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From: arthur@warwick.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.os.minix
Subject: Minix bug report
Message-ID: <495@ubu.warwick.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 19-Feb-87 08:43:33 EST
Article-I.D.: ubu.495
Posted: Thu Feb 19 08:43:33 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 22-Feb-87 01:43:32 EST
Reply-To: arthur@ubu.UUCP (John Vaudin)
Organization: Computer Science, Warwick University, UK
Lines: 51

I have been using Minix for some time on a Hong Kong PC XT clone. I have
come across various problems, which may be due to bugs in the software
( I am not sure if the copy I have 1.1 is the same as the copy available
from Prentice Hall since my tape has not arrived yet ), or possibly the
machine, I would welcome comments.

1. MV BUG
  if you move a file to itself it is destroyed, I think this is a real bug.

2. LOGIN PROBLEM
  Login does not appear to set $HOME correctly (at all ? ) it is always /
Where is the source of login ? and why does it not appear when you do an
F1 ?

3. PRINTER PROBLEM
  The printer driver is VERY unreliable when used with my printer, an 
EPSON FX-80. It way be a problem with the printer itself, although it works
ok from MeSDrOS. However I have used Minix on a real IBM PC with a real IBM
PC printer and it seemed to work fine so I am puzzled.

4. HARD DISK PROBLEMS
  The clone I use has a Xebec controller and 20Mbyte Hard disk. Minix works
fine with this arrangement, and is much nicer to use than when on floppies
( suprise suprise :-). BUT I cannot get multiple partitions to work. I
have used Diskfix to create two partitions, one MSDOS on non-MSDOS. MSDOS
works fine, and the system boots to that with no floppy, but Minix refuses
to mkfs the other patition /dev/hd2. It does know it is a valid partition, 
bacause if you try to mkfs /dev/hd3 for example it complains differently.
Without partitions, ie using the whole disk for Minix all is well so it
seems to be a software problem, or maybe the controller I have is not 
totally compatible.

 Well actually it doesn't work perfectly, if you type while the machine 
is accessing the hard disk it can induse fatal read errors, again this
may be a bug or it may be an incompatibility.

5. NO SERIAL LINE DRIVER
  Not exactly a bug but really quite annoying anyway. Someone here is in the
process of writing one, and we have a small version of Kermit we hope to
port, I will post again when and if progress is made.

Despite the problems so far I still think Minix is an amazing product, and
I hope it attains the success it deserves. Judging by the demand for the
book ( Prentice Hall in the UK seem to have sold out in three days 
of release!) I think it will.

John.

Usenet: ..ukc!warwick!arthur   Janet: arthur@uk.ac.warwick.uu

"Na thats not an operating system. This is an operating system!"