brown@endor.harvard.edu (Bilbo Baggins) (08/07/86)
I have an old IBM PC with 64K of RAM on the motherboard, and I have just purchased a hard disk. By patching a DOS floppy disk, the copy of DOS 2.0 that I have is able to recognize that I have a hard disk. However, this does not allow me to boot off the hard disk. What must I do to be able to boot off the hard disk? I have talked to one computer store that will sell me a new set of ROMS for my 64K motherboard so that my computer will behave as an IBM XT does. Unfortunately, they want $50 for the ROMS. I have access to a 256K motherboard PC and to an XT and to a PROM burner. Can anyone give me explicit instructions as to how I can go about making my own set of ROMS? Lastly, perhaps somewhere there is a program that I can use to boot off a partition on my drive. I could then boot up my PC with the old ROMS from the floppy and then type "boot 1" to COMMAND.COM to reboot off the first partition of my hard disk drive. If I a program like this, I would not need to get my ROMS updated. Bob Brown brown@harvard.uucp brown@harvard.arpa brown@encore.uucp bob brown UUCP: allegra!harvard!brown ARPA: brown@harvard
smvorkoetter@watmum.UUCP (Stefan M. Vorkoetter) (08/08/86)
If you prepare your hard disk as if you were going to boot from it, and then create a boot floppy with these two files on it (in addition to command.com and the system files), you should be able to boot from your hard disk after booting from the floppy. Files: Contents: AUTOEXEC.BAT command c:command.com /p CONFIG.SYS whatever you want to put in it Then, you boot with this floppy. It makes the copy of command.com on c: the default one. The /p means to overwrite the existing copy, so you don't have two of them in memory. You will lose about 3K of RAM however. I use a similar technique to boot from a RAM disk, except that my autoexec first copies the parts of DOS that I want (including command.com) to the RAM disk, and then "boots" from the RAM disk.
rde@ukc.ac.uk (R.D.Eager) (08/12/86)
[Food for line eater]
I have a program that allows you to boot off the hard disk on early (64K)
PCs; in fact I wrote it. It makes you a special boot floppy (still usable
for files) which sets up the hard disk then boots from it. Transparent if
you accept the fact that a floppy has to be inserted before boot.
Now...I could post it to the net if there is interest. However there may be
a nearer reply. Alternatively I could put it on a floppy if you send me one.
Thoughts?
--
Bob Eager
rde@ukc.UUCP
rde@ukc
...!mcvax!ukc!rde
Phone: +44 227 66822 ext 7589keithe@tekgvs.UUCP (Keith Ericson) (08/12/86)
First of all - copying the ROMs from a PC-2 machine to put in the PC-1 is stealing. But enough about *my* hang-ups... The PC-1 ROM code doesn't know the foggiest thing about a hard-disk drive. In my PC-1 I've installed a (very early Maynard Systems) hard-disk and controller system. To boot up - from the floppy - and then get access to the hard-disk requires inclusion of a hard-disk driver in the floppy's config.sys file; the driver also must reside on the floppy. My floppy's autoexec.bat file is minimal: it calls up a file (setup.bat) on the hard-disk to finish everything up (start up sidekick, search, aliases, etc). Recently I *purchased* the upgrade ROMs from IBM. And guess what! The thing *still* doesn't boot up from the hard disk. That's because the controller card doesn't have the required ROM on it to auto-boot. But I'm going to fix that, too, 'cause the bearings are going out on the drive and I'm going to replace it (and the controller card, too) with a 20 Mbyte as soon as it arrives. Here's hoping that the new controller card will autoboot... keith
brown@nicmad.UUCP (08/15/86)
In article <1677@tekgvs.UUCP> keithe@tekgvs.UUCP (Keith Ericson) writes: >First of all - copying the ROMs from a PC-2 machine to put in the >PC-1 is stealing. But enough about *my* hang-ups... Are you sure about that? How can you steal an IBM ROM to place into an IBM machine?!?!?! It's their product in their machine?!?!?! There isn't a jury in these states that are going to hang you on that one. I doubt that IBM would try to hang you either. It would make them look pretty foolish. I'm sure they hate having to make those dumb little $30 (there abouts) ROM kits. -- ihnp4------\ harvard-\ \ Mr. Video seismo!uwvax!nicmad!brown topaz-/ / decvax------/
stevel@dartvax.UUCP (Steve Ligett) (08/26/86)
In article <820@nicmad.UUCP> brown@nicmad.UUCP (Mr. Video) writes: >In article <1677@tekgvs.UUCP> keithe@tekgvs.UUCP (Keith Ericson) writes: >>First of all - copying the ROMs from a PC-2 machine to put in the >>PC-1 is stealing. But enough about *my* hang-ups... > >Are you sure about that? How can you steal an IBM ROM to place into an >IBM machine?!?!?! It's their product in their machine?!?!?! Really? Ask Apple if it's ok to copy their new Mac roms to put in your old Mac... What the hell, if you buy any version of a piece of software, you can just make your own free copies of new versions that come out, right? -- Steve Ligett stevel@dartmouth or stevel@dartmouth.edu or (astrovax cornell decvax harvard ihnp4 linus true)!dartvax!stevel Standards eliminate variability and the requirement to make a decision; they need not be optimal.
tenney@well.UUCP (Glenn S. Tenney) (08/31/86)
But what do you do when you go to an IBM product center and TRY to buy the ROM upgrade, but are told that they won't sell it to you unless you buy their expansion chasis? And then they take your name just in case they ever get any more in stock, and SIX MONTHS LATER they get one.
howarde@mmintl.UUCP (09/06/86)
In article <1697@well.UUCP> tenney@well.UUCP (Glenn S. Tenney) writes: >But what do you do when you go to an IBM product center and TRY to buy the >ROM upgrade, but are told that they won't sell it to you unless you buy >their expansion chasis? And then they take your name just in case they ever >get any more in stock, and SIX MONTHS LATER they get one. I've seen that happen before, and the best way around this brain damage is to swallow hard and buy it from an authorized dealer/repair center. It costs serious amounts of money, but that's one of the many advantages you get by buying an IBM product - the ability to spend money on it. (Not true of all products - I have a 31 yr. old IBM Executive that still types beautifully and costs almost nothing to maintain.) BTW - Copying the ROMs is illegal, and I have heard of IBM dealers refusing to repair units that have copied ROMs in them. If you dupe the ROMs and have a problem that requires an authorized dealer, you may be out of luck.
ark@alice.UucP (Andrew Koenig) (09/09/86)
> BTW - Copying the ROMs is illegal, and I have heard of IBM dealers refusing > to repair units that have copied ROMs in them. If you dupe the ROMs and > have a problem that requires an authorized dealer, you may be out of luck. The people that have that happen to them are lucky. I heard a story about a repair agency for a particular brand of microphone made overseas. When someone came in with a broken microphone for repair, they would check the serial number against the list of serial numbers of microphones they knew to be legally imported. If it didn't match the list, the customer would never get it back. Moreover, they would deny that the customer ever brought it in for repair in the first place, or that any such microphone ever existed. I was outraged at the time, but now I'm not so sure.
berger@clio.Uiuc.ARPA (09/12/86)
I don't believe it's illegal to copy roms for PERSONAL, non- commercial use. And you can always put the originals back in if you need service. As far as gray market merchandise, different manufacturers have different policies. Nakamichi is happy to repair any of their products under warranty. Seiko won't honor the warranty on something that wasn't imported through proper channels. Sony wants to maintain a reputation as an inter- national company, and reluctantly honors warranties on gray market merchandise. Note that there's nothing illegal about the gray market - it just circumvents artificially high prices. K-Mart says that gray market Seiko watches bought off the shelf in Japan cost them less (even though they have to eat the exchange on defective merchandise since Seiko won't) than purchasing from a Seiko jobber in the US in huge quantities.
ken@argus.UUCP (Kenneth Ng) (09/14/86)
In article <6037@alice.uUCp>, ark@alice.UucP (Andrew Koenig) writes: > > BTW - Copying the ROMs is illegal, and I have heard of IBM dealers refusing > > to repair units that have copied ROMs in them. If you dupe the ROMs and > > have a problem that requires an authorized dealer, you may be out of luck. > > The people that have that happen to them are lucky. > I heard a story about a repair agency for a particular brand of > microphone made overseas. When someone came in with a broken > microphone for repair, they would check the serial number against > the list of serial numbers of microphones they knew to be legally > imported. If it didn't match the list, the customer would never > get it back. Moreover, they would deny that the customer ever > brought it in for repair in the first place, or that any such microphone > ever existed. > > I was outraged at the time, but now I'm not so sure. What if the customer shows a receipt which indicates the item had be accepted by them for repair? I'd like to accuse the repair agency of theft because the customer really has no idea whether or not the microphone is a legal one when it is purchased. I think a little cooperation to track down the seller of a counterfeit item would on the long run be more profitable. -- Kenneth Ng: Post office: NJIT - CCCC, Newark New Jersey 07102 uucp(for a while) ihnp4!allegra!bellcore!argus!ken *** WARNING: NOT ken@bellcore.uucp *** !psuvax1!cmcl2!ciap!andromeda!argus!ken bitnet(prefered) ken@orion.bitnet --- Please resend any mail between 10 Aug and 16 Aug: --- the mailer broke and we had billions and billions of --- bits scattered on the floor.
mikey@bbimg.UUCP (09/15/86)
> I heard a story about a repair agency for a particular brand of > microphone made overseas. When someone came in with a broken > microphone for repair, they would check the serial number against > the list of serial numbers of microphones they knew to be legally > imported. If it didn't match the list, the customer would never > get it back. Moreover, they would deny that the customer ever > brought it in for repair in the first place, or that any such microphone > ever existed. Give me a break! This is commonly called THEFT! Anyone stupid enough to fall for this line of crap deserves what they get. Doesn't anyone get a receipt for stuff they give up? If they deny it as missing, then they owe you another one. Are people this stupid? Or are people just mindless sheep? Maybe stupidity is the reason the software industry is in the shape it's in. Maybe W.C. Fields line should read, 'You can't cheat an honest man, unless he's that F*CKING stupid!" Mike Yetsko trsvax!techsup!bbimg!mikey
jljl@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP (james e levin) (09/16/86)
My brother-in-law is about to take a trip to the orient, and was thinking about buying an MS-DOS computer off the shelf in Taiwan or Korea and bringing it back with him. Does anyone know what technical or legal issues need to be considered to pull this off? He's talking about a name brand machine, not a no-name clone. Has anyone on the net actually done this? Is it worthwhile?
howarde@mmintl.UUCP (09/16/86)
In article <9200018@clio> berger@clio.UUCP writes: >Nf-From: clio.Uiuc.ARPA!berger Sep 11 18:05:00 1986 >I don't believe it's illegal to copy roms for PERSONAL, non- >commercial use. And you can always put the originals back in >if you need service. Part of buying the machine includes accepting the terms of the license agreement. Like all software currently sold, you have the right to make all copies necessary for your continued use. (Not usually required w/ROMs). Copying the ROMs for another machine is _exactly_ the same as making copies of <your favorite application> for a friend. If your machine tends to eat ROMs, you may make copies of the ROM for your personal protection, but that's it. (If that's the case, I'd get a new machine :-)) You are correct about one thing - you can always put the original ROMs back in before servicing. I would recommend that as most dealers I know won't jeopardize their relationship with IBM by servicing machines with pirated code. You can copy the ROMs for backup purposes, bot NOT for "PERSONAL, non-commercial use" in another machine. That is most definitely illegal.
keithe@tekgvs.UUCP (Keith Ericson) (09/16/86)
In article <9200018@clio> berger@clio.Uiuc.ARPA writes: > >I don't believe it's illegal to copy roms for PERSONAL, non- >commercial use. And you can always put the originals back in >if you need service. > You're right, IFF you're copying ROMs you already own for your own use. If you "borrow" the ROMS from your friend's machine, copy them and place the copied into YOUR mcahine you've violated the copyright law, plain and simple. (Actually, I *think* you're in violation even if YOU own BOTH machines and copy from one to use in the other.) One of the best ways to test this is to ask (and answer) the question "Am I getting something for nothing?" (disallowing, of course the out-of-pocket expense for the parts - ROMs, copy machine, etc). If your answer is "yes" then you have violated the section of the law in which you are depriving the owner of the copyright from remuneration for the work. You are welcome to ignore this posting totally - I don't really care. keith
nclee@sbcs.UUCP (Nai Chi Lee) (09/19/86)
> My brother-in-law is about to take a trip to the orient, and was > thinking about buying an MS-DOS computer off the shelf in Taiwan or Korea and > bringing it back with him. Does anyone know what technical or > legal issues need to be considered to pull this off? It is usually not worth while. You can get those PC clones here dirt-cleap (look at ads on Byte). While you may save one to two hundred dollars on the system if you buy it in Taiwan or Korea, you can forget about technical support and warrentee. Those things are damn heavy and can get damaged easily during transit. Also, you may get into trouble with the US custom if the machine don't have FCC approval.
mjranum@gouldsd.UUCP (Marcus the Ranum) (09/21/86)
In article <185@sbcs.UUCP>, nclee@sbcs.UUCP (Nai Chi Lee) writes: > > My brother-in-law is about to take a trip to the orient, and was > > thinking about buying an MS-DOS computer off the shelf in Taiwan or Korea and > > bringing it back with him. Does anyone know what technical or > > legal issues need to be considered to pull this off? Gotta be careful with what you get on the Taiwan clone scene. I got a "turbo board" that had lots of memory parity problems because it had the worst RAM money could buy in it. My recommendation to your brother is that he find some local hobby/computer center (look in the PC Shopper) and buy from them. That way he knows who they are, and where they are, and can take the board back until it's fixed. I now have a splendid little XT In-Compat (it's not compatible 'cuz it's 3X faster and 1/3 as expensive) that never gives me any problems. To get this, though, I had to swap 1/2 the chips on the board. I would have been out a lot of money if I hadn't been able to keep showing up at the store that sold it to me, demanding a replacement chip for this, that, or the other. With computers these days. it seems that one of the prime rules is being able to get your hands on the guy that sold it to you... Live Free. MJR -- Old dark sleep pool Some fresh young morning-glory Dragonfly Hunter