john@utafll.uta.edu (John Baima) (06/19/91)
I must admit that I really like the idea of OS/2, even if version 1.3 is not what I need. Version 2.0 sounds like what I need. I just hate programming under Windows and facing UAE's and wondering when my file system is going to take a hike. So, even if version 1.3 isn't quite what I want, what the heck, it's only $150 and I'll get version 2.0 free, right? So I ordered OS/2 and cleared off my little D: drive (40 MB) with the thought of installing OS/2 and HPFS there and using my C: drive with DOS. My first cause of concern was when OS/2 did not give me the option of installing it on drive D:. In fact, it never asked me about it. No problem, I still have a fair amount of space on my D: drive. The installation seemed to work just fine. Ha! When the installation program decided that it was time to boot OS/2, I was in deep trouble. It told me that I did not have enough RAM memory to boot (I have 5 MB). After a few minutes of panic, I booted up DOS with a diskette and I found that my system settings were all changed! Drives B: and D: did not exist and drive C: was set to type 17 (which is the type of drive D:, C: is a special setup on 48). The memory setup was changed from 5 MB to 1 MB. The serial port was changed. Just about everything was changed. After manually resetting everything, I fearlessly tried booting OS/2 from the hard disk. It worked just fine. I switched to boot DOS, then OS/2 and back to DOS. All seemed to work just fine. Then, I was using Publisher's Type Foundry (a real *&%#$!! program), and it thrashed my hard disk. Or at least it was the program I was running when I got an unkind error message and CHKDSK /f went wild. Of course I had not backed up my system yet so I lost OS/2. I understand why OS/2 would want to read my setup, but why should it screw it up so? (I actually installed OS/2 twice and got the exact same system screwup twice.) I guess I'll just use my 1.3 as a $150 paperweight until the arrival of the promised one, version 2.0. My system: ALR Powerflex 386sx with a Seagate 200MB IDE and a Western Digital 40MB drive, 5MB RAM, Logitech bus mouse (which worked just fine installed as a Microsoft bus mouse). John Baima john@utafll.uta.edu -- John Baima john@utafll.uta.edu