From: Spiro Trikaliotis (ml-cbmhackers_at_trikaliotis.net)
Date: 2004-11-15 09:53:05
Hello,
* On Mon, Nov 15, 2004 at 08:45:28AM +0100 Baltissen, GJPAA (Ruud) wrote:
> - The software I develop and use is very time sensitive so IMHO a
> multitasking OS is out of the question. W98 enables me to start up in real
> DOS-mode if I want too, XP cannot unless I install another OS first.
Well, from my own tests, I believe that Win98 (or Win95) "DOS" does
*not* start up in real mode, but in V86 mode. This is the same mode as
you end up if you install EMM386.SYS/EMM386.EXE on a real DOS.
Because of this, the timing is not that accurate as it is on plain DOS
(without memory extenders like EMM386). This has bitten me in the ass
while I developed my parallel port oscilloscope, where the timing was
not that precise. Changing back to a "real" DOS helped a lot.
Furthermore, I can boot up another OS from the XP boot loader. In fact,
even LILO or GRUB can be started from there, even if they are installed
after XP.
> - My products can run on a 486 or Pentium 1 with just 4 MB of RAM and a 40
> MB harddisk. I wonder if you can run XP on it. W98-DOS can. And this means
> that the laptop mentioned above, instead of just laying around, can have a
> usefull life.
Well, not just 4 MB and 40 MB HD, but I have an NT4 running on a Laptop
with Pentium-133 and 16 MB RAM. Unfortunately, the parallel port has
some problems (not even SC runs there, started from DOS), so I cannot
test if cbm4win would work there. :-(
Regards,
Spiro.
--
Spiro R. Trikaliotis
http://www.trikaliotis.net/
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