[Oberon] Re: Strange morse code?

[muller at inf.ethz.ch]

Johan Capraro wrote:
> I've downloaded the Oberon System 3 files from the FTP and made the
> installation disk as told in install.txt.
>  
> I want to install in on my old Compaq Conture 4/25CX. That a old laptod
> based on a i486SX 25 with 4Mbytes RAM.
> The pc can boot with the disc, but when I press 'c' to install, the
> screen goes blank and my laptop starts making beeps that look like morse
> code.
> I don't know morse, so I can't tell you what it says, assuming it's
> morse.
>  
> That beeping doesn't stop and there's no disk activity: not on the
> 1.44mb disk drive, nor on the 200Mb harddisk.
> Because it's the first time I ever hear of Oberon, I'm afraid to ruin my
> desktop pc by installing it.
>  
> Do you've any idea of what's wrong with it? I suppose it's my hardware.

Older versions of Native Oberon generate the morse code when an 
unrecoverable error occurs during booting.  The morse can actually 
provide useful information on the location of the error, but in later
versions I removed this again, since very few people can decypher
the code, and most people seem to be startled by it.

The problem on the i486SX might be related to the lack of a coprocessor.
Some versions of Native do not include the floating point emulator in
the boot file.  Please try with the latest Alpha version downloadable
at: ftp://ftp.inf.ethz.ch/pub/ETHOberon/Native/Update/Alpha/

-- Pieter

--
Pieter Muller, Computer Systems Institute, ETH Zurich / MCT Lab, Zurich
Native Oberon OS: http://www.oberon.ethz.ch/native/