Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!uunet!karln!karln!karln From: karln@uunet.uu.net Newsgroups: comp.unix.sysv386 Subject: Re: ISC 3.2/harddisk & floppy problems Message-ID: <1991Jun14.153823.23334@uunet.uu.net> Date: 14 Jun 91 15:38:23 GMT References: <0DRRHOB@geminix.in-berlin.de> <1991Jun10.214243.7594@abqhh.hanse.de> <113@odiehh.hanse.de> Reply-To: karln@karln.UUCP () Organization: Sam76 - Pennington NJ Lines: 45 In article <113@odiehh.hanse.de> marzusch@odiehh.hanse.de writes: > >1st problem: > When using certain motherboards and ET4000 VGA controllers together > write accesses to the floppy disk(s) may fail, however these failures > b) Michael told me this problem disappeared when he installed the ET4000 in > an 8 bit slot; however this doesn't help much since Thomas Roell's > X11 server requires a 16 bit path to the VGA controller This brings to mind a problem I was having with _some_ of these video cards. My SCSI would not boot at all. The problem turned out the the video card was treating the 16-bit access line of the buss very poorly. There was a jumper, labeled JP-4, that although undocumented, turned out to force the VGA card BIOS into 8 bit mode, same (alomst) as plugging the card into a 8 bit slot. The difference being that the card chipset itself was still acessible though the 16 bit slot. Only the cards BIOS ran in 8 bit mode. Well this solved the problem I was having at a considerable loss in X11perf results. Further investigation however revealed that I could get the motherboard to shadowram the VGA BIOS area (C000:0 - C7FF:FFFF, or C000 - C800, or at least 32k starting at C000, whatever you understand). After that I got all my performance back and everybody is still happy. PS: This also sort of answers a question I posted yesterday (6/13) about 16 Bit VGA compatiblity with Hard Disk Controllers. I have seen a ET4000 card that did not have the jp-4 (located on mine, in the middle of the board near the buss connector) but seems to work fine with my exact same set of hardware. I suppose that means that someone worked it out properly, but it could mean that marginal problems such as yours just have not shown up yet. This person tends to install from a tape backup. Anyway I hope this helps. These kind of problems really hurt, I know. Karl Nicholas -- *********************************************************************** | Karl Nicholas | A recent Gallop Poll showed that 1 in 6 | | karln!karln@uunet.uu.net | Americans have spoken to a dead person. | ***********************************************************************