swie@cs.umn.edu (S. T. Tan) (02/27/91)
I will try to repost my previous question since I got "zero" reply. Has anybody tried to run SCO Xenix-386 or SCO Unix-386 on a notebook or a portable PC? If you are using it, could you please share your experience? I am interested in the following systems: Compaq 386SX-20Mhz notebook, AST 386SX-20Mhz notebook, IBM P70 (80386-20Mhz), IBM P75 (80486-33Mhz). I was told by SCO people that they "think" there will be no problem. Well, since SCO people are not 100% sure, I'd rather listen to those who have been using it. Any comments or suggestions are welcome. swie@cs.umn.edu
rosso@sco.COM (Ross Oliver) (03/05/91)
In article <1991Feb27.040717.26460@cs.umn.edu> swie@cs.umn.edu (S. T. Tan) writes: >Has anybody tried to run SCO Xenix-386 or SCO Unix-386 on a notebook or a >portable PC? If you are using it, could you please share your experience? >I am interested in the following systems: Compaq 386SX-20Mhz notebook, >AST 386SX-20Mhz notebook, IBM P70 (80386-20Mhz), IBM P75 (80486-33Mhz). The Compaq will work fine. Compaq was showing one off at last year's SCO Forum90. The IBM P70 will work, but requires a bit of fiddling (see below). By inference, the P75 should work with the same fiddling. Other portables I have seen running SCO UNIX and XENIX are Toshiba, Zenith, and Grid. The typical problem with laptops and portables is with the display. If the machine comes with a special MS-DOS display device driver, then it probably won't work with UNIX or XENIX. A good test is to try to boot with the N1 disk. If the display looks good, it will probably work. Ross Oliver Technical Support The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc. --------------------- Do SCO XENIX and SCO UNIX support the PS/2 model P70 portable? KEYWORDS: p70 ps2 gas plasma monitor portable vga screen xenix unix xnx155 RELEASE: SCO XENIX 386 Operating System Release 2.3.2 SCO UNIX System V/386 Operating System Release 3.2.0 for computers based on Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) PROBLEM: The gas plasma display screen on the PS/2 Model P70 portable 386 flickers when running SCO XENIX 386 Operating System Release 2.3.2 or SCO UNIX System V/386 Operating System Release 3.2.0 for computers based on Micro Channel Architecture (MCA). CAUSE: The model P70 gas plasma display is not supported under SCO XENIX 386 Operating System Release 2.3.2 and SCO UNIX System V/386 Operating System Release 3.2.0. It will work fine under either operating system with an external monitor attached. Fixes have been developed for the following versions of the operating system: * XENIX 2.3.2: Support Level Supplement (SLS) XNX155 or XNX155B will allow the display to be used. * UNIX 3.2.0: No SLS is available, however /etc/conf/pack.d/vga/Driver.o can be extracted from SCO ODT Release 1.0 for computers based on Micro Channel Architecture (MCA), or SCO UNIX System V/386 Operating System Release 3.2, Version 2.0 for computers based on Micro Channel Architecture. Placing this file on a 3.2.0 system and then re-linking the kernel will allow the VGA interface to be put into EGA mode with the command: vidi e80x25 This command will need to be inserted in the /etc/rc2.d/S88USRDEFINE file so the display will come up correctly on bootup. When you insert the command in the file, you will need to indicate what device you are writing to by redirecting to that device, as in the following example: vidi e80x25 > /dev/tty01 You will need to put in an entry for each screen you wish to use. The example above applies to /dev/tty01, the first console multiscreen. You need to apply the same command to /dev/tty02, /dev/tty03, etc., if you wish to use those screens. You will also need to insert the following command in the file /etc/bcheckrc to prevent the screen flicker when you log in as root in System Maintenance (single-user) mode: vidi e80x25 > /dev/console * UNIX 3.2 Version 2.0: You do not have to extract the driver file as in the previous release, but you do still need to use the same vidi commands in order to use the display properly.
jim@tiamat.fsc.com ( IT Manager) (03/05/91)
In article <1991Feb27.040717.26460@cs.umn.edu>, swie@cs.umn.edu (S. T. Tan) writes: > I will try to repost my previous question since I got "zero" reply. > Has anybody tried to run SCO Xenix-386 or SCO Unix-386 on a notebook or a > portable PC? If you are using it, could you please share your experience? I haven't specifically used any of the systems you mentioned, but I am a "portable" Xenix/Unix user so I'll make my comments. The machine: Computer Products Unlimited - CPU 386 "lunchbox" portable 20MHz 386 - no 387 CGA, 6MB RAM, 2 serial, 1 parallel 100MB 3.5" hard drive 3.5" internal floppy, plus really neat 5.25" external (when the external drive is connected, it can be selected as either A or B with easy access switch) This machine started out with only 2MB RAM using Xenix 2.3.3. It ran fine for news, mail, remote access (via a pocket modem connected to one of the serial ports), and C programming. With only the 2MB RAM, it was very slow at times when doing database work. A desire to upgrade to SCO Unix required the other 4MB RAM since SCO Unix would install with 2MB RAM, but would not run after linking in the TCP/IP kernel routines (Oh Yeah, the machine has four accessible slots, one of which holds an ethernet board). The machine is heavy, but portable, and when I bought it, it was very affordable, compared to other portable systems. These days, though, the portables that resemble laptops (Toshiba T5XXX come to mind) are coming down in price. If I was going to spend the same money again, I'd go for one the lighter machines. Things to looks for in a machine: RAM - get as much as you can afford from the start. Xenix doesn't need as much as Unix, but adding RAM to a portable machine can be a pain and often more expensive than to desktop machines Floppy Disks - I like the machines (like mine) that can have both 3.5 and 5.25 drives, and switch select them as either A or B. This provides the greatest flexibility. I know SCO's OS products come in 3.5 and 5.25 both, but I don't know about application products, or third party software. Hard Disks - Like RAM, get as much as you can get from the start. Most portables are only going to have room for one hard drive, so if you need more space, you'll have to replace the first one. So far I haven't seen any vendors offering drive upgrades for their portables, so you may get stuck with the original drive. The rise of high capacity IDE drives means you should be able to get 200MB for a reasonable price. On my portable, Xenix installed with room to spare (lots of room to spare). I left a lot of the optinal Unix stuff off so I'd still have room for application software and data files. Misc - Test drive any machine before you buy to get a feel for the screen and keyboard. The keyboard on my porta has a full 102 keys, but several keys (most notbably the '/' key) are in strange positions. If you don't so a lot of number crunching, a keypad isn't necessary, but if the arrow keys are laid-out weird (Compaq'sLTE keyboard comes to mind), you might go through keyboard shock. Also, I've found that gas-plasma screens, while almost completely negated any chance for battery powered operation, are much nicer to look at for long periods of time. If you can get 16 or 64 level gray scale with a gas plasma screen you may decide you don't need an external monitor for extended use. Final conclusion: portable Unix is entirely feasible, but to create a "portable workstaion" you have to put together a machine with workstation-like capabilities. That could get expensive, but in my case it has been worth it. --jim ------------- James B. O'Connor jim@tiamat.fsc.com Ahlstrom Filtration, Inc. 615/821-4022 x. 651