[WinMac] Compaq's NT HAL's [was:Re: Mac OS 8.6]

Daniel L. Schwartz(expresso[at]snip.net)
Fri, 23 Jul 1999 22:49:56 -0400

        I'll reply inline...

At 09:36 AM 5/25/99 -0500, Chris Hoogendyk wrote:
>
>In a message dated 5/25/99 12:20:58 AM, expresso@snip.net writes:
>
>> Hmmm, let's see: I didn't have to reinstall any drivers when
>installing
>>NT4's Service Pack 2, 3, 4, & 5. If we look at MacOS 8.5, we see that
>>Service Pack 1 ("MacOS 8.5.1") and Service Pack 2 ("MacOS 8.6") may have
>>needed new drivers. AND, these drivers operate down in CPU Ring Zero
>>(Supervisor or Kernel Mode), so they are indeed quite easy to break.
>
>give it a break. why always this putdown angle?

        It's not a putdown... Just what happens, as is well
documented in MacInTouch

>to be honest to the people who don't know NT as well, . . .
>
>When I did my first server install for NT4sp3 (as opposed to all the
>workstation installs) on a dual everything Compaq, I enlisted the help of the
>LAN Support group from OIT who had installed dozens of similar servers. They
>walked me through installing the basic NT4 and then something like several
>dozen patches. They felt that this whole sequence was very important.

        There's the problem right off the bat: You were using a 3rd party HAL,
instead of the "plain vanilla" HAL that comes on the NT CD/ROM. Just
because Compaq built the hardware doesn't mean that their HAL is any
"better." In fact, AFTER I brought up a Prosignia 500 with NT4/SP2,
Compaq's "tech support" recommended downloading "their" update files.

        Blue Screen Of Death.

>This same group came over to do an upgrade to NT4 sp4 (from sp3) on one of
>our Compaq servers and ended up having to down the server for a day or more,
>wipe it clean and completely re-install it. Something to do with the
>proprietary nature of the Compaqs, even though they are considered the best
>of the Intel based servers.

        I would hardly consider Compaq to be the best of the x86 servers:
DIGITAL's offerings were (are) much better, and so are IBM's. I wouldn't
put Compaq much ahead of HP's crud...

        And again, there's nothing "proprietary" about a Compaq
server - You can
trash their HAL's - And "Management Utilities" - and just do a plain,
simple install.

>Because of that experience, they have scheduled a full day of downtime to
>update our primary staff server to NT4sp4 (sp5 is out now). This happens to
>work because the library is closed that day while we swap out and replace our
>catalog servers (DEC Alphas running Digital Unix). So a couple hundred people
>won't be able to do any work on computers that day. We'll have an end of
>semester book shelving party -- music in the stacks.

        Here's the way to reinstall it:

        1) NT/Server 4, basic services only
        2) Diskeeper, then defrag;
        3) RDISK /S
        4) Service Pack 5 (make a shortcut & put it on the Desktop)
        5) Services For Macintosh, and SNMP;
        6) SP5 again;
        7) RDISK /S
        8) Run Diskeeper to defrag again.

        If you want to throw in IIS4, do it between steps 5 & 6.

        CONSPICUOUS BY ITS ABSENCE: Any stuff from Compaq.

        By the way, this is why, in NT5, err, W2k, for Micros~1 to
"take back" the
drivers & other crap from the OEM's. Is it any wonder? Ever seen H-P's NT
management utilities? Worse than running System 7.1.2 on a Power Mac!

-> There's never enough time to do the job right, but always
enough time to
do it over.

        [unix stuff cut]

        [At this point it's well worth noting that there IS a notable
exception:
DIGITAL. DEC and MS runs/ran a joint NT development lab - That is why NT on
an Alpha runs so smoothly, and as a byproduct their NT/x86 systems also
runs/ran quite well. Unfortunately, after DEC was compaqted some of the
talent fled. To read more about this situation, go to
http://www.acersoft.com>, where Terry Shannon maintains his Shannon Knows
DEC (now Shannon Knows Compaq) newsletter - A well respected newsletter
that has been around for over 15 years - Even before the Mac!]

>Anyway, I think we could talk about Windows and Mac factually without the
>partisan putdowns.

        Actually, most everything I write about the Mac comes straight from Ric
Ford's MacInTouch keyboard - He knows the MacOS better than any of us on
this list.

>Chris Hoogendyk
>Network Specialist
>UMass Library, Amherst

  -----------------------------------------------------------------

        <mailto:expresso@snip.net>

        ALTERNATE: <mailto:expresso@workmail.com>

                Webmaster for <http://www.Faulknerstudios.com>,
                                        <http://www.BrakeAndGo.com>

-> NEW! Sign up for the Mac-NT Mailing list at:
  <http://www.onelist.com/subscribe/Mac-NT>

-> REALLY New! Survey about what you administer at:
  <http://www.onelist.com/surveycenter/Mac-NT>

  -----------------------------------------------------------------

* Windows-MacOS Cooperation List *

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b2 on Fri Jul 23 1999 - 19:58:17 PDT