Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!pasteur!ames!killer!wnp
From: wnp@killer.Dallas.TX.US (Wolf Paul)
Newsgroups: comp.os.minix
Subject: Re: Minix 1.2 Bustedness
Message-ID: <7749@killer.Dallas.TX.US>
Date: 3 Apr 89 11:40:53 GMT
References: <11641@ut-emx.UUCP>
Reply-To: wnp@killer.Dallas.TX.US (Wolf Paul)
Organization: The Unix(R) Connection BBS, Dallas, Tx
Lines: 50

In article <11641@ut-emx.UUCP> kjm@ut-emx.UUCP (kjm) writes:
>I just recently received a copy of Minix 1.2.  I just tried to use it this
>evening.  So far, I am severely underwhelmed.
>
>This is the deal:
>
>I'm running on a semi-homebrew AT clone, based on the Jameco Baby AT board.
>(It uses the Award BIOS; runs PHOENIX MS-DOS 3.3 OK.)  I can boot Minix OK,
>mount and unmount floppies OK, run programs on the floppies OK, but I have
>two rather wierd problems:
>
	[ problem descriptions deleted ]
>
>I've got about 5-6 days left in which I can return this thing and get a
>refund.  I bought Minix hoping to get an inexpensive, friendly, UNIX-oid
>development environment for some personal projects.  I cannot afford to
>own a $100+ toy.  If I can't get it to use my hard disk, I'm going to have
>to send it back, and be stuck with MS-GROSS (which at least can drive the
>hard disks)...
>
>Is Minix really just broken?  Am I doing something bizarre and/or wrong
>to it?  Help!

Contrary to some of P-H's advertising, MINIX straight out of the box is
not a production-quality OS. That's not what it is intended for, although
it may develop into that with time, or can be turned into that with some
hacking effort (i.e. applying various patches posted to this group, and/or
getting the 1.3 upgrade from P-H).

Without going into your specific problems, the main cause of almost all
problems I have seen discussed here hinges on the fact that many so-called
IBM-compatibles are not 100% compatible on the lowest hardware level, but
achieve compatibility in a DOS environment by means of the BIOS. Since
MINIX as distributed does not use the BIOS, it stumbles over some of these
incompatibilities.

This happens with OSs like Xenix or UNIX as well; being much more commercially
oriented, vendors like SCO will attempt to fix some of these problems by
making their software compatible with a reasonable range of different hardware.
With the prices they charge for their software, they can afford to do that.
MINIX at under $100 does not pay for extensive vendor support; its main
support channel is this newsgroup, and you just have to take the time to
obtain fixes from here, or else find another OS for your purpose.

Let us know if you can find another, more stable UNIX-like environment for
a PC, AT MINIX PRICES!
-- 
Wolf N. Paul * 3387 Sam Rayburn Run * Carrollton TX 75007 * (214) 306-9101
UUCP:   killer!wnp                    ESL: 62832882
DOMAIN: wnp@killer.dallas.tx.us       TLX: 910-380-0585 EES PLANO UD