Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1998 10:15:32 +0930 From: Greg Lehey <grog@lemis.com> To: "Georgiana S. Trigg" <gtrigg@rocketmail.com>, FreeBSD Questions <freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG> Subject: Re: FREEBSD/COMPAQ COMPATIBILITY Message-ID: <19980828101532.I14055@freebie.lemis.com> In-Reply-To: <19980827195924.14041.rocketmail@web4.rocketmail.com>; from Georgiana S. Trigg on Thu, Aug 27, 1998 at 12:59:24PM -0700 References: <19980827195924.14041.rocketmail@web4.rocketmail.com>
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On Thursday, 27 August 1998 at 12:59:24 -0700, Georgiana S. Trigg wrote: > Hello Greg, > > ---Greg Lehey <grog@lemis.com> wrote: Did you know that your mailer mutilates the message? This is the way I received it: >> OK. This still sounds a bit vague, but I > think you're saying "Will >> FreeBSD run on Compaq?". If so, the answer is > a qualified "yes". >> I've heard of a number of problems, but most > times it works fine. And this is the way it should have been: >> OK. This still sounds a bit vague, but I think you're saying "Will >> FreeBSD run on Compaq?". If so, the answer is a qualified "yes". >> I've heard of a number of problems, but most times it works fine. I've fixed the mutilation in the rest of the message. See http://www.lemis.com/email.html for suggestions on how to avoid this kind of mutilation. > I was hoping actually that someone out there > could say "Oh, yeah. I installed it to my > Compaq and had this problem or that problem." > Or "I installed it... It works fine." Yes, but that wouldn't help. Compaq makes a wide range of machines with a wide range of peripherals. Just because it works on one doesn't mean it will work on yours. Thus the qualified "yes". >> Well, Windows products don't work well, period. > > Yeesh! Tell me about it! I want a UNIX box! :-( > >> If they're doing particularly badly on your machine, you might have >> problems which affect operating systems, such as FreeBSD, as well. >> It's probably worth your while to mention what machine you have, >> and what the problems with Microsoft are. > > If you instist... :-) I don't insist. But if you want any specific information, you're going to have to mention it. > I have a 4764 model. I've had it for 18 mo.s or so. It has 166 MHz > processor, 32 MB RAM, and a 2.5GB HD, just to name a few things. > I'm going to have to yank off the case cover and probe and dig to > get more specific. Compaq's documentation leaves something to be > desired. Hmmm. I don't know the models, but maybe somebody else does. Is the disk IDE? > I believe the machine must have come with Ver. A of '95. I've seen > more freezes, blue screens, and illegal operations than any one > human being should. I completely reformatted my hard drive before I > did a full install of '98. The major problem with that was it > wouldn't pick up my internal modem on COM2. It's quite possible you'll have the same kind of problem with FreeBSD. Stick in a boot disk and see. You don't need to install FreeBSD to check that. > There were no jumpers to reset on the modem/sound card, and even > after applying a patch from the Compaq site, I STILL can't get into > the set-up. I considered detaching the HD to boot directly into > BIOS, but totally detaching your HD is just BEGGING for misery > sometimes... I'm running an external modem I borrowed from work on > COM1, and I REALLY don't want to go out and buy an external to try > to patch up that problem. Understood. What kind of modem is installed? Is it from Compaq? > Now it works okay, but it will do weird > things... My icons on my bar at the bottom > right of the screen will all disappear except > the volume icon and I have to reboot. After I > tell it to reboot (yes, I hit Start, Shut Down, > Reboot), I still have to do 2 Ctrl-Alt-Dels to > get it to finish. Everything disappears but the > wallpaper and it hangs. > > My warranty is up, and even before it ran out, > Compaq tech support was USELESS. Any time I had > a problem, their solution was simply to blame it > on the last piece of software I had installed. > *sigh* > > My last-ditch effort will be quick-restoring my > hard drive and upgrading the Win '95. It's very > possible that Win '98 just DOES NOT like my > hardware. It's probably pretty cheap stuff, > anyways. I'm sure my internal modem isn't the > best on the market, especially since it's one of > those modem+soundcard in one wonders... Ah. Yes, you could have trouble with FreeBSD in that case. Is it a Winmodem? In that case it's definitely not supported, and never will be. If you don't know, just try the boot disk. > Needless to say, I am going to BUILD my next box > and make it generic as possible! Yes, it's a pity that Compaq seems to have so many compatibility problems. Greg -- See complete headers for address, home page and phone numbers finger grog@lemis.com for PGP public key To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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