Re: what will you do when your last hardware fails?

Posted on 2022-02-22, 01:10

by

by Plasma

in Milliways

in Milliways

A motherboard simply has more potential points of failure than a CPU. I don't think it's necessarily lower standards or quality. Besides bad capacitors and leaking batteries they usually last a long time. I have XT motherboards with all original components that still work fine.

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Re: Is there Anyone "Overpaying" for Hardware and Proud of it? Well, maybe not Proud, but...

Posted on 2022-02-21, 12:57

by

by Plasma

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Supply can certainly decrease significantly. Parts wear out that cannot be replaced (e.g. CRTs). Or collector dies, family throws out "junk."

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Re: Is there Anyone "Overpaying" for Hardware and Proud of it? Well, maybe not Proud, but...

Posted on 2022-02-21, 12:05

by

by Plasma

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

... And they will only get more expensive as the supply shrinks. Can't agree with you. Prices are function of demand, and demand is generated mostly by nostalgic people in their mid 30's - mid 50's. Youtubers like 8-bit guy, LGR and others causing demand to rise even higher. But if you'll pay …

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Re: Is there Anyone "Overpaying" for Hardware and Proud of it? Well, maybe not Proud, but...

Posted on 2022-02-21, 11:03

by

by Plasma

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Yes but things that were once mass-produced and commonplace become less common as time marches on. They break and/or get thrown out. Computer CRTs are a good example. In the early 2000s people were giving them away. Today $50 is a good deal. And they will only get more expensive as the supply …

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Re: CD-Drive / DVD -Drive won't read cds

Posted on 2022-02-19, 16:36

by

by Plasma

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Pots = Potentiometers. But if Windows can read the CD with the same drive then it's not a laser problem. Maybe an ISO9660/Joliet/UDF filesystem issue. Are these CD-R/RWs that somebody made? Or commercial discs?

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Re: Space Quest 3 "Divide overflow" on 286

Posted on 2022-02-19, 14:41

by

by Plasma

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

They may have known about it but thought the speed calculation would work universally. If they never tested on a 286/12, the bug could slip past on the first version. The second version (1.0U) was released less than a month later, maybe after customers called up and complained. This is all …

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Re: CD-Drive / DVD -Drive won't read cds

Posted on 2022-02-19, 14:27

by

by Plasma

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Many older CD-ROM drives have internal pots that be adjusted to change the laser power. If you experiment you can usually find a setting that will read all disc types.

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Re: Space Quest 3 "Divide overflow" on 286

Posted on 2022-02-19, 14:17

by

by Plasma

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

Hello all! Have you ever encountered strange bug in SQ3, error "Divide overflow" appearts in upper left corner and game hangs completely? AFAIK 286 PC is withing recommended specs for this game. This error appears when Sierra logo starts to appear on the screen after launch. There is a workaroung …

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Re: 4:3 and refresh rate on a modern 24" LCD

Posted on 2022-02-19, 00:53

by

by Plasma

in Marvin \ Video

in Marvin \ Video

Well VGA is a graphics controller not a resolution. Although it's been repurposed as such by the general public. A program using 320x200 in 256 colors may not be MCGA compatible since MCGA only has 64K. VGA can use planar memory mode ("unchained") to get 4 pages in 320x200/256 since it has 256K. …

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Re: Storing hundreds of floppies?

Posted on 2022-02-17, 18:57

by

by Plasma

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I have floppies that are 40 years old and work fine.

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Re: Storing hundreds of floppies?

Posted on 2022-02-17, 17:11

by

by Plasma

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

rasz_pl wrote on 2022-02-17, 07:15: They are perishable, nothing you can do will make them last. True but humans are also perishable. My disks just need to outlast me.

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Re: I want my cake...and eat it

Posted on 2022-02-16, 23:03

by

by Plasma

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

I use four Behringer RX1602 mixers for my old PCs and they work well. Note that most mixers spec channels or inputs as mono, so you will need double for stereo sources.

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Re: Please Identify this AT-case: need drive mounting rails for this special AT case

Posted on 2022-02-12, 10:32

by

by Plasma

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Enlight server rails might work.

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Re: Operating System not found loop problem

Posted on 2022-02-12, 07:22

by

by Plasma

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

CMOS battery died? Enter the BIOS setup and make sure your drives are configured correctly.

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Re: Repurposing Retro Hardware

Posted on 2022-02-12, 06:47

by

by Plasma

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Desktop cases pretty much disappeared after CRT monitors got replaced by LCDs. People wanted to reclaim their desk space. If you can live with a tower, Chenbro SR209 has pretty good retro-styling. Although it's only available in black now.

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Re: Help me restore my childhood... computer

Posted on 2022-02-12, 04:07

by

by Plasma

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

That is a 2133 or 2155 motherboard. 1) Regular AT power 2) Look for LPX cases. It's a "loose" standard so not all are the same though. 3) You need 72-pin Parity FPM RAM with IBM presence detect. For example Kingston KTM0130 (8 MB), KTM0160 (16 MB), or KTM0320 (32 MB) Something else to note is the …

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Re: Thinking of acquiring a pair of studio monitors - what else is required to use them as PC speakers?

Posted on 2022-02-10, 17:47

by

by Plasma

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

Depends on if they are powered or unpowered and if they have unbalanced or balanced inputs. If they are powered and they have unbalanced inputs, you can use them just like regular computer speakers. That said, studio monitors are designed for accurate sound reproduction, not entertainment. The …

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Re: Thinking of acquiring a pair of studio monitors - what else is required to use them as PC speakers?

Posted on 2022-02-10, 03:37

by

by Plasma

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

My entertainment setup is computer optical out going to a home theater receiver/amplifier, attached to 5.25" bookshelf speakers and a 10" subwoofer. But it's not very compact or cheap. What's your budget? Do you have space for a sub?

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Re: Thinking of acquiring a pair of studio monitors - what else is required to use them as PC speakers?

Posted on 2022-02-10, 03:05

by

by Plasma

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

Depends on if they are powered or unpowered and if they have unbalanced or balanced inputs. If they are powered and they have unbalanced inputs, you can use them just like regular computer speakers. That said, studio monitors are designed for accurate sound reproduction, not entertainment. The …

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Re: X10, '80s smart home tech, Radio Shack Plug'n'power etceteraaaa....

Posted on 2022-02-09, 17:24

by

by Plasma

in Milliways

in Milliways

I feel like X10 is one of those things that people bought thinking it would be cool and futuristic. But then it ended up being more trouble than it was worth. So the stuff ended up in the closet and then later the trash.

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