rfarris@serene.CTS.COM (Rick Farris) (10/10/88)
I've been wanting to upgrade to a 386 for a while. I've been hoping to
miraculously (California Lottery?) come into enough money to go out and
buy a new machine, complete with all accessories, and then at my leisure,
transfer files from my 286 system.
I don't have tape backup, nor do I foresee getting it *before* I get a 386.
Well, I've given up on the lottery, so I'm trying to figure out the
cheapest way to upgrade. The cheapest way I've found, is to swap out the
motherboard in my 286 with a 386 motherboard. That brings to mind the
following question:
If I just swap the motherboards, will 286 Xenix boot and run with no
problems on the 386? That would be really peachy, because then I could
install the 386 version of Xenix over the top of the 286 version, and my
spool directories, and user stuff would still be intact.
Have I forgotten anything else that I should consider?
Rick Farris rfarris@serene.cts.com voice (619) 259-6793
POB M KCBIW public access 259-7757
Del Mar CA 92014 ...!uunet!serene!rfarris serene.uucp 259-3704dyer@spdcc.COM (Steve Dyer) (10/10/88)
In article <279@serene.CTS.COM> rfarris@serene.cts.com (Rick Farris) writes: > If I just swap the motherboards, will 286 Xenix boot and run with no > problems on the 386? That would be really peachy, because then I could > install the 386 version of Xenix over the top of the 286 version, and my > spool directories, and user stuff would still be intact. Last year I installed an Intel Inboard 386/AT in my IBM PC/AT. While this is not exactly equivalent to replacing the motherboard, it's functionally the same (the Inboard plugs into a 16bit slot and is also connected via an umbilical cable to the 286 socket). I was running XENIX 286 2.1.3 at the time. Worked like a charm. I believe I manually installed XENIX 386 beta over the previous installation some weeks later without resorting to backups. While I could imagine exceptions, in general, a 386 AT clone should be able to run XENIX 286 without problems. -- Steve Dyer dyer@harvard.harvard.edu dyer@spdcc.COM aka {harvard,husc6,linus,ima,bbn,m2c,mipseast}!spdcc!dyer
jbayer@ispi.UUCP (id for use with uunet/usenet) (10/10/88)
In article <279@serene.CTS.COM>, rfarris@serene.CTS.COM (Rick Farris) writes: > > If I just swap the motherboards, will 286 Xenix boot and run with no > problems on the 386? That would be really peachy, because then I could > install the 386 version of Xenix over the top of the 286 version, and my > spool directories, and user stuff would still be intact. > The summary says it all. Jonathan Bayer Intelligent Software Products, Inc.
rfarris@serene.CTS.COM (Rick Farris) (10/13/88)
In article <215@ispi.UUCP> jbayer@ispi.UUCP writes: ~In article <279@serene.CTS.COM>, rfarris@serene.CTS.COM (Rick Farris) writes: ~~ ~~ If I just swap the motherboards, will 286 Xenix boot and run with no ~~ problems on the 386? That would be really peachy, because then I could ~~ install the 386 version of Xenix over the top of the 286 version, and my ~~ spool directories, and user stuff would still be intact. ~~ ~ ~The summary says it all. [It said "286 xenix runs on a 386"] ~ ~Jonathan Bayer Yes, but once I get the 386 motherboard installed, the plan is to upgrade to 386 xenix. Will it read my 286 style harddisks? Hey SCO! Are you listening? Will this work? Rick Farris rfarris@serene.cts.com voice (619) 259-6793 POB M KCBIW public access 259-7757 Del Mar CA 92014 ...!uunet!serene!rfarris serene.uucp 259-3704
jbayer@ispi.UUCP (id for use with uunet/usenet) (10/16/88)
In article <287@serene.CTS.COM>, rfarris@serene.CTS.COM (Rick Farris) writes: . In article <215@ispi.UUCP> jbayer@ispi.UUCP writes: . ~In article <279@serene.CTS.COM>, rfarris@serene.CTS.COM (Rick Farris) writes: . ~~ . ~~ If I just swap the motherboards, will 286 Xenix boot and run with no . ~~ problems on the 386? That would be really peachy, because then I could . ~~ install the 386 version of Xenix over the top of the 286 version, and my . ~~ spool directories, and user stuff would still be intact. . ~~ . ~ . ~The summary says it all. [It said "286 xenix runs on a 386"] . ~ . ~Jonathan Bayer . . Yes, but once I get the 386 motherboard installed, the plan is to upgrade . to 386 xenix. Will it read my 286 style harddisks? . . Hey SCO! Are you listening? Will this work? Yes. SCO has an upgrade from 286 to 386, and it will be able to read the current drives. Jonathan Bayer Intelligent Software Products, Inc.
ipc@drexel.UUCP (Image Processing Center) (10/16/88)
In article <279@serene.CTS.COM>, rfarris@serene.CTS.COM (Rick Farris) writes: > I've been wanting to upgrade to a 386 for a while. I've been hoping to > > If I just swap the motherboards, will 286 Xenix boot and run with no > problems on the 386? That would be really peachy, because then I could > install the 386 version of Xenix over the top of the 286 version, and my > spool directories, and user stuff would still be intact. > > Like Steve Dyer, I installed two INTEL Inboards as part of a SLEP (Service Life Extension Program) in my rotgut mongrel nameless clones. I've run all manners of XENIX and UNIX on them. No problems were noted except for the A31 coprocessor bug. Performance was slightly better than the 16 mhz Compaq when the 2 meg daughter cards were used. XENIX 386 obtained 6000 dhrystones with 32 bit memory, while with 16 bit one wait state AT memory cards, memory, I still clocked 3700 dhrystones. With no wait state bus memory, such as an Everex card, performance would be somewhere in between. It is possible to install XENIX 386 on top of the 286 version - an upgrade is available. My experience indicates that the INTEL Inboard is the most cost effective way to upgrade to a 386. I must admit I was also swayed by the five year warranty, since otherwise one would have to factor the cost of a service contract or catastrophic repair cost into the equation. If you want to read about my experience with UNIX on the INBOARD, get ahold of the August issue of Micro/Systems Journal, where I did a review.
dyer@arktouros.MIT.EDU (Steve Dyer) (10/17/88)
In article <287@serene.CTS.COM> rfarris@.UUCP (Rick Farris) writes: >Yes, but once I get the 386 motherboard installed, the plan is to upgrade >to 386 xenix. Will it read my 286 style harddisks? >Hey SCO! Are you listening? Will this work? The partition and file system structures are identical between XENIX 286 and XENIX 386. The big question is whether you'll need to upgrade to XENIX 386 manually, overlaying existing 286 programs in /bin, /usr/bin, /lib, /usr/lib, as well as /boot and /xenix or whether there is a well-defined 286-->386 upgrade script which does this more or less mechanically. If you call SCO with this question, they'll be happy to answer it, I'm sure, since it affects your purchase decision. --- Steve Dyer dyer@arktouros.MIT.EDU dyer@spdcc.COM aka {harvard,husc6,ima,bbn,m2c,mipseast}!spdcc!dyer