1. at25.zip Driver
2. NEXTINST.TXT File Contents

NEXTINST.TXT Driver File Contents (at25.zip)

This text file consists of notes and tips for installing
and configuring NeXTStep 3.3 for Intel processors and a
display driver for NeXTStep.

The optimal system configuration is at least 16M RAM and 250M
disk space.  If you have a SCSI CDROM and HD with an Adaptec 
154x controller that's perfect.  NeXT has rather limited device 
support, so make sure that what you have will work.  You also 
want to make sure your mouse is plugged in before you start 
installation.  I'm pretty sure that NeXTStep requires a SCSI
CDROM.  If you have problems accessing either the CDROM or
the hard drive try different device id's for them, or try
putting them on different controller cards (if possible).

NeXTStep has its own cheesy Boot Manager-like program, and
it of course writes over the boot sector.  If you are going
to have multiple operating systems on the hard disk you
might want to save the boot sector before installing NS and
restore it afterwards.  If you're going to have OS/2 on
the disk you should use OS/2's fdisk to create all of the
partitions.  A suggested partition setup for DOS, OS/2,
and NeXTStep is to have the DOS, OS/2 Boot Manager, and
NeXTStep partitions as primary, and OS/2 on a secondary
partition.  Then, install DOS, NeXTStep, and OS/2 in that
order.  This _should_ work, but I haven't done it, so I
can't guarantee your results.

Installation is relatively painless.  The first several prompts 
are obvious.  Then, it asks you what controller you CD-ROM is 
attached to and what controller your hard disk is attached to.  
The only gotcha I've found so far is that if your hard disk is 
a >504MB IDE drive you have to use the enhanced-IDE driver, 
NOT the regular IDE driver.  Type "7" for more, and then "7" 
for more again, and it should be the first one.  It's 
self-descriptive, anyway.

Once you get past the initial setup and reboot, you have to go
through some configuration.  The first thing I always do is go
to the mouse setup and slow it down a lot.  Then, configure the
display and any other adapters you might have that NeXTStep
recognizes.  Then you get to decide what to install.  By default
everything is installed, but some of it is of dubious interest.
I turn off the languages, Webster, Emacs, and TeX.  Then click
Install and go have lunch.

When you come back from lunch installation will be finished, so
reboot the machine.  The NeXTStep environment comes up.  Time
for a little configuration.  Double-click on the calender icon on
the toolbar - this is the preferences applet, and there are a
few things that need to be changed.

On the systems I've installed on the clock gets totally
messed up.  Click on the clock icon and fix the system time
and date.  Do the date first: click on your timezone in the
little map of the world and then select the appropriate name
from the drop-down list directly above.  Then fix the
month, year, etc.

Next, click on the padlock and create a password for the "me"
account.  Henceforth, whenever you boot you'll be prompted
for a userid/password.  Don't forget it.

Now, quit the Preferences applet and log out.  Then, log back in 
as root, and open the Preferences again.  You might want to give 
root a password.  Then, use the scrollbar to scroll the options 
until you see UNIX with a ribbon beside it.  Click it and then 
select "Unix expert" under Filesystem Options.

Installing and Testing a Display Driver
---------------------------------------
NeXTStep display drivers are installed as a package, and usually
distributed in compressed form.  The following instructions assume
the driver is on a regular DOS (FAT filesystem) diskette and is
called DRIVER.GZ.

First, make sure you're logged in as root.  Then, from the Workspace
menu select Disk|Check for Disks with the floppy containing the
driver to be installed in the drive.  Open the floppy by double-
clicking on its icon.  DRIVER.GZ should be listed in the display.

Click on DRIVER.GZ to display its icon, and drag the icon to the
"shelf" (the top part of the File Viewer).  Reopen the system
hard disk, and click the /tmp directory.  Then drag the DRIVER.GZ
icon to the /tmp directory icon.

Go to /NextApps and open the terminal program.  This will bring
up a shell.  From the shell prompt type:

  cd /tmp
  mv driver.gz driver.compressed

Then, go back to the File Viewer, select the /tmp directory, and
double-click driver.compressed.  A dialog box will show up.
Click Decompress to decompress the file.  You will get a .pkg
as a result.  Double-click this file to bring up the Installer.
Install the driver.

Run the Configure app (in /NextAdmin).  (At this point I suggest
you also copy it to the icon bar.)  Type Left-Alt+Shift+/ to
bring up help, and scroll down.  There should be a listing for
the driver.  Click on it and make sure it looks okay.

Close the help window, and then click the display icon (the monitor)
in Configure's "Summary of Devices" window.  Click Remove to remove
the current driver.  Click Add.  On a PCI system, the "Show Drivers
for Detected Devices" button will be selected and the device will
show up in the list.  Double click it or click Add or press enter
to configure it.  On a VLB machine you will have to scroll through
the list to find it.

You should never change the port address, and you shouldn't have to
change Mapped Memory address either.

Click "Select" to bring up the list of video modes, and make sure
that everything is there that's supposed to be.  This is where you
select a video mode.

Save everything and exit the Configure app.  Then reboot the machine.
There are a couple of ways to do this.  Fastest and nastiest is
Right Alt+NumLock, then select r.  This is about the only way to
reboot when the screen comes up wacko and you can't see what you're
doing.  A better way is to Logout of the Workspace Manager and
select the shutdown option.  A third way is to run /etc/reboot.

Testing the driver is simplicity.  At the login screen, move the
cursor to all four sides and corners to make sure the display
size is what NeXTStep thinks it is.  Also look for obvious trash.
Once you've logged in, grab the File Viewer window and move it
around the screen, looking for dropped pixels and other garbage.
Then go to the Configure app and pick a new resolution.  Pretty
simple, huh.

Tom Wheeler
tomw@intelligraphics.com
(No NeXTmail please)