CompuServe Thread

##9 GXI

7 messages in this thread
#41517From: Jack L. ChalkerFeb 28, 1993 10:28 PM
Believe it or not, I've gotten some dramatic extra speed off the #9 card by switching to Word mode. A lot of screen stuff speeded up so dramatically it's unnerving. CPU use on the VidTest is still at 50%, but it's a lot better than the 97% of the past. If NT is on the machine, just go to SETUP and on Video Driver click and scroll and see what is supported. TIGA should be in there as in WIN31, but maybe not.
#41613From: Lynne EllinwoodMar 1, 1993 10:51 PM
Jack, Aye, there's the rub. NT isn't on the machine yet, and I need to have some time to restore the system, in case I bring it all down by peeking at the NT setup. Ray is "down" for at least a couple more weeks, but I'll try to have a look later this week. I'm not worried about a possible system crash, but am addicted to this 486 machine you made me buy, and don't want to be without it.<vbg> Lynne
#41634From: Jack L. ChalkerMar 2, 1993 5:06 AM
Well, don't install NT if you can't dual boot with it, since it's not just a DOS shell like WIN31 but a real live operating system (actually deep down it's Unix's Mach 3 kernel). I'll wait. I don't expect to see a shrink-wrapped NT before August at best.
#41732From: Lynne EllinwoodMar 2, 1993 11:10 PM
Jack, Ray says that the dual boot mechanism is included with the NT installation stuff. No doubt I'll give installation a try, fairly soon, but the operating system project is really Ray's. Generally, I install our software and he uses it, but I haven't been particularly curious about UNIX, GNU, OS/2, and the like. I have installed DOS upgrades, without incident, but those were commercial releases with the major bugs out. And I've gotten along fine with Windows 3.1 (again, fairly stable). But the NT beta makes me a little nervous. I just looked at the boot disk, and the drivers aren't apparent from the directory–but I'm sure you knew that already. Mainly, I like to investigate the things that you can make a computer actually _do_, which is why I'm fascinated with the hardware improvements. (I'm still proud of the fact that I used to be able to run and service a small multilith printing press.) Lynne
#41757From: Jack L. ChalkerMar 3, 1993 4:39 AM
My wife eventually demanded the removal of the litho from our house after one too many cleandowns in mid-run (just one shredded sheet….) If it'll dual boot and you have the disk space (the sucker takes up about 35 megs or more) it's no big deal to install it. Just insure that you choose the DOS file structure and not the NT structure, since NT can read DOS but not vice-versa. I installed OS/2 with dual boot option here (28 megs) without problems, but eventually took it off because even though the newest one will do Windows, it doesn't support either my hardware or video drivers so I'm stuck in 8514 VGA. On the other hand, imagine typing in XYWrite or Sprint, hitting a hot key to bring up TAPCIS, even copy between them with one command, or while writing a message like this hitting a key and looking up something in a database, etc. THAT OS/2 can do with such solidity that you can even CONTROL-ALT-DELETE reboot a session while others continue running. NT has that potential, but it's Not There Yet.
#41975From: Lynne EllinwoodMar 5, 1993 12:55 AM
Jack, You may get me interested in operating systems yet. Thanks VERY MUCH for the tip about choosing DOS rather than NT structure. Without knowing anything, I'd have chosen the "purist" NT structure for sure, if given a choice. We do have space on the hard drive–about half of 320 megs. And I can make a lot of room, by eliminating some duplicate installations. (The dupes are for betas, or for time-saving.) It's now evident that I won't be doing anything besides meeting deadlines this weekend, though. Lynne
#42004From: Jack L. ChalkerMar 5, 1993 4:24 AM
Well, I expected to work tonight, but had my first hard disk crash in 14 years of home computing and it took up all my working time, so I figured I might as well look over the CIS stuff and go to bed early. Had a real Noreaster come through here; these are peculiarly Atlantic coastal storms that can pack the winds of a hurricane and move Real Slow. Torrential rains for 36-48 hours, winds up to 75mph (the men are coming out to fix my satellite dish Monday), real ugly. Sigh….