Info-IBMPC@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL (06/16/89)
Info-IBMPC Digest Fri, 16 Jun 89 Volume 89 : Issue 59
Today's Editor:
Gregory Hicks - Chinhae Korea <COMFLEACT@Taegu-EMH1.army.mil>
Today's Topics:
CDROM query
Emulation and file-transfer
Ethernet Boards
8259 Programmable Interrupt Controller Info Desired
Hard Disk Problems - SOLVED!
Requesting files from WSMR-Simtel20.army.mil
Re: pc/ix on & att6300
Differences in the 80X86/88 Family (2 msgs)
Re: Finding Free Disk Space
Low Density Disks in High Density Drives
Problems w/ Turbo-C 2.0
RS-232 interface problems
text search in ARC (tm), ZIP, etc (tm by Yul Brynner ?)
Request for Documentation on the 8514/A
Information requested on DOS 'Critical' Flag
How do you write for EGA graphics and OS/2?
Info-IBMPC Lending Library is available from: Bitnet via server at CCUC;
and from WSMR-Simtel20.army.mil (see file PD1:<msdos>files.idx for listing
of source files)
WSMR-Simtel20.army.mil can be accessed using LISTSERV commands from BITNET
via LISTSERV@RPIECS.BITNET and in Europe from EARN TRICKLE servers as
listed: (send commands to TRICKLE@<host-name> eg: TRICKLE@AWIWUW11)
AWIWUW11 (Austria), BANUFS11 (Belgium), DKTC11 (Denmark), DB0FUB11
(Germany), IMIPOLI (Italy), EB0UB011 (Spain) and TREARN (Turkey)
Send Replies or notes for publication to: <Info-IBMPC@WSMR-Simtel20.Army.Mil>
Send requests of an administrative nature (addition to, deletion from the
distribution list, et al) to: <Info-IBMPC-Request@WSMR-Simtel20.Army.Mil>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 01 Jun 89 13:21:54 PST
From: Paul Mockapetris <pvm@venera.isi.edu>
Subject: CDROM query
What with all of the CDROM players for PCs I see at the local swapmeets, I
got to wondering how much it would cost to put my favorite database on a
CDROM. I assume that it is like making ICs, and the first costs a
fortune, and the second and all others 50 cents.
Does anyone know which companies offer to make CDROMS to order, what the
costs are, and what authoring support/device drivers/etc are available?
paul
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 02 Jun 89 15:58:47 CET
From: Liv Sta <ADM87M15%NOBIVM.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Emulation and file-transfer
Does anybody out there know a nice product to use instead of
PC/VMbond? We have to use coax so it's no use with Kermit. What we are
looking for should contain: 3270-emulation, easy file-transfer utilities
and a programming interface.
We use IBM4381/VM and it's important for us to be able to do the
following from the PC-side: COPY, APPEND, ERASE and SEND VM-files. Today
we use PC/VMbond for bulk-transfer of data from the PC to the mainframe.
This is programmed in PC/VMbond-REXX.
Thanks in advance for all responses to my question|
Liv Sta
Systems consultant
Norwegian School of Management
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 89 07:48:11 EDT
From: martinea@crc.skl.dnd.ca (Mike Martineau)
Subject: Ethernet Boards
I am putting together a local area network which consists of PC compatible
computers, both desktop and and laptop computers. I am seriously
considering LANtastic for a number of reasons including low cost and low
memory usage. The LAN itself with be Ethernet using ThinNet coax.
To provide the most flexibility in choosing an Ethernet board I am looking
for boards which support NetBIOS. For the desktop computers I have
decided on Western Digital WD8003E boards. I have run into a problem,
however, in choosing a board for the laptop computers (which at this time
are all Toshiba T1200s). Knowing that all NetBIOS implementations do not
necessarily interoperate I am looking for an Ethernet board for the laptop
computers that will interoperate with the Western Digital board at the
NetBIOS. I am also willing to consider other boards for the desktop units
if need be.
Michael P. Martineau
Software Kinetics Ltd.
martinea@crc.skl.dnd.ca (192.5.204.1, 192.12.215.3)
(902)-468-3680
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 Jun 89 10:22:42 EST
From: Alberto Gianolio <agnianoli%estec.bitnet@cunyv,.cuny.edu>
Subject:
I'd urgently like to get any available info on the AT cascaded
configuration Programmable Interrupt Controllers (8259a), the way they are
initialized in BIOS and the way they work.
Any help would be greately appreciated. Private answers might avoid net
overloads.
Thanks a lot
Alberto...
***************************************************************
* ALBERTO GIANOLIO ** AGIANOLI@ESTEC.BITNET ** *
* THE EUROPEAN SPACE RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY CENTRE (ESTEC) *
* NOORDWIJK - THE NETHERLANDS *
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 Jun 89 13:14:27 -0400 (EDT)
From: John Duchowski <jd3a+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Hard Disk Problems - SOLVED!
I would like to thank all of you who responded to my letters
concerning the Hard Disk problems I encountered with my AT. As it turned
out, it was a prob- lem with the controller and not with the hard disk.
After I installed a new Western Digital Dual Floppy/Hard Disk Controller,
the new drive (ST251-1) let itself be formatted without any furhter
errors.
However, I have one more question - when I tried to use the Seagate
Disk Manager manually, I could not get the disk to function properly with
the Interleave set to 2:1. Even though it appeared that the low and high
level formatting operations were successful, I could not install the
system onto the C: drive. Directory of C: returned some unintelligible
chunks of data for file names. After changing the Interleave back to 3:1,
everything returned back to normal. Is it possible that this AT is so old
that it can't handle interleave values other than 3:1 ?
Once again, I would like to thank all those who responded - your
comments were much appreciated.
Sincerely,
John Duchowski
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 01 Jun 89 16:21:25 BST
From: Barry Moody <MT04%LIVERPOOL.AC.UK@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Requesting files from WSMR-Simtel20.army.mil
Is it possible to get files from simtel20 to UK.AC JANET addresses?
Thanks in advance.
[The only way you can pull files from WSMR-Simtel20.army.mil is if you
have Internet access and a File Transfer Protocol program (FTP). I don't
advise this however since quite a few of the files are LARGE and will
generate astronomical Telephone bills for your host. Probably the best
way to get files is to request them through a TRICKLE server in Europe.
See the header info at the beginning of the Digest. gph]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 Jun 89 21:08:18 +0200
From: mcvax!nikhefk!henkp@uunet.UU.NET (Henk Peek)
Subject: Re: pc/ix on & att6300
The att6300 runs pc/ix. The problem is that the standard bootsector has
not the correct values in the registers for pc/ix.
Use a pcdos bootsector and pc/ix boots. (Harddisk controller 5150BX!. I
don't know of a WD controller works)
Henk Peek ..!uunet!nikhefk!henkp.UUCP
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 3 Jun 89 01:15 EST
From: "C'est ma vie." <JSHIN%HAMPVMS.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Differences in the 80X86/88 Family
Hi;
As far as I am concerned, all the 86's are exactly the same.
But, I know I shouldn't say that.
They are all (8086, 8088, 80186, 80188, 80286, 80386, i386sx... what not)
based on the exact same iAPX86 core (with the exception of 80386's). The
chips are mainly supplied by Intel, AMD, and NEC, and NEC makes their own
improved versions (V20.. V60, what not). You could try calling your local
sales office of any of these companies and ask for data sheets for more
details.
8086 basically is a 16-bit microprocessor. It has 8 16-bit "general
purpose" registers (if anything from Intel is ever general purpose). One
of them is, of course, a stack pointer, and two of them are officially
called "the base pointers" (BX and BP). There are also two "index
registers" (SI and DI). The rest are called AX and DX, presumably a
8080-leftover of accumulator (pair) and data (pair) registers.
There are four more registers, called segment registers. These are
multiplied by 00010H and then added to whatever indirectaddress there is
(such as SP, PC, BX, BI), to generate the famous 20-bit address bus.
(By the way, for non-8086'ers, the PC is called the Instruction Pointer).
8088 is an 8086 with a 8-bit external data interface. This is done easily
since all 8086 instruction data are done in 8-bit (rather than 16-bit)
units. This is true for ALL 86-related processors. Crudely put, it takes
the 8088 twice as longer to access the memory, interface, etc., than does
the 8086. No big difference.
I believe the 8086 runs up to at 10Mhz and 8088 at 8 Mhz. So IBM-PC's
8088 running at 4.77 MHz is quite slow.
(I think XT uses the same thing - it just has a bigger power supply)
80186 is the 8086 plus address decoding, DMA, and timers. It is designed
for what Intel calls "embedded controller" application - where you want to
keep the chip count as low as possible. A lot of extra signals. (6
memory chip selects and 6 peripheral chip selects). It makes designing a
lot easier. 80186 runs at up to 12.5, or so, I think (maybe 16).
80188 is ditto except that it is (surprise, surprise) a modified 8088,
instead of 8086. Technically, you can have a computer with 4 chips.
(80188, a latched-address ROM such as 87256, a latched-address RAM, and a
peripheral for terminal). 80188 runs up to at 10MHz, I think.
None of the PC series actually used 8018X. A lot of the clones do. I
don't know about PS/2's. Probably not.
80286 is the 8086 plus the extra feature called "multitasking." If you
don't know what this is, ask someone nearby. It just makes it easier to
do memory protection and address translation. It also supports "virtual
memory," which is a portion of your memory saved on the disk while you are
not using it - this way you can multiply your memory capacity quite a lot.
Up to 16 mbyte, I think.
AT uses 80286. A lot of the PS/2's use 286, too, although there is one
that still uses 8088.
80386, suppposedly, and hopefully for those of us who remember iAPX432
(which croaked, for those who don't know), is the best and the biggest, so
far (80*4*86, coming up). It's the same 8086 except that everything is
doubled. (32 bit). It even has more index and segment registers!
Improved (enlarged, mostly) virtual addressing and multitasking. More
instructions. Yet, still, 8086 compatible! (There is a feature called
8086mode, in which the user can pretend that the 80386 is totally a 8086.
With multitasking, it's like having several PC's!)
PS/2 (the higher numbered ones with "386" attached to it) are really the
ones to start using 386, also a lot of the clones (COMPAQ, for example)
started using it. Plans for up to 25MHz. (Or perhaps up to 33 MHz.)
(All 86's have 64KB interface space)
386SX is a scaled-down 80386, Lower speed, with a 16 bit EXTERNAL bus, but
with a 32 bit internal data path. Cheaper, too.
80376 (has anyone heard of this?) is a cross between 80386 and 80186 - an
"embedded controller." With almost the power of 80386.
Enough babbling; sorry.
John Shin
(JSHIN@HAMPVMS.bitnet)
(JSHIN%HAMPVMS@cunyvm.cuny.edu)
Disclaimer: is this a requirement, or something? I'm just an undergrad
doing Political Economy (as the official "concentration")
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 3 Jun 89 5:19:29 CDT
From: david@wubios.WUstl.EDU (David J. Camp)
Subject: Differences in the 80X86/88 Family
The original IBM-PC and the IBM-PC/XT both use the 8088 processor. The
differnce is the original PC did not understand hard disks, but the XT
does. The IBM-PC/AT uses an 80286. The PS/2 line uses a variety of
processors, including 8086, 80286, and 80386.
The 8088 and 8086 share the same instruction set. The difference is in
the number of parallel data lines on the bus. The 8086 uses 16 data
lines, but the 8088 uses 8 data lines. This means the 8086 is capable of
faster speeds, but the 8088 can be used with cheaper components. The
80286 has two modes. It boots in a mode that makes it appear like an
8088. There is an instruction to switch it to another mode that uses a
completely different instruction set.
This mode (sometimes called 'protected' mode) is what is used by OS/2.
When OS/2 wants to run an MS-Dos application, it must reset the processor,
so that it reboots into 8088 mode. When running MS-Dos on an 80286, you
make no use of protected mode whatsoever. That often makes me wonder when
people say you 'need an 80286' for large Dos applications, when with Dos
running it is no better than an 8088.
The 8088 and 8086 use 20 lines for a memory address. The 80286 uses 24
lines. This requires the larger bus present on AT models. The 80386
processor is a major step forward. It can run protected mode applications
and 8088 applications at the same time, in a manner which protects them
from each other. It has a 32 bit address bus. The 80386-SX has a 24 bit
address bus, to make it cheaper to implement computers with an AT
compatible bus, but with the 80386 instruction set.
I hope this answere your questions, and is not misleading. -David-
Bitnet: david@wubios.wustl ^ Mr. David J. Camp
Internet: david%wubios@wucs1.wustl.edu < * > Box 8067, Biostatistics
uucp: uunet!wucs1!wubios!david v 660 South Euclid
Washington University (314) 36-23635 Saint Louis, MO 63110
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 03 Jun 89 11:34:46 EDT
From: "Tony G. Papadimitriou" <37KGLLQ%CMUVM.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Re: Finding Free Disk Space
Unless you are using a DOS version before 2.0, you can use function 36h
INT 21h to find the number of free clusters on a disk, real or Ram.
-- Tony Papadimitriou
Central Michigan University
Acknowledge-To: <37KGLLQ@CMUVM>
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 31 May 89 15:59:27 PRT
From: Pedro Mendes <QPJPM%PTEARN.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Problems w/ Turbo-C 2.0
Turbo-C 2.0 behaves very strangly on the Amstrad PPC 512 (portable).
Any program that uses screen I/O via printf() writes garbage on the screen
instead of what is supposed to be printed (the arguments of printf). But
if the source were to be compiled on another PC then the program runs
correctly on the PPC 512!! Nothing like this happened with version 1.5 and
I can't think of any reason for this behaviour.
Have any of you have also experienced something like this and/or have
the answer for this problem. For those who don't know, the Amstrad PPC
512 is a NEC V30 based machine and except for this problem all other
programs have run as though they were on any other 99.9% compatible.
bitnet: QPJPM@PTEARN.BITNET
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 01 Jun 89 22:40:12 DNT
From: Peter Larsen <NEUMHL%NEUVM1.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: RS-232 interface problems
I have a strange problem with the RS-232 interface in my IBM PC/XT
clone. The clone has an I/O card with both a parallel and serial port,
and the disk controllers. Seems it went south after lightning struck
nearby. Or SOMETHING went south.
After replacing the old external modem with a Discovery 2400PT (or
2400C, also external) I still couldn't receive any characters even though
the LEDs in the modem indicated indicated receiving characters. This
modem has been tested and found to be OK by the manufacturer. I tried
another RS-232 card in the computer with good results.
A different old modem, a Nokia 1200, works with the old port, but the
new one does not work...
The port seems ok, the modem seems ok, the port works with another
modem, but not the one I wish to use. Could the problem be on the
motherboard?
The only difference between the two setups is the modem. HOWEVER,
both modems check out as good!
Any ideas? All suggestions are welcome.
Peter Larsen
Bitnet : Neumhl@neuvm1.bitnet
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 01 Jun 89 01:13:40 PDT
From: Jeff Sicherman <JAJZ801%CALSTATE.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: text search in ARC (tm), ZIP, etc
Are there any text search utilities (like the Norton Utilities (tm) TS
program) that will search within archive-type files without having to
extract the contents first. I know there are file searchers (like PKFIND)
that will find files, but I want to identify the files that contain
specific text strings.
Jeff Sicherman
Cal State Long Beach
jajz801@calstate.bitnet
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 03 Jun 89 21:06:35 SST
From: Kace Ong <ISSKO%NUSVM.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Request for Documentation on the 8514/A
8514/A modes: I know that it is possible to drive 8514/A cards to
640x480x256 color mode and 1024x768x16 color mode. However, I cannot find
any instruction on how this is achieved programmatically. Most programs I
have does not recognize these modes (The exception is AIX, running X-11).
Will appreciate any pointer, article, name of manual, etc.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 03 Jun 89 21:06:35 SST
From: Kace Ong <ISSKO%NUSVM.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Information requested on DOS 'Critical' Flag
Calling DOS re-entrantly: DOS is not reentrant, so TSR programs may
not be able to make DOS calls if the foreground program's DOS calls have
not been completed. The way to detect if DOS is in its "critical region"
is not documented but widely used in commercial software e.g. sidekick,
lightning, etc. Can anyone shed some light on this?
-------------------------------------------
Kace Ong Institute of Systems Science
ISSKO@NUSVM Heng Mui Keng Terrace
"OS/2, OS/3, .. OSF?" Singapore 0511
-------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Fri Jun 2 04:05:00 1989
From: Michael Gray <b27y@vax5.cit.cornell.edu>
Subject: How do you write for EGA graphics and OS/2?
I am writing an application for OS/2 now using EGA graphics, using
MICROSOFT BASIC 6.0 and MICROSOFT C 5.1.
You can't use any of the EGA graphics modes in MC BASIC 6.0 when
running in protected mode. The documentation for MC C 5.1 seems to imply
you can use the C graphics library, but nowhere in setup does it install
you graphics library into the protected mode libraries, and I get linking
errors at every call I make to the any C graphics library function.
If I just add the file "GRAPHICS.LIB" to the combined library,
then the file compiles but crashes. (I suspect that GRAPHICS.LIB is only
for real mode applications)
So the question I raise is can you use MC C 5.1 to compile EGA
graphics for protected mode?
And if not, is there any other way to do EGA graphics without
having to write the routines myself? (Has someone done it already ..?). I
don't really want to have to spend a lot of time learning all the OS/2
calls, so any help would be greatly appriciated.
Michael Gray /-------------------------------/
Misha Computing / "Save The Humans" /
526 Stewart Ave / /
Ithaca N.Y. 14850 / Bumper Sticker /
607-277-2774 / /
B27Y@VAX5.CIT.CORNELL.EDU /-------------------------------/
------------------------------
End of Info-IBMPC Digest
************************
-------Info-IBMPC@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL (06/16/89)
Info-IBMPC Digest Fri, 16 Jun 89 Volume 89 : Issue 59
Today's Editor:
Gregory Hicks - Chinhae Korea <COMFLEACT@Taegu-EMH1.army.mil>
Today's Topics:
CDROM query
Emulation and file-transfer
Ethernet Boards
8259 Programmable Interrupt Controller Info Desired
Hard Disk Problems - SOLVED!
Requesting files from WSMR-Simtel20.army.mil
Re: pc/ix on & att6300
Differences in the 80X86/88 Family (2 msgs)
Re: Finding Free Disk Space
Low Density Disks in High Density Drives
Problems w/ Turbo-C 2.0
RS-232 interface problems
text search in ARC (tm), ZIP, etc (tm by Yul Brynner ?)
Request for Documentation on the 8514/A
Information requested on DOS 'Critical' Flag
How do you write for EGA graphics and OS/2?
Info-IBMPC Lending Library is available from: Bitnet via server at CCUC;
and from WSMR-Simtel20.army.mil (see file PD1:<msdos>files.idx for listing
of source files)
WSMR-Simtel20.army.mil can be accessed using LISTSERV commands from BITNET
via LISTSERV@RPIECS.BITNET and in Europe from EARN TRICKLE servers as
listed: (send commands to TRICKLE@<host-name> eg: TRICKLE@AWIWUW11)
AWIWUW11 (Austria), BANUFS11 (Belgium), DKTC11 (Denmark), DB0FUB11
(Germany), IMIPOLI (Italy), EB0UB011 (Spain) and TREARN (Turkey)
Send Replies or notes for publication to: <Info-IBMPC@WSMR-Simtel20.Army.Mil>
Send requests of an administrative nature (addition to, deletion from the
distribution list, et al) to: <Info-IBMPC-Request@WSMR-Simtel20.Army.Mil>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 01 Jun 89 13:21:54 PST
From: Paul Mockapetris <pvm@venera.isi.edu>
Subject: CDROM query
What with all of the CDROM players for PCs I see at the local swapmeets, I
got to wondering how much it would cost to put my favorite database on a
CDROM. I assume that it is like making ICs, and the first costs a
fortune, and the second and all others 50 cents.
Does anyone know which companies offer to make CDROMS to order, what the
costs are, and what authoring support/device drivers/etc are available?
paul
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 02 Jun 89 15:58:47 CET
From: Liv Sta <ADM87M15%NOBIVM.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Emulation and file-transfer
Does anybody out there know a nice product to use instead of
PC/VMbond? We have to use coax so it's no use with Kermit. What we are
looking for should contain: 3270-emulation, easy file-transfer utilities
and a programming interface.
We use IBM4381/VM and it's important for us to be able to do the
following from the PC-side: COPY, APPEND, ERASE and SEND VM-files. Today
we use PC/VMbond for bulk-transfer of data from the PC to the mainframe.
This is programmed in PC/VMbond-REXX.
Thanks in advance for all responses to my question|
Liv Sta
Systems consultant
Norwegian School of Management
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 89 07:48:11 EDT
From: martinea@crc.skl.dnd.ca (Mike Martineau)
Subject: Ethernet Boards
I am putting together a local area network which consists of PC compatible
computers, both desktop and and laptop computers. I am seriously
considering LANtastic for a number of reasons including low cost and low
memory usage. The LAN itself with be Ethernet using ThinNet coax.
To provide the most flexibility in choosing an Ethernet board I am looking
for boards which support NetBIOS. For the desktop computers I have
decided on Western Digital WD8003E boards. I have run into a problem,
however, in choosing a board for the laptop computers (which at this time
are all Toshiba T1200s). Knowing that all NetBIOS implementations do not
necessarily interoperate I am looking for an Ethernet board for the laptop
computers that will interoperate with the Western Digital board at the
NetBIOS. I am also willing to consider other boards for the desktop units
if need be.
Michael P. Martineau
Software Kinetics Ltd.
martinea@crc.skl.dnd.ca (192.5.204.1, 192.12.215.3)
(902)-468-3680
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 Jun 89 10:22:42 EST
From: Alberto Gianolio <agnianoli%estec.bitnet@cunyv,.cuny.edu>
Subject: 8259 Programmable Interrupt Controller Info Desired
I'd urgently like to get any available info on the AT cascaded
configuration Programmable Interrupt Controllers (8259a), the way they are
initialized in BIOS and the way they work.
Any help would be greately appreciated. Private answers might avoid net
overloads.
Thanks a lot
Alberto...
* ALBERTO GIANOLIO ** AGIANOLI@ESTEC.BITNET ** *
* THE EUROPEAN SPACE RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY CENTRE (ESTEC) *
* NOORDWIJK - THE NETHERLANDS *
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 Jun 89 13:14:27 -0400 (EDT)
From: John Duchowski <jd3a+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Hard Disk Problems - SOLVED!
I would like to thank all of you who responded to my letters
concerning the Hard Disk problems I encountered with my AT. As it turned
out, it was a prob- lem with the controller and not with the hard disk.
After I installed a new Western Digital Dual Floppy/Hard Disk Controller,
the new drive (ST251-1) let itself be formatted without any furhter
errors.
However, I have one more question - when I tried to use the Seagate
Disk Manager manually, I could not get the disk to function properly with
the Interleave set to 2:1. Even though it appeared that the low and high
level formatting operations were successful, I could not install the
system onto the C: drive. Directory of C: returned some unintelligible
chunks of data for file names. After changing the Interleave back to 3:1,
everything returned back to normal. Is it possible that this AT is so old
that it can't handle interleave values other than 3:1 ?
Once again, I would like to thank all those who responded - your
comments were much appreciated.
Sincerely,
John Duchowski
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 01 Jun 89 16:21:25 BST
From: Barry Moody <MT04%LIVERPOOL.AC.UK@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Requesting files from WSMR-Simtel20.army.mil
Is it possible to get files from simtel20 to UK.AC JANET addresses?
Thanks in advance.
[It is possible to get files directly from WSMR-SIMTEL20.army.mil if you
have Internet access and a File Transfer Protocol Program (FTP). Since
you're in the UK, I don't advise this however since quite a few of the
files are LARGE and will generate astronomical Telephone bills for your
host. Probably the best way to get files is to request desired files
through a TRICKLE server in Europe. See the header info at the beginning
of the Digest. gph]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 Jun 89 21:08:18 +0200
From: mcvax!nikhefk!henkp@uunet.UU.NET (Henk Peek)
Subject: Re: pc/ix on & att6300
The att6300 runs pc/ix. The problem is that the standard bootsector has
not the correct values in the registers for pc/ix.
Use a pcdos bootsector and pc/ix boots. (Harddisk controller 5150BX!. I
don't know of a WD controller works)
Henk Peek ..!uunet!nikhefk!henkp.UUCP
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 3 Jun 89 01:15 EST
From: "C'est ma vie." <JSHIN%HAMPVMS.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Differences in the 80X86/88 Family
As far as I am concerned, all the 86's are exactly the same. But, I know
I shouldn't say that.
They are all (8086, 8088, 80186, 80188, 80286, 80386, i386sx... what not)
based on the exact same iAPX86 core (with the exception of 80386's). The
chips are mainly supplied by Intel, AMD, and NEC, and NEC makes their own
improved versions (V20.. V60, what not). You could try calling your local
sales office of any of these companies and ask for data sheets for more
details.
8086 basically is a 16-bit microprocessor. It has 8 16-bit "general
purpose" registers (if anything from Intel is ever general purpose). One
of them is, of course, a stack pointer, and two of them are officially
called "the base pointers" (BX and BP). There are also two "index
registers" (SI and DI). The rest are called AX and DX, presumably a
8080-leftover of accumulator (pair) and data (pair) registers.
There are four more registers, called segment registers. These are
multiplied by 00010H and then added to whatever indirectaddress there is
(such as SP, PC, BX, BI), to generate the famous 20-bit address bus.
(By the way, for non-8086'ers, the PC is called the Instruction Pointer).
8088 is an 8086 with a 8-bit external data interface. This is done easily
since all 8086 instruction data are done in 8-bit (rather than 16-bit)
units. This is true for ALL 86-related processors. Crudely put, it takes
the 8088 twice as longer to access the memory, interface, etc., than does
the 8086. No big difference.
I believe the 8086 runs up to at 10Mhz and 8088 at 8 Mhz. So IBM-PC's
8088 running at 4.77 MHz is quite slow.
(I think XT uses the same thing - it just has a bigger power supply)
80186 is the 8086 plus address decoding, DMA, and timers. It is designed
for what Intel calls "embedded controller" application - where you want to
keep the chip count as low as possible. A lot of extra signals. (6
memory chip selects and 6 peripheral chip selects). It makes designing a
lot easier. 80186 runs at up to 12.5, or so, I think (maybe 16).
80188 is ditto except that it is (surprise, surprise) a modified 8088,
instead of 8086. Technically, you can have a computer with 4 chips.
(80188, a latched-address ROM such as 87256, a latched-address RAM, and a
peripheral for terminal). 80188 runs up to at 10MHz, I think.
None of the PC series actually used 8018X. A lot of the clones do. I
don't know about PS/2's. Probably not.
80286 is the 8086 plus the extra feature called "multitasking." If you
don't know what this is, ask someone nearby. It just makes it easier to
do memory protection and address translation. It also supports "virtual
memory," which is a portion of your memory saved on the disk while you are
not using it - this way you can multiply your memory capacity quite a lot.
Up to 16 mbyte, I think.
AT uses 80286. A lot of the PS/2's use 286, too, although there is one
that still uses 8088.
80386, suppposedly, and hopefully for those of us who remember iAPX432
(which croaked, for those who don't know), is the best and the biggest, so
far (80*4*86, coming up). It's the same 8086 except that everything is
doubled. (32 bit). It even has more index and segment registers!
Improved (enlarged, mostly) virtual addressing and multitasking. More
instructions. Yet, still, 8086 compatible! (There is a feature called
8086mode, in which the user can pretend that the 80386 is totally a 8086.
With multitasking, it's like having several PC's!)
PS/2 (the higher numbered ones with "386" attached to it) are really the
ones to start using 386, also a lot of the clones (COMPAQ, for example)
started using it. Plans for up to 25MHz. (Or perhaps up to 33 MHz.)
(All 86's have 64KB interface space)
386SX is a scaled-down 80386, Lower speed, with a 16 bit EXTERNAL bus, but
with a 32 bit internal data path. Cheaper, too.
80376 (has anyone heard of this?) is a cross between 80386 and 80186 - an
"embedded controller." With almost the power of 80386.
Enough babbling; sorry.
John Shin
(JSHIN@HAMPVMS.bitnet)
(JSHIN%HAMPVMS@cunyvm.cuny.edu)
Disclaimer: is this a requirement, or something? I'm just an undergrad
doing Political Economy (as the official "concentration")
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 3 Jun 89 5:19:29 CDT
From: david@wubios.WUstl.EDU (David J. Camp)
Subject: Differences in the 80X86/88 Family
The original IBM-PC and the IBM-PC/XT both use the 8088 processor. The
differnce is the original PC did not understand hard disks, but the XT
does. The IBM-PC/AT uses an 80286. The PS/2 line uses a variety of
processors, including 8086, 80286, and 80386.
The 8088 and 8086 share the same instruction set. The difference is in
the number of parallel data lines on the bus. The 8086 uses 16 data
lines, but the 8088 uses 8 data lines. This means the 8086 is capable of
faster speeds, but the 8088 can be used with cheaper components. The
80286 has two modes. It boots in a mode that makes it appear like an
8088. There is an instruction to switch it to another mode that uses a
completely different instruction set.
This mode (sometimes called 'protected' mode) is what is used by OS/2.
When OS/2 wants to run an MS-Dos application, it must reset the processor,
so that it reboots into 8088 mode. When running MS-Dos on an 80286, you
make no use of protected mode whatsoever. That often makes me wonder when
people say you 'need an 80286' for large Dos applications, when with Dos
running it is no better than an 8088.
The 8088 and 8086 use 20 lines for a memory address. The 80286 uses 24
lines. This requires the larger bus present on AT models. The 80386
processor is a major step forward. It can run protected mode applications
and 8088 applications at the same time, in a manner which protects them
from each other. It has a 32 bit address bus. The 80386-SX has a 24 bit
address bus, to make it cheaper to implement computers with an AT
compatible bus, but with the 80386 instruction set.
I hope this answere your questions, and is not misleading. -David-
Bitnet: david@wubios.wustl ^ Mr. David J. Camp
Internet: david%wubios@wucs1.wustl.edu < * > Box 8067, Biostatistics
uucp: uunet!wucs1!wubios!david v 660 South Euclid
Washington University (314) 36-23635 Saint Louis, MO 63110
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 03 Jun 89 11:34:46 EDT
From: "Tony G. Papadimitriou" <37KGLLQ%CMUVM.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Re: Finding Free Disk Space
Unless you are using a DOS version before 2.0, you can use function 36h
INT 21h to find the number of free clusters on a disk, real or Ram.
-- Tony Papadimitriou
Central Michigan University
Acknowledge-To: <37KGLLQ@CMUVM>
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 31 May 89 15:59:27 PRT
From: Pedro Mendes <QPJPM%PTEARN.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Problems w/ Turbo-C 2.0
Turbo-C 2.0 behaves very strangly on the Amstrad PPC 512 (portable).
Any program that uses screen I/O via printf() writes garbage on the screen
instead of what is supposed to be printed (the arguments of printf). But
if the source were to be compiled on another PC then the program runs
correctly on the PPC 512!! Nothing like this happened with version 1.5 and
I can't think of any reason for this behaviour.
Have any of you have also experienced something like this and/or have
the answer for this problem. For those who don't know, the Amstrad PPC
512 is a NEC V30 based machine and except for this problem all other
programs have run as though they were on any other 99.9% compatible.
bitnet: QPJPM@PTEARN.BITNET
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 01 Jun 89 22:40:12 DNT
From: Peter Larsen <NEUMHL%NEUVM1.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: RS-232 interface problems
I have a strange problem with the RS-232 interface in my IBM PC/XT
clone. The clone has an I/O card with both a parallel and serial port,
and the disk controllers. Seems it went south after lightning struck
nearby. Or SOMETHING went south.
After replacing the old external modem with a Discovery 2400PT (or
2400C, also external) I still couldn't receive any characters even though
the LEDs in the modem indicated indicated receiving characters. This
modem has been tested and found to be OK by the manufacturer. I tried
another RS-232 card in the computer with good results.
A different old modem, a Nokia 1200, works with the old port, but the
new one does not work...
The port seems ok, the modem seems ok, the port works with another
modem, but not the one I wish to use. Could the problem be on the
motherboard?
The only difference between the two setups is the modem. HOWEVER,
both modems check out as good!
Any ideas? All suggestions are welcome.
Peter Larsen
Bitnet : Neumhl@neuvm1.bitnet
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 01 Jun 89 01:13:40 PDT
From: Jeff Sicherman <JAJZ801%CALSTATE.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: text search in ARC (tm), ZIP, etc
Are there any text search utilities (like the Norton Utilities (tm) TS
program) that will search within archive-type files without having to
extract the contents first. I know there are file searchers (like PKFIND)
that will find files, but I want to identify the files that contain
specific text strings.
Jeff Sicherman
Cal State Long Beach
jajz801@calstate.bitnet
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 03 Jun 89 21:06:35 SST
From: Kace Ong <ISSKO%NUSVM.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Request for Documentation on the 8514/A
8514/A modes: I know that it is possible to drive 8514/A cards to
640x480x256 color mode and 1024x768x16 color mode. However, I cannot find
any instruction on how this is achieved programmatically. Most programs I
have does not recognize these modes (The exception is AIX, running X-11).
Will appreciate any pointer, article, name of manual, etc.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 03 Jun 89 21:06:35 SST
From: Kace Ong <ISSKO%NUSVM.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: Information requested on DOS 'Critical' Flag
Calling DOS re-entrantly: DOS is not reentrant, so TSR programs may
not be able to make DOS calls if the foreground program's DOS calls have
not been completed. The way to detect if DOS is in its "critical region"
is not documented but widely used in commercial software e.g. sidekick,
lightning, etc. Can anyone shed some light on this?
-------------------------------------------
Kace Ong Institute of Systems Science
ISSKO@NUSVM Heng Mui Keng Terrace
"OS/2, OS/3, .. OSF?" Singapore 0511
-------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Fri Jun 2 04:05:00 1989
From: Michael Gray <b27y@vax5.cit.cornell.edu>
Subject: How do you write for EGA graphics and OS/2?
I am writing an application for OS/2 now using EGA graphics, using
MICROSOFT BASIC 6.0 and MICROSOFT C 5.1.
You can't use any of the EGA graphics modes in MC BASIC 6.0 when
running in protected mode. The documentation for MC C 5.1 seems to imply
you can use the C graphics library, but nowhere in setup does it install
you graphics library into the protected mode libraries, and I get linking
errors at every call I make to the any C graphics library function.
If I just add the file "GRAPHICS.LIB" to the combined library,
then the file compiles but crashes. (I suspect that GRAPHICS.LIB is only
for real mode applications)
So the question I raise is can you use MC C 5.1 to compile EGA
graphics for protected mode?
And if not, is there any other way to do EGA graphics without
having to write the routines myself? (Has someone done it already ..?). I
don't really want to have to spend a lot of time learning all the OS/2
calls, so any help would be greatly appriciated.
Michael Gray /-------------------------------/
Misha Computing / "Save The Humans" /
526 Stewart Ave / /
Ithaca N.Y. 14850 / Bumper Sticker /
607-277-2774 / /
B27Y@VAX5.CIT.CORNELL.EDU /-------------------------------/
------------------------------
End of Info-IBMPC Digest
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