Maybe all what follows is "firmware" specific. So please pardon (but there's no hope to get enlightenment from Toshiba.)
I have a tricky problem with a Toshiba "Satellite 300" laptop when it comes to run a clean (DR-)DOS on it. The unit had a "native" Windonos-98 "SE" on it (forget for the moment the proposterous "Second Edition" needed to make it run at all). I never succeeded to have it run a really "clean" (DR-)Dos from booting from the built-in HD - the best compromise was to boot from floppy, with most of the DOS files indeed sitting on the built-in HD (on a, rightly, DOS-fdisk-created "extended" partition; as Win$ doesn't want to allow the "primary" C: drive for this). But with some of the DOS applications, "something" interferes especially when using (some of) the ALT-Fx keys. Which makes indeed number of DOS-apps unusable (vulgo, crashing.) I have a Linux (Mandrake) installed on it too which runs rather satisfactory (it never managed the built-in sound though yet); booting - with LiLo - either into this or into Win$ did/does work as advertised, but not into DOS (thus the floppy.) Running it in Linux, I never had trouble with just any of the F-keys, directly or however switched (with any of the SHIFT/ALT/CTRL-combinations). What I never did (yet) was to really hard-(re)format the the _whole_ thing, i.e. its HD. Reason for this hesitation is that I'm not sure if the trouble with the (firmware?) key bindings would really be gone then. The luxuriously printed and verbose - but not at all enlightening - firm manual mentions an "Overlay" for "de-/activating" of some of the laptop- specific key(board) functions, especially some connected with the simultaneous use of the "Fn" _labelled_ key (not to be confused, evidently, with the F-key with those n various numbers; nor identical with a similarly "Fn" labelled key with ISO/DIN standard wireless keyboards - which I just love.) Logically thought, that "overlay" which controls the keyboard input whould be [a.] either some kind of TSR loaded at normal/"native" booting (to Win$ thus also all DOS), or [b.] some ROM-stored, "hardwired" routine controlling just everything coming from the keyboard - the latter case seems questionable, however, as Linux is obviously escaping from it. By now, I can happily discard Win$ from this box (if any need there would be, I could as well use the game-box of the little one for this), and I'd like to attack the problem anew. But I'd definitely want to have a clean and real DOS on that thing, together with a Linux (re-)installation. Question thus: Can I get rid, and how, of that - firmware ? Win$ ? - induced interference with the keyboard functioning ? Would thourough re-formatting, re-installation be enough ? (And Yes, I "googled" a lot regarding the issue and couldn't find a conclusive answer. Needless to say that asking/searching the Toshiba "support" is just hopeless; and expensive - over here they only offer juicily expensive fees for "help": eternal waits in "service fee" metered loops, and after perhaps 20 $$$ you get to someone who tells you that he cannot tell you anything.) // Heimo Claasen //<revobild at revobild dot net>// Brussels 2003-06-21 The WebPlace of ReRead - and much to read ==> http://www.revobild.net To unsubscribe from SURVPC send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with unsubscribe SURVPC in the body of the message. Also, trim this footer from any quoted replies. More info can be found at; http://www.softcon.com/archives/SURVPC.html
