Info-IBMPC@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL ("Info-IBMPC Digest") (01/25/91)
Info-IBMPC Digest Fri, 25 Jan 91 Volume 91 : Issue 17
Today's Editor:
Gregory Hicks - Rota Spain <GHICKS@WSMR-Simtel20.Army.Mil>
Today's Topics:
Re: 16450 & 16550
Answering my own Soundblaster question
Re: Printer output redirection? (V91 #11)
Re: Windows 3 problem (V91 #12) (2 msgs)
looking to practice UNIX under DOS
PC RIM files
Today's Queries:
BIOS Trouble
Hardware wanted - Rudder Pedals for FS
SLIP for DOS
New Uploads:
JEMTX101.ZIP - JemTeX v1.01: Japanese TeX fonts and macros
RBSETNV1.ZIP Set/modify environment vars. w/C src.
VPWINFIX.ZIP - Ventura Publisher/Windows 3.0 patches, 11/90
XBIN23 BinHex Decoder uploaded to SIMTEL20
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Date: Tue, 22 Jan 91 14:57:15 +1100
From: david nugent <munnari!csource.oz.au!david@uunet.UU.NET>
Subject: Re: 16450 & 16550
In comp.sys.ibm.pc.digest you write:
> What is the functional difference between these 2 UART chips 16450 &
> 16550?
The 16550 has transmit and receive FIDOs, but to 16 bytes.
> I have a program that turns on/off the FIFO buffer on the 16550.
> Does the 16450 have a FIFO buffer?
No.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Jan 91 00:47:42 CST
From: dogface!bei@cs.utexas.edu (Bob Izenberg)
Subject: Answering my own Soundblaster question
I've noticed that voice samples recorded from a Radio Shack 33-1037a
mic using a Soundblaster board were pretty hissy. These messages that
I found on CompuServe address the problem from two different angles.
From: David Toole <72365.160@compuserve.com>
[ description of problem deleted ]
In my case, the solution is rather expensive (however, I needed the
mixer for other purposes). The console, part #32-1200B is $146 in
Canada. However, Radio Shack has cheaper models that MIGHT work.
Perhaps the $30 #32-1105 mike/line mixer would do the trick. It has a
mike level output control. I know the expensive model works, but I
can't make any guarantees for the cheaper ones. Might be worth a try
however, since Radio Shack stores are pretty good about taking back
unsuitable merchandise.
From: David Toole <72365.160@compuserve.com>
Just after posting my message about a fix for static in Soundblaster
recording from a mike I got the following message in the gamepub forum.
I thought it might be useful to those experiencing the same problem.
Fm: Guruka [Sierra On-Line] <71500.34@compuserve.com>
I solved the mic noise problem by using a condenser electret
microphone. It has high output (uses an internal battery to provide
bias for the condenser element). Radio Shock catalog number: 33-1060
(about $17). [ end of Compu$erve messages ]
I'll have a chance to try one or both of these out later this week...
-- Bob
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 21 Jan 91 22:19:09 CST
From: kw20lmh0%TWNITRI1.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU
Subject: Re: Printer output redirection? (V91 #11)
>From: "Derk Ederveen" <ederveen@pttrnl.nl>
>I would like to know if it is possible to make the PC think a printer
>is attached to it, while in fact there is nothing there. [...] Maybe
> some TSR-program that does the job?
I think the most convenient way for you is to run the DOS utility
PRINT.COM (a TSR program that queues the printer output) before running
your program.
James M. Li
CCL/ITRI
Taiwan
kw20lmh0@twnitri1.bitnet
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Jan 91 00:54:40 EST
From: Jimmy Law <PHYJLAW@vm.uoguelph.ca>
Subject: Re: Windows 3 problem (V91 #12)
re: windows 3... The last line referring to the disk driver is
important| I had a problem with the line in my config.sys:
device=dmdrvr.bin
This is the OnTrack Disk Manager driver, & SMARTDRV.SYS that comes with
Windows
Do NOT use it. It can corrupt your disk files: Microsoft in Toronto
were of no help, they said either
1) do not use smartdrv.sys OR
2) get rid of dmdrvr.bin.
I have temporarily deleted the disk manager driver, & lost 8MB of my
hard disk to run windows 3 in 386 mode.
My setup now includes the following in my CONFIG.SYS file:
device=c:\qemm\qemm386.sys ram
device=c:\qemm\loadhi.sys /r:3 c:\windows\smartdrv.sys 2048 512
device=c:\qemm\loadhi.sys /r:1 c:\windows\mouse.sys /Y
device=c:\qemm\loadhi.sys /r:2 c:\dos\ansi.sys
shell=c:\dos\command.com /P /E:300
break on
stacks=0,0
buffers=20/x
files=40
lastdrive=f
On my 386/33, this gives me 588736 bytes in DOS memory before loading
windows 3. I'm using QEMM v5.11. Windows will not work with QEMM
v5.0.
Another problem with windows can occur, if after you install windows,
changes are made to your system. I found that, on installing the ADOBE
Postscript software on my system for a LaserJet postscript cartidge,
windows would not allow non-windows programs to run in 386 enhanced
mode, but would run in win /r (standard mode). This was cured by
reinstalling windows. Now everything works in 386 mode... I don't know
why|
Hope this helps.
[This problem is quite similar to one described last year. See
following message for solution and/or determining if your system is as
risk as described above... gph]
------------------------------
Date: Tue Jul 24 20:42:24 1990
From: Gregory Hicks - Rota Spain <GHICKS@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL>
Subject: Windows 3.0 / SMARTDrive issue
After I received David's message, I contacted Mr Rich Abel, Group
Product Manager for Microsoft Windows and found the following:
The July 1989 information released by Microsoft Product Support
Services was based on some user feedback on problems with Windows /286
and Windows /386 V 2.1x that did not result in data loss or corruption.
Windows 3.0 went through a very extensive beta test with users and
developers. The SMARTDrive problem we have (described in detail below)
was not encountered in this beta test. Microsoft concluded that this
is because the majority of our beta testers were in corporate sites
which tend to use hard disk systems that are supported by the system
bios as well as use of versions of MS or PC DOS which support large
partitions.
The following notice was recently placed on Compuserve in the Windows
forum and was provided to the industry press to alert users that may be
affected by this SMARTDrive problem to the conditions necessary for
problems to occur.
* Microsoft Windows and third-party hard disk partitioning software
The Microsoft Windows development team, working closely with several
hardware and software vendors, has identified two rare scenarios that
might result in loss or corruption of data. The scenarios involve using
third-party disk-partitioning software with Microsoft's SMARTDrive disk
caching utility. We have shipped several hundred thousand copies of
Windows 3.0 and have only 12 customers with verified problems.
Microsoft Windows 3.0 itself works fine on these systems. The conflict
arises between the disk caching utility included with Windows called
"SmartDrive" and the listed third-party disk- partitioning software.
Windows 3.0 is fully functional without the optional disk caching
utility.
** SYSTEMS THAT MIGHT BE AT RISK
*** Scenario 1
Your system IS at risk if:
* You are using THIRD-PARTY disk positioning software, such as those
listed below AND
* A hard disk on your system has more than 1024 cylinders, AND
* You are using Microsoft Windows' SMARTDrive disk caching utility
This scenario can only occur if you are running third-party disk
partitioning software, because the DOS Fdisk partitioning software does
not support disks that have more than 1024 cylinders.
*** Scenario 2
Your system MIGHT be at risk if:
* You are using THIRD-PARTY disk positioning software, such as those
listed below AND
* Your system contains a hard disk whose type is not directly
supported by the system's ROM BIOS AND
* You are using Microsoft Windows' SMARTDrive AND
* You are using DOS version 3.30 or higher
The risk probability is greater if your system was customized with
off-the-shelf parts. Name brand computers ship with ROM BIOS versions
that support the hard drives installed by the manufacturer.
** DETERMINING THE RISK
Below is a list of known disk partitioning systems which when used in
conjunction with SMARTDrive pose a risk.
Each software package uses a device= line in the CONFIG.SYS file in
your root directory. The device= entry tells your system that the
software exists.
Open your CONFIG.SYS file with any text editor and see if one of the
following device= lines exists:
SOFTWARE: Disk Manager from Ontrack Computer Systems
CONFIG.SYS device=DMDRVR.BIN
SOFTWARE: SpeedStor from Storage Dimensions
CONFIG.SYS: device=SSTOR.SYS or device=HARDRIVE.SYS
SOFTWARE: InnerSpace from Priam Systems
CONFIG.SYS: device=EDVR.SYS
SOFTWARE: Vfeatures Deluxe from Golden Bow Systems
CONFIG.SYS: device=FIXT_DRV.SYS
NOTE: Microsoft DID provide a procedure for using Disk Manager to
diagnose the risk. Use that procedure if you have Disk Manager by
Ontrack.
** REMOVING THE RISK
If you've identified your system at risk, you can either remove
SMARTDrive or repartition your hard disk using the DOS Fdisk utility
instead of third part disk partitioning software.
To remove SMARTDrive from your system:
1. Open your CONFIG.SYS file with any text editor.
2. Delete this line: device=smartdrv.sys
3. Save the changes to CONFIG.SYS.
4. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL to reboot your system (or turn off your system
and then turn it back on).
Mr Abel stated that Microsoft was working on making SMARTDrive aware of
these disk partitioning packages, and would provide a free update to
affected users in the near future.
If you have additional questions, contact Microsoft Product Support at
(206) 454-2030.
* IF YOU USE DISK MANAGER
The following procedure applies to Disk Manager users only. Use it to
determine if your system is at risk.
To determine if you have a hard drive with more than 1024 cylinders:
1. At the DOS prompt, invoke Disk Manager in manual mode by typing
"DM /M".
2. Type "C": to display the disk configuration.
3. If any of the disks displayed have an Actual Cylinder Count over
1024, you are at risk when using SMARTDrive.
To determine if your hard disk is not supported in the system BIOS:
1. At the DOS prompt, type "VER" to display the version of DOS you are
running. If it is earlier than version 3.30, you are not at risk.
Otherwise continue.
2. At the DOS prompt, invoke Disk Manager in manual mode by typing
"DM /M".
3. Type "C" to display the disk configuration.
4. If the display says Parameters Are Standard, you are not at risk.
Otherwise, if it says Parameters Are Replaced, continue.
5. For each disk in your system, compare the Setup Parameters to the
Actual Parameters displayed. If all of the disks displayed have a Setup
Head Count which matches the Actual Head Count, and a Setup Sector
Count which matches the Actual Sector Count, then you are not at risk.
Otherwise, that drive is referred to as "non- homogeneous", and you
will need to continue.
6. From the Disk Manager main menu, type "S" to select the non-
homogeneous drive.
7. Type "P" to see the partition table for this drive.
8. If the drive contains a partition with the Type "DOS", AND one of
more Type "Write-Read" or "Read-Only" partitions, then you are at risk.
9. Repeat steps 6 through 8 for each non-homogeneous drive in your
system.
Again, Microsoft is working on a revised SMARTDrive that will solve
this problem for affected users and expects to have this available in
approximately a month. Users who are affected can call Microsoft
Product Support and be put on a list to receive the revised SMARTDrive
as soon as it is available.
Mr Abel stated that "Microsoft does not take this problem lightly. It
is, however very obscure. There is a large quantity of Windows 3.0 in
user hands today (in excess of 200,000 copies) yet the number of
reported cases of this problem numbers less than 50. This is not to
minimize the problem, but rather to put it into perspective as we
must."
Thanks,
Rich Abel
Group Product Manager
Microsoft Windows
------------------------------
Date: Monday, 21 Jan 1991 14:57:47 SET
From: <DAULIE%BANUFS11.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: looking to practice UNIX under DOS
What you might look for is MINIX, which is a UNIX variant running under
MSDOS. If I recall correctly the software is packed with a book about
MINIX, so give your library catalog a scan.
Hope this is of help,
Kind greetings,
Michel
------------------------------
Date: Monday, 21 Jan 1991 14:46:29 SET
From: <DAULIE%BANUFS11.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: PC RIM files
Those files are normally in the PC-BLUE archives of SIMTEL20 (notably
VOL204, VOL205 and VOL206). I however seem to recall that the PC-BLUE
volumes were taken offline to recuperate diskspace (check pls). On the
other hand, a search in my ftp list indicates a reference to rim at
blake.u.washington.edu 128.95.136.2. As you might be able to FTP
that site, it may pay to have a look.
Also, but not quite sure, parts of the PC-BLUE stock may still be in
cache at the European TRICKLE servers (what is in cache may be asked by
everyone - not restricted to Europe). Use /CACHE <PC-BLUE.VOLnnn> to
get the files that are in cache for the main directory PC-BLUE
subdirectory VOLnnn on every European TRICKLE server.
Finally, If all else would fail, I guess I still have the sources
tucked away somewhere (I lost my catalog of PC software - yes I know
about backups...) and am willing to give it a search.
Good luck and kind greetings,
Michel
------------------------------
Subject: Today's Queries:
Date: Sun, 20 Jan 1991 21:43:44 PST
From: DUCHOW@UCRAC5.UCR.EDU (John K. Duchowski)
Subject: BIOS Trouble
I have the following question(s) with regard to BIOS upgrade(s). I
have recently upgraded the BIOS in my true blue IBM AT with Award Bios
3.12. Fol- lowing that, I replaced the 360 K drive with 1.44 Mb drive
and my old IBM keyboard with a 101-key Taiwanese clone.
Everything works well, except that everyonce in a while the keyboard
hangs - all the lights go on and I need to do a cold reboot. This
usually happens if I try to type in more than one command in quick
succession. I am using a memory resident program DOSEDIT that, in
addition to remembering a dozen or so of commands (a la VMS), in-
creases the size of the keyboard buffer. I called Award Software and
they recommended that I also upgrade my keyboard BIOS. I was able to
buy this chip from Pinnacle Sales but here is where I came to a dead
end.
I located what I think is the keyboard BIOS chip on the mother board
- well hidden under the power supply - but I am not positive that this
is indeed the correct item. I looked up both the IBM Guide to
Operations and the IBM Installation and Setup manuals for the AT, but
neither gives enough information about the mother board layout. I also
looked up a dozen or so books but the more "advanced" ones limited
themselves to essentially reprinting part of the info found in the
above mentioned manuals. I finally decided to pull the this chip
out but it wouldn't budge.
So, I would like to find out the following:
1. Is there a source somewhere which indentifies all (most) of the
chips on the mother board ?
2. Where is the keyboard BIOS located (I guessed that it's UR 126 or
something similar) ?
3. Is the keyboard BIOS chip soldered to the board ? (Have I done
much damage by ripping those plugs off and should I worry about
replacing them? So far, the computer seems to behave well).
I would appreciate any hints and/or comments and I would like to thank
you in advance for your time and assistance in this matter.
Sincerely,
John Duchowski
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 21 Jan 91 20:25:34 CST
From: Bill Ball <C476721@UMCVMB.MISSOURI.EDU>
Subject: Hardware wanted - Rudder Pedals for FS
I would appreciate any information on where I could find a set of
rudder pedals for sale designed to work with Microsoft Flight
Simulator. I have scanned _Computer Shopper_ and turned up some
control yokes, but, alas, no rudder pedals.
Bill Ball
c476721@UMCVMB
c476721@UMCVMB.MISSOURI.EDU
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Jan 91 11:50:35 MEZ
From: Walter Muellner <A4424DAA%AWIUNI11.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: SLIP for DOS
Is there a public domain (or commercial) implementation of a SLIP
driver for TCP/IP running on DOS computers????
SLIP is used for communicating over the serial lines...
Any references appreciated.
Walter Muellner
Institut of Statistics and Computer Science
University of Vienna, Austria Lenaugasse 2/8 A-1080 Wien
BITNET: A4424DAA@AWIUNI11
INTERNET: A4424DAA@Helios.EDVZ.UniVie.AC.AT
------------------------------
Subject: New Uploads:
Date: Tue, 8 Jan 91 9:08 -0800
From: Francois Jalbert <jalbert@cs.ubc.ca>
Subject: JEMTX101.ZIP - JemTeX v1.01: Japanese TeX fonts and macros
I have uploaded to SIMTEL20:
pd1:<msdos.tex>
JEMTX101.ZIP JemTeX v1.01: Japanese TeX fonts and macros
JemTeX is a freeware package for DOS computers containing everything
needed to typeset beautiful Japanese text and music. You should, of
course, already have a Japanese text editor, TeX, and METAFONT running
on your DOS computer.
There are 61 fonts of 128 characters covering punctuation, english,
russian, greek, hiraganas, katakanas, and kanjis (level 1 and 2). More
than enough.
My filter program takes the output of your Japanese text editor and
turns it into something any standard TeX, LaTeX, or MuTeX can digest.
Franky
Francois Jalbert <jalbert@cs.ubc.ca>
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Jan 91 20:41:32 EST
From: richard@calvin.ee.cornell.edu (Richard Brittain - VOS hacker)
Subject: RBSETNV1.ZIP Set/modify environment vars. w C src.
I have uploaded a new version of my setenv/eval package to SIMTEL20:
pd1:<msdos.sysutl>
RBSETNV1.ZIP Set/add/insert/delete/change environment vars.
Two bugs are fixed:
- command substitutions in backquotes `....` now work correctly without
needing to double quote the expression.
- the master environment for pre-version-3.3 command.com is now located
correctly.
Richard Brittain, School of Elect. Eng., Eng. and Theory Center
Cornell university, Ithaca, NY 14853
INTERNET: richard@calvin.ee.cornell.edu
UUCP: {uunet,uw-beaver,rochester,cmcl2}!cornell!calvin!richard
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 7 Jan 1991 19:31 MST
From: "Frank J. Wancho" <WANCHO@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL>
Subject: VPWINFIX.ZIP - Ventura Publisher/Windows 3.0 patches, 11/90
I have uploaded to SIMTEL20:
pd1:<msdos.ventura>
VPWINFIX.ZIP Ventura Publisher/Windows 3.0 patches, 11/90
Extract from VPWFIX.TXT which is included in the ZIP:
VENTURA PUBLISHER 3.0 WINDOWS 11/90 PATCH
The following problems in Ventura Publisher 3.0 Windows have been
identified and corrected.
* Scalable screen fonts displayed as bitmapped fonts, e.g. Adobe
ATM and Lasermaster GS1280 Outline Font Monitor.
* Restrictions on several users using unique packages to run on
local drives while attached to the same local area network.
* Solid rules within 3/4" of the edge of the page printed as shades
of gray on the Hewlett Packard Laser Jet family of printers.
* Spot color overlays printed on HP/PCL printers on certain
occasions with 3/4" black squares at the upper left corner of the page.
* Hyphenation problems with words greater than 32 characters in
length and words containing certain accented characters
Additional modifications have also been made.
* The kerning pair buffer is increased.
* The font buffer is increased from 512 to 3071 entries.
* Fonts found in both the .WFN and .UP files are now displayed.
* Additional font names and id numbers have been added to the look
up table and duplicates have been deleted.
* Keyboard shortcuts for the European version keyboard were added.
You do not need this patch if the .DLL files in your directory are
dated after 7/30/90. After this date the modifications are included.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 21 Jan 91 10:36:56 GMT
From: a0045@RRZ.UNI-KOELN.DE (Jochen Roderburg)
Subject: XBIN23 BinHex Decoder uploaded to SIMTEL20
I have uploaded to the SIMTEL20 archive:
pd1:<msdos.mac>
XBIN23.ZIP Decode a Macintosh BinHex file
Recently there have been a few questions in mailing lists and
newsgroups for a PC program which decodes a Macintosh BinHex file.
This is such a program, which I found a while ago in some UNIX or Mac
archive and ported to MSDOS without problems. It decodes a BinHex file
into three files foo.dat, foo.rsr, foo.inf, which contain the data
fork, the resource fork and the finder info, respectively. Can help
you to use data files from a Macintosh archive on a PC.
Jochen Roderburg
Regional Computing Center
University of Cologne
Robert-Koch-Str. 10 Tel.: +49-221/470-4564
D-5000 Koeln 41 Internet: Ro @ RRZ.Uni-Koeln.DE
Germany BITNET: A0045 @ DK0RRZK1
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End of Info-IBMPC Digest V91 #17
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