NetNews Usenet Archive 1993 #1/NN_1993_1.iso/spool/comp/sys/ibm/pc/digest/201

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Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.digest
Subject: Info-IBMPC Digest V93 #1
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Date: 4 Jan 93 19:06:40 GMT
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Info-IBMPC Digest           Fri,  1 Jan 93       Volume 93 : Issue   1

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

Today's Topics:
                             20MB memory ?
              ALGORITHM to match patterns flexibly needed
                              Black Icons
                      Contacting Borland by E-Mail
          Both protocols IPX/SPX and TCP/IP on OS/2 machine ?
                    Chip Sets, SCSI & Other Lore...
                          copying FAT to HPFS
                 Documentation on IBM 8513 maintenance
                           DRAM refresh rates
                            fsplit (2 msgs)
                         Setting up COMx: Port
             32-bit programming using MASM 6.00b (V92 #207)
                          MSDOS/intel machine
                        Optical Scanner and OCR
              OS of the future....RFD about configuration
        PS/2 High Density mode for 3.6" Floppy isn't Compatible
                         Trident SVGA Problems
                                UUPC W ?

Send Replies or notes for publication to: <[e-mail]>

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the distribution list, et al) to: <[e-mail]>

Addition and Deletion requests for UK readers should be sent to:
<[e-mail]>

Archives of past issues of the Info-IBMPC Digest are available by FTP
ONLY from WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL in directory PD2:<ARCHIVES.IBMPC>.

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

Date: Wed, 30 Dec 92 9:16:48 CET
From: "Harry" <[e-mail]>
Subject: 20MB memory ?

Dear Editor of Info-IBMPC Digest,

To upgrade system board memory with SIMMs, you should use SIMMs of the
same size. For example, if Bank 0 is populated with a 4 MB SIMM, all
connectors within Bank 0 must be populated with a 4MB SIMM. A bank must
be either completely populated with SIMMs or completely emty; you
cannot have a bank partially populated.

Depending on the type of SIMMs used in each bank, up to 32MB of system
memory can be configured w/o any problems (that incl. 20MB mixed with
4-4MB & 4-1MBs).  You can increase system memory with an memory
expansion board up to 64MB, but you must have min. 256>KB cache memory
on board for any RAM configuration above 32MB.

Hope this helps  --- Happy new year --- Harry W. Hertz

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

Date: 28 Dec 92 17:08:14 GMT
From: Alan Mead <[e-mail]>
Subject: ALGORITHM to match patterns flexibly needed

I hope I've posted this request to appropriate groups, I included
Pascal because that's the target language but I can read C, FORTRAN,
etc.  I need a way to count the number of typos by comparing a sample
string with a target string.  I'm not sure how smart UNIX 'diff' is,
but I would think the problem is analagous: you wouldn't want to
declare two files completely different because one was preceeded by an
extra blank line.

For example,

target: run Spot run.

sample 1 (1 error): ruyn Spot run.
sample 2 (2 errors): rnu Spot run.
sample 3 (2 errors): runnm Spot run.
and, incidentally,
sample 4 (1 error): run spot run.

I would appreciate any suggestion.  Thanks very much.

-alan mead

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

Date: 28 Dec 92 12:17:49 GMT
From: Jeremy Reimer <[e-mail]>
Subject: Black Icons

> QUINN, PAUL writes:
>
> Msg-ID: <[e-mail]>
> Posted: 28 Dec 92 09:12:00 GMT
>
> Org.  : Concordia University
>
>
>         I seem to have been strucken by the black icon bug.  I installed
> the
> blkicon.zip fix and copied the pmwin.dll.  But when I rebooted I still had
> black icons.
>         I am using an ATI ultra with ATI's Ring 0 800x600 driver.  Does
> anyone
> have any suggestions?
>
>
>
> Paul
> [e-mail]


This may not work, but I suffered from the black icon disease until I
put a cool .BMP in the background instead of the boring single-tone
colour.  Without installing the black icon fix, or even the SP (waiting
for 2.1, cause I'm following IBM's if-it-aint-broke-don't-fix-it advice
about the SP) I seem to have cured black icons (and I use a LOT of
customized icons)

Jeremy_Reimer@ |"It turned out, as N-Man discovered later, that the black
mindlink.bc.ca | boat hadn't been after him at all.  It was full of riotous,
---------------| unemployed former James Bond villains enraged at the fall
aka THE JAGUAR!| of Communism in the Soviet Union."
---------------|
Stealth Sig#69 |  --From "N-Man #3: N-Man on Holiday"

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

Date: 29 Dec 1992 09:16:51 -0700 (MST)
From: Ernie DeVries <[e-mail]>
Subject: Borland?

If you send a message to IN%"[e-mail]" you will get an
automatic reply with the latest information on Borland Pascal as well
as some helpful Internet addresses for departments at Borland.  The
contents of your message will be ignored.  I don't recall if the
subject line is supposed to be left blank or if it will be ignored
also.

|     /\                   Ernie DeVries                 |
|    /  \/\      Academic/Personal Computer Services     |
| /\/    \ \/\       [e-mail]          |
|   Northern Arizona University   "The Mountain Campus"  |

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

Date: 28 Dec 92 13:58:52 GMT
From: Ernst Kloecker <[e-mail]>
Subject: Both protocols IPX/SPX and TCP/IP on OS/2 machine ?

Hi,

in my new project I need to have both protocols, IPX/SPX and TCP/IP, on
one OS/2 machine with one network adapter (16-bit SMC). At the moment I
am running OS/2 1.32. I will update to OS/2 2.1x later. The TCP/IP
product I am using is IBM TCP/IP 1.21 for OS/2 1.32 and later.

IPX/SPX is needed to connect to a Netware 3.1 server for both file
access and access to an Oracle DBMS running on the Netware server.

TCP/IP will be used for an RPC-based application and to import/export
NFS file systems.

I heard about ODI drivers for OS/2. Is that what I need or are there
any better multi-protocol solutions ?

The same problem will arise for DOS/Windows clients at a later stage of
the project. Is there a similar solution ?

Thanks for any info, Ernst.
Ernst Kloecker      phone: ++49-30-6181635      e-mail: [e-mail]

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

Date: 28 Dec 92 18:21:13 GMT
From: Satan <[e-mail]>
Subject: Chip Sets, SCSI & Other Lore...

I am getting ready to purchase an EISA motherboard and have found a
variety of chip set manufacturers...

I currently have an ISA board that uses the SIS chip set and have had
no problems to date.  ANy reason *not* to buy an EISA board using this
chip set?

Also, are the new AMI 486 bioses out yet?

Last, along with the motherboard I am going to buy a caching SCSI card
to go along with it.  Currently I am looking at the AMI Fast Disk EISA
SCSI Caching Host, the DPT SmartCache Plus and the Adaptec EISA SCSI
Master (which isnt a caching card).  The AMI uses a 386 processor to
handle the cache - does this equate to a better performing card?  Any
suggestions on which of these to go with?

I plan to have 1 SCSI hard disk (quantum) and 1 NEC CDR-84 hooked up to
the SCSI card.  Will it be better to use the manufacturers SCSI drivers
or 3rd party such as the COREL SCSI drivers???

TIA,
    tim
[e-mail]
"How will these windows affect my final document?"

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

Date: 27 Dec 92 15:40:00 GMT
From: Jerome Yuzyk <[e-mail]>
Subject: copying FAT to HPFS

I will be moving large numbers of files from one machine, using FAT to
an identical machine, using a mix of HPFS and FAT partitions. I would
like suggestions on the best way to do this, while maintaining EAs and
all the other weird bits that OS/2 uses (and sometimes loses) to run
the WPS.

I have about 200M of apps and data files.  I expect to at least use
LHarc to grab and package files and EAs, and one or more WPS/INI-backup
tools to capture the INI and WPS directory structure.  Then I could
either do the floppy-shuffle, or boot both machines to DOS (machine1
has dual boot, machine2 has BootMan) and use a DOS thing I have called
Paranet to move files across the parallel ports to a FAT partition.
Finally (hopefully), I can unLHarc everything to its respective place.

Now, essentially, will this work from a FAT to an HPFS partition?  Can
I unarc directly, or should I unarc to FAT, and then XCOPY to HPFS?

Just trying to avoind the (b)leeding edge...

Thanks to all in advance...
 .-^-.-^-.-^-.-^-.-^-.-^-.-^-.-^-.-^-.-^-.-^-.-^-.-^-.-^-.-^-.-^-.-^-.-^-.-^-.
  Jerome Yuzyk                       [e-mail]
  a boy and his doo-dads                              Edmonton Alberta Canada
---
 . MR/2 1.37 NR . Let's Go Mets!

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

Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1992 16:00:11 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Leonard Erickson)
Subject: Documentation on IBM 8513 maintenance

[e-mail] writes:

>Some time ago (over a year), some very helpful person distributed a
>document relating to maintenance of IBM 8513 monitors (colour, VGA,
>12"). I passed my copy onto our hardware chap, who can longer lay his
>hands on it. My monitor has now developed a minor fault (a visible
>horizontal scan bar during mode changes), and I would very much like to
>locate a copy of the original document.  I have scanned SIMIBM.IDX to
>no effect; if the original poster, or anyone having a copy, could get
>in touch, I would be much obliged.

I could use a copy of such a document myself! My 8513 has gotten
"fuzzy" (out of focus? convergence shifted? ) And rather hard to
read...

Leonard Erickson              [e-mail]
CIS: [70465,203]             [e-mail]
FIDO:   1:105/51     [e-mail]
(The CIS & Fido addresses are preferred)

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

Date: 27 Dec 92 10:50:39 GMT
From: Chuck Strouss <[e-mail]>
Subject: DRAM refresh rates

 [e-mail] (Christian Blum) writes:

>No way this will work. The refresh rate is set to 18.2 per second; since
>there are 512 rows to refresh, this means every bit in your computer's
>DRAM is refreshed every 20 seconds! There are DRAMS that survive 15ms
>without being refreshed, but a 70ns DRAM can't take it. Try about 10ms
>......

It is surprising how long some DRAMs can go without refresh.  For
production systems, you must believe the manufacturers worst-case
specs, but DRAMs rarely need to be refreshed that often.

A while back, I was working on the software for a computer system that
did its DRAM refresh with a software interrupt -- it only took about 5%
of the CPU time.  At first, we had a bug in our refresh code, but the
system was still working remarkably well.  Tracing down another bug
revealed that we weren't refreshing at all, except for the natural
refreshing that came from the execution of code.

Once we got the refresh working, we decided to determine exactly how
slow we could refresh and still have the system work.  We made sure
that the CPU was executing in a tight loop the rest of the time, so
that normal execution wasn't refreshing.

Turns out the particular DRAMs we were using, at the temperatures we
were running, held their contents just fine with a 1-2 second refresh
rate.  They started failing a bit at 5 sec, and were still 80% correct
after 15 sec.

We expanded our experiments a bit, and tried DRAMs from different
manufacturers, and also tried different temperatures.  There were
remarkable differences with both parameters.  We ended up taking the
full 5% CPU hit requirred to meet the manufacturers' specs, which I
think is a good decision for anybody who is tempted to play around with
refresh rates.

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

Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1992 14:32:44 -0500 (EST)
From: Keith Petersen - MACA WSMR <[e-mail]>
Subject: fsplit

[e-mail] (Jeffrey Marans) wrote:
> Has anyone seen a pd dos utility like the unix fsplit program?  I
> looked around the mirrors but only saw the bsd version which doesn't
> compile with MS C.

Directory PD1:<MSDOS.FILUTL>
 Filename   Type Length   Date    Description
==============================================
CHOP1292.ZIP  B   37626  921220  Chop/join large files ASCII/binary, with C src

An index of all files in the WSMR-SIMTEL20.Army.Mil MS-DOS collection
is available in two formats:

Directory PD1:<MSDOS.FILEDOCS>
 Filename   Type  Description
==============================================
SIMIBM.ZIP    B   Comma-delim list of all MSDOS files w/descrip.
SIMLIST.ZIP   B   Text format list of all MSDOS files w/descrip.

These files are updated every 7-10 days.  See AAAREAD.ME in that
directory for details.

SIMTEL20 allows only nine ANONYMOUS FTP logins during weekday
prime time, 5am to 3pm Mountain Time (GMT-7), but 27 otherwise.

SIMTEL20 files are also available by anonymous ftp from mirror sites
OAK.Oakland.Edu (141.210.10.117), wuarchive.wustl.edu (128.252.135.4),
ftp.uu.net (137.39.1.9), nic.funet.fi (128.214.6.100), src.doc.ic.ac.uk
(146.169.3.7), nic.switch.ch (130.59.1.40), archie.au (139.130.4.6),
nctuccca.edu.tw (140.111.3.21), by e-mail through the BITNET/EARN file
servers, or by uucp from UUNET's 1-900-GOT-SRCS.  See UUNET file
uunet!~/info/archive-help for details.

OAK.Oakland.Edu is the most up-to-date mirror because I maintain it,
in addition to my duties at SIMTEL20.  I run OAK's mirror program
whenever new files are added at SIMTEL20.

Keith
--
Keith Petersen
Maintainer of the MS-DOS archive at WSMR-SIMTEL20.Army.Mil [192.88.110.20]
Internet: [e-mail]     or      [e-mail]
Uucp: uunet!umich!vela!w8sdz                         BITNET: w8sdz@OAKLAND

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

Date: Wed, 30 Dec 92 08:47:44 EST
From: [e-mail] (A. Kaniss)
Subject: fsplit

You may want to download a package called filters.zip.  There's a
program in it called forclean.com and its source code.  This may get
done what you want to do.

jude <[e-mail]>

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

Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1992 12:04:55 -0700
From: Ron Feigen <[e-mail]>
Subject: Setting up COMx: Port

I hope I am not bugging you but I saw you post on the net.  I have (I think) a
relavtively simple DOS progamming question.  If you have a moment I hope you
can give me a hand.

I should say that I am proficient in Unix/'C' my problem is hardware
setup on a PC.  I need to write/port a small communication API from
Unix.  How do I setup the com?: port?  I don't want to have the user
use the DOS mode command to set baud, parity, ect on the serial port.

If you could point me in the right direction I would really, really
appreicate it!!!!!!

Thanks,
Ron Feigen
[e-mail]

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

Date: Wed, 30 Dec 92 09:41:14 EST
From: [e-mail] (Dimitri Vulis)
Subject: 32-bit programming using MASM 6.00b (V92 #207)

> Date: 16 Dec 92 22:37:57 GMT
> From: Kai Uwe Rommel <[e-mail]>
>
 ...

> .386
> .model  flat
> .stack  04000H
>
> includelib doscalls.lib
>
  ...
> extern  DOS32WRITE:proc
> extern  DOS32EXIT:proc
 ...
> start   proc
>         call    DOS32WRITE
 ...
>         call    DOS32EXIT

If you have the OS/2 Toolkit, you have the library OS2386.LIB, and can
rewrite the above as:

  includelib os2386.lib
...
  extern  DOSEXIT:proc
...
  call    DOSEXIT

---
[e-mail] (Dimitri Vulis)
Brighton Beach Boardwalk BBS, Forest Hills, N.Y.: [phone], 14.4Kbps

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

Date: 27 Dec 92 20:21:37 GMT
From: Allen J Michielsen <[e-mail]>
Subject: MSDOS/intel machine

In article @newstand.syr.edu> [e-mail] (David Meltzer) writes:
>In article <@ub.d.umn.edu> [e-mail] (Chris) writes:
>>   Ok.  I will rephrase my question.
>>Is there a msdos computer that does not run intel binary code (excluding
>>emulaters)? (V20/AMD/Cyrix chips and the like all run intel binary
>>code.)

>If a computer didn't run Intel code, then it wouldn't be able to run
>Ms-Dos.  Ms-Dos is not a portable OS like Unix may be, it only is made for
>Intel code, like Mac's System 7 wont run on anything but a Motorola.

Bssst.  Thanks for playing...
There are several software emulators to run MS-DOS and DOS applications
on non-Intel CPU's.  Soft-PC may be the most well known.  They have a
package for MAC's, which do not have a Intel CPU, and SPARC's (Sun
SparcStations) which also doesn't have a Intel CPU.  Neither of the
CPU's can -run Intel code- but they both do execute intel binary code
by reading it, and -converting- it into native code (a gross
simplification).

A version of MS-DOS could be written for almost any native CPU
available, but I suppose the MS could be forced to be dropped from
it...  Of course the software emulator was specifically excluded from
the discussion.  The real point may be put that the original question
may well still be flawed.  I'm not sure what value the question or
answer is, but generally, I'd say the best answer is no.  There is no
msdos or dos computer that does not have a Intel CPU as a core cpu.
The DEC Rainbow 100 & 100+ computer may have come the closest, it had a
8086 and a Z80.  As I understand it, the Z80 assisted in the video
partion of the system, and it required a special version of dos to run
on it because of the Z80.  Versions 2.10, & 3.10 are available for it
currently.  WANG may have made a DOS or MSDOS for a non-Intel cpu I
don't know.  Anyway, David's real point may have been, even if a DOS or
MSDOS is available for a non-Intel cpu system, DOS applications would
have to be run between e either a software emulator or a binary
converter, in order to run, because Intel binary code (programs) are
written for a hardware platform (aka a intel cpu,) AND a OS like dos.
al

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

Date: 28 Dec 92 17:18:01 GMT
From: "Ming T. Lin" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Optical Scanner and OCR

    I am interested in getting an optical scanner and OCR software for
archiving some of the document in my office. Can some one tell me your
experience with the products you bought. My requirement is strictly for
quailty documentation purpose. Please send email.

Thankyou in advance.

-M. Lin
[e-mail]

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

Date: 28 Dec 92 13:47:53 GMT
From: Ed Geraghty <[e-mail]>
Subject: OS of the future....RFD about configuration


Greetings,

I have been using OS/2 since LA and been a very satisfied customer. I
had two questions that some might want to kick around.

/***********/
System for Applying Patches and System Software Revision
/***********/

   I didn't realize how much a pain applying patches was until I
downloaded and applyed the CSD for TCP/IP, PMX, NFS and the SP. Each
CSD installed with different commands and the NFS(?) package's install
script required changes because it copied files directly from drive a:.

Another thing I find lacking is that the syslevel files are all over
the drives. If I type syslevel and I have mounted CD-ROMS(over a
network), NFSed disks from Unix boxs. The syslevel command will take 10
minutes to run.  The results displayed by syslevel only show the
previous CSD level not a history.

I am also using the RS/6000 AIX while the installp updatep programs may
have their own problems. It is convienient to use one command to
install updates. Also the lslpp command is nice because it can give you
a list of products installed and what revision you are running with a
complete history. The product history and inventory is located in one
area for quick retrieval.

/***********/
System Configuration: config.sys
/***********/

Another thing I realized while Installing products on an OS/2 machine
(this is not limited to OS/2 DOS/WINDOWS is another such problem) that
the config.sys is loaded at boot time and tends to get mangled. I
installed LAN server and It tacked on 15-20 lines then TCPIP 10 more
lines to my config.sys. With this jumble how would you uninstall
something from that machine(what line to blow away). Installing
programs just tackon stuff to the config.sys sometimes with disasterous
results.

Is there a better way of handling system configuration then config.sys?
How does Macintosh doit. The UNIX rc file system while similar to
config.sys does split the tasks among different files. (rc.net rc.local
rc.boot).

Would it be good to have a rc.wp51, rc.win31, etc...

/***********/

These are problems that I see with todays OS offerings. None of these
problems will be fixed anytime soon but I'm interested in where things
are going or should be going in the future(with regards to these two
areas). As more users are networked the config.sys will get longer and
more complicated.  The time required to configure and maintain machines
will increase.  Admin people are busy enough and don't need questions
like I installed a new package and now my news reader doesn't work.

                          Looking forward to hearing ideas,

                          Ed G

Ed Geraghty
Systems Manager
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Dynamic Brain Imaging Lab
Bronx, NYC 10461
email: [e-mail]

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

Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1992 15:58:00 GMT
From: [e-mail] (Leonard Erickson)
Subject: PS/2 High Density mode for 3.6" Floppy isn't Compatible

[e-mail] writes:

>It's simply because brand name IBM's use a disk drive that doesn't
>search for the extra sense hole present in HD disks.  Thus, you can
>have a low or high density disk and always be able to format it as HD.

Not quite right. The drive *has* the sensor, it's just been jumpered to
*not care* if the hole is there (this also lets you do stupid things
like format an HD disk to DD!)

>On the other hand, clone machines almost always search for the extra
>sense hold and won't read a disk as being high density unless it has
>that hole.  A 3 1/2 disk formatted on an IBM as high density will not
>be recognized on the clone machine unless the sensor is diabled.

Not all drives *can* be jumpered to the "don't care" state. I went thru
this both with drives in Compaqs (Compaq jumpers them to "don't care".
And in my home machine, where my 1.44 drive doesn't *have* a jumper
setting for "don't care" (I can jumper it to think all disks are HD or
all disks are DD though!)

Leonard Erickson              [e-mail]
CIS: [70465,203]             [e-mail]
FIDO:   1:105/51     [e-mail]
(The CIS & Fido addresses are preferred)

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

Date: 28 Dec 92 14:03:07 GMT
From: Chris Double <[e-mail]>
Subject: Trident SVGA Problems

Hi.

I've got a problem with my OS/2 system and was wondering if anyone else
has experienced this problem.

When OS/2 boots, the OS/2 logo appears. This clears with a cursor in
the upper left for about 30 seconds then the WPS desktop appears.  This
is a normal boot.

If any device driver (loaded in CONFIG.SYS) displays a message on the
screen at the stage of the cursor being in the upper left I lose Super
VGA ability in my DOS/WINOS2 sessions. It doesn't even have to be a
device driver displaying the message. If the HPFS system does an
autocheck of the disks and displays the results this causes the problem
too. Any access of the screen at this point appears to be the problem.

Luckily, no original OS/2 device drivers write to the screen. Some
third party drivers I want to use do and this results in no SVGA.

I still get SVGA on the WPS desktop with no problem (ie. at 800x600x16
resolution). It's only DOS & WINOS2 where I lose it. Any SVGA program
(CSHOW, WINOS2 at 640x480x256) displays strangely. I also get sync
problems swapping between DOS and OS/2 desktop.

If I remove any drivers that display to the screen, all is ok again.
Weird. Anyone else experiencing these problems? I would appreciate any
ideas as to how to fix this!!!

For the record, my system is:

386DX/40Mhz 8MB Ram
200MB hard drive
Trident TVGA D3.01 9000 card with 512K
Soundblaster Pro at IRQ5, DMA1, ADDR220
Internal 14.4K Modem/Fax at COM1
COM1 disabled on motherboard leaving only COM2.
LPT1 at IRQ7

I've tried disabling caching on the AMI Bios setup, enabling caching
but no change.

If you have any ideas I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks,

Chris Double.
[e-mail]

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

Date: 26 Dec 92 23:41:06 GMT
From: Ed June <[e-mail]>
Subject: UUPC W ?

Shouldn't there be docs for the W release of the Kendra WonderWorks
UUPC?  I have the executables & source, but no docs.  I don't see any
docs/examples for the dos nor OS/2 components.  Is the doc files
available?  I'm currently using the V docs & examples.

I need a dial up source, no ~ftp here...
*8^(
   Ed June

   Fidonet:   1:133/308, Atlanta's OS/2 Users Group BBS, 404-471-1549
   Internet:  [e-mail]
   UUCP:      ...!emory!uumind!overmind!ed_june

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

End of Info-IBMPC Digest V93 #1
*******************************
-------