Also, to clarify, the missing pin is PIN 7, which is the second from the left on the middle row. Also, this is not the same pin (as far as I can tell) as pin 9 (ddc)?

It's the same with my IBM PS1/pro - I just used a hot needle to create a hole so normal cables can be used.
There is no DDC or fancy stuff with VGAs that old, 99.99% these are all the pins that are needed RGB/SYNCs/GND 🤣

Fascinating. I bent the pin on the cable flush and it works!

Now the reference disk won't boot. Checked it with a USB FDD and there are files there. What's my next move?

what's this reference disk? some boot floppy? clean the head drives if there are issues reading

cezar wrote:

Now the reference disk won't boot. Checked it with a USB FDD and there are files there. What's my next move?

If you have access to all of the original reference disk files, make sure you're using the file labeled BOOT. I remember not seeing a BOOT image on for my PS/1 Recovery CD and tried booting reference disk 1, and couldn't for the life of me get it to work simply because I was trying to boot the wrong thing. I'm assuming you already imaged the floppy with an .ima imaging program (I use Rawrite32 for my floppies).

cezar wrote:

Fascinating. I bent the pin on the cable flush and it works!

Now the reference disk won't boot. Checked it with a USB FDD and there are files there. What's my next move?

future reference, I personally use a small drill bit in my fingers to drill out the blanked hole on the ps/2.

As far as the computer goes, you should clean the floppy disk heads. then try again, if that fails the floppy drive will need to be recapped. This is 'normal' repairs for these machines. If you want to try to write your own reference disk, you can get the disk images from here: http://www.walshcomptech.com/selectpccbbs/

If you looked at the refdisk with W95 explorer or later it might be corrupted.
For some strange reason the IBM refdisks dont like the windows explorer.
The IBM floppy drives are suspect as well. They tend to give read errors due to bad caps. repair tutorial can be found in another thread. Maybe worth a wiki entry.
Allmost any info on old PS/2 can be found in comp.sys.ibm.ps2.hardware newsgroup and the personal sites of their members.

eisapc wrote:

If you looked at the refdisk with W95 explorer or later it might be corrupted.
For some strange reason the IBM refdisks dont like the windows explorer..

Windows 95 is the evildoer in this case. Windows 9x damages the boot sector of unprotected floppies.
See http://www.os2museum.com/wp/the-ihc-damage/

Thanx for the background information.
Due to the fact I faced the problem during my W95 days I never tried looking at my refdisks with any later release of windows.

I looked at the disk with a Windows 8.1 machine, if that matters.

Still can't get the floppy to work. Couple questions:

In BASIC, is there a command I can run to 'dir' the disk? Would help with diagnostics. Same question for the ESDI HDD also.

If I can't get it working, can I use a 2.88mb drive from ebay in my 55SX? I can't tell if they're compatible or not.

Also, I bought a PS/2 monitor but it's mega blurry. Without a four-paragraph safety talk, does anybody have experience adjusting focus on these old monitors?

Just nabbed a NEW IN BOX microchannel ethernet card. Had a bit of a fright when I realized that it doesn't fit my slots, but it says it supports 16 and 32 bit slots so apparently you just let the extra pins overhang the slot?? Do I lose performance as a result? Kinda odd.

Currently still awaiting a new PSU (mine crapped out this week), new Dallas clock, need to figure out how to replace the FDD, get the HDD working or replace it, and then get everything reassembled and an OS installed. Going to be a long haul. It's insane how much parts for these old PS/2s cost.

Bump, would love to see somebody answer my questions ^^

If I remember correct the 2.88 MB drive should work, if its the 26 pin ribbon cable type, but the caps are easily to replace.
As for the Ethernet card, its like with 16 bit ISA cards in XT slots, some are known to work in the short slots.
I don´t have any experience with the ROM Basic, but have a look at peters site:
http://mcamafia.de/mcapage0/hintpage.htm
Did you check the disk for bad sectors before creating the refdisk?
The refdisk utility uses some kind of rawwrite, so it does not check for bad sectors.
Just an idea, as I faced this problem last night while setting up my AP400.

cezar wrote:

In BASIC, is there a command I can run to 'dir' the disk? Would help with diagnostics. Same question for the ESDI HDD also.

Hi cezar, yes, it is the FILES command, I think. It worked for me in GW-BASIC, at least. 😀

Thanks guys. I will nab a 2.88 drive on ebay and report back.

The ethernet card says it's compatible with 16 and 32 bits so... idk guess we'll see.


By the way what is the proper way to make a dos boot disk in windows 8.1 on a USB floppy?

You're welcome! 😀

cezar wrote:

By the way what is the proper way to make a dos boot disk in windows 8.1 on a USB floppy?

Have a look at http://www.sysprobs.com/how-to-create-bootabl … n-windows-8-8-1

Alternatively, there also was the Windows 2000 way of doing it.
Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs -> Startup Disk -> Create Disk

Source: http://thestarman.narod.ru/DOS/bd98/SD1.htm

Not sure if that still -or again (?)- works in Win 8.x..
- I would have to ask my sister to answer that. ^^

cezar wrote:

I looked at the disk with a Windows 8.1 machine, if that matters.

Ikk, 8.1 *sigh* I use Winimage for these things. Floppy disk images are available everywhere. I write the disk, then once its done, I pop it out as quick as I can. Never had an issue on win7

Still can't get the floppy to work. Couple questions:

In BASIC, is there a command I can run to 'dir' the disk? Would help with diagnostics. Same question for the ESDI HDD also.

rom basic is notorious for not having many ways to access the disk. If you make a proper disk, and it still doesn't read, its the drive. Actually now that I think about it, at the bottom of the screen should be some commands. They are usually tied to the F keys. One should be 'list', or something to that effect. I'd have to find a manual to get the full syntax.

If I can't get it working, can I use a 2.88mb drive from ebay in my 55SX? I can't tell if they're compatible or not.

yes, if you know the drive is good, should be fine. The 2.88mb part might not work, but that's a different thing.

Also, I bought a PS/2 monitor but it's mega blurry. Without a four-paragraph safety talk, does anybody have experience adjusting focus on these old monitors?

Every monitor is different. I would do this. Open the monitor. Connect it to a working machine. Find an image, google "crt test card". Make sure you are outputting a proper resolution. Somewhere inside, USUALLY at the rear of the monitor, are knobs or potentiometers to adjust things. Some monitors have these knobs on the outside where you don't even need to open the monitor. If you have to open the crt, USE A PLASTIC SCREWDRIVER to adjust the pots. If you can't adjust out the fuzzies, you are likely going to need to recap the monitor. Not an easy task, but doable. There are other forums where people specialize on this specific topic. http://www.vcfed.org/forum is one.

Just nabbed a NEW IN BOX microchannel ethernet card. Had a bit of a fright when I realized that it doesn't fit my slots, but it says it supports 16 and 32 bit slots so apparently you just let the extra pins overhang the slot?? Do I lose performance as a result? Kinda odd.

Meh, its normal, even PCI does this. MOST cards should be fine with it. Please tell me you got a 3com? If not lets hope the driver disks are okay.

Currently still awaiting a new PSU (mine crapped out this week), new Dallas clock, need to figure out how to replace the FDD, get the HDD working or replace it, and then get everything reassembled and an OS installed. Going to be a long haul. It's insane how much parts for these old PS/2s cost.

oh wait until you get to wanting a sound card. Your going to wish you hadn't even started down this path.

Someone mentioned recapping floppy drives. That presumably involves dismantling them, which will knock the heads out of alignment. How you realign the heads?

Something else I just stumbled across might be helpful with the HDD:
http://www.computercraft.com/docs/55noboot.html

As for recapping the floppy drive: There is just a sheet metal cover on top and the circuit board just below.
You can desolder the caps and replace them without even turning a single screw.
At least it was this way when I did my one.
Some links on the repair procedure:
https://abitoutofplace.wordpress.com/2015/07/ … y-drive-repair/
http://asavage.dyndns.org/PS2/FD_144/FD_144_01.html

The floppy drive may well fail to work unless you have a working CMOS battery installed; these machines lose track of their drive configuration without it.