A/UX 2.1 on a IIfx: Please tell me I'm wrong about Apple.

[John Coolidge]

jeff at wubios.wustl.edu (Jeff Gabel) writes:
>Configuration: Macintosh IIfx w/  8 Mbytes RAM
>                                  Apple 2-page display
>                                  Apple 8*24 display card
>                                  3Com EtherLink II Nubus
>                                  Segate 160 MB internal drive
>                                  1 - 1.4 MB internal floppy drive

>I called the A/UX help line and was told that 
>A/UX 2.1 doesn't support the 8*24 card and 2-page display monitor 
>configuration!!! I was told that it would in release 2.1.1.

I think (hope) you mean A/UX 2.0; 2.0.1 is the promised soon upgrade,
2.1 I haven't heard of yet. I have a IIci on my desk with a 8*24 card
and an Apple 2 page monitor. I've been using this configuration for
about six months with no problems. I suspect the most likely culprit is
the 3com ethernet card --- I've never seen one of these beasties, but
when the problem is things hanging after the ethernet comes up, I tend
to suspect the ethernet first.

I think what the help line was trying to say was that 2.0 doesn't
support a _2 monitor_ configuration, but somehow one way or another the
message got garbled. We have two IIci's with 8*24 cards and have had no
problems; I've also seen one run fine on a IIx. The Apple 8*24GC card
does _not_ work correctly, or so I'm told --- again, I've never seen one
in (in)action.

>But, I was advised 
>to switch the display to 1-bit mode, which I assume means use the Monitors 
>CDEV to set the colors to simply B&W (???). Well, this didn't work, A/UX still 
>hangs after ``ifconfig'' outputs its results and the screen is cleared. Am I 
>doing something wrong?

This for me would highlight the idea that the ethernet board is the
culprit. I've seen very similar symptoms here when an ethernet board
decided to interrupt the machine 100,000 times a minute (blown something
or another on the card).

--John

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
John L. Coolidge     Internet:coolidge at cs.uiuc.edu   UUCP:uiucdcs!coolidge
Of course I don't speak for the U of I (or anyone else except myself)
Copyright 1991 John L. Coolidge. Copying allowed if (and only if) attributed.
You may redistribute this article if and only if your recipients may as well.