OS2 World Community Forum

OS/2, eCS & ArcaOS - Technical => Setup & Installation => Topic started by: whaka on May 16, 2022, 02:22:14 pm

Title: Warp3 boot hang with blinking cursor after fp38 installation
Post by: whaka on May 16, 2022, 02:22:14 pm
hello,

fixpak 38 is the last available for french version of warp 3. so you guess it, i'm french.
i'm playing with a (boosted) PS/2 model 35sx, and really want to use OS/2 on it.
i've somewhat boosted this good old beast, replacing the onboard 386sx by a 486 SXLC2, and overclocked to 33 MHz. (was 20 at stock)
added a really decent video card with a S3 928 chip, network, and sound.
fun little machine :)

so, after fp38 installation, and right after reboot for locked files to be updated, it hang after the boot manager.
all i get is a blinking cursor instead of the OS/2 "blob", keyboard is non responsive too.

the machine is actually using a CF as hard drive, and i first though it may be due to that.
CF are tricky sometimes, but even with a real HDD result is the same.

any ideas ?
thanks :)


Title: Re: Warp3 boot hang with blinking cursor after fp38 installation
Post by: Neil Waldhauer on May 16, 2022, 03:27:17 pm
It's been a while since I supported OS/2 Warp3, but two ideas...

1. check that os2ldr and os2krnl are there on hard drive.
2. try to run sysinstx c: to make sure system files are where they are supposed to be.
Title: Re: Warp3 boot hang with blinking cursor after fp38 installation
Post by: Eugene Tucker on May 16, 2022, 05:13:54 pm
Been a long time for me since I have run Warp 3 but I think there is something or somethings you may have to turn off in the Bios. anyone remember?
Title: Re: Warp3 boot hang with blinking cursor after fp38 installation
Post by: whaka on May 16, 2022, 09:20:45 pm
It's been a while since I supported OS/2 Warp3, but two ideas...

1. check that os2ldr and os2krnl are there on hard drive.
2. try to run sysinstx c: to make sure system files are where they are supposed to be.
in between, i tried an older FP to see, fixpak 35. i got the same deadend after locked files have been updated. i checked the 2 files, they are in place.
then i run sysinstx from diskette, he did his job, but nothing better. still got "the blinking cursor of the death"

Been a long time for me since I have run Warp 3 but I think there is something or somethings you may have to turn off in the Bios. anyone remember?
this is an isa based PS/2, there's nothing much you can do in bios. the only thing you can switch is the bios shadowing, and set date/time.
i don't think it's related to that, but who know...
Title: Re: Warp3 boot hang with blinking cursor after fp38 installation
Post by: Tom on May 16, 2022, 09:39:10 pm
so, after fp38 installation, and right after reboot for locked files to be updated, it hang after the boot manager.
all i get is a blinking cursor instead of the OS/2 "blob", keyboard is non responsive too.

Just asking to be sure: the machine booted normally before the fixpak was installed?
Title: Re: Warp3 boot hang with blinking cursor after fp38 installation
Post by: Doug Bissett on May 16, 2022, 10:13:59 pm
Been a long time for me since I have run Warp 3 but I think there is something or somethings you may have to turn off in the Bios. anyone remember?

If I remember correctly, early Warp 3 needed to have a BIOS setting (something about booting OS/2 warp) set on, and later versions (including later Warp 3 fix packs) needed that set off. Try both ways, if you find it.
Title: Re: Warp3 boot hang with blinking cursor after fp38 installation
Post by: whaka on May 16, 2022, 10:50:11 pm
Just asking to be sure: the machine booted normally before the fixpak was installed?
yes, never got any issues before fixpak installation.

If I remember correctly, early Warp 3 needed to have a BIOS setting (something about booting OS/2 warp) set on, and later versions (including later Warp 3 fix packs) needed that set off. Try both ways, if you find it.

there's no options related to operating system in bios, as i said, this is a PS/2 and it's supposed to be supported by warp 3.
the only bios option i know about OS/2 is related to ram over 64MB. pre warp 4 need it, warp 4 and above not.
and of course, it's not the problem here, as it's a 386sx bus, maximum is 16MB.
Title: Re: Warp3 boot hang with blinking cursor after fp38 installation
Post by: Doug Bissett on May 17, 2022, 03:24:34 am
Quote
there's no options related to operating system in bios, as i said, this is a PS/2 and it's supposed to be supported by warp 3.
the only bios option i know about OS/2 is related to ram over 64MB. pre warp 4 need it, warp 4 and above not.
and of course, it's not the problem here, as it's a 386sx bus, maximum is 16MB.

That is the setting that needs to change.
Title: Re: Warp3 boot hang with blinking cursor after fp38 installation
Post by: Ian Manners on May 17, 2022, 04:09:16 am
Hi Doug,

BIOS option related to ram over 64MB doesnt exist on a 386 PS/2
I vaguely remember something about the later FP3x's that required a fix or something for PS/2's, easy answer was I think a jump straight to FP40.
It's so many decades now my memories a bit murky on this.

I gifted my remaining PS/2's last year prior to my move from Perth to Melbourne, one was a IBM PS/2 Model 70 with Warp3 but no idea what FP level it was.
Title: Re: Warp3 boot hang with blinking cursor after fp38 installation
Post by: whaka on May 17, 2022, 06:25:09 am
I vaguely remember something about the later FP3x's that required a fix or something for PS/2's, easy answer was I think a jump straight to FP40.

fp40 seems to not exist for french version, it's nowhere on ibm ftp. thoses still available from ibm for french localized are 32, 35, 38.
but good to know, i'll dig the question about fix for PS/2's, maybe it's still somewhere on the net :D
Title: Re: Warp3 boot hang with blinking cursor after fp38 installation
Post by: Ian Manners on May 17, 2022, 09:43:32 am
Try the PS/2 newsgroups as well.

comp.sys.ibm.ps2.hardware
or
https://groups.google.com/g/comp.sys.ibm.ps2.hardware
Someone there maybe able to point you to what you need.
Title: Re: Warp3 boot hang with blinking cursor after fp38 installation
Post by: whaka on May 17, 2022, 10:06:33 am
thank you.
i asked there, and let you know if something new.
Title: Re: Warp3 boot hang with blinking cursor after fp38 installation
Post by: whaka on November 26, 2022, 12:42:57 pm
hi,
some news... i still can't tell what happen exactly, but it might be the TI 486 SXLC2 having some troubles with OS/2.
but i can't easily swap with the original 386, as i soldered the TI and don't plan roll back anyway.

i have a model 55sx with a 486SXLC2, and also give me troubles with warp 3 installation too. (and with OS/2 2.11 too)
and a model 70 using a 486SXLC2 too, and with the same troubles as the 55sx, but as the 70 use a PGA cpu, i can confirm rolling back to the 386 solve the issue.
so, seems OS/2 don't really like thoses hybrid cpu...
Title: Re: Warp3 boot hang with blinking cursor after fp38 installation
Post by: Lars on November 26, 2022, 12:54:45 pm
turn off BIOS shadowing. That is something that was relevant for DOS as it made extensive use of the BIOS.
And I seem to remember that that could lead to timing issues, also with newer kernels.
Then I can remember from long time ago that I had to rejumper a setting on an ET4000 ISA graphics card but I guess you should not have that kind of problem as you have MCA bus, correct?
Title: Re: Warp3 boot hang with blinking cursor after fp38 installation
Post by: Lars on November 26, 2022, 01:02:40 pm
I see that you have ISA bus and S3 card. If you can find any documentation on it, look for jumpers that have influence on signal timing. With OS/2 you will always have to go with default timings, never use any "performance tweak" crap.
Title: Re: Warp3 boot hang with blinking cursor after fp38 installation
Post by: Dave Yeo on November 26, 2022, 07:08:26 pm
Sounds like a kernel or os2ldr problem. Perhaps you could update or downgrade them. Often os2krnl, os2ldr and doscall1.dll are matched so might have to upgrade/downgrade all 3. Shouldn't matter which NLS they're for, at worse you might end up with English boot messages.
Title: Re: Warp3 boot hang with blinking cursor after fp38 installation
Post by: Olafur Gunnlaugsson on November 26, 2022, 09:36:34 pm
hi,
some news... i still can't tell what happen exactly, but it might be the TI 486 SXLC2 having some troubles with OS/2.
but i can't easily swap with the original 386, as i soldered the TI and don't plan roll back anyway.
Should not be a problem with the CPU on its own, I ran OS/2 v3 on an ISA board with a Cx486SLC for years, up to fixpack 4x, the only difference between that chip and yours is a bigger cache and optional clock doubling. If you can get hold of TI's utility software package that they distributed for the chip, you can try toggling the clock doubling feature on and off, but I doubt that would make a difference.

I sold a number of these as upgrade chips (on a socketed PCB typically) and as budget replacement motherboards in its day and while we did provide the TI software package to people, no-one ever seemed to use it since they were more or less plug and play.

IBM did supply updated firmware and configuration software for some of those ISA based PS systems, such as the PS/1 386sx, as they had some problems with booting OS/2 32bit but I have no idea if that applies to your system.
Title: Re: Warp3 boot hang with blinking cursor after fp38 installation
Post by: whaka on January 15, 2023, 01:25:13 pm
hello, and sorry for the delay.
thanks for all answers, i'll try suggestions soon and let you know.