🚀 go-pugleaf

[advice sought on "classic" Vectra]

Sorry to post this, but email attempts bounced.


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From: David Rick <hplisa!hplvla!drick>
Full-Name: David Rick
Message-Id: <9009201612.AA24416@hplvli.HP.COM>
To: bbt!rlr
Subject: Re: HP Vectra PC/AT compatibility
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.sys.hp
In-Reply-To: article <955@bbt.UUCP> of Wed, 19 Sep 1990 17:21:40 GMT

I assume you mean the "classic" Vectra (8MHz 286).  I have one of
these, and there are some potential gotchas, but none that have 
been a problem for me.  Here are some things to consider:

1)  The original HP "multimode" video adapter was nonstandard.  It
acted like a color adapter in graphics mode and a monochrome 
adapter in text mode.  It used a unique monitor.

If this is a problem, use a different display system -- the box
will work with anything.  I use a Herculese clone.

2)  The original hard disk was an HP proprietary 3.5" ruggedized 
drive.  This was very reliable, but rather slow (65 mS) and used
a non-standard controller.  Later, a standard controller was used,
and the box shipped with a Seagate drive.  If you have the original
setup, and something breaks, it will be cheaper to replace the
controller and drive with third-party components.  Mounting a
third-party drive properly requires a pair of HP drive "slides,"
which you can buy from a sympathetic HP dealer.

3)  The keyboard interface used is HP "Human Interface Loop" instead
of AT standard.  This is no problem unless the keyboard breaks.  It
allows a HP mouse to be plugged into the HIL, but I don't recommend
that; just use a Microsoft mouse.

4)  There is a third interrupt controller chip on the motherboard,
daisychained from the first two.  This supports HIL, etc.  In
theory, it could confuse some programs that initialize interrupts,
but I have never had a problem, even with interrupt driven modems
and MIDI cards installed.

5)  HP used an "oversize" BIOS, and the excess takes up some room
near the top of the 640k address space.  As a result, some 
software thinks there is 640k and some sees 636k.  There have
been reports that some RAM-disk software had problems with this
originally, but it has likely been resolved by now.

That's about all I can think of.  Note that most of these issues
have been resolved in later generation Vectras.  Still, I like
my "classic," and it has never, ever failed me.

P.S.  You might find out what ROM revision it has, and investigate
the cost of upgrading to current ROMS.  Perhaps the seller will
discount it by this amount.

David L. Rick
Hewlett-Packard Company
Loveland Instrument Div (we make _voltmeters_ here)
Loveland CO
drick@hplvdo@hplvla.HP.COM

Of _course_ I'm biased.  I _hate_ things that break!

Disclaimer:  I posted this as an individual, not as a representative
of HP.  I bought the machine described above with my own money, but
got a discount.