rk@bigbroth.UUCP (rohan kelley) (06/25/89)
Help- I have just recently installed Version 1.3 of Merge 386 purchased
(indirectly) from Bell Tech. The problem is, it won't recognize the
floppy drive or the E drive.
If I boot native dos from a diskette, It reads the floppy drive fine
and also reads the C: drive (dos partition, E: drive under merge).
I'm running sys5 3.2u on an intel 302 25mh with a big disk and 4mb of
memory and X. There is a dos partition of 27mb and the balance in a
unix partition.
I've read the release notes, system administrator's manual, and user's
manual cover to cover and can't discover the problem. Also, BTW so
someone doesn't suggest I have a loose cable or wrong permissions, it
will cpio fine to the disk drive. After spending a full day on the
problem I'm stumped.
"So why don't you ask Bell Tech?" you ask. I bought it from a var.
BEll Tech says "Ask your var". That makes sense, I didn't pay them for
the product or for support. So I asked the var. He said 1) He doesn't
have any idea, 2) Bell Tech won't return his calls 3) Try reinstalling merge
(I did - no help) and 4) he'll get back to me if he finds anything else
out. So, having no other place to turn, I turn to the net.
One criticism of Bell Tech or Locus or both, I tried to install a
printer for dos. The book says use the shell script /usr/lib/merge/
lpinstall. Only that script won't work if you already have a unix
defined printer. Reason: the following lines from the script are
incorrect.
1. LPDEV=`cat $LPS/member/$LPDEF`
{there is no member directory in sysV 3.2, the proper line is:
LPDEV=`grep Device: $LPS/admins/lp/printers/$LPDEF/configuration | cut -c 9-`}
2. $LPB/lpshut > /dev/null
{they forgot the 2 before the >, although the way the line appears,
that probably doesn't matter since there will never be an error.}
3. echo "/usr/lib/lpsched" >> /etc/rc2.d/S30lp
{The lp file in 3.2 is 580lp, not 530lp the correct line is:
echo "/usr/lib/lpsched" >> /etc/rc2.d/S80lp}
The sloppy way this script was sent out makes me wonder if the problem
I have in accessing the floppy drive may not be something in the
programs Bell labeled and mailed except I assume there are others out
there who have no such trouble.
I have previously installed DOS merge on a 286 microport system without
a problem.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM:
When I try to format, dir, or any other command which affects drive
a, I get the error message:
"Not ready error reading drive A, Abort, Retry, Ignor?"
Comments on things already checked and other various observations ---.
I have no /dev/dsk/dos which is equivalent of drive e.
/etc/dosenv.def and dosapp.def seem to contemplate that device.
Those files respectively are:
+ae:=/dev/dsk/dos -b +dc +e +l +mn +p +s15 +t -u -x 054DOSOPT
+ae:=/dev/dsk/dos -b +dc +e +l +mn -p +s15 +t -u -x 054DOSOPT
However, /etc/dosdev has the following entry:
e f /usr/lib/merge/edisk Virtual DOS partition.
There is such a file:
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root other 28160 Jun 8 20:32 /usr/lib/merge/edisk
The output of the file command on that file is:
/usr/lib/merge/edisk: DOS executable (COM)
It looks like the e disk file was renamed but nobody told the programer
for /etc/dosenv.def or dosapp.def.
I have a suspicion that the failure to read the floppy drive is that it
is not defined in dosenv.def and/or dosapp.def.
2. The command on page 5-51 to attach drive A to dos:
dos +aA=A returns the error:
TOKENPAIR_NF: dos: ERROR: Could not find appropriate token types for
"A=A".
3. None of the following commands affect the "Not ready error reading
drive A, Abort, Retry, Ignor?" error message.
dos +aa=/dev/rdsk/f05ht or /f0
dos +aa=/dev/dsk/f05ht or /f0
4. Whenever I load dos, it blanks the console monitor as if the power
has been turned off. It comes back slowly as the power has been turned
back on, faint at first then brighter. This only happens on the
console, not on an attached terminal.
5. This is the only portion of the /etc/dosenv file relating to floppy
disks:
# Virtual Floppy and Partition definitions:
a l a: Diskette drive A.
b l b: Diskette drive B.
e l e: DOS partition drive letter.
e f /usr/lib/merge/edisk Virtual DOS partition.
If I substitute the line:
a f /dev/dsk/f05ht Diskette drive A.
nothing changes.
6. Although I get the same error about drive not ready when I try to
dir e:, if I load dos with the command: dos +ae=/usr/lib/merge/edrive
then I can write to and read the virtual e drive.
But I don't need an e disk virtual drive, I need an A: drive to read in
various dos diskettes.
What to do?????? I'v got the old "rock and a hardspot" problem. Is
there ANYBODY out there who could help? HELLOOOOOOOOOW am I all by
myself?
rohan
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