Programmer 7500/MAX_PROGRAMMERS.iso/PROGRAMS/UTILS/HARDWARE/LEDSTUFF.ZIP/README

Text File | 1987-11-01 | 5.5 KB | 119 lines

This updates an earlier archive, LEADEDGE.ARC, which contained programs to
correct various minor problems with the Leading Edge Model Ds, and a clock
program for LE Ms.


1.  Early LE Ds had a BIOS problem when running programs which gave you an
option to use a Mouse.  Note that the newer machines (BIOS 2.13+) have an
upgraded ROM BIOS which corrects this problem.  The patch below to correct
the problem in the earlier machine is from  Leading Edge:

               S W   I N T   3 3   P A T C H   P R O G R A M

 MODEL "D" SOFTWARE PATCH PROGRAM

This patch is designed to correct possible problems when executing programs
on the Leading Edge Model "D" that have an option to permit the use of a
mouse, whether or not it is actually used. You may want to add this patch if,
upon executing a program: 1) you notice unusual patterns on the screen, 2)
you receive a message "Unexpected SW INT 33", or 3) you experience a program
malfunction when you first boot up a program which has a mouse option.  You
need only execute the supplied instructions once.

PLEASE NOTE:  THIS PATCH IS NOT GUARANTEED TO WORK WITH EVERY PROGRAM WHICH
RECEIVES THE SW INT 33 MESSAGE.  WE HAVE ONLY TESTED THE PATCH WITH MICROSOFT
WORD AND REFLEX PACKAGES."


Directions for Use:

a.  Place the fixint33 command in your autoexec.bat file.  (Have
the fixint33.com file in your root directory or issue a path
command to the directory where it's located before invoking it in
autoexec.bat).

b.  This will immediately correct the problem with Microsoft
Word.

c.  For running Reflex and Reflex2 (the report writer), first do
one above, then use the two new bat files included in this
archive, reflexh.bat and reflex2h.bat, instead of the bat files
with identical names which come with Reflex.  If you compare the
two, you'll notice the bat files included in this archive have an
additional line which return the computer to the monochrome text
mode when you quit out of Reflex.  Note that the bat files are
necessary for running reflex on a monochrome D, because reflex
only runs in the Hercules Graphics mode on monochrome machines.

d.  If you are using a Mouse, do NOT put the Mouse command in a
CONFIG.SYS file, as the mouse documentation suggests.  Instead,
place it in the autoexec.bat file AFTER the fixint33.

(I personally have used these patch on our old LE Ds at work...works fine.)

(Borland International also has a patch for Reflex out which
patches the program to return it from Hercules to Mono mode
automatically, making the new bat files unnecessary.  I do not
have and have not tested this patch.)

2.  LE D 20M HD FORMAT PROBLEM

     Early LE D 20M machines often arrived with improperly formatted HDs and
defective PREPARE.COM program on the LE D Diagnostics disk.  The instructions
to properly format such machines used the debug to access the controller
format routines are in the file LEHDFMT.TXT.

3.  CLOCKS AND PC-DOS

Included in this archive are several programs which enable you to pick up the
time and date from Leading Edge's clock when using PC-DOS by invoking one of
these programs in you autoexec.bat. The only one I've personally used and can
vouch for is the clkdvr.sys for PC DOS 3.21 which works like a charm.
D-clock.com and d-clk.com are obviously for the Leading Edge model D,
m-clk.com is obviously for the Leading Edge model M, and I'm not sure what
datetime.com works with. The programs are:

        a.  Clkdvr.sys...device driver for PC DOS 3.2 and 3.21
        b.  D-clock.com/d-clk.com...for LE D.
        c.  M-clk.com for LE M
        d.  datetime.com...unknown, but from LE BBS?

4.  4-SECTOR CLUSTERS ON 10M WITH DOS 3.1+

I recently placed PC-DOS 3.21 on one of our old 10M LE Ds at work. Following
the notes from CLUSTER.TXT obtained from Robert Blacher's BBS here in
Washington, I was able to get 4-sector clusters on the 10M disk (2,048 bytes)
rather than the 8-sector clusters (4,096 bytes) that DOS 3.1+ normally
produces on 10M HDs. However, I was not able to obtain these results with LE
DOS 3.1! As near as I can figure out, LE DOS has a destructive format (like
Compaq 3.1) which redoes the boot record each time you reformat! I'm including
the cluster.txt in this archive for those of you who would like to use 3.1+ on
LE D 10M hard disks.

5.  COLOR ON COLOR TEXT

     Monochrome LE Ds have a hardware defect in the motherboard video board
make them incapable of displaying color on color text...you just get a blob
of amber or green.  FIXLED.COM corrects this problem.  It's a memory resident
program which you run first.  You can disable it by running it again.

6. SUMMARY OF FILES

CLKDVR   SYS     1024   Clock device driver for LE D, PC DOS 3.2 and 3.21
CLUSTER  TXT     7401   4-sector clusters on 10M HD
D-CLK    COM     1024   Get time on LE D while running PC DOS.
D-CLOCK  COM      256   Same as above.
DATETIME COM      256   From LE BBS.
FIXINT33 COM       29   Fix early bios problem with programs which use
                        Hercules mode and mouse!
FIXLED   COM      848   Allows LE D to display color on color text!
FIXLED   DOC     6249   DOC for above.
LEDHFMT  MSG     2365   Debug format instructions for LE D 20M HD.
M-CLK    COM      384   Get time on LE M running PC DOS.
README           4138   This file.
REFLEX2H BAT      128   Batch file for running Reflex2 on mono LE D.
REFLEXH  BAT      128   Batch file for running Refelex on mono LE D.

DAVID JACOBSON, WASHINGTON, DC, FEBRUARY 27, 1986
UPDATED, NOVEMBER 1, 1987, DAVID JACOBSON, ARLINGTON, VA