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Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!rutgers!mailrus!uflorida!gatech!ugacs!csun1!weyrich
From: weyrich@csun1.UUCP (Orville Weyrich)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions,comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Upgrade 386 PC to UN*X
Message-ID: <336@csun1.UUCP>
Date: 4 Dec 88 07:22:13 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Univ. of GA, CS Dept., Athens
Lines: 41


I have a 16-MHz 80386-based AT-clone (Goldstar Technology GST-386) which
is built around a Micronics motherboard and which has an Adaptec 2372 RLL 
controller, Seagate ST-4096 hard drive, 1.2 Meg floppy, 8087 coprocessor,
two standard RS-232 ports, two standard parallel ports, a CGA video board,
2-Meg of main memory, and AWARD BIOS version C3.03.  I am currently running
MS-DOS 3.30 and am using TURBO-Pascal type applications.  I only want a
one- or two-user system.

QUESTION # 1:  Has anyone brought up some flavor of UN*X on any or all of the
hardware described above?  Any recommendations?  [I realize that I may need
more memory -- but how much?]

QUESTION # 2:  How heavily does UN*X utilize the PC BIOS?  I had trouble
getting my hard disk to function reliably using Phoenix BIOS, and am
concerned about how UN*X will handle my disk/controller configuration.

QUESTION # 3:  I still need to use this box for MS-DOS applications.
Eventually I would like to migrate my applications to UN*X, and so would
like to be able to run TURBO Pascal and applications implemented in TURBO
Pascal under UN*X with the ability to have the applications under MS-DOS
communicate with processes running under UN*X.  Some of my TP applications 
use LIM EMS.  Any recommendations?

QUESTION # 4: Alternatively, how hard is it to have both UN*X and MS-DOS
to reside on the hard disk and choose one or the other when booting?

QUESTION # 5: Finally, I am considering upgrading my CGA card to a
Paradise VGA-Professional.  Will this mess up UN*X?

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,

ORWJr.

-- 
Orville R. Weyrich, Jr.          | UUCP    : ...gatech!ugacs!csun1!weyrich
Department of Computer Science   |
University of Georgia            |
Athens, GA 30602 USA             | MA BELL : (404) 542-1082