WELCH@bclcl1.im.battelle.org (Bill Welch (614)424-7155) (07/07/90)
There is a problem with the PC keyboard when running LanWORKS for DOS (nee PCSA) or any other network product. What happens is that scan code sent by the keyboard to the cpu/motherboard sometimes get lost. The motherboard manages to miss these scan codes because it is busy processing network traffic. The result seen by the user is that various keys start sending the wrong thing to the application. For example, the cursor keys will emit the numbers 2,4,6, or 8 instead of moving the cursor on the screen. Another symptom of this is that the numeric keys on the main keyboard will emit the punctuation symbols or the case of the alpha keys will be wrong. This problem is caused by a deficiency the keyboard and BIOS roms. IBM apparently has owned up to the problem and calls it the "delta key" problem. DEC has addressed this problem by workarounds: The have built a new version of the SCH routine. This module is not shipping yet but will probably be included in the next maintenance update to LanWORKS for DOS 3.0. The problem also exists in SETHOST but I have not yet seen a fix for this one. In addition, DEC (and Tandy) has solved this problem in the DECstation PC line by writing new code for the keyboard. My question is: Has anyone had any contact with IBM or any of the clone vendors about getting a fix for this problem? Does anyone have any more information about this problem? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bill Welch Internet: WELCH@BCLCL1.IM.BATTELLE.ORG Battelle Memorial Institute Bitnet: WELCH%BCLCL1@OHSTPY 505 King Avenue Packet Radio: W8LLU @ W8CQK.OH.USA.NA Columbus, Ohio 43201 Voice: (614)424-7155 Fax: (614)424-5263