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Warp4 Installation Problems

OS/2 on ThinkPads
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startac
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Warp4 Installation Problems

#1 Post by startac » Sun Jun 28, 2015 4:37 pm

I am having a terrible time trying to install Warp4. I have made eight attempts and they have all failed in different ways.

Several attempts were made to install on the original drive with Win2k. FDISK claimed no space available and did not give me the ability to select any of its options. Error after error without install.log notes.

Now I have a new drive installed without any formatting. After several failed install attempts because OS/2 was upset about the system mouse, I have made it one step further and two back.

FDISK in advanced mode only saw 816MB out of 40GB. Once again, it did not let me select any commands. I exited FDISK and it gave me a prompt to install FAT or HPFS. I selected HPFS, CD drive started spinning again, I think we're making progress, and then nothing.

The screen changed to OS/2 Command Interpreter 4 with:

[D:OS2image\disk_3]

displayed, but did not proceed. After typing in what few DOS commands I know, the screen went red and INSTALL.LOG said:

.......Response file interface is not being used. Fullpack installation. Greater than 100MB primary partition exists. Formatting fixed disk

Format Error

An error occurred when System Installation tried to.....it cut off the rest without the ability to scroll down.

My patience quickly being expended since each new installation attempt takes so long with the 3 floppy process and occasional mouse error. Win98/2k run perfectly on this machine. 600X, max RAM, 40GB HD, no POST errors.

I would be most appreciative for any help. I have been looking forward to using OS/2 for a while now but these installation problems are not encouraging.

startac
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Re: Warp4 Installation Problems

#2 Post by startac » Sun Jun 28, 2015 5:50 pm

Update:

While FDISK will only let me delete partitions, not make them (or do anything else), I went through the motions and seemed to format the drive (at least the install program said so.)

I got a new screen, turquoise and white, that stated the partition was complete. Insert the Installation diskette and press Enter to restart.

Well, I did that and now we are on a floppy loop. It asks for the floppy sequence again and then returns me to the initial installation window. Around and around we go.

When it reboots, I am prompted that there isn't enough space to install the OS. So once again we go into FDISK where it only sees two partitions: 175MB and just over 2GB, which it lists as unformatted. And again, the menu items for the partitions do nothing (save for the ability to delete the unformatted partition). When I exit, it says that there are no startable partitions, yet it won't let me select that option.

Again these mouse errors keep coming up. There are no attached mice, keyboards, or anything else other than the IBM floppy drive.

Unfortunately, I do not have another OS/2 compatible ThinkPad to further test on. The other strange this is that during each of these loops, the text of some prompts had too many spaces between them or left letters out of words.

My Warp4 set is NOS, arriving in a box still shrink wrapped. Could one of the floppies be corrupted?

MisterB
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Re: Warp4 Installation Problems

#3 Post by MisterB » Sun Jun 28, 2015 8:04 pm

It sounds like the Warp 4 driver can't see your disk correctly. Typical disk sizes at the time it came out were around 4-8gb and the LBA of a 40gb disk has too many bits. I'm sure this is was updated at some fixpack level but the original installation disk might not support LBA 48. Try a smaller disk. You could also try downloading Virtual PC 2007 which is free and setting up a virtual machine with OS/2 to test your media.

Older OSes don't support newer disks. This is not just an OS/2 problem, it would be the same if you tried to install an old version of Windows without an updated hard disk driver.
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: Warp4 Installation Problems

#4 Post by startac » Sun Jun 28, 2015 10:43 pm

Hi MisterB. Thank you for your reply.

It could be a LBA problem (certainly ran into that with some Macs). What FDISK sees and reports is very similar to the problems I had with the original 6GB drive. Likewise, I tried to install it onto a compatible and slightly older Toshiba Tecra and encountered exactly the same problems. Might that suggest floppy corruption? The CD-ROM looks perfect.

So far the same problems have persisted on small disks and larger ones. Virtual PC 2007, that in an interesting idea. My Win7 X61 doesn't have a CD or floppy drive. Seems like road blocks at every turn to find a quick solution to this problem.

What were your installation experiences like? Did it work the first time?

RealBlackStuff
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Re: Warp4 Installation Problems

#5 Post by RealBlackStuff » Mon Jun 29, 2015 6:51 am

Why don't you try and make a copy of that floppy #3, using e.g. a "modern" USB-floppy drive?
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startac
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Re: Warp4 Installation Problems

#6 Post by startac » Mon Jun 29, 2015 9:49 am

RealBlackStuff wrote:Why don't you try and make a copy of that floppy #3, using e.g. a "modern" USB-floppy drive?
To get to this point I have had to find, buy, and wait for quite a few odds and ends. I suppose I am getting tired of needing "just one more thing" to get OS/2 installed. Then again, that is par for the course when dealing with "vintage" computing.

I'll look for a USB floppy. By copying disk #3, I am assuming you mean the one titled, "Installation Diskette"? It also occurred to me that I should pop it into Windows and do a disk check.

I did a general web search and found someone else with Warp3 who was stuck in this installation loop. Sadly their post had no reply. My 600X ran Win2k before, might a BIOS setting be amiss?

RealBlackStuff
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Re: Warp4 Installation Problems

#7 Post by RealBlackStuff » Mon Jun 29, 2015 10:20 am

Nowadays desktops and laptops don't have any floppy drives, so USB is the only option.
Before making a copy of your #3, you should test its integrity.

I gave up on OS/2 (then Warp 3) in the mid-90s, and have never seen it since!
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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startac
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Location: Massachusetts

Re: Warp4 Installation Problems

#8 Post by startac » Mon Jun 29, 2015 9:53 pm

What made you give up on OS/2?

When Apple stopped using floppies in '97, I was sad since I've always like the cheap, venerable, and iconic media. I was also not impressed by USB mass storage in MacOS 8.5.

Back to OS/2: I have a Win2k machine with floppy. I will see what it says about floppy #3.

RealBlackStuff
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Re: Warp4 Installation Problems

#9 Post by RealBlackStuff » Tue Jun 30, 2015 5:45 am

In those days I was a contractor, programming on IBM and Unisys mainframes.
None of my [then] employers (all Swiss banks) used OS/2, they were either using Windows or had terminals.
That, and the fact that it was not easy to install OS/2 on non-IBM-brand PCs led me to abandoning OS/2.

Gregory-eCS
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Re: Warp4 Installation Problems

#10 Post by Gregory-eCS » Tue Jul 21, 2015 7:49 am

Hi Startac,

I was reading your post and I would like to suggest using eComStation if you keep having problems with the installation of OS/2. i need to say here though that I work for eComStation and that I am slighty biased in that regard. The issue concerning the maximum size of the drive is resolved in eCS. The product itself is based on OS/2 Warp 4.52 and the installer in eComStation makes it easy to install and run.

Another option already mentioned is to run OS/2 virtually.

If you need more info, you can contact us through our website.

Cheers

BigWarpGuy
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Contact:

OS/2 World Forum

#11 Post by BigWarpGuy » Thu Jul 23, 2015 8:47 pm

http://www.os2world.com/forum
Here is a great place to get information and help on OS/2 and eComStation.
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