IBM ROM BASIC or lack thereof - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

2 Oct 2001

...
  > "No ROM BASIC" does not tell the user
what happened.  "No bootable device
...
   found"
would be more helpful.  
 Yes it does tell the user what happened. The system attempted to enter 
 ROM BASIC, there is no ROM BASIC and thus the system was halted. As Hans 
 said, INT 18h can be called from anywere, not just the bootstrap. Would 
 'No bootable device found' make sense if another program tried to call 
 ROM BASIC, not as part of booting the system? 
Tony, have you dealt with any typical personal computer users lately?  I do
every day, and I can tell you that none of the ones I deal with -- and I
mean *none* -- know what a ROM is, or what BASIC is.  "No ROM BASIC" tells
you, Tony Duell, what happened, but for the vast majority of users, it
doesn't mean a thing.
 
Glen
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