I had been struggling to get a working mass storage device in my Tandy 2500 XL/2 computer. The factory supplied 52MB "SmartDrive" IDE hard drive developed the typical "sticky" head arm problem found in all the old Quantum drives from 1989 and earlier (the stoppers are rubber; the rubber degrades and …

If anyone comes looking for the same issues I described in my post above... I solved it. I needed: This small ISA ROM card: https://monotech.fwscart.com/DoubleROM_-_IDE_Size_Limit_Remover_-_Dual_Bootable_ROM_ISA_Card/p6083514_19995208.aspx This ROM card sidesteps the Tandy 2500 XL/2's BIOS' IDE …

Did you ever solve this?

Did you ever solve this? I have a Tandy 1000 TL/2 with an internal 8-bit XT hard drive that I want to replace with CF. I'm already experiencing massive difficulties trying to get IDE->CF working in a Tandy 2500 XL/2. The IDE->CF adapters and several cards worked on a much newer PC, so the problem is …

Success!!! Thanks so much for all the help and encouragement. I can now play Wing Commander with my MT-32 via the Music Quest PC MIDI Card. I got past the pre-intro, fireworks (where it usually crashed), through the intro, went to the two screens on the Tiger's Claw (kind of a small ship, no?), a …

You can use one of these parts that are stocked at digikey: AT27C512R-70PU or AT27C512R-45PU they are basically a 27C512 device but they are OTP: meaning you can only be programmed once and that's it (they come blank so just write to them, trying to erase or write more than once will make these …

I have a bunch of 28-pin EPROMs in my box of pulled chips, from old motherboards and such, but I don't have an eraser. The UV erasers on Amazon look to all be the same cheap crap (and I'm already about to spend $50 on the programmer). I also cannot find the Winbond EEPROMs on Digikey. I guess I …

keropi wrote on 2021-01-18, 06:34: None of the cheap programmers have any serious docs or support ... I can recommend you the TL866 series programmers , they are affordable and easy to use. Select the proper chip, load your data and press program. They are perfect for retro-systems users. Thanks …

Do you have any recommendations on EEPROM programmers? The reviews for the one I linked above are kinda scary... I am utterly new at this specific area of computer tech, so lacking documentation and support is a bad thing in a product.

keropi wrote on 2021-01-17, 06:32: Check your pm dysamoria, I already sent you the fw files yesterday 😉 Thanks so much! Also thanks for the advice on the EEPROMs to choose! Very much appreciated! 😀

EDIT: Huh. Maybe not expensive. Would this work? https://www.amazon.com/Aceirmc-TL866II-Universal-MiniPro-Programmer/dp/B082D5NQ2P/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=usb+eeprom+programmer&qid=1610758258&sr=8-1 That should work great, I just bought one of these myself. I had no prior knowledge of this …

"Just"... ha ha... :-D I don't have an EEPROM writer or the ROM image. do you have access to one? a friend maybe? or nothing at all so the only solution is to get a programmer and some eproms? I don't have access to one. I have never needed one of my own and I assume they cost a lot(?). I would …

[...] Luckily, my card's firmware chip is already in a socket (let me know if you want a picture). What would be the best way to get the working firmware? Welcome aboard! Since your card already has a ROM socket upgrading it is very easy, just burn a new 27C64 (or 27C128/256/512) with the 010 …

Hello; this is my first post here... I resurrected my Tandy 1000 TL/2 and 2500 XL/2 recently. Had to temporarily install the 3.5" FDD from my Akai S6000 into the 2500 XL/2, and I suspect either the power supply or the hard drive are dying (hard drive doesn't spin up right away, but the power doesn't …