🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <886414956.15186.0.nnrp-05.9e986860@news.demon.co.uk>
           gary@cherokee.demon.co.uk "Gary Burkey" writes:

"I'm new to this newsgroup so apologies if I'm in the wrong place.

    I think you are on topic.

"I have been using Kermit on my PC to remotely access our mainframe. I have
"recently upgraded my PC to a HP Vetctra VL (P166MMX) with 47M Ram.  The
"system has a sound card as well as a CD-ROM Drive, running Win 95.  When I
"enter Kermit from the DOS prompt I instantly get a 'divide overflow'
"message.

    When you say "using Kermit", do you mean the genuine original
 implementation of Kermit for the IBM-PC (Version 3.13 or something)
 from Columbia, or another implementation, or a "Kermit-protocol"
 insert into some other comms package?  Kermit, although now
 pretty dated, was a brilliant high-reliability solution to the
 problems of remote access between differing computers; but it was
 both a file-transfer protocol and a pretty complete communications
 shell.  (There were at least 500 implementations on various
 computers; I personally wrote 3.5 or them.)  Many of the "Kermit
 inserts" in other packages were of low quality.

    There is a very easy way to get a divide overflow, and this is
 by using some sort of processing-speed test designed for a slower
 m/c.  Typically this does some piece of computation and times how
 long it took.  If it forgets to check for zero time (ie no
 clock-tick taking place) before dividing to get the speed, then
 it will eventually fail as speeds get faster.  MS-K 3.13 gives no
 trouble on my Cyrix P133+; but that's some way behind what you
 have now got.

    Assuming that you are using Gianone's genuine MS-Kermit (or
 something closely similar), and working from a genuine DOS boot
 (not a DOS-prompt in Win95), then I would suggest you play around
 with the Comms settings (Set Baud etc) in the CUSTOM.INI file.
 Also LOG SESSION, and see whether it writes anything at all to the
 file.  And take note of whether it does anything at all before
 failing; there should be about 6 lines of information output before
 the "MS-Kermit>" prompt comes up.

"Two of my colleagues have identical systems excluding the MMX chip and
"manage to run Kermit okay.  A third colleague has a Vectra VL (P166MMX)
"minus the sound card and CD-ROM and also gets a 'divide overflow' message.

    Are they on the same Win95, calling Kermit in the same way?

"From this I conclude that it probably is the MMX chip causing the problem
"(maybe Kermit cannot handle the increased processing speed).  I have not
"found anyway of slowing the processor down.

    Could be.  See above.  But knowing the quality of U of
 Columbia code, I doubt if it is a program-design inadequacy or bug.

    If you really wanted me to, I could probably dig out the
 Kermit source (which is in 'C') and see whether it measures the
 speed in the way I described; but I wouldn't offer to recompile
 for you .....

    You might even try referring the problem to Columbia.  As of
 1992, the Columbia University Centre for Computing Activities was
 still in full flow; by now they are probably on the web.  There
 are also a couple of NGs "comp.protocols.kermit.???" which might
 be of help.  And an "au.kermit.???".

"Is there anyway that I can get around this problem?

    Let's hope so.  I still use Kermit for all initial testing of
 modems.

                                Chris K.
-- 
Chris Kennington (newshound)                        01491 574065
  You can mail me with suitable modifications to header-addresses,
   or to "chris <at> inf-eden.demon.co.uk", replacing the <at>.