BellTech Unix woes on Micronics 25MHz system

[Karl Denninger]

In article <1990Jan8.123642.25409 at ipso.rss.ips.oz.au> craigb at ipso.rss.ips.oz.au (Craig Bevins) writes:
>I am trying to install Bell Technologies SysV/386 3.2u on a system
>currently configured as follows:
>
>	Micronics 25MHz 386 motherboard, no 387
>	Eagle Technologies EGA with Phoenix Enhanced Video BIOS 1.02 00
>	DPT SmartCache 3011/55 (ST-506) disc controller
>	Toshiba MKM3134 disc (BIOS table type 21)
>	TEAC 5.25" floppy
>	Phoenix BIOS 1.10.O7
>
>It refuses to boot Unix from the installation floppy, hanging shortly
>after it gets to the "Booting the UNIX System ...." message.  It steps
>out about 20 tracks on the floppy and dies roughly at the point where
>I would expect the copyright banner to appear.  It then won't respond
>to CTL+ALT+DEL and the floppy spins forever.  It passes all diagnostics
>and is quite happy to run Xenix SysV/386 and Microport SysV/AT.  I don't
>have access to other flavours of 3.2 SysV/386.

This sounds familiar...

There are a number of 25Mhz cache boards which will not run with ISC 2.0.2
or other AT&T 3.2-derived Unices.  Strangely enough, Xenix doesn't seem to
have trouble with these same machines/boards.... nor does SCO Unix!

One common thread -- we have seen several of these who had the Phoenix BIOS.
I don't know if that comes into the equation, but it may have something to
do with it.  We've yet to see an Award or AMI BIOS machine that didn't boot
ISC....... of course, our tests are hardly exhaustive (how could they be
with all those boards out there!)

In some cases, if you can get it to boot on another system you can edit
/etc/defaults/boot and get things to work.  I'm not sure exactly what needs
changed; try playing with the 
	MEMRANGE=0-640K:0,1M-16M:0
line... it's possible the problem is there somehow....

Good luck!

--
Karl Denninger (karl at ddsw1.MCS.COM, <well-connected>!ddsw1!karl)
Public Access Data Line: [+1 708 566-8911], Voice: [+1 708 566-8910]
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