Probably the best IBM PC retro computing blog. Please keep it going strong! 😎

Digital OPL2 and OPL3 Recording
^^ this info is really helpful thank u

i would love for someone to make a simple chart that shows the obscured chip/cores/emulated or real? etc like for example in this blog post u mention that the awe32 has a YMF262 core..
this simple info needs to be posted somewhere a little louder + more obvious.. these things are way more confusing then it has to be - if someone could make a chart of all the cards + show which chip they have
this would be of real value to people like myself

im trying to document what i can on my site http://www.oldschooldaw.com in my computer expansion cards section http://www.oldschooldaw.com/forums/index.php?board=113.0 but i dont have that much time to dedicate to this. and more importantly. im not sure because i dont own 99% of these items

Hey Great Hierophant, fun fact linking the emulation scene and your post re: Godzilla 2000:
http://gfpoken.bigw.org/g2k/
😁

Stiletto wrote:

Hey Great Hierophant, fun fact linking the emulation scene and your post re: Godzilla 2000:
http://gfpoken.bigw.org/g2k/
😁

It looks like someone was using their computers for pleasure rather than work. Today Godzilla Raids my blog Again! However, if that does not appeal, then perhaps some of these recent blog posts may :

Analog Controllers in Consoles and Computers
http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/2015/12/a … nsoles-and.html

In this one I talk about analog controllers across computers and consoles and their similarities to PC joysticks.

Displaying DOSBox Screenshots on Real Hardware
http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/2016/01/d … ts-on-real.html

It can be done if you have the right software, this blog entry tells you how to do it.

Milestones in the IBM PC Compatible Software Renaissance
http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/2016/01/m … compatible.html

A love letter to some of my favorite 8088-based PC programs of the past twelve years.

Tandy Color Computer Mice - A Viable Alternative for Tandy 1000s without a Serial Port?
http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/2016/01/t … ice-viable.html

An investigation important for owners of Tandy computers without a serial or PS/2 port.

Great as always, Great Hierophant.

I really like the motherboard you chose for your 486 DOS Gaming Machine. I found one bundled with a Tsenglabs ET4000 and pretty much everything except the case, so I snapped it up.

Mine has the Award BIOS with a few extra settings. I wasn't sure about Write Back/Thru and System Shadow. I have the 486DX2-S/66. Do my settings look optimal to you? Thanks

simbin wrote:

I really like the motherboard you chose for your 486 DOS Gaming Machine. I found one bundled with a Tsenglabs ET4000 and pretty much everything except the case, so I snapped it up.

Mine has the Award BIOS with a few extra settings. I wasn't sure about Write Back/Thru and System Shadow. I have the 486DX2-S/66. Do my settings look optimal to you? Thanks

My BIOS revision does not have the Gate A20 Emulation, System Shadow or Gate A20 options. I would suggest putting System Shadow to Cacheable. I would also suggest changing the Boot Sequence to C,A unless you have some reason to boot off a floppy drive.

Great Hierophant wrote:

simbin wrote:

I really like the motherboard you chose for your 486 DOS Gaming Machine. I found one bundled with a Tsenglabs ET4000 and pretty much everything except the case, so I snapped it up.

Mine has the Award BIOS with a few extra settings. I wasn't sure about Write Back/Thru and System Shadow. I have the 486DX2-S/66. Do my settings look optimal to you? Thanks

My BIOS revision does not have the Gate A20 Emulation, System Shadow or Gate A20 options. I would suggest putting System Shadow to Cacheable. I would also suggest changing the Boot Sequence to C,A unless you have some reason to boot off a floppy drive.

I started getting this error:

1ERROR: HIMEM.SYS has detected unreliable XMS memory at address XXXX:XXXXh. XMS driver not installed.

I reverted to stock and the problem went away - coincidence? I've since put everything back (like in the photos) except both options are set to Write Thru.

Is Write Back/Thru determined by Cache, RAM or CPU and how do you know what is compatible? I was thinking CPU after reading your post but I'm still not sure.

I'll set the other options you recommended - Thanks

Internal Cache is always determined by the CPU. Write Thru is the older type of cache, Write Back is newer and generally not supported by CPUs running at 66MHz or less. (There is a rare Intel 486DX2/66 with Write Back).

I am not sure whether External Cache is determined by the CPU or the motherboard, but I suspect it is controlled by the CPU and if the CPU only supports internal Write Thru cache, there will be no performance benefit from setting it to Write Back. Unfortunately, I do have a Write Thru Intel 486 DX2/66 and I cannot enable my external cache. If I do my system will freeze trying to load DOS. I have tried upgrading the cache settings to no avail.

Are you loading HIMEM.SYS with /TESTMEM:OFF? That may bypass that issue.

Great Hierophant wrote:

Internal Cache is always determined by the CPU. Write Thru is the older type of cache, Write Back is newer and generally not supported by CPUs running at 66MHz or less. (There is a rare Intel 486DX2/66 with Write Back).

I am not sure whether External Cache is determined by the CPU or the motherboard, but I suspect it is controlled by the CPU and if the CPU only supports internal Write Thru cache, there will be no performance benefit from setting it to Write Back. Unfortunately, I do have a Write Thru Intel 486 DX2/66 and I cannot enable my external cache. If I do my system will freeze trying to load DOS. I have tried upgrading the cache settings to no avail.

Are you loading HIMEM.SYS with /TESTMEM:OFF? That may bypass that issue.

I added the /TESTMEM:OFF parameter but I'm still having random stability issues. Weird stuff like my audio card making loud ear piercing noises - must power cycle to fix. Garbled video in some games (not froze) can still exit if you know the keys. I'm not sure if it's my settings or some faulting hardware. Going to revert back to stock for the day and see if those issues clear up before I start swapping hardware.

UPDATE: I think I traced the problem to a flaky AWE64 card I pulled from a retro build I did back in 2012. I seem to remember having some issues with that card back then as well. I'll be using external sound via the Roland UM-ONE once my MIDI cable arrives from China. So hopefully everything will get sorted soon. Thanks again for your help.

Many months, many more PC-related articles published, and more to come :

Memories of Ultima Online

http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/2016/07/m … ima-online.html

A rather bittersweet reminiscence of my personal experiences with MMORPGs.

DRAM Addressing Capacity

http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/2016/06/d … g-capacity.html

Another brief discursion into the confusing ways we talk about Dynamic RAM.

Working with ST-506 Interface MFM Hard Drives

http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/2016/05/w … e-mfm-hard.html

Restating some badly needed info for the old iron.

IBM's CGA Hardware Explained

http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/2016/05/i … -explained.html

A bit of an intellectual exercise

Metro ED500 DataVac - A Verse Review

http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/2016/05/a … rse-review.html

I decided to try something other than prose this time, and everyone here can use a duster.

Early PC Game Miscellaneous Notablility

http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/2016/04/e … otablility.html

Take notice, Big Blue released some really good PC games, and Sierra released some really obscure ports

Quick Look - Outrun PC Versions

http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/2016/04/q … c-versions.html

I was bored one day and had discovered, at long last, the version of Outrun with the "other" voice.

Winnie the Pooh Tandy/PCjr. Graphics Recolorization

http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/2016/04/w … lorization.html

When I found this game, I was happy until I figured out the artist was color-blind

A Brief History of PC Plug and Play

http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/2016/04/a … g-and-play.html

A few observations on the evolution of Plug and Play

The Amstrad PC-1512 : The Affordable PC for Europe

http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/2016/04/t … ble-pc-for.html

An overview of this extremely important PC from the UK

Electronic Recycle Bin Rescue Super Socket 7 System

http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/2016/03/e … scue-super.html

How I acquired, identified and got my first SS7 system working

Keep up the good work GH! I've been noticing your blog entries popping up in some of my nerdier google searches 😎

Nerdly Pleasures is by Great Hierophant? Wow never knew that.
A lot of my research and knowledge came from there and it is great that all this information is gathered in one place.
Thank you Great Hierophant.