ghenniga@hertz.NMSU.Edu (Gary Hennigan) (06/24/91)
I've been considering ordering OS/2 1.3 for my PS/2 55sx. I understand that if I do so I can upgrade from IBM DOS 4.0 to OS/2 1.3 for $95 and I can then get OS/2 2.0 for free when it comes out, supposedly later this year. I've never used OS/2 but I am tired of not being able to run some of my FORTRAN programs in 640k and would like to take full advantage of my 386. On to the questions: 1) I have the recommended minimum amount of memory for OS/2, 4MB, and was wondering how badly I will suffer with this constraint? 2) What are the limitations on running DOS apps in an OS/2 DOS box? I understand that v1.3 has some problems with it's DOS box which are supposed to be fixed in v2.0 but I also seem to remember reading somewhere that even in v2.0, applications that require extended memory will not run in an OS/2 DOS box. I have mucho dollars invested in DOS apps which I don't wish to just throw away so any experiences you might wish to share in this area would be greatly appreciated. 3) I also seem to remember reading that programs compiled to run under MS-Windows v3.0 will run unmodified under the OS/2 program manager, or whatever the equivalent is called under OS/2; is this true? Any experiences you may have with running OS/2 would also be greatly appreciated. e-mail if possible Thanks, -- Gary Hennigan +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ + e-mail: ghenniga@NMSU.Edu, henninsf@maxwel.NMSU.Edu + + Electrical Engineering; PhD Student, Computational Electromagnetics + + Physical Science Laboratory (ASS)istant systems programmer + +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
bking@ersys.edmonton.ab.ca (Barry King) (06/25/91)
I'll throw in my two-bits worth regarding RAM requirements. I develop OS/2 PM apps and have a paltry 4 Mb in my 386/33. I run into low memory conditions which are crippling once in a while. Most of the time (99%) 4 Mb is okay. I have a fast hard drive which helps as I get a lot of swapping. I would think that 6 or 8 Mb would be much better but 4 Mb is definitely useable. An example of 4 Mb being too little is trying to set up DDE hot links between two applications such as 123/g and Word or Excel. For development, I can be dialed into a BBS, have several editing sessions, a debugging session and compiles going all in 4 Mb without waiting around for the system to catch up to me. On a 55SX, the low memory conditions will cause you much more pain due to the slower hard drive and slower CPU. 6 Mb would probably be better in your case. Barry King bking@ersys.edmonton.ab.ca Edmonton Remote Systems: Serving Northern Alberta since 1982
larrys@watson.ibm.com (06/26/91)
In <GHENNIGA.91Jun24092722@hertz.NMSU.Edu>, ghenniga@hertz.NMSU.Edu (Gary Hennigan) writes: > > 1) I have the recommended minimum amount of memory for OS/2, 4MB, >and was wondering how badly I will suffer with this constraint? Do you mean how much will it cost you to get 4M? OS/2 1.3 will run in 2M, and I was told by Lee Reiswig that the target IBM is shooting for is to get the same performance in OS/2 2.0 with a memory delta of 1M. > 2) What are the limitations on running DOS apps in an OS/2 DOS >box? I understand that v1.3 has some problems with it's DOS box which are >supposed to be fixed in v2.0 but I also seem to remember reading somewhere >that even in v2.0, applications that require extended memory will not run >in an OS/2 DOS box. I have mucho dollars invested in DOS apps which I don't >wish to just throw away so any experiences you might wish to share in this >area would be greatly appreciated. Whoever told you that EMS will not be supported was wrong. See my posting forthcoming about the PC Expo demo giving by Lee Reiswig and Joe Gugliemli. > 3) I also seem to remember reading that programs compiled to run >under MS-Windows v3.0 will run unmodified under the OS/2 program manager, or >whatever the equivalent is called under OS/2; is this true? Under OS/2 2.0, correct. Again, see my forthcoming posting. If you have any questions, feel free to email me. Cheers, Larry Salomon, Jr. (aka 'Q') LARRYS@YKTVMV.BITNET OS/2 Applications and Tools larrys@ibmman.watson.ibm.com IBM T.J. Watson Research Center larrys@eng.clemson.edu Yorktown Heights, NY Disclaimer: The statements and/or opinions stated above are strictly my own and do not reflect the views of my employer. Additionally, I have a reputation for being obnoxious, so don't take any personal attacks too seriously.
cs_b144@ux.kingston.ac.uk (Ian Stickland) (06/26/91)
To add to what Barry suggests.... If you are using a PS/2 55SX make sure you get as much RAM as you can on the system board as RAM on a card has 2 wait states and is much slower. I don't know if the system planar maximum is 4 or 8 meg. I do know that you can get 2 4MB modules on a 65SX... Hope this helps, Ian Stickland.
Andreas.Kaiser@ananke.stgt.sub.org (Andreas Kaiser) (06/27/91)
>year. I've never used OS/2 but I am tired of not being able to run some of >my FORTRAN programs in 640k and would like to take full advantage of my 386. >On to the questions: With OS/2 1.x you will *not* take full advantage of you 386. If you need a full blown 386 *now*, you have to use UNIX or a DOS-extender. > 1) I have the recommended minimum amount of memory for OS/2, >4MB, and was wondering how badly I will suffer with this constraint? OS/2 1.3 will run in 4MB but there will be a lot of swapping and only little space for HPFS with acceptable disk caching or for a RAM-disk. If you want to use other tasks while compiling or running large programs, you should buy at least another 2MB. > 2) What are the limitations on running DOS apps in an OS/2 DOS >box? I understand that v1.3 has some problems with it's DOS box Not enough memory for DOS applications - 450K left. The OS/2 kernel seems to reside in DOS memory and so do most device drivers. Direct device access other than video or COMx can make trouble. You cannot write to disk device (but this is not a bug but a security feature). You cannot use DOS device drivers for devices being used by OS/2. Gruss, Andreas * Origin: kaiser@ananke.stgt.sub.org - Stuttgart FRG (2:244/7014)
wayne@csri.toronto.edu (Wayne Hayes) (06/30/91)
Andreas.Kaiser@ananke.stgt.sub.org (Andreas Kaiser) writes: >Not enough memory for DOS applications - 450K left. The OS/2 kernel seems to >reside in DOS memory and so do most device drivers. Remember, this is only true of 1.x. OS/2 2.0 DOS boxes usually have over 600K free.