Re: "I'm ready for my close-up now" said Ol' Bessie.

Posted on 2018-08-03, 18:07

by

by Vaudane

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

The memory: 20180803_001444r.jpg On top of the whopping 1 MB on board, we have this additional board - a Kingston KTC-1000s which supplies an additional 1 MB RAM and if documentation on the internet is anything to go by, it never existed at all. The pins are for additional memory modules (of which I …

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"I'm ready for my close-up now" said Ol' Bessie.

Posted on 2018-08-03, 17:57

by

by Vaudane

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

Some of you may have seen my introduction thread over in General, but now I've had a chance to strip down Bessie and actually get to grips with what's going on. So, for those of you who haven't met, this is Bessie. 20180803_000855r.jpg It's got the classic keyboard, which unlike every other keyboard …

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Re: Meet Ol' Bessie

Posted on 2018-08-03, 17:33

by

by Vaudane

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Thank you :) ... cant bring myself to upgrade it much as all the hardware has its own story now. Yeah I know what you mean, I've been trying to repair the floppy drive in it for a while, It keeps reading disks that aren't there and I've no idea what else to do. Reluctant to throw it away though as …

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Re: Compaq 386s Deskpro SCSI

Posted on 2018-08-03, 16:08

by

by Vaudane

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Above is correct, You cant boot from a soundcard, I doubt the scsi controller even has the necessary to detect HDD's. Some HDD's have inbuilt termination say set by a jumper, others will require something physical on the cable. Finding out the HDD model and a quick google will tell you. Really in …

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Re: Need help with graphical artifacts

Posted on 2018-08-03, 13:23

by

by Vaudane

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Need a bit more information - what is the computer? It looks like the system is trying to call both the simple (text) display adaptor, as well as the VGA at the same time. Does your BIOS have switches or is it entirely software - if it has switches, give then a few clicks to make sure they haven't …

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Re: Compaq SLT386 Laptop - Memory Error 205

Posted on 2018-08-03, 11:53

by

by Vaudane

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Did you try reseating it? The lack of errors combined with the no-show of the memory to the system says to me Hardware error rather than software. I remember I thought my last PC was dead and I was gonna cannibalise it for parts until and old house mate decided she wanted to play on it and when it …

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Re: Hello, World! :D - Robert B's PC builds - oogle away freely :)

Posted on 2018-08-03, 11:45

by

by Vaudane

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

*frantically takes notes about your restore so as to apply to my 386* Looking good 😀 Looks like you could get some authentic unreal tournament on the go here. *hint hint lanparty* *hint hint other retrogamers* *hint hint lots of photographs*

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Re: DS12887 drop-in replacement

Posted on 2018-08-03, 11:35

by

by Vaudane

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I've ordered some PCBs from China. Sadly as I'm UK based, I can't get the shiny purple-ness of OSH Park without silly import costs. On the flipside, minimum order was 5 ($2 for 5 boards. $6 for import :lol:) if there's anyone else in the UK/EU that wants one of these, I'll make sure to order the …

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Re: Compaq SLT386 Laptop - Memory Error 205

Posted on 2018-08-02, 15:40

by

by Vaudane

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Is the ram removable or soldered on? It could have worked its way loose and just need reseated? If you're reseating, try cleaning the contacts with some isopropyl alcohol and a lint-free cloth. WD-40 CONTACT CLEANER *emphasises the contact cleaner part of the statement* is also good as it's …

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Re: Compaq 386s Deskpro SCSI

Posted on 2018-08-02, 15:29

by

by Vaudane

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

So would that mean if I got the CT1770, I wouldn't also need the Adaptec AHA-1542CF?

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Re: Looking for the Chaintech 5TDM2 M101 BIOS to troubleshoot my board

Posted on 2018-08-02, 15:21

by

by Vaudane

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

https://drivers.softpedia.com/get/BIOS/Chaint … TDM2-Bios.shtml

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Game Versions

Posted on 2018-08-02, 13:49

by

by Vaudane

in DOS

in DOS

So, I'm the sort of nerd that likes to know what version of what game I'm running :cool: . I know for example commander keen 4 comes in 4 flaviours, v1.0, v1.1, v1.2, and v1.4; and there's a handy wiki page to keep me informed of this http://www.shikadi.net/keenwiki/Keen_4_Versions. With old games, …

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Re: DS12887 drop-in replacement

Posted on 2018-08-02, 11:25

by

by Vaudane

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Honestly these look so much better than Frankensteining an old RTC chip, and it bothers me having a dead battery attached to any electronics, regardless of how hermetically sealed it thinks it is. Good job :) And thank you for uploading the gerbers. I think I'll give PCB train a shout and give this …

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Re: Compaq 386s Deskpro SCSI

Posted on 2018-08-02, 11:14

by

by Vaudane

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Both ends must be terminated. Depending on the device, this is either done by a jumper or by resistor packs. Also, one device on the bus (and only *one*) should provide termination power. Note that you have to take care when using both internal and external devices. The SCSI controller must not be …

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Re: Configuring a Turbo Button and LED Display

Posted on 2018-08-02, 11:10

by

by Vaudane

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I could be wrong here, but it looks like the LCD is missing a controller on that little board, so there is no way to hook that directly up to the motherboard. My guess would be that was a daughter board for the controller-board that the lead attached to.

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Re: Compaq 386s Deskpro SCSI

Posted on 2018-07-31, 17:30

by

by Vaudane

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I have an 386SX and an 386DX, both have SCSI HDDs, around 2GB in size. One of them have even a very similar (1540CF) adapter in it. Nothing that old "just works", but making a SCSI system run correctly is not a hard job, and resources that might help is plenty. I suggest you to go for it. Brilliant …

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Compaq 386s Deskpro SCSI

Posted on 2018-07-31, 15:43

by

by Vaudane

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

So I've seen a few threads here about SCSI on old systems. Some saying it's the dogs :exclamation:, others saying to avoid it as it adds latency. So I'm currently bringing back to life an old Compaq Deskpro 386s Rev N.5, and one big fear I have is the HDD dying as the motherboard will only recognise …

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Re: Meet Ol' Bessie

Posted on 2018-07-30, 16:43

by

by Vaudane

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Here I booted it up for the first time in years. On the upside... the 3.5" appears to be working after I cleaned up the connectors. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdAPgnCCg58

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Re: Meet Ol' Bessie

Posted on 2018-07-30, 16:00

by

by Vaudane

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

On the downside though, It doesn't boot. The memory check is fine, it initialises a: and b: correctly. But then no beep. I THINK i've narrowed it down to the Dallas RTC chip which I've ordered a replacement. If not, any suggestions? Edit: added picture.

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Meet Ol' Bessie

Posted on 2018-07-30, 15:57

by

by Vaudane

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Hello hello. I keep getting pulled back to these forums in Google searches when searching for documentation and problem-solving so I feel I should introduce myself and Bessie - so I shall give a little background. I am somewhere between 6 and 8 years old in the early 90s. I keep pestering my parents …

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