[ltp] VMware Beta Rel Candidate 3 for Linux on IBM Thinkpad 770z (comments)

[Book Man]

Hello all,

I have a stock TP770z.  I downloaded the VMware beta
and license file and was up and running within 15min. 

Took the advice of a recent post and went straight
into an install of WinNT Server v40 with IE50/Service
Pack 5.  Install went fine.  Virtual networking worked
with the DHCP option.  In general, it was smooth
sailing.  

My first problem was encountered with going into
VMware's full screen mode. Something for future
reference or anyone willing to troubleshoot:
 
- OS: RedHat Linux v6.0
- Kernel: 2.2.5-15 #1
- X-Sever: XFree86-SVGA-3.3.3.1-49 with modifications
found here -> http://www.bm-soft.com/~bm/tp770x.html 
- Lilo.conf has line -> VGA=0317 (for full screen
Linux terminal)

The last line caused the full screen distortion
problems with VMware.  When I boot up, I am asked
which video mode I want to use.  By accident, I booted
up without setting the full screen 0317 code and
Voila! I can switch between full screen and window
mode of my NT Srvr v.4 setup.  I have no problem with
that.

Next issue, I cannot get anything other than 640x480
resolution and 16 colors.  The default display adapter
is set for vga compatible.  I tried downloading the
appropriate driver from the IBM web site.  It
installed with no problems.  I rebooted and the
default VGA compatible driver returned.  I tried
detecting a video card and no luck.  Anyone else mke
any headway?


Performance:  No issues for me.  For comparison, I ran
NT Server w/ Service Pack 4 on a P133MMX w/ 96meg RAM
on a 2 gig disk.  Fast enough to do "regular"
workloads which is www graphics and HTML coding. I did
however have a 4meg Video card (Number Nine Motion 771
w/ 4meg)

I set up the NT 4 host with 64meg RAM and a 2 gig
drive.  In full screen mode the mouse lags just a
little bit IMO and I suspect that graphics
translations are the culprit, but certainly fast
enough for me to do general activities and interact
with the corporate LAN. 
Can I allocate video RAM? I did notice that NT thinks
my video card did not have enough memory to do 800x600
resolution w/ 16 colors.  I'll start looking at the
VMware config options.

I am going to max the RAM on my 770z with an
additional 128 meg chip for a total of 256meg.  I feel
performance is good enough to stay as it is if budget
were an issue.  Linux doesn't seem to suffer at all
except in the TCP/IP area.  Things get a little slow
with (2) OS's going through my 10Base-T combo card (a
MegaHertz 10+56K card).  Note to self: get 10/100+56k
card ASAP.

Verdict, VMware is a winner for me so far.  Would love
feedback on the graphics issue.  Will attempt to use
the 770z recovery disk and install Win98 as configured
when I first got my system.   Hoping SVGA graphics
work.  If all is well, my Windows partitions will be
evaporated the second I back up my files.  


Comments? Questions?  I'll try to answer.  Will
forward any results I make or hear on the video issues
for WinNT and Win98.

r/
Bookman
bookman1906@yahoo.com

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