Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!l5comp!scotty From: scotty@l5comp.UUCP (Scott Turner) Newsgroups: comp.unix.microport Subject: Bell Tech W.G.E. use with "sissy" unix Summary: How to have your cake and get support too Message-ID: <438@l5comp.UUCP> Date: 1 Oct 88 02:01:54 GMT References: Reply-To: scotty@l5comp.UUCP (Scott Turner) Organization: L5 Computing, Edmonds, WA Lines: 348 Well, it seems I am no alone in my feelings that the W.G.E. and Microport's System V/386 make a great combo (the E-Mail runneth over.) Microport's unix may be for the whimps who demand support from their unix vendor, but with the trouble I've had with Bell Tech on software issues I'll gladly be classified as a whimp at this point. :) First step to happiness with the W.G.E. under Microport: Sanity check, can you even USE the W.G.E. card? That isn't as silly as it sounds. The driver supplied for the card maps the 82786's registers into memory so they can be accessed rapidly and easily. But if your system has a SRAM cache you may be in for a VERY nasty surprise! And remember, Bell only sells it's software to people with the "Right Stuff". The fact you are trying to use their card with Microport labels you a "whimp". So you won't be getting any SOFTWARE support from them. (You should get excellent HARDWARE support though, the hardware people at Bell don't seem to care if you're a "whimp" or not. :) So if your system has a cache you'd best think long and hard before laying out the long green for this card, once you've seen that 19" tube it may be a tad painful to give it up for Bell's cheerful refund. If you are using the Mylex 386 motherboard there is a solution for it at least. Call Mylex at (800) 446-9539 and ask for sales. Be prepared to call back several times as their sales people can be hard to get hold of (ie they may or may not call back depending on how snowed under they are that day.) What you want is the Computone PAL. It costs $15. What this little gem does is turn off the SRAM cache for the top 2 meg of memory. This allows the Bell Tech driver to work properly. (If you can't get one from Mylex drop a E-Mail to mylexpal@l5comp and we'll see if we have one hanging around, but no promises.) [While you have 'em on the line you may want to ask them what other PALs they have, for example they have an Adaptec ACB2322 "tune up" PAL...] If you aren't using the Mylex motherboard then you'd best consult with the manufacturer of your motherboard and see if their cache caches accesses above 14meg. If it does you're screwed unless they have some way of turning caching off up there (unless you just want to turn caching off for ALL of memory...) And once again remember, this is a SOFTWARE issue for Bell Tech because to fix it will call for a patch to the driver not the hardware. Thus their "Right Stuff Customer" policy is in full effect, so don't expect help from them if you can't turn the cache off and you can't afford to buy another motherboard. Also, memory usage goes up quite a bit with all the software you are going to be installing into the kernel. The /unix here is 696,438 bytes long! (and size /unix returns a total memory usage of 893,284!) You WILL need more memory if you don't already have 4 meg. If you have 4 meg you may want more unless you are willing to patch Nbuf to something like 500 in order to free up ram for running programs. The system here had only 1,852,000 bytes left of it's 4 meg until I patched Nbuf. The problem is that at 1660x1200 an 8 bit per pixel image takes 1,992,000 bytes and system performance gets a bit sluggish if you don't have enough core. And no, the card can't display 8 bits per pixel at 1660x1200 but the outbitmap program can dither that size image and display it, and BOY do they look neat! (We've been scaling GIF pictures to 1660x1200, but more on that at a later date) Still looking OK? Well the X10R4 driver needs a mouse. It is hardwired to use the asy driver. Even if you have a big fancy smart serial card with 16 ports on it you will have to plug a Logitech serial mouse into tty00. You CAN modify the driver to use tty01, but that's it. mknod'ing /dev/tty00 to be something else won't do anything, the driver uses kernel (or is it carnal) knowledge to get right at the asy driver. It doesn't give a hoot for /dev/tty00. If you have other plans for either serial port you're screwed. The supplied driver doesn't use anything except a Logitech serial mouse, with three buttons mind you, plugged into either serial port. Buss mice need not apply. And don't forget to order that mouse! It doesn't come with the card and X windows is damn near useless without it. (X doesn't seem to have a "No pointing device/use keyboard" setup option) You'll need the C7 version of the Logitech serial mouse, costs around $86. Don't get that new 2 button, MUCH cheaper, mouse by mistake (or design, you'll want all three buttons.) Don't forget a mouse pad, they extend the life of the little teflon pads on the bottom of the mouse quite nicely. Second step: Call Bell Tech and DEMAND the same set of disks that were shipped to L5 Computing. The serial number off the disks here is: 1.2-042588. There are 10 disks that count and the DOS demo "frisbee" disk (for a total of 11 disks.) Why not get the latest? Well, I've gotten several interesting mail messages that seem to indicate Bell has been fooling around with the disks. Lord only knows what they've done to them, the above disks contain software that I know works with the Microport System V/386 2.2 and System V/386 3.0e and DOSMerge 386 1.1. If I can confirm that later versions of their software work I'll post a message with all the details. (So far trying to get updates out of Bell has been like trying to seperate them from their children) Third step: Get the X10R4 tape. The disks sent here by Bell Tech were not complete. Fonts like vtsingle and timrom12 are missing (among a PILE of other fonts.) Tools are missing as well, like the bitmap editor they show in their huge glossy advertizing sheet. (They did send the stunning Nagel bitmap along though :) Life with X10R4 got much easier since we now have ALL the dox as well, Bell supplies tools with no dox on how they work with the above set of disks. If you absolutely can't come up with X10R4 send an E-Mail to x10r4@l5comp and perhaps we can work something out. If demand is great enough maybe we can setup a disk/tape service to provide the bits at cost. Fourth step: Install all the '386 unix software that Microport sells. :) Actually you can skip their Text Preparation package if you wish to use something more useful like the ELAN stuff. But you WILL want an equ, tbl, and nroff/troff so you can make human readable versions of the X documentation. What little Bell supplies comes only in the unprocessed form. If you plan to use DOSMerge make sure it is installed at this time as well. And the NSE package is NOT optional. It MUST be installed before proceeding. You must also install the link kit. And if you plan on providing yourself with the missing X tools you will need the software development system. And don't forget the order of installation: Runtime Software Development Text preparation Link Kit NSE DOSMerge 386 And don't forget to call Microport customer service and request the crypt disk, but only if you're a site located in the good ol' U.S. of A. Dirty aliens will have to write their own. :) I've found a useful X tool that needs crypt access and you'll need this disk if you want to compile it as well. Once all of the above software is installed I'd suggest doing a sanity check. Especially if your system is at all "Bleeding edge". I've found that if the system is going to have a blow out and eat the hard drive it will do it sometime within the first 4 days after installation. I strongly urge you to make sure your unix is running fine for at least 4 days before proceeding if you have ESDI and/or DOSMerge 386. And don't just let it sit there, use it. I suggest compiling GNU Emacs, this seems to bring out any beasties faster than anything else we've tried. And has the side advantage of installing a great editor. (Which has nice X support unlike vi) Fifth step: NOTE: Do not skip step three, without the fonts vtsingle and timrom12 the X10R4 will NOT work as advertized in the Intro to X manual. If you're REAL impatient to get underway send a mail message to xfonts@l5comp and someone here will send you the missing font files via return E-Mail free of charge. If you have the disks we got then you can follow the instructions on the label and use the sysadm program, NOT pkginstall(!), to install the X window software. WARNING: If you DO NOT have the exact disks we received you may DAMAGE your link kit! If you aren't sure then make a quick backup of your link kit as follows: (as super user do the following:) mkdir /etc/saveconf cd /etc/atconf find . -print | cpio -pdmau /etc/saveconf Next edit the file /etc/atconf/systems/system.std and make the following changes to it: Change the line cpyrt * Copyright notice "drive"r to cpyrt, * Copyright notice "drive"r and add the following right after that line: * * Manticore, Inc. X5 drivers xptc, * Control side of X5 pseudo tty driver xpts, * Slave side of X5 pseudo tty driver btb, * Bell Tech Blit Express driver btbs, * Bell Tech Blit Express streams driver conx * X5 console driver At the very end of the file add the following: * * Manticore, Inc. X5 driver defines NBLK4 = 100 NBLK16 = 100 NBLK64 = 100 NQUEUE = 196 NSTREAM = 64 Then type mkunix and sit back for awhile. Once the new unix is built SAVE YOUR OLD /unix! (My personal favorite method is ln /unix /unixnox and I also keep a /unixx around so I can take my pick at bootup) Then install the new unix as /unix. If you don't like those nasty messages during shutdown then install the new unix as /unixx, shutdown -g1, and enter /unixx during boot up, once booted ln /unixx /unix. Now, unpack that X10R4 and copy the fonts vtsingle and all the timrom fonts into /usr/new/lib/X/font. Next cd /usr/new/bestofimages and issue sh ./unpack.sh. Next edit the script file that sets your PATH environment variable. (For sh users this will be .profile for csh .cshrc) Add /usr/new into your path right after /usr/bin. Now would be a GREAT time to pop a DC600A into yer Everex and make a backup. I only say that because it's the right thing to say, not because I did. ;) Sixth step: Drink something you like, 2 liter bottle of classic Coke for example. We're about to enter the "Dave, don't you think we should talk about this" zone. An error in this next step and you can screw yourself and but good. Shutdown your system (cd /;shutdown -g1) and break out the screwdriver. If you have a Mylex 386 now is the time to put the Computone PAL in. Locate the BIOS EPROMs, then scan right, in between the rightmost slot and the next to the rightmost slot you will find the PAL to be replaced. You may need to remove cards to do this, if so do it! Don't try and do it without removing the cards, if you screw that PAL up you're going to be kicking yourself because that 19" monitor is going to be sittin' there lookin' at you and you'll be thinkin' "Gee, just how BIG will the pictures be?!!?" We've had two W.G.E. cards through here so far. Both of them generate heat like a hot plate. It's all those fast PALs and ECL chips. I suggest you carefully consider which slot you put this card into. Putting it into a slot that has a half card to the right (like maybe a half slot Hercules clone monitor card :) is a win. Putting an auxillary fan in the case in front of the card isn't a bad idea either. :) If you think I'm kidding, just remember that the video clock rate on this sucker in 160MHz! And the cooler you keep chips the longer they last. And just so you know HOW hot this thing gets, the ones here have been capable of heating up boards two slots away when the fan isn't running... I heartily suggest you check the board after it's been running for a day to see that it isn't getting too hot. Once installed put everything back together and plug in that huge monitor. Power sequencing isn't important if you selected the onboard -5v option (factory default), otherwise you will need to turn the monitor on first. Turn the system on. If you have a later model W.G.E. with the onboard EPROMs you should see the monitor turn on and start displaying stuff shortly. Most BIOS' write directly to the screen so don't panic if some text shows up on the little screen and not on the big one. In any case you pretty much ignore the big monitor for now. Boot up the new unix (/unix or /unixx depending on what you did) and login. Gather everyone around and type xinit. Almost instantly you should see the screen be covered with a large grey box. It should be roughly 1" in from the edges of the monitor on all 4 sides. Depending on how powerful you system is it may take a few seconds for the mouse cursor to appear and a window to pop up. If on the other hand xinit dies after a few seconds and complains that the card wasn't ready then you need to recheck whatever it was you did to turn the cache off. If xinit runs without stopping, but all you see on the monitor is a single line, with every other pixel turned on, running down the righthand side of the screen. Your card is dead, call Bell for hardware support. They'll connect you with a person that will ask you for your customer number, card serial number, and will take down the symptoms. She will then schedule a tech to call you back, or she may call you back later to just plain ol' issue you an RMA number if the tech is confident the card is screwed without needing to talk to you. The one time we've had to return the card we shipped it down UPS Red and they shipped another card back out the same day they got it in via Federal Express Standard Delivery (2 day service.) They were quick, pleasant, and no-nonsense. Dealing with the hardware arm of Bell Tech has been MUCH more fun than the software arm. If you managed to get vtsingle and timrom12 you should now be able to type uwm& and get a beep rather than an error message. Next, go have fun with the demos! Be warned that some of the demos listed in the Intro to X manual are NOT supplied. For example the parrot, whatever it is, isn't supplied and I haven't run across it in the X10R4 tape either. (So don't drop an E-Mail to parrot@l5comp asking for it ;) Seventh step: At this point pat yourself on the back and have fun with X10R4 until X11 is released by Bell Tech. Pray that getting the X11 update is easier than trying to get an X10R4 update (I've been trying for over a MONTH now and still haven't gotten their latest X10 hence why I can't say yes/no about their latest code working under Microport.) You will find that the stock X10R4 makefiles need updating to work under Bell's X10R4. Whenever you link you will need to add -lnsl_s to get the streams library added in. Currently they don't have an x_s which is a shame since just about anything needing to use X will thus be over 100K long in final size due to the size of the X library. A project for the use of that X10R4 source code you say? I'd agree but with X11 promised any day now it seems silly to make a shared X10 library at this point. Let's just hope they supply a shared X11 lib. Well that's it for now. If the above steps give you the W.G.E. running under Microport then great! I think you'll grow to love this card. If things still aren't humming then you haven't followed my directions EXACTLY enough. I do have the W.G.E. running X10R4 under Microport so it can be done. I think the trickest step is in getting Bell Tech to part with the same set of disks as they sent here. If you get link errors while building the unix, and you followed the instructions on making a system.std, then this is your most likely problem. Can we send you copies of the disks here? You'll have to bug Bell about that not us. If Bell calls me and says it's OK to send a copy of the disks to someone then we'll be happy to do so. But I run a tight shop here and there will be NO Bell Tech code leaving here without Bell's say-so. One note to DOSMerge 386 users, the DOSMerge here doesn't seem to like running in xterm windows with more than 25 lines. Be careful because it gets so tangled up you have to kill the xterm in order to recover, ctrl-K hasn't worked here as a recovery (which I find HIGHLY interesting.) Also, there is NO support for Herc, CGA, or EGA emulation (another reason to keep the "Twin Head" configuration.) Also, we are NOT a retail outlet for Bell Tech. If you want to buy the card call Bell Tech. Currently I can't get a straight answer out of them about dealer pricing, and even if I could we're into chasing vertical markets not retail customers. Scott Turner scotty@l5comp -or- uunet!l5comp!scotty "We need more machine guns, we can't run the mines without them." -Anonymous american mine owner, 1918