Re: What era of computers do you draw the line at collecting and/or using?

Posted on 2022-10-17, 20:02

by

by Ensign Nemo

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

For me, a lot of it comes down to how well modern hardware can reproduce the experience. Systems like the C64 can be emulated very well, but it doesn't seem the same without the old hardware. Running DOSbox doesn't feel the same as running an old DOS machine. I also have a crt that I can easily hook …

---

Re: What can I do with an HP t620?

Posted on 2022-10-17, 19:52

by

by Ensign Nemo

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Kodi might also be an option. I assume that you could stream 1080p from this. I really like the midi idea above too. When you Google "what to do with an old computer", you tend to get the same answers, but emulating an MT-32 is something that never comes up.

---

Re: Commander X16 of The 8-Bit Guy, can it be considered as the most nonsense neo-retro computer of all times?

Posted on 2022-10-15, 08:28

by

by Ensign Nemo

in Milliways

in Milliways

Please get me right, I'm not trying to discourage those who are involved in the project or to dissuade anyone from buying it. But I have a question, does such a machine make any sense at all? And the more important question, what kind of neo-retro machine, 8-bit or 16-bit, would actually make sense …

---

Re: Cheap IDE hard drives on Ebay - Worth trying?

Posted on 2022-10-13, 23:05

by

by Ensign Nemo

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Interesting stuff. I never knew that SMART hacking was a thing. I might be better off just going with CF or an SD card.

---

Re: Cheap IDE hard drives on Ebay - Worth trying?

Posted on 2022-10-13, 02:21

by

by Ensign Nemo

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

If the budget is that tight, why replace perfectly working drives? Solid state storage might cost an extra 10 or 15 bucks but you get a ton of value from it in terms of speed, decibels and heat. Worth it The laptops contain the original drives as far as I know. One of them is a Hitachi Windows 95 …

---

Cheap IDE hard drives on Ebay - Worth trying?

Posted on 2022-10-13, 01:43

by

by Ensign Nemo

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Hi everyone, I have a couple of old laptops with IDE hard drives that I would backup to other storage. It seems like a lot of people recommend using Compact Flash or a CF to SD card adapter. However, I've noticed that there are some cheap IDE drives on Ebay that would cost me less than going with …

---

Re: Best laptops for retro gaming?

Posted on 2022-10-11, 00:03

by

by Ensign Nemo

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

BTW, the reason for laptops and not a nice desktop is space limitations... :( so no other choice currently. If size is a limitation, thin clients are also an option. They aren't perfect, but you can often find them for a lot less than the more popular retro laptops. Phil's computer lab has covered …

---

Re: Best LCD for Windows 98 gaming?

Posted on 2022-10-09, 05:14

by

by Ensign Nemo

in Marvin \ Video

in Marvin \ Video

Would you be fine with a widescreen monitor with a 4:3 mode? The early 4:3 LCDs typically had poor refresh rates, but you would have more options with newer widescreen monitors. This thread may be of interest: Widescreen monitors and 4:3 aspect ratio compatibility thread

---

Re: Backing up a laptop without USB or Ethernet - Any cheaper options than pcmcia card?

Posted on 2022-09-24, 20:26

by

by Ensign Nemo

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I just picked up an older Toshiba Tecra A3 for $20. It should have an IDE HDD, so I should be able to back up the Hitachi drive with clonezilla. Now I'll just need to find a solution for transferring files. I'll be keeping an eye out for pcmcia cards that are a reasonable price. I'll probably pick …

---

Re: Backing up a laptop without USB or Ethernet - Any cheaper options than pcmcia card?

Posted on 2022-09-23, 16:56

by

by Ensign Nemo

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

BTW - thanks for the suggestions. I appreciate all the feedback. Nice introduction to the community.

---

Re: Backing up a laptop without USB or Ethernet - Any cheaper options than pcmcia card?

Posted on 2022-09-23, 16:56

by

by Ensign Nemo

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

A pcmcia compactflash adapter will still be cheaper than yyzkevin's last experiment. Other neat ideas: -making a serial null modem cable out of dupont cables -using minimodem to transfer data via the speaker http://www.whence.com/minimodem/ Amazon has serial null modem cables for $8, so I wouldn't …

---

Re: Backing up a laptop without USB or Ethernet - Any cheaper options than pcmcia card?

Posted on 2022-09-23, 16:48

by

by Ensign Nemo

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

You wont find laplink cables anywhere as their usage peaked 25 years ago :) What you will find absolutely everywhere with a printer is old LPT cable. It takes 30 minutes for absolute amateur to rewire Printer cable to laplink with a basic soldering iron. You could even go as crazy as splicing …

---

Re: Backing up a laptop without USB or Ethernet - Any cheaper options than pcmcia card?

Posted on 2022-09-22, 18:30

by

by Ensign Nemo

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Windows 95 has a built-in file transfer program that can use parallel LapLink cables. It's called 'Direct Cable Connection'. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YHyrsVihry8 https://techgenix.com/wxpdcc9i/ Alternatively, it might be possible to transfer data via serial connection. Nullmodem or IrDa, for …

---

Re: Backing up a laptop without USB or Ethernet - Any cheaper options than pcmcia card?

Posted on 2022-09-21, 18:44

by

by Ensign Nemo

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Also, if you don't mind sharing that info, where in Canada are you ? I'm in the greater Montreal area and might be able send you (for free) a spare PCMCIA to CF adapter (if I can find it) and shipping is low enough. Thanks for the offer. I'm in Alberta. I wouldn't expect to be given anything for …

---

Re: Backing up a laptop without USB or Ethernet - Any cheaper options than pcmcia card?

Posted on 2022-09-21, 17:14

by

by Ensign Nemo

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

> (Hitachi M120D) Pentium 120MHz 16MB something. There is one on ebay and judging by the pictures passive matrix screen. I plan on taking some pictures and posting a description of the machine in the future. I couldn't find anything on this laptop on the web when researching it. I only found a …

---

Re: Backing up a laptop without USB or Ethernet - Any cheaper options than pcmcia card?

Posted on 2022-09-21, 17:11

by

by Ensign Nemo

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

PCMCIA to Compact Flash adapter is an option as well. Keep in mind that anything you buy for this could come in handy for future projects as well, so you don't have to think of it as sinking $ into one cheap laptop. That's how I convince myself to keep buying shit anyway. I tell myself the same …

---

Re: Backing up a laptop without USB or Ethernet - Any cheaper options than pcmcia card?

Posted on 2022-09-21, 07:58

by

by Ensign Nemo

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Get one of these: https://www.ebay.com/itm/ORiNOCO-GOLD-PC-Card-Wireless-LAN-T2-Extended-Proxim-World-128RC4-Laptop-PCMCIA-/115517825773?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0 Free shipping to the states, hopefully to Canada also. Unfortunately, it's $20 to ship …

---

Re: Backing up a laptop without USB or Ethernet - Any cheaper options than pcmcia card?

Posted on 2022-09-21, 04:20

by

by Ensign Nemo

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Sphere478 wrote on 2022-09-21, 03:06: Oh, yeah. I can confirm that there are issues with really small drives and those adapters Modern computer plus ide add in card? Oh, I didn't realize that you could add IDE to a modern computer. I'll have to look into that.

---

Re: Backing up a laptop without USB or Ethernet - Any cheaper options than pcmcia card?

Posted on 2022-09-21, 04:19

by

by Ensign Nemo

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

If it was me, I'd go the network route assuming you can get a PCMCIA card with DOS ODI or NDIS drivers. Boot the the machine from a floppy disk and image the hard disk to a network drive. Once you're done backing up the machine, the network card is still handy for getting stuff on and off the …

---

Re: Backing up a laptop without USB or Ethernet - Any cheaper options than pcmcia card?

Posted on 2022-09-21, 02:52

by

by Ensign Nemo

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Hi. I may have jumped the gun a bit by assuming that an IDE adapter in a modern computer wouldn't work. I got that impression after reading posts like this one: https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?t=74345 One person mentioned having problems using these adapters with older drives: IDE USB bridges/ …

---