[Tfug] APM mechanisms

[Bexley Hall]

Greetings!

--- johngalt <johngalt1 at uswest.net> wrote:

> From: "Bexley Hall" <bexley401>
> > I have a Compaq Presario 3020 (?) that I am
> > currently using as my DNS/TFTP/SMTP/whatever
> > server.  It's a Pentium 166 (?) class machine.
> > Nothing spectacular.  Except, it has two slots
> > which lets me cram a dual NIC and a SCSI HBA
> > into it (the dual NIC lets it act as my
> > firewall and the HBA lets me attach external
> > storage as well as tape backup, etc. as needed).
> 
> A proper identification of the laptop might be
> helpful to better define the problem.

Sorry, it calls itself a "Compaq Presario 3020"
(in big old letters).  I haven't found any other
identification (I have previously searched Compaq's
site and googled).

It is most definitely *not* a laptop (note I never
called it a laptop  :> ).  Rather, it is more in the
class of luggables (like the Compaq Portable III)
or "nomadic workstations" (like my Sun Voyager).

Actually, the Voyager is a perfect analogy (and
probably something you could find an image of
readily).

It's about the size of a small desktop box.  Imagine
a 4 slot CD changer on the right *side* of the case
and a floppy on the left side.  Along with the
"two slot (ISA+PCI)" card cage.

Now, bolt an LCD onto the top of this such that the
LCD faces *up*.  Finally, tip the whole thing
towards you so the LCD is now normal to the desktop.

> If it is a Pentium 166 era box, its original OS
> would probably be win95, 

Dunno.  Though I can't imagine it was anything
newer than W98 (no disk when I got it).

> which wasn't terribly clever about anything. So,
> power monitoring for that 
> type of box may not offer too much to work with.
> 
> However, a brief search on Hpaq's web site shows two
> types of presario 3020 
> laptops; one of which has a 1.6 Ghz processor and
> the other has a 3Ghz 
> processor For both of these, their native hardware
> power monitoring support is probably very good.

Definitely neither of these.  :>  "A pentium 166
class machine"  :<

> Regardless, if it gets to be more trouble than it's
> worth, couldn't you just 
> switch the display from LCD to external VGA
> connector by some keyboard 
> Fn+keypress manoeuvre?

Hmmm... that's an idea.  But, it would have to be
something implemented in the BIOS that the OS would
be unaware of.  (i.e., if Compaq had some runtime
utility that did this, it would be of no use without
whatever OS was  running on the box at the time).

(sigh)  It may be simpler to just move back to the
LX I used previously and make a LONG (13W3) video
cable so I can bring the cable to a monitor (instead
of a monitor to the machine) when something craps out.

Of course, that also means cobbling a larger disk 
drive into the LX (which can only support a single
narrow SCSI drive -- which rarely seem to be much
larger than 4G)

Thx!
--don


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