2.4 problem with second disk resolved

[david.e.bodenstab]

This is a summary of my problems installing release 2.4 -- I've seen
others having problems that sound similiar to mine, so maybe this will
be of some help to someone.  I've finally got 2.4 installed and running
on my NEC APC/IV 286 system.

The source of my problem was my ST4096 installed as the second disk.
Release 2.4, although able to access the drive using `divvy' and
`fdisk', was not able to access the drive in order to mount the
file systems.  A couple of people responded to my request for help (thanks,
by the way!) but unfortunately, their suggestions did not work in my case.

One suggestion was to check that the terminating resistor was removed
from the ST4096.  In my case, it wasn't -- and the system had worked
fine, so "if its not broken...".  Anyway, I removed the resistor, but
release 2.4 was still not able to access the drive.

Another suggested that I check the dip switch settings on the ST4096.
Apparently, my ST4096 is one of the first few thousand drives manufactured,
and the diagram showing the dip switches did not match at all.


This is what I did to get the system running:

	+ extract win.o and hd*.o from the 2.3 linkkit lib2
	+ create a new library "lib23.a" containing these object
		files
	+ insert this library on the $(LD) line in cf/Makefile
		just *before* lib2
	+ build a new kernel

By the way, there are a couple of things that can be done to reduce
the size of the 2.4 kernel.  This saves about 10-15K.

	1. If you have a 80287, you can omit the emulator package
		by changing either the master file or dfile.wini
		(sorry, I'm at work and don't remember the exact
		file to change).  Find the line that includes
		the emulator and change the `1' to a `0' -- I
		think the line looks something like "EMUL 1" or
		something similiar.
	2. There is an object file `rdswap.o' that is apparently
		a RAM disk swap driver.  It is marked as "required"
		in the master file (one of the flags is `r').
		However, there is no device file in /dev, and nothing
		that I can find uses it, so just remove the `r'
		flag, and if `rdswap' is in dfile.wini, remove it.


In summary, the 2.3 hard disk driver seems to work fine with the
2.4 kernel.  So, I have 2.4 up and running, with the better-but-still-
broken 80287 support, the 80-track low density floppy support, the
^S/^Q keyboard led hang problem, and the EGA driver that no longer
restores itself after an ESC [=h sequence.  Sigh, I waited over two
years to be able to use the 287, and now I can (sort of)... but am
I ahead?  :^)


Dave Bodenstab
(708)9798114
...att!iwtmx!imdave