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Setup in Compaq 486: Multiboot with DOS 6???

Setup in Compaq 486: Multiboot with DOS 6???

Post by Ernesto Garcia Gossi » Wed, 22 May 1996 04:00:00



Im interested in installing linux to my machine: It is a Compaq
Presario 486 with 4MB RAM. As Ive always heard of Compaq not
being strictly identical to the PC, I wonder if there are some
special issues about setup I should consider.

Also, as other people use my machine -they use DOS 6 and Windows 3.1,
- I'd like to know if I can install something like a multiboot
device in my disk, so when the PC is on, it can either boot from DOS or
linux -even in a Compaq???-.

Is it worthwhile to install linux on a PC with only 4MB????

Ill aprecciate any answer: Please post it but also reply to me by email,
so I can read you.

Note: I do not presently use OS/2.

Thanks so much.
Ernesto Garcia

 
 
 
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1. Qs about Linux setup on Compaq 486 notebook

I'm want to use Linux on a Compaq 486/25SL notebook. I'm stuck on
the following issues and would appreciate any pointers.
1 I believe the video ROM is being shadowed. The BIOS setup
 has options to shadow the video ROM at two different addresses,
 but none to turn it off.
2 Some memory is reserved, presumably for shadowing arcane stuff,
 including but not limited to battery management pop-ups (or is that
 in the video RAM?).
3 Who is reserving this memory? Does the BIOS do it? Or is it DOS?
 Since Linux (Debian) install instructions ask you to turn off all
 shadowing, I can do that automatically if DOS is doing the shadowing,
 but I get the impression that the BIOS does this. The how do I go
 about disabling shadowing and not reserving memory?
4 These machines were supposed to have a small partition with
 diagnostics programs on it. I don't see anything but a Big-DOS
 partition with FIPS and other HDD utilities. Can there be a parition
 that such an utility cannot see?
5 Some utilities I have used show 256k video RAM, but there's supposed
 to be 512k. The same utilities see 16450 UARTs on my serial port and a
 16550A on the modem board, but MSD sees 8250s on the serial port.
 How reliable is this stuff? Are there definitive h/w utilities in Linux?

Any information will be highly appreciated.
Thanks,
-bhaskar

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