Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!att!chinet!bill
From: bill@chinet.chi.il.us (Bill Mitchell)
Newsgroups: comp.os.minix
Subject: Re:  proposal for PC distribution
Message-ID: <9253@chinet.chi.il.us>
Date: 12 Aug 89 17:53:43 GMT
Organization: Chinet - Chicago, Ill.
Lines: 27


Article 6896 suggests a totally BIOS based distribution copy
of MINIX, with instructions for recompiling the kernel to use
hardware-specific drivers, etc.

Article 6898 says it sounds great - - but who will write the
BIOS based drivers?

I bought PH minix 1.3 to actually _use_ - not to twiddle with.
I wanted a cheap unix-like platform to develop and test some
applications at home - one which wouldn't leave me stuck with
no vendor support and no way to roll my own in a pinch.  MINIX
looked ideal - especially since I had twiddled with v1.2 a bit.

Making a short story long, I had hard disk install problems.  I
Emailed AST about them, and he sent me BIOS based versions of
wini.c and klib88.s.  I had only minimal problems rebuilding
the kernel with these, and my hard disk began working.  I'm no
doubt paying a performance penalty, but low performance beats the
heck out of no performance.  I'll probably never get around to 
trying to fix and install the distribution drivers.

I assumed the BIOS drivers AST sent me were available in the
archives.  I still haven't found a good way to get at archive
material myself, so don't know for sure.  Should I post them?

(Now if I can just get UUPC working I'll be in hog heaven)