Info-IBMPC@USC-ISIB.ARPA (Info-IBMPC Digest) (02/23/86)
Info-IBMPC Digest Sunday, 23 February 1986 Volume 5 : Issue 27
This Week's Editor: Richard Gillmann
Today's Topics:
Updated Xenix PC/AT C Compiler
Leading Edge Setup
NANSI is a Snowy Mode Program
CMR-ATTRIB.ASM added to Library
SAVSCR11.ASM added to Library
CRC2.PAS added to Library
IBM Mono vertical hold
Source for SPF/PC
How to Print the Screen from Basic
Undocumented switches in LINK
Query: Date and Time from Turbo Pascal
Problems locking bad sectors on AT hard drives
Interface to Videodisk Player Wanted
Wordstar Locations Wanted
Extended vs. Expanded Memory Query
Three Queries
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From: Herm Fischer <hermix!fischer@rand-unix.ARPA>
Reply-To: HFischer@ada20
To: info-ibmpc@isib.arpa
Subject: Updated Xenix PC/AT C Compiler
Date: Sat Feb 22 21:10:17 1986
The latest Microsoft update to the Xenix C compiler just about fixes up
the Large Model. Gasp! Finally! It sure is nice to be able to rely
on large model programs without hunting for compiler bugs...
(I found one problem with the optimizer generating bad code, but that was
obscure, avoided by dropping the -O flag, and so far hasn't recurred in
other programs. Register variables seem to finally work. A far cry from
having to hack middle model to allocate large data segments last
December...)
Look for the set of Microsoft update disks dated 12/31/85. I understand
they were sent out to the OEMs and DIAL customers. Your Xenix source
should be able to provide them.
(Other things fixed: shared memory; large malloc (32K-64K) seems to work
now; a huge model seems to generate code but some link modules are missing
(compiler flag -Mh); the way the kernel allocates internal memory is
different now (may affect custom driver code), and a few others.)
------------------------------
Date: 21 Feb 86 13:34:00 EST
From: <doug@ari-hq1>
Subject: Leading Edge Setup
To: info-ibmpc <info-ibmpc@usc-isid>
I ordered a Leading Edge "M" through the mail. When it arrived I set
it according to the instructions, except the instructions didn't tell
how to install the monitor card. No problem, except that once
installed I couldn't get anything on the screen. I reseated the card,
tried it in several different slots, even read the instructions. No
joy. Finally, about midnight, an image of a dip switch bubbled up
from some deep recess of my mind. Certainly not from the installation
documation - I finally found them mentioned in the Technical Specs,
about page 178. Those switches were set, quite logically, to null,
since the monitor card was not installed at the factory.
MORAL: It's not the device that's faulty -
more likely it's the documentation.
------------------------------
From: chapman%miro@BERKELEY.EDU (Brent Chapman)
To: kegel@juliet.caltech.edu
Cc: info-ibmpc@usc-isib.arpa
Subject: NANSI is a Snowy Mode Program
Date: 21 Feb 86 16:17:33 PST (Fri)
I snagged your NANSI driver from the INFO-IBMPC library. I like it so far,
but I have one problem with it: It thoroughly snows my screen. Any ideas
for a fix?
I have an AT with a CGA.
Thanks!
Brent Chapman
chapman@miro.berkeley.edu
------------------------------
Date: 21 Feb 1986 20:47:21 PST
Subject: CMR-ATTRIB.ASM added to Library
From: Eliot Moore <SWG.ELMO@USC-ISIB.ARPA>
To: info-ibmpc@USC-ISIB.ARPA
CMR-ATTRIB.ASM Modified attrib.asm to twiddle archive bit. I also made a
couple of other minor changes. I changed the command parser to
make '.*' the default when the file name extension is not
specified. I changed the command parser to accept ";" as a
delimiter. I changed the command parser to accept multiple
attributes. In the case of incompatible attributes the last
one wins.
The user should be aware that there are some other differences
between this program and the dos 3.10 attrib command. The dos
attrib command lists the entire drive and path when listing
files, while this program lists only as much of the path as
the user specified.
Original program was written by Bob Eager, Herne Bay, England.
Craig Milo <Rogers@Isi> 3-Feb-86
------------------------------
Date: 21 Feb 1986 21:26:10 PST
Subject: SAVSCR11.ASM added to Library
From: Eliot Moore <SWG.ELMO@USC-ISIB.ARPA>
To: info-IBMPC@USC-ISIB.ARPA
SAVSCR.ASM Is a resident program to write text displayed on a
screen to disk. Version 1.1 adds support for the EGA board.
Ted Shapin <Bec.Shapin@ECL> 11 Feb 86
------------------------------
Date: 21 Feb 1986 22:15:59 PST
Subject: CRC2.PAS added to Library
From: Eliot Moore <SWG.ELMO@USC-ISIB.ARPA>
To: info-IBMPC@USC-ISIB.ARPA
CRC2.PAS A collection of documented routines to calculate CRC's
written for Turbo pascal, inspired by CRC.PAS
David Dantowitz <dantowitz%eagle1@decwrl.dec.com> Feb 86
------------------------------
Date: 22 Feb 1986 02:39:07 EST
Subject: IBM Mono vertical hold
From: Franklin Antonio <QUALCOMM@USC-ISID.ARPA>
To: info-ibmpc@USC-ISIB.ARPA
Someone asked recently if IBM Mono displays had a vertical hold
adjustment. Yes. Several pots inside.
VR401 -- Vertical Hold
VR402 -- Vertical Size
VR403 -- Vertical Linearity
Pretty simple circuitry. Schematic is in the IBMPC technical
reference manual.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 22 Feb 86 20:28 EST
From: Yedidyah Langsam <YDLBC%CUNYVM.BITNET@WISCVM.WISC.EDU>
Subject: Source for SPF/PC
To: <Info-IBMPC@USC-ISIB.ARPA>
To the individual who was looking for the source of SPF/PC:
Command Technology Corporation
1900 Mountain Boulevard
Oakland, California 94611
415-339-3530
telex: 509330
------------------------------
From: todd%trsvax.UUCP@BRL.ARPA
Subject: How to Print the Screen from Basic
Date: Tue, 11-Feb-86 15:12:00 PST
To print the screen from BASIC, a short assembly language
program will do the trick. The assembly language routine is
embedded in a string, and should work with any MS-DOS BASIC.
To use it, just say GOSUB 900.
900 ' Dump screen using INT 5
910 A$ = CHR$(&HCD) + CHR$(&H5) ' int 5 instruction
920 A$ = A$ + CHR$(&HCB) ' far return instruction
930 ENTRY!=PEEK(VARPTR(A$)+1)+256*PEEK(VARPTR(A$)+2)
940 CALL ENTRY!
950 RETURN
This information has been provided by an individual.
... canonical disclaimer ...
Todd Milburn
Tandy Corp.
------------------------------
From: rde@ukc.ac.uk
Subject: Undocumented switches in LINK
Date: Wed, 12-Feb-86 16:54:17 PST
Some people may have seen the article about the /E switch in LINK
although it may not have come to this newsgroup. Not quite sure where
it came from, but basically it said that there was an undocumented
switch in LINK, the /E switch (actually, that's the minimum
abbreviation; its full name is EXEPACK). Apparently it does much the
same job as the EXEPACK utility that comes with version 4 of the
assembler; it compresses uninitialised data areas and grafts in a bit
of code to expand them again at run time. Sure makes a difference on
some files! For example, version 2.27 of MS-Kermit shrinks (the .EXE
file that is) from 84K to 35K approx (but then there are some enormous
data areas for screen saving). Version 2.28 of MS-Kermit claims space
dynamically so the saving won't be as dramatic. The time taken to do
the expansion at the start of execution is a *lot* less than the time
taken to load 50K of zeros off a floppy.
This switch is not present in version 3.00 of the linker (came with
the 3.00 assembler) but it is in version 3.02 of the linker (came with
version 1.0 of QuickBasic).
Incidentally, both 3.00 and 3.02 have a handy switch called /HELP
(abbreviation at least /HE) which just summarises switches and exits.
There is also a /WINDOWS switch; no idea what it does though.
Bob Eager
rde@ukc.UUCP
rde@ukc
...!mcvax!ukc!rde
Phone: +44 227 66822 ext 7589
------------------------------
Date: 18 Feb 1986 05:57-PST
Subject: Query: Date and Time from Turbo Pascal
From: BSCHAAR@USC-ISIF.ARPA
To: info-ibmpc@USC-ISIB.ARPA
How do I get the date and time from within a Turbo Pascal program? Is
there a function call, or do I have to use some embedded assembly
code? Please provide me some code, or a pointer to a PC Digest
(volume and issue) where I can find it. Thanks.
Brian Schaar
------------------------------
From: chapman%miro@BERKELEY.EDU (Brent Chapman)
To: info-ibmpc@usc-isib.arpa
Subject: Problems locking bad sectors on AT hard drives
Date: 21 Feb 86 16:20:33 PST (Fri)
I use an AT, with a 20M disk, running DOS 3.10. I have been
experiencing problems with DOS's handling of bad clusters on the disk.
PC-TOOLS showed two bad clusters on the disk when it was formatted,
before any files were copied onto it. Now, however, it appears that
DOS has allocated right over the top of one of those two bad clusters.
Has anyone had any experience with this type of problem? Can anyone
suggest any solutions? I'd like to be able to mark these clusters in
some way and prevent DOS from allocating them. I could simply create
a file that is made up of these two bad clusters, then hide the file,
but when I did a backup/restore, that would because the file would be
restored to an arbitrary position on the disk, and something else
would be written over those bad clusters. Any other ideas?
Thanks!
Brent Chapman
chapman@miro.berkeley.edu
ucbvax!miro!chapman
------------------------------
Date: 21 February 86 19:30-PST
From: PHMWJ%SLACVM.BITNET@WISCVM.WISC.EDU
To: INFO-IBMPC@USC-ISIB.ARPA
Subject: Interface to Videodisk Player Wanted
Does anyone know about ways to use a PC to control a videodisk player?
A friend in the drama department here at Stanford is trying to put
together a catalog for his collection of slides in the form of a
database on a PC (probably an IBM AT), and it would be nice to be able
to display the pictures on a videodisk machine under control of the
program on the computer. I assume that this will require a physical
link of some sort and software on the computer, but my knowledge of
videodisk players is limited to that required to get one to play
Empire Strikes Back. If you send information to me directly, I will
be happy to summarize for the net.
Thanks in advance.
Pat McAllister
on BITNET: PHMWJ@SLACVM
on ARPANET: PHMWJ%SLACVM.BITNET@WISCVM.ARPA
------------------------------
Date: 22 Feb 86 03:20 GMT
From: oli2146 @ KOREA-EMH
Subject: Wordstar Locations Wanted
To: Info-IBMPC @ USC-ISIB.ARPA
Looking for the source code locations for the delay defaults used by
WordStar Ver 3.3. Thanks in advance
Mark H. Meaders
"From the Land of the Morning Calm" and the mid-afternoon madness...
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 21 Feb 1986 22:29:45 EST
From: Mark Harris Perlman <6108070%PUCC.BITNET@WISCVM.WISC.EDU>
To: info-ibmpc@usc-isib.arpa
Subject: Extended vs. Expanded Memory Query
Can anyone out there relate experiences using extended and expanded
memory on the AT in both a dos and XENIX environment? I know that
XENIX requires extended memory, but what about DesQview and Windows?
Also, will the Intel Above Board AT support both extended and expanded
memory? Thanks in advance.
--Mark Perlman
6108070@PUCC.BITNET
(Many of the above words are trademarks of many companies).
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 22 Feb 86 14:04:48 PST
From: Doug Lind <entropy!lind@uw-beaver.arpa>
To: INFO-IBMPC@usc-isib.arpa
Subject: Three Queries
1. Does anyone know of a package of Turbo Pascal scientific programs,
like the NAG library? It should handle standard problems (differential
equations, numerical integration, matrix operations, etc.), use
complex numbers, be available in source code, and it would be nice to
support Hercules card graphics, like the Turbo Graphix Toolbox.
2. The Norton NU program bombs out on my Zenith 158 with a message
about the program being out of memory (used on a hard disk with about
6 MB of files; works fine on the second hard disk). Is there a public
domain Unerase program to recover erased files similar to Norton's?
3. DoubleDos crashes on my Z158; the problem seems to be with the
keyboard buffer. Has anyone successfully run DoubleDos on a Zenith,
either at 4.77Mhz or 8Mhz? It crashes on mine at either speed.
DoubleDos is working on the problem, and seems to think the problem is
in the keyboard hardware of the Zenith.
Any information on these would be much appreciated.
Doug Lind, Univ. of Wash. Math. Dept.
uw-beaver!entropy!lind
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End of Info-IBMPC Digest
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