Info-IBMPC@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL ("Info-IBMPC Digest") (08/10/90)
Info-IBMPC Digest Fri, 10 Aug 90 Volume 90 : Issue 130
Today's Editor:
Gregory Hicks - Rota Spain <GHICKS@WSMR-Simtel20.Army.Mil>
Today's Topics:
calling programs from MicroSoft C 5.1
How to get DCX to PCX Image Translation
Network Unreachable
problem with hard disk
Windows
Today's Queries:
Any info available on BITFAX?
Sizing PCX image files
TurboC uSoftC libs
Turbo Pascal 5 and Windows lib?
wanted: terminal emulation package w/color graphics
Making a 3 1/2, 1.4Mb floppy my only floppy
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Date: Fri, 3 Aug 90 17:36:00 -0500
From: ross boylan <boylanr@silver.ucs.indiana.edu>
Subject: calling programs from MicroSoft C 5.1
In comp.sys.ibm.pc.digest you write:
>I am currently trying to write a menu selection program for an
>associate of mine at my place of employment. One of the requirements
>is that the program MUST be written in MicroSoft C 5.1. In writing the
>program, I have been attempting to use the spawn function in order to
>launch the application chosen from the menu. However, when the menu
>selection is made, the application will not launch and I will be
>returned to my menu program. The fragment below shows how I am
>attempting to call the program in question.
>spawn(p_wait,d:\foo\foo,dummyarg,null);
Are you checking error codes on return? One possibility is that there
isn't enough memory to start the process. Also, remember DOS isn't
Unix, even though some of the spawning commands look similar.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 03 Aug 90 11:37:21 EDT
From: Curt Priest <BMSLIB@mitvma.mit.edu>
Subject: How to get DCX to PCX Image Translation
I use the Intel Co-processor board and it receives multipage PCX
images as .DCX. It turned out that Intel did little of the software
for the Co-processor. They used some company called Strawberry Software
to do the background communications handler and they use ZSoft's
Paintbrush to handle showing the fax image.
I contacted ZSoft to see if they had a utility to convert a multipage
DCX to individual PCX images. It is available on their BBS at
1-404-427-1045. The software is not listed on the board (oddly) but
is called DCXUTILS.ZIP and is downloadable. Only hitch is you are to
provide a ZSoft product serial number to gain access to the board. The
file contains 2 utilities -- one to take DCX files apart and another to
collect together PCX files as one DCX. Works great. (It is ZSoft
copyrighted and presumably not "shareware."
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 3 Aug 1990 14:27 MDT
From: "Frank J. Wancho" <WANCHO@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL>
Subject: Network Unreachable
Stan,
"Network unreachable" means just that: some gateway between us is down
or unstable (which explain why mail gets through, because it tries more
often and eventually gets through during an up time). At least one or
both of the prime gateways to NSFNET has been up and down lately and
that may be the problem. It is out of our control.
--Frank
------------------------------
Date: 4 Aug 90 00:12:41 GMT
From: dgil@pa.reuter.COM (Dave Gillett)
Subject: problem with hard disk..
In digest <900731194857.V90N123@WSMR-Simtel20.Army.Mil> Info-IBMPC@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.mil writes:
> I have an AT clone which I bought two years ago. It had a 20M
>Seagate hard disk. I never had any problems with the computer - not
>until I decided to buy another hard disk.
> I bought Seagate's ST250-1 42M hard disk, installed it, and
>pre-formatted it with the SETUP utility I had received with my
>computer. Then I tried partitioning it with FDISK. But no matter how
>I try to partition it, the partition is always 20M and 11M. When I
>partition it and display partition information without exiting FDISK,
>the information shown is the way I want it. Once I exit FDISK, the
>system reboots itself. Then I get a noise in the new hard disk, and
>the partition again gets adjusted to 20M and 11M (God only knows what
>happened to my other 11M). [Stuff deleted]
It sounds to me like both drives are responding as if they were
the first drive. There's a control cable that goes to both drives from
the controller (which I believe you say is on the motherboard);
whichever drive it comes to first needs to have a jumper or terminating
resistor changed.
The dealer who sold you the new drive should be able to give you
the necessary information: tell him that you already had a ST-xxx
(ST-225?) installed and need to know how/what to change.
He may prefer to tell you what to change in new drive, since
that's the one he sold you. In that case, you need to re-route the
cable so that it comes from the controller to the new drive first, and
so your old C: drive will become drive E: (and so until you install DOS
on the new drive, you'll need to boot from a floppy...).
Dave
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 3 Aug 90 11:42:00 -0300
From: DENNIS CINTRA LEITE <FGVSP%BRFAPESP.BITNET@VM1.NoDak.EDU>
Subject: Windows
I would like to add a comment to Roger Thijs <RTHIJS@BANUFS11.BITNET>
perorations about PC TOOLS V6.0. I have always used pctools previous
versions to find a hexadecimal sequence in a file and be able to patch
the same. This has become impossible with version 6.0 since although
you can still search and find a hexadecimal sequence, it wont allow you
to edit the same. It does no good joting down the adress of the located
sequence and then going into the hex editor for the patch because the
addressing scheme is totaly diferent between the two "features".
The only thing version 6 has going for it, and this novelty wears thin
after a couple of usages, is the file viewing (in its original form). I
say the hell with version 6, I am personally going back to 5.5.
Regards
Dennis
------------------------------
Subject: Today's Queries:
Date: Sat, 4 Aug 90 03:56:25 CDT
From: victor@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Victor Menayang)
Subject: Any info available on BITFAX?
In usenet's alt.fax I read about a program named BITFAX which is
supposed to allow the user to send Group III fax without anything but a
computer and a modem. Does such a program really exist (the person who
posted the information couldn't get his copy to work)? How does it
work and where can I get it? I'm really interested in this one.
Thank you,
Victor Menayang <victor@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu,vm@UTXVM.BITNET>
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 03 Aug 90 11:43:48 EDT
From: Curt Priest <BMSLIB@mitvma.mit.edu>
Subject: Sizing PCX image files
I would like a utility that resizes a PCX image file. A scan of an 8
1/2 x 11 page is four times larger than a monitor display and programs
that show it at normal size will show only 1/4 of the image at a time.
I know of 2 commercial and laborious procedures to resize. With
ZSoft's Paintbrush IV Plus (not just IV), one can resize images, save
them as a PCC file (the last C stands for cutout) and rename it to PCX.
Using a 75% reduction is about right. Another way, I am told, is using
Graphics Link Plus which does resizing.
I would rather just a utility that I specify the file name, the %
reduction, and the output file name.
Appreciate any assistance.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 3 Aug 90 13:38:10 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Joseph John Butare, III" <jb7p+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: TurboC uSoftC libs
Here's my problem: I have some microsoft C libraries, and a Turbo C
compiler. The turbo librarian can't access the microsoft libraries so
I can't use them. I have Turbo C ver. 1.5. Is there anything out
there that will let me access the uSoft C libraries from TurboC?
Thanks for any replies,
John Butare
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 3 Aug 90 0:15:29 EST
From: "Mark Bramwell" <Mark@ARDSLEY.Business.UWO.CA>
Subject: Turbo Pascal 5 and Windows lib?
Is there any way that soneone can write Windows compatible applications
in turbo pascal? I have some programs in TP that I would like to see
in windows.
Mark Bramwell, VE3PZR Located in sunny London, Ontario
Internet: Mark@ARDSLEY.business.uwo.ca IP Address: 129.100.29.33
Packet: VE3PZR @ VE3GYQ UWO Phone: (519) 661-3714
------------------------------
Date: 3 Aug 90 15:21:21 GMT
From: unrvax!unssun.nevada.edu!jana@uunet.UU.NET (jana dunn)
Subject: wanted: terminal emulation package w/color graphics
We would like to be able to view CGM files in color on a PC compatible
that's acting as a terminal.
We have a CGM interpreter with drivers for a number of popular
terminals, and we can probably get more drivers if necessary. However,
we don't have anything in the way of a terminal emulation package
except kermit, and its tek4010 emulation won't do the job.
What emulation packages are available? Our preference would be a
public domain (or very inexpensive) package that emulates a popular
graphics terminal or two, but we're willing to consider almost
anything.
Alternatively, is there another way to view those files? We'd like to
avoid downloading the files as they're large and we don't have many
microcomputers with ethernet connections.
We're on the Internet, so I can pick stuff up from anonymous ftp sites.
Please respond by email. I will summarize if it seems appropriate.
Jana Dunn
jana@unssun.nevada.edu
jana@unsvax.bitnet
University of Nevada System Computing Services
University of Nevada at Reno
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 4 Aug 90 09:34:43 MDT
From: tims%infidel@LANL.GOV (Tim Sullivan)
Subject: Making a 3 1/2, 1.4Mb floppy my only floppy.
I have a 2, 360K floppy, Leading Edge model D which has only 2 half
height bays for drives. I would like to upgrade to a system with a hard
drive and one 1.4Mb floppy. Questions:
1) The BIOS is a Phoenix BIOS that displays the message: Phoenix 8088
ROM BIOS version 3.00. Can someone tell me if this BIOS will support
1.4Mb floppies or tell me how to find out?
2) Given that the BIOS works with 1.44Mb floppies, I buy a controller
that can handle 1.4Mb floppies, and I buy DOS 3.3 or 4.0, I'm set,
right? :^) I can boot my machine from this floppy and everything works?
Or is there something else I should be aware of, like different ways
different controllers make older machines compatible with 1.4Mb?
I know that if I succeed I will have trouble with copy protected
software available only on 5 1/4" disk, but I have a machine available
that I can use to transfer non-copy protected software from 5 1/4 to 3
1/2 formats and don't use a lot of copy protected software in the first
place. Thanks for any help you can offer.
Tim Sullivan (tims@infidel.lanl.gov)
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End of Info-IBMPC Digest V90 #130
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