diskette                    |
  +------------------------------------+
  | Insert diskette with the following |
  | label in drive C:                  |
  |                                    |
  | Display Driver Diskette 1          |
  |                                    |
  |               [ OK ]               |
  +------------------------------------+

So tell me, is that brilliant or what?

Eric
--
Eric Trepanier  [phone]
[e-mail]
"Everybody has a right to believe in something.
 I believe I'll have another beer."

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

Date: 4 Feb 93 16:50:24 GMT
From: "larry.a.shurr" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Selective Display Installation

 [e-mail] (Eric Trepanier) writes:
>[e-mail] writes:
>>
>>  [e-mail] (Eric Trepanier) writes:
>> >[e-mail] writes:

[Here Eric and Doug engage in an exchange regarding the proper method
of installing one of the SVGA drivers and selecting a resolution].

My experience is using DSPINSTL does not assure that the proper fonts
for the selected resolution are loaded.  Selective install is the
"correct" method, though it is obnoxious to have to stick all those
disks in again.  I haven't tested it, but if the proper fonts have
already been loaded, DSPINSTL *may* be an effective shortcut.  Perhaps
someone can tell us from experience if that is the case.

>[Did a full install on fresh HPFS partition, then installed toolkit].
>... restart, as suggested.  Well believe it or not, after the OS/2 logo
>appears, the screen goes blank and the system freezes.  Nothing I could
>do to bring it back.  So tell me Doug, how am I suppose to report anything
>here other than "IT IS NOT STABLE"?

>And before you go flaming my hardware, let me tell you that I had been
>running OS/2 2.0 with no problems whatsoever for well over six months
>and Windows 3.1/3.0 prior to that for well over two years without ANY
>similar problems.

My system started doing the same thing regularly after I installed the
SP (no beta).  There was no hint of trouble under Windows for a year
prior to this, nor under the 2.0 GA.  However, I discovered by accident
that holding down F1 or alt-F1 (actually, I think any key will do it)
after the chkdsk finishes (the chkdsk having been run because I hung on
the previous attempt to boot and had to hard reset) and through the
pause in disk activity while the screen is blank until disk activity
resumes.  This also happens to correspond to the time it takes for the
keyboard buffer to fill and the overflow beeping to be begin.  Before I
found this workaround, the only thing that worked was to power-off, go
away, and then try again later, hoping it would come up -- I was ready
to get dynamite and blast!

Eventually, I took to holding down F1 after the logo disappears, which
consistently allowed me to come up without hanging.  Eventually, I
discovered that if I set my memory to one wait state, the hangs no
longer occurred and I didn't have to remember to hold down a key at a
specific moment during the boot.  I don't like the wait state because
it makes my machine slightly slower (surprise, surprise).  Recent
experience while installing the 2.1 beta suggests I should try booting
my system with the Turbo button off and turning it on after the boot is
done.

Now my machine is only a Gateway 2000 with a 16 MHz 386sx and 8 MB of
(supposedly 70 ns) memory, so I naively never anticipated any memory-
related problems. In reality, though, I have several problems which are
evidently related to memory somehow:

        1) In the GA, I had occasional TRAP 2's until I set the memory
controller (C&T) to 4-way interleave.  After that, no more TRAP 2. :-)

        2) Upon installation of the SP, I had the hang-after-logo
problem :-( with the hold-down-a-key workaround until I set the memory
controller to one wait state. :-|

        3) During initial installation of the 2.1 beta, I had several
hangs while feeding it disks 6 - 19 until I clicked the "turbo" button
to OFF, reducing clock speed to 8 MHz. :-(

           After the initial installation, I can boot and run
successfully with turbo ON, even while feeding disks 6 - 19 to
Selective Install. :-)

           I did try turning off the wait state, but I once again had
the hang-after-logo problem. :-(

I can't switch wait states on or off without a reboot, but I can switch
between Turbo and slow modes (I've tried it -- it works), so I'm
curious to try booting with zero wait states and slow mode.  If it
works, I'm not sure what I can do with it.  The problem is that I
turned on the wait state because I almost never remembered to hold down
the blasted key during the initial boot and so I kept ending up having
to hard reset, run through the chkdsk and THEN hold down the key before
I came up in OS/2.  I will report my findings to IBM hoping they might
be able to correct whatever happens during the hang-after-logo which is
allevi- ated by holding down a key.  I don't have much hope unless the
work- around gives them a clue to what to look for.

Now I don't think your hardware should be flamed.  However, there is
some kind of problem with OS/2 and hardware which is difficult to
fathom so don't be too quick to rule out hardware.

I don't understand what it is that gives OS/2 and/or the hardware such
problems with otherwise good memory systems, but I wish I did.

Larry
--
Larry A. Shurr ([e-mail]) speaking only for myself.
Norman, listen carefully.  I am lying.  Are you sure your circuits are
registering?  Your ears are green.  Logic is a little bird singing in a
meadow.  Logic is a wreath of pretty flowers which smell bad! - Mr. Spock

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

Date: Wed, 10 Feb 93 12:48:50 GMT-2
From: Shahar Steiff <[e-mail]>
Subject: Date problem

> From:          Jac Goudsmit <[e-mail]>

> It *is* of course possible that ACER had some kind of OEM dos version that
> reads the battery clock when it boots, but I think that's unlikely, because
> I've never seen it that way in my 9 years of PC experience.

Surprise !!! Surprise !!! It is NOT likely, but it is true !  I had a
"Multitech" ("ACER"'s previous name) PC a few years back and it DID
have an OEM version of DOS (3.21) that read the real-time clock at
startup.

In the utility disktte I received with that PC there was also a utility
that updated the system clock under other versions of DOS. I used it
when I switched to MS-DOS 3.30 (This PC never made it to MS- DOS 5.00
...).

If it may help, I'll browse my boxes looking for that diskette, the
"Multitech" utility might work with an "Acer" too, as they are made by
the same manufacturer.  The 'Timer.Com' that was mentioned in an
earlier posting did not work on my "Multitech" at all.

Wow... That brings up some memories... Imagine programming FORTRAN on
an 8MHz XT... I had enough time for a cup of coffee while the snail was
compiling and linking my programs...  Eh, nothing even close to a 33MHz
486...

Shahar.
 /=== Shahar Steiff  -   Computing and Process Control Engineer ===\
/ Chemical Engineering, Technion , Haifa, ISRAEL 32000   (room 318) \
\ Ph.(+)972-4-293420 Fx.(+)972-4-230476 | [e-mail] /
 \==Home:Ramat Yochanan 30035 04-459536 | [e-mail]==/

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

Date: Thu, 11 Feb 93 10:06:13 -0800
From: Bret Clark <[e-mail]>
Subject: EISA Power Specs

What is the power requirments for an EISA card in a PC. I have a spec.
which list 4.5A @ +5volts. But I have some documentation from Intel
which list 2 to 3 Amps @ +5 volts.

Thanks in advance
Bret Clark
Cabletron Systems
[e-mail]

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

Date: Thursday, 11 Feb 1993 19:36:16 SET
From: <[e-mail]>
Subject: GO Corp address

   Could someone help me finding the address of GO Corp?  Does anybody
know a list about pencomputers?

Thanks in advance,
Lode
lode.goukens at sp1.y-net.be

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

Date: 2 Feb 93 19:53:35 GMT
From: "Timothy F. Sipples" <[e-mail]>
Subject: OS/2 app. bug report/impressions/questions

 [e-mail] (Matthew Grice) writes:

>3.  OS/2 editor goes away/causes disk fultter/thrash when saving large
>files (about 1 meg)  Ctl-esc tells me that it doesnt respond to sys
>requests

The OS/2 System Editor, yes.  It doesn't have a separate thread for
user input.  IBM recommends that you use the System Editor for small
files; use the Enhanced Editor for larger files.  (The System Editor
has no arbitrary restriction on file size, like Windows Notepad, but it
isn't really designed to deal with huge files, if that makes sense.)

>*.  How can I install HPFS?  My system didn't come with it, and I have
>no installation discs.  I have 8M, and IBM should have installed it.
>What does it involve?  What does installing 2.1 involve, for you betaers?
>Do I have to copy everything to a floppy and format?

In the purest sense, installing HPFS is as simple as:

FORMAT x: /FS:HPFS

where "x" is the drive letter.  You need to have an IFS=...HPFS...
line in your CONFIG.SYS.

At install time, OS/2 will give you the option to repartition and/or
reformat as you desire.

>9.  How can I trim files to save space on my HD?  Are there some files,
>such as network oriented ones, that I can chop?  I only have 40M
>left, after 4 weeks, starting with a 120 M HD.

Applets, Win-OS/2, ATM for Win-OS/2, README files, CD-ROM support,
unnecessary drivers, online documentation, unneeded utilities, and so
forth are all possible candidates for deletion.

When 2.1 is released I'll try and get a new question into the FAQ List
that deals with trimming unnecessary files.

Timothy F. Sipples      | READ the OS/2 FAQ List 2.0i, available from
[e-mail] | 128.123.35.151, anonymous ftp, in /pub/os2/all/info
Dept. of Econ., Univ.   | /faq, or from [e-mail] (send "HELP")
of Chicago, 60637       | [Post to ONE newsgroup only AFTER reading the List.]

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

Date: Wed, 10 Feb 93 10:04:12 -0600
From: [e-mail] (John Boyd;LAHDI;336-5301;)
Subject: Polywell Poly386-40R

Ok, I just read this really great review on this machine in InfoWorld,
and it sounds like something that I, and a few of my friends would be
interested in.  I went home and started thumbing thru PC, PC/Computing,
Computer Shopper, (you get the idea) and...you guessed it.  I can't
find the thing anywhere!  Now I already have access to the company's
address, so if forced, I could go directly to them, but I know I won't
get 'street price' if I do so.  Can anybody put me onto a source of
some kind where I can get a good deal on this puppy?  I'd sure
appreciate it!

Disclaimer: My opinion represents only me, and sometimes not even that.

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

Date: 11 Feb 93 13:01:00 CST
From: "Coons, David" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Standard Computer?

I had hoped the 2/9/93 PC Magazine article which rated PC vendors for
their service and reliability would have mentioned Standard Computers
(Irwindale CA), but it didn't.  Does anyone have any knowledge of or
first-hand experience with Standard's PCs or the company itself?

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

Date: 5 Feb 93 17:07:08 GMT
From: SysAdmin <[e-mail]>
Subject: SUMMARY: UUCP for OS/2

Quite a few people requested that I summarize my findings on this
subject, so here it is.  This may be incomplete, as my news gateway was
broken for a couple of days, and I didn't see anything posted to these
groups.  This is a summary of mail I recieved on the subject in the
last week.

UUPC/extended 1.11v will supposedly do what I'd requested. (handle
remote users, and downstream sites) although there is little control
over what you send downstream sites.  It seems that downstream sites
get everything that you get in the way of news.  I've looked briefly at
this package, and was not terribly impressed.  Setup is more complex
that need be, and support for remote users appears to be dismal.

Cnews/INN/Taylor UUCP is being considered for porting by one
respondent.  I personaly feel that this would be _the_ solution for
OS/2 UUCP, and wish the person doing the porting the best of luck.
More will be posted on this as it develops.

actrix.gen.nz has a file called UU_WAF.ZIP which is a version of OS/2
UUPC that has been altered to produce Waffle style file names.  The
source for Waffle (minus UUCICO) is available from Tom Dell,
[e-mail], for $120 and could easily be compiled to run under
OS/2 using the modified UUPC's UUCICO.  The author of this hack is
running Maximus under OS/2 and getting a USENET Feed.

NOTE!   I attempted to anonymous FTP actrix.gen.nz, but due to the cost
of their satelite link, they would not allow an anonymous connection
from the US.  I've asked for the file to be placed on halcyon.com in
the /pub/waffle/incoming dir. (If placed there, it will be moved to
/pub/waffle/news or /pub/waffle/uucp within a week)

  I've not seen any of these, and will post more about it when I have.

That's it for the preliminary summary.  Kind of bleak IMHO.  Keep the
mail coming my way on this subject, and if I've left something out,
please feel free to expand on this thread...

+-------------------------+---------------------+-------------------------+
| OS/2 2.1 beta site      | [e-mail] | Pull up a dick and have |
| Rivendell BBS, Hou, TX  |  Stephen L. Palmer  | a seat.         (Chong) |
+-------------------------+---------------------+-------------------------+

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

End of Info-IBMPC Digest V93 #28
********************************
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