Well, I completely dismantled the sacrificial cheapo case. Drilled out all the rivets, and dremeled out the expansion card bracket and drive cage, such as it is.
The attachment 20230923_121152.jpg is no longer available
I got the CD-ROM and GOTEK mounted, and I think I'll find a way to mount the Kinter amp up top. I think when I get this put into the case, I may just sandwich it between some scrap pieces as stop blocks kitty corner to each other. I think I'll also get the dremel out again and fashion a faceplate out of one of the black aluminum side panels. Just do some cuts, and then fold back where I want the drives to poke out. Might take a few tries to get it right, but I have enough side panel to work with.
The attachment 20230923_152257.jpg is no longer available
I did finally get the PC Speaker connected without it complaining that the keyboard was locked. I think it might have been as simple as every time I leaned over the motherboard to get that little beeper plugged in, I was jiggling the keyboard loose. All 6 times I tried. Go figure.
Lastly I picked out the red oak stock I plan on using for the sides top and bottom. Maybe tomorrow I'll find time to start the milling process. It's kind of a royal pain since I don't have a jointer, only a thickness planer. So I have to hot glue everything with shims to a planing sled. Looks rough now, because it is. But oh boy is it fun to watch it clean up during the milling process.
The attachment 20230923_121216.jpg is no longer available
Oh, and I've done all sorts of wacky things with WarCraft II's crackling issues to no avail. I tried installing Command & Conquer, but it's installer keeps crashing at different points. Wondered if it might be memory instability so I backed off all my settings, to no benefit. Not sure what that's about. I have this weird gut instinct that the CD-ROM was too fast? I've tried using CDBQ to slow it down, but it doesn't seem supported.
The Quest for Glory VGA remake installed and ran just fine though. Audio sounds great as always.
I am starting to wonder if games like WarCraft II would benefit from upgrading to 16 MB of ram from 8 MB.
Win95/DOS 7.1 - P233 MMX (@2.5 x 100 FSB), Diamond Viper V330 AGP, SB16 CT2800
Win98 - K6-2+ 500, GF2 MX, SB AWE 64 CT4500, SBLive CT4780
Win98 - Pentium III 1000, GF2 GTS, SBLive CT4760
WinXP - Athlon 64 3200+, GF 7800 GS, Audigy 2 ZS