Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!watdragon!lion!kcollinsthom
From: kcollinsthom@lion.waterloo.edu (Kevyn Collins-Thompson)
Newsgroups: comp.os.minix
Subject: Re: MINIX on HP Vectra???
Message-ID: <8577@watdragon.waterloo.edu>
Date: 20 Sep 88 19:28:48 GMT
References: <590001@hpsad.HP.COM>
Sender: daemon@watdragon.waterloo.edu
Lines: 31


> Does anybody out there have minix running on an HP Vectra?

Well, I also have attempted running MINIX 1.2 on a Vectra, but soon came to the
conclusion that it's not possible without a lot of work and more detailed
info about exactly how HP's Human Interface Loop works.

The Vectra uses its HP-HIL hardware to grab data from the keyboard, and then 
attempts, through a chain of interrupts, to make it look like the keycode was
procured in standard PC-compatible fashion.  Only problem is, HP-HIL uses
a couple extra non-standard interrupt vectors in this chain. (MINIX overwrites
these with a pointer to a trap routine, hence the TRAP message as soon as you
press the '=' key in the first menu).  Special routines in the Enhanced
Vectra BIOS are also used, I believe, at points in the chain.

Modifying one line in the MINIX kernal so that these vectors are left alone
fixed the problem temporarily, but I was only able to use MINIX for a couple
of minutes before the machine inevitably hung.  This isn't surprising, 
considering the HP-HIL driver was still using the BIOS.

One true working solution to this HP-HIL mess would be a bigger mess:
to rewrite the HP-HIL driver as part of MINIX and get around the BIOS.
That would not only be a pain, but you would need the manuals containing
the proprietary info on HP-HIL.

Sorry about lack of details; I did this way back last March while working at HP.
There might be other problems in addition to those caused by HP-HIL, but this
is definately a major one.
------
Kevyn Collins-Thompson
...uunet!watmath!lion!kcollinsthom