rlr@bbt.UUCP (rader) (09/20/90)
Hi there, folks. I was wondering if you could give me a hand here. I have the chance to purchase an old Hewlett-Packard Vectra AT clone fairly cheaply. I don't know the model number or anything else, but I plan on taking the cover off and checking out the chip identification, etc. My question pertains to compatibility, as I have absolutely no experience with the Vectra clones. Since HP builds good equipment, I'm assuming the system is reliable. But since HP also likes to do things their own way, I'm also wondering about future compatibility problems. Any software incompatibilities with the AT standard? What about hardware? 100% compatibility is very important in this case. Also, is it feasible to plan on swapping a 386 motherboard (non-HP) into the case, thereby having a possible 386 clone for a lot less $$$$? Time is of the essence here, so if you have ANY experience with the Vectra clones, PLEASE reply via email (addresses below in my sig). If I get a collection of valuable info, I'll post it. And THANK YOU very much! -- ron rader, jr rlr%bbt@rti.rti.org = Opinions are my own and do not | | i gotta six- rlr%bbt$rti.rti.org@CUNYVM = necessarily reflect those of | | pack, & nothin' to do ...!mcnc!rti!bbt!rlr = BroadBand Tech. (SO THERE!) *** Punk ain't no religious cult, punk means thinking for yourself - DKs ***
bwb00@hplisa.HP.COM (Brian Brakke) (09/21/90)
> Hi there, folks. I was wondering if you could give me a hand here. >I have the chance to purchase an old Hewlett-Packard Vectra AT clone >fairly cheaply. I don't know the model number or anything else, but I >plan on taking the cover off and checking out the chip identification, etc I don't have all your answers but since time is of the essence... I own a Vectra ES. If the machine your looking at is a Classic or an ES you should have no problems. I read somewhere (don't remember where?) that the Vectra was one of the most IBM compatable machines. I personally have never had anything that didn't work on my Vectra. You're question about 386 boards also is viable. Although I have no 1st hand knowledge, I'm pretty sure this works OK. And THANK YOU very much! ---------- You're welcome.... Brian Brakke Loveland Instrument Division... The opinions expressed here are totally my own... blah..blah..blah
panek@hp-and.HP.COM (Jon Panek) (09/25/90)
> Ron Rader writes > > Hi there, folks. I was wondering if you could give me a hand here. > I have the chance to purchase an old Hewlett-Packard Vectra AT clone > fairly cheaply. I don't know the model number or anything else, but I > plan on taking the cover off and checking out the chip identification, etc. > You probably have a "Classic" Vectra, which means your uP is an Intel 80286. Nice chip, by the way. > My question pertains to compatibility, as I have absolutely no experience > with the Vectra clones. Since HP builds good equipment, I'm assuming the > system is reliable. But since HP also likes to do things their own way, > I'm also wondering about future compatibility problems. > As a previous poster noted, the Vectra is very compatible with the IBM machines. I've used the classic for commercial software for several years now with no trouble. In fact, Ive also done a bit of low-level work on the beast, writing in assembly, referencing BIOS calls, using port-level I/O, etc, and have never run into problems. You cleverly noted that HP likes to do things their own way. This is true in Vectra-land. Fortunately, all the HP extensions to the original IBM architecture are fully compatible. That means that if your software doesn't know about the HP extensions, it won't try to use them. Commercial software, clearly, wouldn't attempt to use these hooks. I'm pretty sure that what software HP offers actually performs a hardware check before it tries to use these hooks! If it's not an HP, it uses standard BIOS calls. > Any software incompatibilities with the AT standard? What about hardware? > 100% compatibility is very important in this case. Also, is it feasible to > plan on swapping a 386 motherboard (non-HP) into the case, thereby having > a possible 386 clone for a lot less $$$$? > > Time is of the essence here, so if you have ANY experience with the > Vectra clones, PLEASE reply via email (addresses below in my sig). If > I get a collection of valuable info, I'll post it. > > And THANK YOU very much! No problem. I hope you enjoy your Vectra as much as I have. Jon Panek HP Andover (Medical Products)
ostroff@aramis.rutgers.edu (Jack H. Ostroff) (09/25/90)
Regarding how IBM compatible Vectras - I have found two programs which have ever given me problems. One is a (not recent) version (no, I don't remember which one) of Desqview - which I could not get to do anything other than freeze, despite two days of work and several calls to their tech support. The other was the QEMM enhanced memory manager, which seemed to have trouble with the 4K enhanced BIOS immediately below the 1Meg mark. (Yes - Vectras give you 636K, not 640K.)
mat@emcard.UUCP (W Mat Waites) (09/26/90)
In article <Sep.24.22.22.59.1990.9283@aramis.rutgers.edu> ostroff@aramis.rutgers.edu (Jack H. Ostroff) writes: >Regarding how IBM compatible Vectras - I have found two programs which > The other was the QEMM enhanced memory manager, which seemed to have >trouble with the 4K enhanced BIOS immediately below the 1Meg mark. >(Yes - Vectras give you 636K, not 640K.) You can easily disable the enhanced bios with the setup menu. you type "yada" at the menu and another menu appears that allows you to disable the bios. (sorry if "yada" isn't exactly the right word, it's been a while since I disabled by bios) Mat -- W Mat Waites | Unlike most of you, I am not a nut. {gatech,emory}!emcard!mat | -H. Simpson
panek@hp-and.HP.COM (Jon Panek) (09/26/90)
Jack notes troubles with QEMM. I admit to some time spend "trialing and erroring" to find out which files could be loaded where, and which TSR's would send the machine into the ozone. I'd written these troubles off to the fact that I was also using a remote file server to provide virtual disk drives to my machine. Please note! QEMM *only* works for machines with the '386. A "classic" Vectra can't take advantage of the larger memory (except for applications which explicitly use it, such as Lotus 1-2-3). Jon Panek HP Andover