Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!pyramid!tolerant!kennedy
From: kennedy@tolerant.UUCP (Bill Kennedy)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.microport
Subject: Re: MicroPort Unix V/AT
Message-ID: <1371@tolerant.UUCP>
Date: 3 Mar 88 21:09:59 GMT
References: <2495@ihuxv.ATT.COM> <308@w3vh.UUCP>
Reply-To: kennedy@tolerant.UUCP (Bill Kennedy)
Distribution: na
Organization: Tolerant Systems Inc., San Jose
Lines: 30
Keywords: Help with 286 DosMerge
Summary: Not necessarily the BIOS

In article <308@w3vh.UUCP> rolfe@w3vh.UUCP (Rolfe Tessem) writes:
>In article <2495@ihuxv.ATT.COM>, bareta@ihuxv.ATT.COM (Benyukhis) writes:
>> 
>> I desperately need help with installing the System V/AT
>> DosMerge on my PC's Limited 286 machine.  It seems to blow up
>> at the later stages in the installation.  After the Dos Image is or
>> [ ... ]
>
>I had the same problem with my clone.  It turns out that
>while Unix doesn't really use the BIOS, DOSMerge (as you
>might expect) is *very* BIOS sensitive.  I switched to a
>Phoenix BIOS and all was well.  Contact your friendly clone
>parts dealer -- should cost about $35.00.

I mailed a reply on this one but Rolfe posted his and he's only part way
correct.  I was not successful, at all, getting it to install with an
Award BIOS or a Phoenix BIOS and the problem turned out to be the EGA card.
Given the motherboard I had and the EGA card (uPort said that *each* was
OK but unsure about the combination) it wouldn't work with the Ahead EGA
or a true blue IBM EGA.  To be more accurate it _did_ work but there was
no video display...  I switched to a monographics card and all was well.
Further the "premerge" kernel still worked OK which pretty well narrowed
it down to the video card.

There are plenty of things that must coexist peacefully for Merge/286 to
work correctly and the BIOS is only one of them.  In my case monochrome
was an acceptable substitute but be ready to try a couple of EGA's to find
one that will work every time.

Bill Kennedy {rutgers,cbosgd,ihnp4!petro}!ssbn!bill or bill@ssbn.WLK.COM
             (Tolerant lets me use their equipment while I'm here)