vcl@mimas.UUCP (Victor C. Limary) (03/31/91)
I would like to know if I need to change my BIOS. Here's my problem:
When I lock the com port to any rate higher than 9600 bps, I start
losing characters. It happens from both Procomm Plus 1.1B and Waffle
1.64's UUCICO (program to transfer Usenet feeds).
Here's my hardware setup:
Leading Edge D3 - 386-16Mhz AT bus computer
16450 UART (at least that's what X00.SYS and PUMA say. I'm not sure,
since my motherboard incorporates the UARTs on VLSI)
Intel 9600EX modem
Phoenix 80386 BIOS V1.10 06 dated 1988(?)
When I try using any comm port rate over 9600 bps, characters start
dropping every now and then. DSZ seems to work fine even though it loses
characters, but the throughput then drops to about 700cps. YMODEM-G just
quits because of the errors. I know that I should get a serial port card
with a 16550AN UART (since my computer has the serial ports built-in, and
getting a new UART won't work because of the VLSI) so that I can properly
use high baud rates, but how much does the BIOS effect the data transfer?
I read in the DSZ manual that bad BIOS results in lost characters, and if
that's so, then I would like to get new BIOS and a new UART/serial card
so that I can get better transfer rates.
Thanks.
_______
/ \
| O O | Victor Limary
<| < |> mimas!vcl@bbx.basis.com
| _____ |
\ U /
"-----"schuster@panix.uucp (Michael Schuster) (04/02/91)
In article <kwqNZ1w163w@mimas.UUCP> vcl@mimas.UUCP (Victor C. Limary) writes: > > I would like to know if I need to change my BIOS. Here's my problem: > > When I lock the com port to any rate higher than 9600 bps, I start > losing characters. It happens from both Procomm Plus 1.1B and Waffle > 1.64's UUCICO (program to transfer Usenet feeds). I'm not a programmer, but it's my impression that the serial port routines in most telecom packages bypass the BIOS completely, because it's so woefully inadequate. You need a buffered serial port. -- Mike Schuster | CIS: 70346,1745 NY Public Access UNIX: ...cmcl2!panix!schuster | MCI Mail, GENIE: The Portal (R) System: schuster@cup.portal.com | MSCHUSTER
jrd@cc.usu.edu (04/03/91)
In article <kwqNZ1w163w@mimas.UUCP>, vcl@mimas.UUCP (Victor C. Limary) writes: > I would like to know if I need to change my BIOS. Here's my problem: > > When I lock the com port to any rate higher than 9600 bps, I start > losing characters. It happens from both Procomm Plus 1.1B and Waffle > 1.64's UUCICO (program to transfer Usenet feeds). > > Here's my hardware setup: > > Leading Edge D3 - 386-16Mhz AT bus computer > 16450 UART (at least that's what X00.SYS and PUMA say. I'm not sure, > since my motherboard incorporates the UARTs on VLSI) > Intel 9600EX modem > Phoenix 80386 BIOS V1.10 06 dated 1988(?) > > When I try using any comm port rate over 9600 bps, characters start > dropping every now and then. DSZ seems to work fine even though it loses > characters, but the throughput then drops to about 700cps. YMODEM-G just > quits because of the errors. I know that I should get a serial port card > with a 16550AN UART (since my computer has the serial ports built-in, and > getting a new UART won't work because of the VLSI) so that I can properly > use high baud rates, but how much does the BIOS effect the data transfer? > I read in the DSZ manual that bad BIOS results in lost characters, and if > that's so, then I would like to get new BIOS and a new UART/serial card > so that I can get better transfer rates. > > Thanks. > > _______ > / \ > | O O | Victor Limary > <| < |> mimas!vcl@bbx.basis.com > | _____ | > \ U / > "-----" ----------------- Victor, Good comms programs completly ignore the serial port Bios. Your problem is very likely competition from other things in your system, TSRs. The most infamous of these is DOS's PRINT command; use copy file prn instead. So, take out the TSRs and start over, adding them back one at a time. An SX with a 16450 UART and a decent timing (and that also means a short cable) can easily do 57,600 b/s, limited by outages from disk activity. Also, many VLSI UARTs will get off the line if you plug in a competing serial port board; check the manual. That frees the path to the 16550A UART chip (but, of course, the software has to invoke the FIFO mode to take advantage of it). Finally, V.32 (aka 9600 b/s) is particularly prone to make errors from telephone line distrubances. And, ensure your system is doing proper flow control to avoid overruns. Joe D.