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This is a reconstruction of original Radius support documentation. All links on this page are now defunct. For more information, refer to the document Vintage Radius Documents.

Common Questions & Answers for DOS on Mac PDS Cards

General

What systems does the DOS on Mac Card for PDS currently support?
Power Macintosh 7100 and 8100.

Can I copy and paste between the Macintosh and the PC?
Yes, whatever is in one clipboard is translated to the other clipboard when you hot-key between platforms.

How fast is the DOS on Mac Card compared to my Macintosh?
These are 2 different platforms so a direct comparison is difficult. Macintosh is based on the Motorola 680X0 or PowerPC 60X processor while the DOS on Mac Card is based on 80486 and 5x86 processors.

How fast is the DOS on Mac Card compared to the same processor and video subsystem configuration on a stand-alone PC?
Approximately 10% slower due to the shared SCSI hard drive.

Can I be connected to my Mac and PC network at the same time?
Yes, with the dual TCP/IP extensions available through the optional DOS on Mac Network Pac users can have two simultaneous IP connections, one on the Mac side and one on the PC side.

Can I see both my Macintosh screen and my PC screen on one monitor at the same time (Window in a Window)?
No, you have two choices:
1. You can hot-key between the Mac session and the PC session.
2. You can have two monitors -- one will be dedicated to the Mac while the other is dedicated to the PC.

Can I still use the DOS on Mac Card if I have purchased a PowerPC upgrade card from Apple or Daystar?
Since both the PowerPC card and the DOS on Mac Card need to be installed in the PDS slot, only one can be used at a time.

Can I use a hardware key that goes on my PC parallel port with the DOS on Mac Card?
An optional parallel port is available to support all parallel port devices including hardware keys only on DOS on Mac Cards for Power Macintosh 7100 and 8100 computers. For the Quadra, Centris and Power Mac 6100 systems, the DOS on Mac Card only maps the PC parallel port through the Macintosh serial port thus no hardware keys are supported.

How do I partition my hard drive between the DOS/Windows and Macintosh environment?
We do not partition the hard drive. During the install you are asked how much of your remaining Mac hard drive you would like to allocate to a folder for the PC side. The install program then does it all for you.

How do you compare with Insignia Solutions SoftWindows?
On the platforms that we currently support, we are over ten times faster. This means that an operation that takes 15 seconds with the DOS on Mac Card takes over 3 minutes with SoftWindows. Plus, we offer true dual-processing -- two processors running independently as compared to software emulation running two operating systems on only one processor.

How do you compare with Orange Micro cards?
Orange Micro cards use the Nubus slot while the DOS on Mac Cards plug into the PDS (Processor Direct Slot) making our cards significantly faster.

Can I share the memory on my Macintosh system with the DOS on Mac Card for the Power Mac systems?
Yes, you can share up to half of the Mac memory available after boot. However, the memory will be approximately fifteen to twenty percent slower than dedicated memory, and the memory is not usable to the Mac side until the PC side is turned off and the Mac is rebooted.

Why does my system lock up under DOS when it gets to the HIMEM line?
Make sure your CONFIG.SYS file has the following line:
C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS/TESTMEM:OFF

Why doesn't Windows 95 see the ports when I have the serial/parallel option?
In the Windows 95 Control Panel, go to ADD NEW HARDWARE. Check "NO" (do not have Windows scan the system). From the list, select COM/LPT port. Use the standard port type and all of the defaults. Repeat this procedure twice - once for LPT2 and another for COM3.

Can I get 32-bit drivers for the CD-ROM, hard drive or floppy for Windows 95?
No, they are not available at this time.

Why won't my PC screen come up?
Ensure the video cable has been installed correctly.

What do I do when I get a "NON SYSTEM DISK OR DISK ERROR" message when switching over to the PC side?
Put the MS DOS Installer Disk or Windows 95 boot disk in your drive and press any key.

What do I do when I get a "INCORRECT OPERATING SYSTEM" message when switching over to the PC side?
Put the MS DOS Installer Disk or Windows 95 boot disk in your drive and press CTRL+OPTION+DEL.

How do I load Windows 95 when it locks up on disk #2?
You have the compressed floppy version of Windows 95 and must get use the uncompressed floppy version or the CD-ROM version, both available from Microsoft.

Drives, CD-ROM

Can I use my Mac CD-ROM with my DOS/Windows CDs?
Yes.

Does the DOS on Mac Card support third-party CD-ROM drives?
Yes.

Can I add another drive?
Yes, you can add any SCSI storage device and allocate it as a PC drive.

How do I get my CD-ROM working under Windows 95; it worked under Windows 3.1, but doesn't after I upgraded?
Edit your Autoexec.bat file and change the line that says
C:\DOS\MSCDEX to
C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\MSCDEX

Why do I always get an error trying to read the disk in my CD-ROM even though I get an E:> prompt?
Make sure that you have FORMATION CD in your extensions folder and that Apple CD is out of the extensions folder.

Can I use my Zip drive with the DOS on Mac Card?
You can use the Zip drive as a hard drive, but you cannot use it as a Zip drive.

The system will not read my floppy disk?
It takes up to ten seconds before the disk is recognized, and you must insert the disk from the side you want to read it (Mac or PC).

Printers, Modems

Can I print on my Apple printer?
Yes, locally or across the network.

Can I print using a PC printer?
Yes, either across a Novell Network or with the optional parallel/serial adapter port available for the DOS on Mac Cards for Power Macintosh 7100 and 8100 computers.

Can I print in color to my Apple printer?
No.

Can I print in color to my PC printer?
Yes, either through the PC network or with the optional parallel/serial adapter available for the DOS on Mac Card for Power Macintosh 7100 and 8100 computers.

Does the DOS on Mac Card support Apple modems?
Yes, except in the Centris 610.

Why isn't my printer working?
In Mac PC Setup, make sure you have your printer set up as LPT1 (be sure COM1 or COM2 is not set to printer). On the PC side, make sure that you have a print driver selected (we recommend Apple Laser Writer II NT and Epson LQ2500).

Can I share a modem?
Yes, but only one side can have access at a time.

Operating Systems, Software Applications

Does the DOS on Mac Card for PDS support Windows 95?
Yes.

Does the DOS on Mac Card for PDS support Windows NT?
No, Windows NT is not supported as an operating system or a server, but you can connect as a client with the optional DOS on Mac Network Pac software.

Does the DOS on Mac Card for PDS support OS/2 Warp?
No.

Can I run UNIX?
No.

Can I run DOS and Windows multimedia applications on my Macintosh?
Yes, our PDS Cards offer a 100% SoundBlaster-compatible option to support all DOS and Windows games and applications.

Does the DOS on Mac Card support all DOS/Windows applications?
Yes, it will run any DOS/Windows application that you can run on an IBM-compatible PC.

Can I run AutoCAD Release 13?
Yes.

Can I run client/server applications like PeopleSoft Human Resources package?
Yes, we support all client/server applications under Novell NetWare and TCP/IP.