Hi. This is semi-off topic, but I'm sure that if any replies are made,
it'll eventually spin off to someone's tales of their PDP-8 in high school,
or their first VIC-20...
Anyway, as much as I can complain that I'm not getting a decent
computer-education in school, I owe a lot to them.
My first year here in Bahrain, I had just got my computer (a blasing
fast 486 33!!!), running (what else) Windows 3.1 and DOS 6.22. I didn't
know how to type, just use basic functions. I could get on CompuServe (at
least in the US), etc. but not do anything "powerfull" I could launch
CD-ROMS, install programs since I was 8, in 3rd grade. Then, in school that
year, I learned to type. A significant 40WAM. (I thought this was
miserrable, but now in typing, many 7th graders got like 19's, 25's...)
Anyway, that gave me my basic computer skills. Now, in 6th grade, when
I next did serious typing (4th grade was a mess, I skipped 5th grade), I
found that my typing increased to 80WAM. (WPM??) Now, I find it's at
100-140. I owe all that to the school. Without learning how to type, I
would never have gotten interested in e-mail, programming, computer science,
CAD, grapics, number crunching, UN*X, or hardware stuff.
Then, earlier on this year, I was asked to help make a computer couse
for my grade at school. For the first couple weeks we wouldn't have a
computer lab. So I did what I thought would work: Talked about the workings
of a computer. Terms like OS, HDD, RAM, CPU, bus, HTML, web, modem, etc.
Since then, I've been working to set up a browser-based Intranet. It's
been a heck of a lot of fun, if not educatonal.
Just my $0.02...
Tim D. Hotze
If all else fails you may want to try a low level format on the hard
drive. Boot with a MS-Dos ver 2.10 or later, run debug. At the '_'
prompt type in g=c800:5 which should access the controller rom and
enable you to low level format (it is <crudely> menu driven). Your
Tandon has 306 cylinders, 4 heads and 17 sectors per track. After the
low level format procede with the high level partitioning and
formatting.
-Marty
______________________________ Reply Separator
_________________________________
Subject: Help Needed: Kaypro 10 HDD Problems
Author: classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu at internet
Date: 5/11/98 9:27 PM
I recently added a Kaypro 10 to my collection, but it seems to have met with
some rough handling
in shipping. If anyone can shed some light on the problem described below, I
would REALLY
appreciate it (any Kaypro experts out there?)
When I first fired it up, it booted from the hard drive right away. However,
as soon as I tried
to access the HD further, all I got were "Bad Sector" errors. Since then, the
computer will no
longer boot from the HD, and I can't access any information on it ( not a
good
sign :-( ).
Using CP/M, I have tried to re-format the drive with no luck; all I get are
"Verify Errors" as it
tries to format. So much for the theory that the heads may have gotten
knocked
slightly out of
alignment!
Re-seating all connectors on the drive and controller didn't help either.
I have pulled the drive from the computer and hooked it up outside the case.
It does spin up to
normal operating speed, and I can see the head stepper motor responding in a
normal fashion when I
attempt to access the drive (formatting, parking the heads, pulling a
directory, etc.). None of
the linkage to the heads seems damaged or broken; in fact the entire computer
is in excellent
shape and has not been abused. The hard drive activity light (which is
controlled from the drive
itself) also seems to respond normally.
No untoward noises seem to come from the unit when it is operating, although I
do hear some
metallic "singing" during the last second or so just prior to the drive coming
to a complete stop
on power down. I'm not sure if this is just the brake mechanism, or if it is
the heads against
the platters (I do park the drive prior to powering off, though).
Based on the above, I am assuming (wrongly so?) that the controller is
probably
working OK. It is
a Western Digital WD1002-HDO. My hunch is that either the drive electronics
or
the drive itself
have failed.
Are there any other tests I should by trying? Am I correct to assume that it
is the drive which
has failed?
The drive is a Tandon TM502 (10MB, MFM, 5 1/4" platters). If the drive cannot
be salvaged, I
would appreciate hearing from anyone who has a replacement drive, or knows of
a
source for same.
I would like to keep the same make and model drive if possible, but an
equivalent model would be
fine too (as I'm sure Non Linear Systems used more than one make of drive in
the Kaypro's).
Any help is much appreciated!
Grant Zozman
gzozman(a)escape.ca
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Date: Mon, 11 May 1998 20:24:38 -0500
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From: Grant Zozman <gzozman(a)escape.ca>
To: "Discussion re-collecting of classic computers"
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Subject: Help Needed: Kaypro 10 HDD Problems
References: <199805112323.TAA12647(a)mail.cgocable.net>
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X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.1 beta -- ListProcessor(tm) by CREN
... and I wanted to introduce myself.
I'm a student at the University of Washington; I subscribed to the list in
hopes that there would be some local members. So far, I'm not sure. Some of
your names are familiar from alt.folklore.computers but many are new.
I'm a computer-science major. Most CS majors here don't seem to be very
interested in old machines, unfortunately. They must be dazzled by all the
Windows NT machines we have (which were given to us by Intel and don't work
very well, thanks to overstressed/inept/inconstant administration).
I'll probably read more than I post -- I don't have detailed experience with
the popular machines, because I don't _have_ the popular machines, because I
live in a dorm room. But I do have experience with the Apple ][, and a Kaypro
which I'm resurrecting (thanks to Don Maslin and his awe-inspiring collection
of CP/M disks) and some HP calculators and some emulators on my Macintosh.
By "popular" I mean "popular with the readers of this list," not "popular with
people in general."
So... who's from Washington? And BTW, is there a working Web site/archive/FAQ
for this group? I can't seem to connect to the bothell machine, even though
it's part of my own school.
Thanks,
-- Derek
Would you allow CP/M? BOCHS Unix emulator? Macintosh?
I will say only one thing: don't try to go back - it will never be
the same, and you will only be disappointed (yes, I know you're only
kidding). I don't really use USENET because it's a pain...
>
>Hell, I was on the Usenet when it was just a partial feed from a
>friend at Cal Tech to my little TRS-80 Model 16 two miles away
>with its 15-Meg HD that could handle a month's worth of my partial
>feed at a time (a full feed would have choked it in less than a
>week -- if I could handle the bandwidth) at 1200 baud back in the
>stone age (1986-7), when bang-path email could take a week or more
>to turn around. Usenet was a bit surreal in those days of
>_severely_ asynchronous communication (not the modems, just the
>messages crossing paths). I loved it, and if the over-advertised
>Internet keeps screwing up, 56Kbps modems (and 10-321 or whatever
>the latest long distance cheap service is) would let us build a
>better new Usenet than there used to be. And anybody who gave
>the phone numbers to AOL, Hotmail, any such scum, or ever allowed
>a binary file that wasn't uuencoded (and useful -- no hundred-part
>fuzzy porn need apply) to go through would be flogged from all of
>the L.sys or Systems files forever. Oh yeah, this would of course
>be *nix based (Unix, Linux, Sunos, etc.) as the gods meant it to
>be -- PCs are welcome only as terminal emulators if they're
>hosting parasites such as Windows or MS-DOS.
>--
>Ward Griffiths
>They say that politics makes strange bedfellows.
>Of course, the main reason they cuddle up is to screw somebody else.
> Michael Flynn, _Rogue Star_
>
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
I have been given an Amiga 600HD. It seems to work but wont boot.
Investigation showed that althought there was a harddrive there was no
power going to it.
Does the machine use standard IDE drives, if so where did it poer up from,
there is no power socket adjacent to the IDE socket on the board. I suppose
that a Y cable connected to the supply going to the floppy would work.
Cheers
Keith Whitehead
+----------- Keith Whitehead -----------+
| Physics and Chemistry Depts |
| Massey University |
| Palmerston North |
| New Zealand |
| |
| Ph +64 6 350-5074 Fax +64 6 354-0207 |
+------------------------------------------+
Well, if someone will send me the 486's, I'll build and test 'em...that's my
main business. -- I'm very low on everything, though, so I need your
components.
manney(a)lrbcg.com
"Un sot trouve toujours un plus sot qui l'admire."
I'm sorry that this is OT, but I thought everyone should know that
Apple has announced that upcoming laptops will NOT support SCSI or
floppy drives (according to MSNBC). It's nice to know that now that
Steve Jobs is back, Apple's gotten back to innovationg and changing
stuff. I doubt the market cares, however.
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
Anyone interested in one? Excellent condition (still with packaging) and
manuals.
manney(a)lrbcg.com
"Un sot trouve toujours un plus sot qui l'admire."
Hmmm. Never heard of that but I don't think that's what he has. I had the
impression that his drives are part of the main unit. Dammed shame your
drives were scrapped out. I'd love to have one for my 5100.
Joe
At 08:49 PM 5/12/98 -0400, you wrote:
>> It's not a 5100! They only had a single tape drive.
>
>No, IBM did have MASSIVE 8 inch drives for the 5100 (5108?). My system had
>two of the small file cabinet sized things, but they were scrapped out.
>
>William Donzelli
>william(a)ans.net
>
>
At 02:22 PM 5/12/98 -0500, you wrote:
>
>I think we also acquired an IBM 5100.
>This animal was without docs, but it boots to basic and has
>a small mono screen and twin 8 inch drives. All the logic is
>in one housing with the screen. I know someone was asking
>around about such a computer recently.
It's not a 5100! They only had a single tape drive.
Joe
