I'd like to connect my old Amstrad PC1640 to the network, for easier file transfers. An 8-bit Etherlink II would be my first choice, but they are rare and expensive. Are there any modern options, like a serial or LPT adapter for Ethernet TP-cable/RJ45, that also works in DOS? Would like to avoid …

I bought an old 486! A Compaq Presario 425. 486 sx 25 Mhz, 12 MB ram, 107 MB hard drive, 0.5MB video ram :) It boots OK, all the hardware looks to be working. I've cleaned it up. Now, it's time to get files in and out of it. My initial plan of using an IDE-USB adapter to read the IDE-drive from my …

computerguy08 wrote on 2020-04-15, 15:36: How modern is your computer? It's a B450 motherboard, so more recent than x58. Good to know that somewhat recent motherboards (with x58 or earlier chipsets) has IDE-support, though 😀

How can I read IDE drives of sizes 540MB and below on a modern computer? I tried an USB-adapter, but it only supports LBA, not the older CHS style drives. Some old drives may also lack auto detect, I read. Some internal adapters also lack the ability to read CHS drives, I read. The drive I'm working …

What is the manufacture and model of your motherboard This is a Compaq Presario 425 mother board. If you disable the original chip somehow then you can use any chip in the overdrive socket. It doesn't have to be overdrive model. Nice! There are jumpers to disable the on-board CPU, for when using …

My 486 motherboard has a non-removable 486 sx-25 chip, and an empty overdrive socket (socket 1). The best choice would be to get hold of an overdrive CPU, and insert it into the empty, waiting socket. To save money I would like to use a 486 DX2-66 CPU available to me for the upgrade. The motherboard …

Oh, I took "new" to mean manufactured recently, but it is marketing speak for "old, but never used" 😀 This explains why the manufacturer doesn't have a web presence! +1 to authenticity for my build then, on the plus side.

An addition: There's an 8-bit ISA adlib clone on ebay, manufactured by "Sun, Moon, Star", described as "VINTAGE NEW ADLIB 8 BIT ISA SOUND CARD WITH SPEAKER OUT AND VOLUME CONTROL". I bought it and it looks ok. Source: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-NEW-ADLIB-8-BIT-ISA-SOUND-CARD-WITH-SPEAKER-OUT …

Thanks! I found that MS-DOS 3.2 and Dos plus 1.x, which the PC1640 installation media contains, supports drives up to 32MB . Later versions support larger drives/partitions, up to 2GB, with FreeDos having a theoretical limit of 2TB (!). I learned that the original CHS addressing (on IBM PC) is using …

The harddrive in my old PC1640 needs replacement, and I'm not sure which CF cards will work with the CompactFlash adapter for XT-IDE I bought. My guess is that large cards , above 32MB and UDMA-enabled cards will not work. New/long-life cards within those specs may be hard to find or expensive. …