Re: Unexpected cpu cache result.

Posted on 2018-11-04, 19:22

by

by realoldguy23

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Thanks, gerwin. Didn't know that. I only had a 486DX2/66 at the time, which doesn't have this pin, but the DX4s from Intel and AMD have it. Anyway, the pin only switches between 2 times and 3 times clock multiplying on them (not 4 times as stated above). This time, I'm sure since I googled first and …

---

Re: Unexpected cpu cache result.

Posted on 2018-11-01, 11:09

by

by realoldguy23

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I didn't know you could even change multiplier. I thought dx4 are locked 3x and dx2 chips are locked 2x I doubt that there are regular 486 CPUs where the clock multiplier can be changed. AFAIK the 486 doesn't have pins to set the multiplier like the Pentiums have. And setting the multiplier by …

---

Re: Digital DOS games (GOG, Steam...) Retro PC Compatibility Sheet: We need your input!

Posted on 2018-10-31, 06:09

by

by realoldguy23

in DOS

in DOS

You're right. Just compared this. The PC speaker tunes sounded better in my memory than in reality. 😀

---

Re: 286 motherboard does not boot anymore

Posted on 2018-10-22, 10:39

by

by realoldguy23

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

But you should get a PLCC tool, remove the chips, and clean the contacts and the pins thoroughly. I actually have such tool, but I wasn't able to remove the CPU with it. The prongs do not seem to fit the notches in the CPU socket. But I'll give it another try when I'm home. I had the same problem, …

---

Re: Weird graphical issues... is my hardware going bad?

Posted on 2018-10-22, 10:33

by

by realoldguy23

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

The system did sometimes boot and freeze suddenly while using it, sometimes it froze during execution of config.sys, sometimes during autoexec.bat. I first switched off BIOS options (i.e. PCI peer concurrency, RAM speed, PIO mode, etc.) one after another, then I swapped components like sound card …

---

Re: Weird graphical issues... is my hardware going bad?

Posted on 2018-10-22, 09:13

by

by realoldguy23

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Just this weekend I had similar issues and after long research I could track it down to a bad IDE cable.

---

Re: 286 motherboard does not boot anymore

Posted on 2018-10-22, 05:25

by

by realoldguy23

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Its possible to use electrolytic capacitors instead, right? Yes, that should be no problem here. I have to agree with Quicknick, your board is really "dirty". There is a high probability that especially the 3 big PLCC sockets give bad contacs to their chips. Some time ago I refurbished a Amiga 500 …

---

Re: Digital DOS games (GOG, Steam...) Retro PC Compatibility Sheet: We need your input!

Posted on 2018-10-19, 15:11

by

by realoldguy23

in DOS

in DOS

bjwil1991 wrote: Source: https://youtu.be/5fw58T6bUag?t=735 Just listend to it, are you (or is he) sure this is the Tandy sound? It sounds exactly like the PC Speaker to my ears.

---

Re: Digital DOS games (GOG, Steam...) Retro PC Compatibility Sheet: We need your input!

Posted on 2018-10-19, 13:31

by

by realoldguy23

in DOS

in DOS

GOG.com purchases: Space Quest I-III (works and I have them set for multiple sound card usage - PC Speaker, Tandy 3-voice, Adlib, MT-32) I thought SQ I and II only support PC Speaker? I have also the GoG versions (aside from the pirated versions that I got nearly 30 years ago) and I didn't find how …

---

Re: SetMul - Multiplier control for VIA C3 / AMD K6 Mobile / Cyrix 5x86

Posted on 2018-10-16, 16:15

by

by realoldguy23

in Release Announcements

in Release Announcements

First a big Thank You for this cool utility! I have an issue on my Pentium Pro build: setmul_ppro_gpf_s.jpg It is the same if I have loaded EMM386 or if I don't load any driver (F5 at DOS startup). What could I do? Disabling and re-enabling L1 cache works. Is it correct that it always disables ( …

---

Re: Video Card from Hell

Posted on 2018-10-12, 15:38

by

by realoldguy23

in Marvin \ Video

in Marvin \ Video

bjwil1991 wrote: My laptop from 2012 when I bought it brand new for college is going slower than normal 6 years old, not 2 years as stated above. I mean things fail and die eventually. This was true in the 80's and 90's already I guess.

---

Re: Video Card from Hell

Posted on 2018-10-12, 13:58

by

by realoldguy23

in Marvin \ Video

in Marvin \ Video

Never ever buy anything second hand, that have been produced after 2010. Unless we are talking industrial grade stuff. Consumer products have for the last 10 years, been build to last those two years. My current PC that I got around 2012-2013 is only off when I sleep (mostly). The cheap budget MSI …

---

Re: Multi-I/O ISA Card - What Do I Need to Know

Posted on 2018-10-12, 09:35

by

by realoldguy23

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

konc wrote: MFM for a 386? 😳 Not era correct, but I concur with the "lol" part! Not sure this is entirely correct. My first PC in 1991 had a 20MB MFM HD. It was a 286, but 386 were pretty common at this time already and 486 were starting to be available although at insane prices.

---

Re: Is This 40mm CPU Fan Good Enough

Posted on 2018-10-11, 17:47

by

by realoldguy23

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

A P200MMX has a TDP of around 14W. This is really not a lot. If the ventilation in the case is good it could also work without any fan. I would be more worried that this little fan would be quite noisy.

---

Re: RTC Battery Hack Cut Wires Help

Posted on 2018-10-11, 12:55

by

by realoldguy23

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Really happy to make an old machine work again. And we learned something, too! 😀

---

Re: Adventures in OS/2

Posted on 2018-10-11, 12:01

by

by realoldguy23

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

And did you contact your Service Representative? What did he say? 😉 SCNR But seriously, OS/2 should still have quite big fan base. They surely have forums like this where they could help you.

---

Re: SB PCI128 or SB AudioPCI ESS1371 - Which is better?

Posted on 2018-10-11, 11:56

by

by realoldguy23

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

Makes me think that the ES1370 (SBPCI128) is the better choice in the end. My gaming history ended before the 90's ended. All games I'm interested in are pre-DVD era. Funny though that both boards are from 98. Besides the fact that Creative produced and sold both cards at the same time (why did they …

---

Re: RTC Battery Hack Cut Wires Help

Posted on 2018-10-11, 11:37

by

by realoldguy23

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I think if you remove pin 21 from your new RTC you can be sure that the it is not cleared automatically anymore. Does your multimeter have a continuity tester? Check if there is continuity between the RTC socket's pin 21 and GND on the RTC socket's pin 12. You can also use the resistance measurement …

---

Re: RTC Battery Hack Cut Wires Help

Posted on 2018-10-11, 10:34

by

by realoldguy23

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Yes, good idea. If this jumper would be set it would behave exactly like that. And the funny thing is the /RCLR pin is the pin 21 on the RTC chip, so just adjacent to the pin 20 for VBAT. You should check with a multimeter if pin 21 on the IC socket on the board is somehow shorted to GND. Shorting …

---

Re: RTC Battery Hack Cut Wires Help

Posted on 2018-10-11, 08:38

by

by realoldguy23

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

No, I meant that the solder joints where you soldered the wires for the battery on the chip case itself might shorten to the case because the chip is so close to the edge of the board. I think the board itself might be good. It doesn't look damaged at all. To make sure I fully understand, if you …

---