🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <CG7CCq.3GC@mailer.cc.fsu.edu> raz@garfield.freac.fsu.edu () writes:
>In article <2blqpd$2m6@news.umi.com> jdc@umi.com (Jon Cardwell) writes:
>>
>>>I cannot install UnixWare from Univel (SVR4.2; Novell) because
>>>(I'm 95% sure) of the strange 1K of "ext. BIOS" that the Micronics motherboard
>>>is mapping into base memory, starting at 639k. This is an inexcusable
>>>engineering KLUDGE that Micronics Tech. support people won't 
>>>admit to being a bug. Now, if they'd have just fixed it, and put
>>>a newer Flash BIOS up on Micronics BBS, and UNIX would install
>>>after eliminating the annoying "1K Ext. BIOS", then I would
>>>be one of many, many, happy Gateway2000 customers. But,
>>>this apparently will not come to pass.
>>>
>>>What I'm now doing, instead of just returning the machines outright,
>>>is I'm swapping the Micronics EISA/VLB motherboards with the previous
>>>"Anigma"-brand EISA (no VLB) motherboards. I'm also swapping
>>>the Diamond Speedstar Pro VLB VGA cards with the Diamond Speedstar 24X
>>>VGA cards that used to be sold with the previous 66E's. What gets
>>>me a little steamed is that they're charging me $210.00 US difference
>>>per motherboard (including the VGA cards) for a total of $420.00.
>>>This amount for the "older" motherboards and SVGA cards that I
>>>had originally wanted in the first place back in September when I
>>>originally ordered the machines!!!! If you look at their ad from
>>>a september issue of a PC magazine you'll notice that the "base"
>>>4DX2-66E system is priced at $3,495. Well, that's the same price
>>>that they are now, except that they put in a micronics EISA/VLB
>>>motherboard and a different VGA card.
>>
>>But Now:
>>Well, I ordered the older motherboards, and had to pay the 'difference'
>>of $420 last thursday. The tech. support person who handled it for me
>>assured me that they would get 'priority' status, and get shipped
>>out Fed-X overnight. Well, I checked this morning, and they haven't even
>>shipped yet!!!! I will NEVER buy another GW2k system again, even if
>>the OLDER motherboards *do* allow me to install UnixWare, and not
>>PANIC after the first boot disc is read in.
>>
>>>
>>>I get the impression that this 1K "Ext. BIOS" thing is a known
>>>bug with the micronics EISA/VLB motherboard, but using MS-DOS's
>>>EMM386.EXE extended memory manager, the entire 640K of base
>>>memory is available; therefore, the "1K Ext. BIOS" problem
>>>(as seen when running Gateway2000's own QAPLUS program!)
>>>can be endured for the time being. Not in my case
>>>unfortunately, as I'm probably part of a minority of user's trying
>>>to install UnixWare from Univel on such a system.
>>
>>Has ANYBODY been able to install UnixWare (SVR4.2 from Univel)
>>on one of the new GW2K EISA/VLB systems???
>>
>>>
>>>I'm curious, is anybody else out there running/trying to run/trying
>>>to install UNIX (ie; UnixWare, Interactive, etc) on a Gateway2000
>>>4DX2-66E system??? If so, what kind of motherboard does it have???
>>>
>>>--Jon Cardwell
>>>University Microfilms International
>>
>>--Jon Cardwell
>>University Microfilms International
>
>
>
>	We also had a problem with this setup.  Ours is:
>
>	GW2K 4DX2-66 EISA-VESA,
>	Diamond SpeedStar PRO VL with 1 MB of memory.
>	AHA-1742A SCSI board
>	3Com EtherLink III 3C509 TP
>	NEC MultiSync 3FGe Monitor
>	1 GB hardrive

This sounds like a very similar configuration to the 66E's 
that I tried to install UnixWare on. Except I'm using
an SMC Elite Ultra 16C LAN card, and Gw2k's 15" monitors.

I set the AHA-1742A into "standard mode" at IRQ 11, DMA 5,
I/O port 330h (which is what the installation manual wants).

AFter the the 1st boot disc is read in for about 4 minutes,
the pretty "Loading UnixWare..." screen resets to an ascii
PANIC dump, including the 386 (well, on a 486) protected-mode
register contents, and some kernel data structures (TSS stuff);
then a reboot... :-(

>	
>	But our problem was different though.  The machine came
>with MS Windows pre-installed so we used it to test the machine.
>When we ran the MS Win setup icon the machine would freeze and
>a message would come up on the screen that said memory parity error.
>After fail attempts to fix this problmes over the phone,  Gateway just
>shipped us another motherboard, a Micronics.
>
>      This motherboard has worked flawlessly, well almost.  More on that later.
>We installed the UnixWare Application Server and the installation was also

Oh???!!! You got UnixWare installed on one of the Micronics EISA/VLB
motherboards???!!! What were the settings of the Adaptec? How much
memory does your system have?? 

I still haven't received my replacement motherboards (after some
'phone jousting' w/ gw2k), and if there's some secret technique
for how you got UnixWare installed, please share it!!!! :-D


>flawless in the first try. *sigh*  We were amazed ourselves.
>Since then we have installed the new drivers available for the AHA-1742A board
>so we can now use it in enhanced mode.  Just yesterday I got in touch

I have made an HBA disc for the AHA-1742A in enhanced mode also. Never
made it that far though...

>with someone at Novell who is working on video drivers for our SpeedStar
>video board. They sent us and early release version. I installed it today and
>it is working fine. 

If the replace VGA cards I'm geting are Diamond Speedstar's instead
of the Diamon 24X's, then I'll have to call Univel about getting the
drivers also...

>
>	Now,  the almost flawless motherboard. This has nothing to do with
>UnixWare.  When we installed the 3Com EtherLink III 3C509TP board
>it kept being reported as being in a slot two numbers lower
>than the actual slot. In other words, if we put the board in slot 5
>when we rebooted, the machine says that board is in slot 3.  We tried
>a lot things to fix this but to no avail.  The ECU cf to configure
>the motherboard didn't work either. Finally we gave up and
>installed an SMC Ethercard Plus Elite 16 card.  This one works great.
>At this point we don't know if the motherbard is at fault or maybe the
>3Com board is bad.  If anybody knows,  let us know!
>
>	For information purposes.  We also installed the Personal Edition
>of UnixWare in a Dell 245SL, GateWay 386-33, and this one is the kicker
>a former Souther Computer XT. Huh?  Well, it used to be an XT.
>We upgraded the machine to a 386-40 MHZ ISA bus by changing the motherbard.
>We installed a motherboard by Mainboard.  This board does not uses the Intel
>chip.  It uses a Cyrix Cx486DLC chip.  We replaced the disk controler
>with an AHA-1542C SCSI board + SCSI hardrive.  Now this former slow XT
>machine is one souped up worksation. All for about $700.00
>
>	In any case,  we have used UnixWare with a lot of different hardware.
>Both on the supported list but mostly on the unsupported one.
>Sometimes we feel that we should be an official beta test site for UnixWare.
>
>

--Jon Cardwell
University Microfilms International