disk drive hell (aka/etc/hdinit)

[wtr at moss.ATT.COM]

In article <187 at turnkey.TCC.COM> jack at turnkey.TCC.COM (Jack F.
Vogel) writes:

>How can someone go to all the expense of buying a
                               ^^^^^^^
>386 box and then put an ST225 drive in it!!?!

>Also you aren't trying to run Xenix-86 on it too are you???  My
>recommendation would be that now that you have spent $X000 on a
>state of the art box the least you could do is pay a few hundred
>for an AT-class drive (~40Meg) and run an OS that >will utilize
>your hardware!!!

Okay, Jack, it's time for a small lesson.....

<flames:  ala Aesop>

Once upon a time there was a poor hacker, who lived with his two
wicked yuppie step-siblings.  The yuppies drove their BMW's to all
the parties, but our hacker had to stay at home and work, because he
was saving his pennies.

One evening, our hacker's fairy godmother came to him and said: "Yo!
Dude! Here be-eth thoust 386 clone for sale, cheap!"  So our hero
succummed to temptation and purchased the box, although it exausted
his funds and he could not go out the the party with his evil yuppie
step-siblings.  He knew that the rest of his system was degrading
the 386 performance, but he also knew that he could work hard and
upgrade when he had the dough.  (Perhaps by selling a  couple of
used BMW's, cheap ;-)

MORAL: Not all of us have large bank accounts, nor company funds to
buy whatever we please!  A "few hundred" is still alot of  money,
especially after laying out the cash for a new box. If **I** had the
money, why, I would stop f*&^in around with this clone mess, **I'd**
go get a new Sun, or a BIG Vax, I mean, whats a monthly electricity
bill when you got a few hundred here, a few hundred there!

<flames off>

What I think would have been appropriate here would have been
suggestions on what constitute good buys for a 386 box.  Fast disks,
cache controllers, location, availability, PRICE.  What gives you
the biggest bang for your buck?  That way, we poor folks here may 
look at our cash flow (or lack thereof ;-) and make these decisions.

read the keywords: "need some installation ADVICE"

=====================================================================
Bill Rankin
Bell Labs, Whippany NJ
(201) 386-4154 (cornet 232)

email address:		...![ ihnp4 ulysses cbosgd allegra ]!moss!wtr
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