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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!cbosgd!mark
From: mark@cbosgd.UUCP (Mark Horton)
Newsgroups: net.micro.att,net.micro.pc
Subject: MS DOS crashes on random keyboard input
Message-ID: <2026@cbosgd.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 17-Apr-86 23:39:20 EST
Article-I.D.: cbosgd.2026
Posted: Thu Apr 17 23:39:20 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 18-Apr-86 21:34:35 EST
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Columbus, Oh
Lines: 33
Xref: watmath net.micro.att:1119 net.micro.pc:7836

If I set my 9 month old in front of an IBM PC or an AT&T 6300
and let him pound on the keyboard, in short order he manages
to crash the machine.  (Often the screen goes blank, and much
of the time CTRL ALT DEL won't reboot, I have to do a hard reset.)
This is true at the shell prompt or in an application which has
trapped control C.  It happens with or without FANSI-CONSOLE
watching the keyboard.  I can get it to happen myself if a mimic
his action - I generally have to type real fast with my palms, and
include the alt/ctl/shift keys in what gets pressed.  Once it crashes,
usually every key I press beeps (with no other effect), as if the keyboard
buffer were full.

Both machines run DOS 2.1 (2.11 for the 6300.)  The same thing on a
6300 plus (running 3.1) will not crash the machine.

Does anyone know what's going on here?  Would getting DOS 3.? for a
non-segmented machine solve the problem?  Is it something about the
80286?  Or just a bug that's been recently fixed?  Is it possible to
modify an application program to be bulletproof enough to survive
this, even on a DOS 2.1 or so?

Also, I'm interested in changing the keyboard routine in a C program
to provide keyclick - my kids love that.  I can't find any documentation
about how to make a noise, except from BASIC.  I can call assembly language
if necessary, although I'd rather do it from C (Microsoft C lets me get
at DOS, BIOS, and interrupts.)  I'd like to fiddle with the frequency
and duration, if possible.  Also, if there's a way to control the rate
at which the keyboard auto-repeats, I'd appreciate that info.
Any pointers or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,

	Mark