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4 or 4.52?

OS/2 on ThinkPads
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startac
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4 or 4.52?

#1 Post by startac » Mon May 25, 2015 11:51 pm

I have been wanting to use OS/2 for years and now I finally have a chance but I am getting bogged down by the unknown.

By chance, I came across an unopened Warp 4 box but held off on the purchase because I don't know if it is the right version. It has a giant sticker proclaiming is it mostly not Y2K compliant and my various online sources talk about 4.52 and its refreshed MCP2 is a must for some P3/4 ThinkPads.

I would like to run this on a T23, maybe a 600X. Would a out of the box Warp 4.0 be fine on a T23 for Word and such? Has IBM squirreled away old updates somewhere?

Overall, Warp 4 looks like it will do what I need but OS/2 is a totally alien system to me and I thought it best to ask here.

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Re: 4 or 4.52?

#2 Post by RealBlackStuff » Tue May 26, 2015 6:03 am

Check the Drivers link at the top of this page for T23 and its OS/2 drivers.
I stopped using OS/2 when Windows 3.11 became popular, due to the many OS/2 hardware problems.
(I've been building PCs since the mid-80s)

Also check the OS/2 successor: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EComStation
Lovely day for a Guinness! (The Real Black Stuff)
Lenovo: X240, X250, T440p, T480, M900 Tiny.

PS: the old Boardroom website is still available on the Wayback Machine
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Re: 4 or 4.52?

#3 Post by MisterB » Tue May 26, 2015 8:32 am

To fully update 4.0 you will need a lot of Fixpacks, 18 of them as I remember. I'm not sure where to download them these days. 4.52 is a bit more proprietary and as I remember, you need to register with IBM to get updates. On the positive side, it doesn't require so many updates out of the box. My 770X has both installed. I don't have any Y2K issues. It will run old 16 bit versions of Word fine. It has a full Windows 3.11 subsystem. There is a 32 bit Windows emulation system called Odin.

It's been at least 10 years since I've messed with OS2 so I have no idea if and what is online these days. It is an interesting OS to play around with if your Thinkpad has drivers for it. The 600X should work great on it. It is much faster than Windows 2000 on my 770X.
I've got a T580, 2 W500s, a W520, an X201T, an X220T, an 3 X61Ts, a 15" T60, a 14" T60P, a 15" UXGA T60P, a 15" T42p a W701, and my first Thinkpad, a 770X.

startac
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Re: 4 or 4.52?

#4 Post by startac » Tue May 26, 2015 9:01 am

That is great information- thank you RealBlackStuff and MisterB. Much appreciated!

I always seem to forget that drivers are available here. I mostly deal with 68k Macs and System 7, for which finding drivers can be hit or miss.

EComStation was something I was eager to jump on but as I have continued to use true IBM-era ThinkPads, I am curious to try out a fully IBM OS/2 first. Although it would be nice to use that excellent 600X keyboard for email again.

18 Fixpacks, wow. Do you suppose IBM still offers those? I am happy to hear that it doesn't require as many out-of-box updates (and doesn't have any Y2K issues.)

I have been researching dual booting OS/2 and Win2K, but it seems slightly more complicated than I had thought. Not as bad as when I researched booting LinuxMint and Win7 from the same drive.

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Re: 4 or 4.52?

#5 Post by MisterB » Tue May 26, 2015 4:10 pm

If you get OS2 Warp 4 installed and can't find the fixpacks, send me a PM. I think I have them on a DVD somewhere. I also have some Odin project files that will let you run some Win32 apps. As I remember, it was hit or miss with compatibility.
I've got a T580, 2 W500s, a W520, an X201T, an X220T, an 3 X61Ts, a 15" T60, a 14" T60P, a 15" UXGA T60P, a 15" T42p a W701, and my first Thinkpad, a 770X.

startac
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Re: 4 or 4.52?

#6 Post by startac » Tue May 26, 2015 4:18 pm

Thank you, MisterB. That makes me feel much more secure going forward with this project. I was just reading about Odin when your post came through.

On the topic of software, the Warp 4 info I found online isn't very specific about what kind of productivity software it comes with. In fact it seems to go on and on about voice recognition.

I take it the Lotus SmartSuite isn't bundled? I have found many Windows versions on eBay but no native OS/2 copies. Is most OS/2 software near impossible to find these days?

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Re: 4 or 4.52?

#7 Post by MisterB » Wed May 27, 2015 3:35 pm

I found some files on a backup disk and it looks like there are 17 fixpacks not 18. I've got a direct copy of what was on the Ibm ftp server in 2004 including .txt files.There is the installation software and the fixpacks start at 5 and jump to 12. It looks like you start by applying 5 and jump to 12 and go to 17. I really can't remember. I haven't identified the Odin files in the folder. What is in there is sorted by date and not subject.

I probably have some more OS2 related materials but I will have to look in a bin of old software I have in storage. I haven't found anything related to 4.52 but I have it installed on my 770X so the material has to be stored away.
I've got a T580, 2 W500s, a W520, an X201T, an X220T, an 3 X61Ts, a 15" T60, a 14" T60P, a 15" UXGA T60P, a 15" T42p a W701, and my first Thinkpad, a 770X.

startac
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Re: 4 or 4.52?

#8 Post by startac » Wed May 27, 2015 11:07 pm

MisterB, once again I appreciate your efforts. Thank you for looking around for your OS/2 files. Your backup disk sounds like gold.

I ordered the Warp 4 box yesterday. As always, I have way too many projects on hand but this one has been a long time in coming. The first time I heard of OS/2 was in second grade ('92) and, not knowing what it was at that moment, figured it to be some sort of mythical magical alternative OS. I'm quite excited to finally use it.

In the mean time, a faster drive and another 256MiB stick of RAM is in order for my 600X. I don't want to presume, but once I get Warp 4 installed and running might it be possible to copy your backup disk?

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Re: 4 or 4.52?

#9 Post by MisterB » Wed May 27, 2015 11:55 pm

startac wrote:MisterB, once again I appreciate your efforts. Thank you for looking around for your OS/2 files. Your backup disk sounds like gold.

I ordered the Warp 4 box yesterday. As always, I have way too many projects on hand but this one has been a long time in coming. The first time I heard of OS/2 was in second grade ('92) and, not knowing what it was at that moment, figured it to be some sort of mythical magical alternative OS. I'm quite excited to finally use it.

In the mean time, a faster drive and another 256MiB stick of RAM is in order for my 600X. I don't want to presume, but once I get Warp 4 installed and running might it be possible to copy your backup disk?
I just looked and the free Fixpacks are still on the IBM server.

ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/ps/products/os2/fixes/

The Odin Project is still online too.

http://trac.netlabs.org/odin32

http://odin.netlabs.org/en/site/index.xml

This page has some useful stuff too.

http://www.altsan.org/os2/index.html

OS2 inspired a lot of devotion. I'm not surprised there is so much for it still out there.

Send me a PM anyway. I have Fixpack 17 and some stuff like Acrobat reader for OS/2 in my archives.
I've got a T580, 2 W500s, a W520, an X201T, an X220T, an 3 X61Ts, a 15" T60, a 14" T60P, a 15" UXGA T60P, a 15" T42p a W701, and my first Thinkpad, a 770X.

startac
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Re: 4 or 4.52?

#10 Post by startac » Thu May 28, 2015 6:55 pm

Wow! Those are fantastic links, MisterB. Thank you very much. I am pleased to see that IBM still hosts the free Fixpacks. It is a bit overwhelming at first but a great relief not to have to hunt for the software.

startac
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Location: Massachusetts

Re: 4 or 4.52?

#11 Post by startac » Mon Jun 01, 2015 3:52 pm

Warp 4 arrived promptly in its still-shrink wrapped box. I almost don't want to open it...almost.

My 600X has the original drive installed with Win2k. I'd like to put in a 7200RPM 40-80GB drive. I have been reading about hard drive size and OS/2 limitations but am still not entirely clear on a consensus between the various FixPacks. It would appear that smaller (less than 2GB) partitions are favorable and I assume OS/2 will allow me to format and partition the new HD during installation?

I had a frustrating time installing and configuring LinuxMint on my X220. I am hoping that OS/2 is easier.

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Re: 4 or 4.52?

#12 Post by MisterB » Tue Jun 02, 2015 8:01 am

OS2 doesn't take up much space at all. My installations are well under 1gb. A stock 6-12gb disk for a 600X will be more than enough.
I've got a T580, 2 W500s, a W520, an X201T, an X220T, an 3 X61Ts, a 15" T60, a 14" T60P, a 15" UXGA T60P, a 15" T42p a W701, and my first Thinkpad, a 770X.

startac
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Location: Massachusetts

Re: 4 or 4.52?

#13 Post by startac » Tue Jun 02, 2015 11:28 pm

That's a great size. Sounds like the original drive will stay.

I have been reading the Warp 4 manual- very interesting and nicely written. I liked its description of the different levels of installation.

Speaking of installation, I didn't realize it requires floppies. I have to track down the external FDD drive. Hopefully I'll be Warping away soon.

startac
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Re: 4 or 4.52?

#14 Post by startac » Fri Jun 12, 2015 7:53 pm

I am presently stuck in my Warp 4 installation from the original floppies/CD. Initially it couldn't find a mouse and canceled installation. Going through the process a second time worked and we got to the FDISK prompt.

My 600X has Win2k installed and FDSISK said it could only find a 63MB partition, not enough for an install. FDISK did identify the NTFS file system. Is it because of that newer format that Warp cannot format C and install itself over Windows?

When FDISK gave me a menu of actions, none were selectable. I suppose I was expecting a formatting utility like with 68k Macs. Windows will not let me make a partition. My intent is to have OS/2 as the sole OS for this ThinkPad.

I could use some help as I am stumped so far.

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Re: 4 or 4.52?

#15 Post by MisterB » Sat Jun 13, 2015 4:12 pm

Try installing it to an empty hard drive. That is generally what I do to create multiboot disks. Once you have a booting system, you clone it onto the disk you want it on. On those old systems, I used Partition Magic and Drive Image. Partition magic 3.0 supported OS2 directly and you could make an OS2 boot manager partition with it. Later versions dropped the OS2 support.
I've got a T580, 2 W500s, a W520, an X201T, an X220T, an 3 X61Ts, a 15" T60, a 14" T60P, a 15" UXGA T60P, a 15" T42p a W701, and my first Thinkpad, a 770X.

startac
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Location: Massachusetts

Re: 4 or 4.52?

#16 Post by startac » Sat Jun 13, 2015 11:55 pm

Thank you for your advice. An empty drive sounds like a good idea. The more I think about it the more I wouldn't mind a Win2k partition just to have. I have never cloned a drive before. This will be a fun project.

Good to know about Partition Magic, with native OS/2 support no less. That's great. Well, it looks like it will be a few more days before I finally get OS/2 up and running. I was so disappointed a few nights ago to find that it would not install.

This will give me the opportunity to put in a 7200RPM drive. The TravelStar in my 600 is so amazingly quiet I don't want to change it, but I would not mind a speed boost.

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