RE: Quiet list

> From: Steve Gunsel <gunsel@...>
>
> Bill,
>
>
> Maybe you shouldn't have asked.
>
> I, for one, am making progress - but it is agonizingly slow.
>
> I'm collecting all of the stuff needed to CNCize a mill/drill and maybe
> later on a small lathe. I assembled a 4 axis DRO board and have the
> encoders, but now the box for the DRO is a Linux box. BTW, will
> there be a
> Linux version of the DRO software and will it coexist with EMC, or will we
> need two boxes in the shop?

I tried running the DRO program in the Linux DOS emulator. It came up, but
did not see the board. I think the problem may have been that I was using
freeDOS which is a clone of DOS 3.3 and I think I remember someone on the
list mentioning that the DRO program would not run on DOS 3.X for them. So,
if I were to read up on how to get DOSEMU to initialize with a newer DOS
version that I provide the DRO program may work under Linux without rewrite.

The more exciting idea that Fred Proctor is getting ready to try is using
the DRO board to provide closed loop feedback for steppers and then the EMC
display will not be just the commanded position, but the real position and
the cutter will always be where it is suppose to be.

> I am spending way too much time on item 1, trying to get Linux installed
> and running. Man, if this part is so easy, can't wait to tackle RTLinux
> and EMC. Actually, I had more computer hardware problems trying
> to get the
> hard drive partitioned and formatted than installing Linux. I gave up
> trying to make Linux co-exist with Windows 95 and bought another
> hard disk,
> which I installed in a dormant computer. A bad IDE port didn't help
> matters when I tried to connect the CDROM. I finally succeeded, today, in
> loading 5.2. Kind of thrilling to finally get a system prompt! Once the
> basic commands become more familiar, I'm sure it will be a lot
> easier. I'm
> still looking for an easy way to display the file structure and
> files on a:
> or the cdrom? Gee, maybe I should be on the
> Intel/Linux/ignoramus listserver.

the Linux equivalent to dir is ls
I think that dir is also available, but would not swear to it. If it is
loaded there is also a utility called tree. Once you get x-windows to go
there is a gui program that looks like the old win 3.1 file manager.

> Xwindows won't go yet. It doesn't like my 3D Pro AGP graphics card. I ran
> every conceivable combination with Xconfigurator, always getting the same
> goofy error messages. I have a monitor and graphics card capable
> of 1600 x
> 1200 at 256 colors or 1074 x 1024 at 16 M colors, but Xwindows
> won't start,
> even with the 640 x 480 VGA at 256 colors setting.

I tried 3 different AGP cards and could not get any of them to work. If you
read the hardware compatability list closely you will see that all the
compatability listings are based on a newer release of Xfree than ships with
5.2. I have tried loading the updated Xfree, but with no joy. So, I just
bought a compatible PCI video card and all is fine with the stock version of
Xfree. I talked to a friend that works for a VAR that does a lot of Linux on
Alpha systems and the only way they were ever able to get 5.2 to run an AGP
card was by using MetroX Xserver.

> Linux won't boot off the hard drive. Like DOS - I'm sure I need the
> equivalent of command.com in the proper location. Where should LILO be,
> and what else does it need and where does it look for during the boot
> sequence? I thought the installer would have taken care of this, but
> apparently not. The installer ignored some of my choices and loaded files
> that I told it not to.

To boot off the hard drive you have to install LILO on the MBR. If you
install it onto the partition you can only boot from a floppy or from
another bootstrap program like System Commander.

> My real gripe is that I don't have enough time to play with this stuff.
> But there is progress, the hurdles are slowly being overcome, and
> I'm still
> having fun!!!

What tweaks me is that the new toys and diversions appear faster than I can
finish up with the old ones.


Tim
[Denver, CO]