I tested and repaired the following I got during my thrift store adventures:

Yamaha PSS-460 <-- found the missing plastic pieces associated with the Note B key that was loose and wouldn't stay in and was higher than the rest, super glued the pieces in the right spots, put the key back in, reassembled the keyboard, and viola. The key works and I thought it was dust. NOW it's 100% functional once again. Worth it.

Tri-pod for my video camera <-- screwed in the surface mount to my video camera, and I tested to see if it'll swivel around (up, down, left, and right) and it works 100%. Totally worth the $2.99

Apple Pro Keyboard <-- Hooked it up to my iMac G3/600 to use as the correct keyboard, and every key is working. I'm even using my iMac to type this up right now. It has 2 USB ports, one of them is occupied by my scrolling optical mouse, and the other one would be for a USB light so that I can type at night without using a lamp or a light above me. Totally worth the $3.95

The Adventures of Wallace and Gromit <-- Plays back beautifully and the quality is superb.

kixs wrote:

In process of moving to a house I made a temporary HQ for my retro stuff in an unfinished part of the house. Used some old furniture that was left by the previous owner and finally I could empty the boxes that housed most of my boxed stuff - from hardware to software/games. Most were put in the storage when I bought them as I didn't have the space in my apartment corner. It looks nice to see everything out in the open 😁 I'll upload some photos tomorrow.

I moved like 20% of my stuff and already the space is running tight - OK, there is lots more space in the attic 😉

First I'll do the inventory and then moved what I don't need to the attic.

To continue... I took this photo in the morning. Later I brought more stuff in boxes - now there is around 35% of my stash moved to this "temp" room.

The furniture is all from previous owner (except the table, I made it myself around 2006 when I lived in a rented apartment - it all OK 10 years later)- the whole house is quite retro, from the middle of the 80s... but I don't like this 🤣 Retro computers are cool, house styling is not 🤣

Also left behind is this 27" CRT TV by Philips:

Haven't tested it yet but I hope it works fine. Will use it for Atari/Sega Mega Drive/PS2... via TV or SCART in.

Here're the items I got a couple of days ago. Forgot to upload photos on here on what I got. Dummy me.

The famous scores were the Apple Pro Keyboard (been trying to find one for days) and the Yamaha PSS-460*. The Tri-Pod and VHS tape were interesting and caught my eye since I needed a Tri-Pod for my video camera (also used my mom's digital camera to see if it'll mount, and it does), and The Incredible Adventures of Wallace and Gromit I had on DVD got scratched up badly, and I have 2 VCRs in my house, so it's a win-win for me.

*David, aka The 8-Bit Guy (formally The iBookGuy), did a video about this type of keyboard in a video entitled Meet the little-known "SoundBlaster" Keyboards. He also has another channel called 8-Bit Keys about obsolete 80's keyboards and sound equipment, like the Roland MT-32, reviews, repairs, and fun facts about said equipment (original price, release date or year, type of polyphony or monophony (more than one note, or only 1 note at a time) the keyboard or equipment has, and features). His videos are inspiring.

***NOTE:*** Here're means here are (abbreviated, and I thought it wasn't a real word, and boy was I wrong. You learn something new everyday.)

voodoo5_6k wrote:

liqmat wrote:

Last BIOS update for the D815EEA: […]
Show full quote

voodoo5_6k wrote:

I can have look through my old files if you want. Do have a BIOS package with the flashing tool? Then there should be something in the readme.txt.

Last BIOS update for the D815EEA:

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/348 … -?product=81554

and this splash tool:

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/18071

I had a look at the splash tool and it seems to be the one I had used. I don't remember the image resolution restriction (I'll have a closer look into my archive later), but after the processing through the splash tool you have to end up with a file that has a size of 4224 bytes or below, like stated somewhere in the readme. This file can then be added to the board using the flash utility (there is a specific option in that utility, something like modify user space or user area or whatever). Anything bigger didn't work on the D815EEA2. I'd assume that the D815EEA behaves the same. Later boards supported larger file sizes.

I found some more information I had saved to a text file in case Intel removes the website at some point in time...

This worked without any issues for the D815EEA2 (take notice of the last note here or what I wrote before regarding the file size limitation). Should be OK for the D815EEA too. Hope this helps!

Custom Splash Screens Logos for Intel® Desktop Boards

This document describes the steps for inserting a custom logo or splash screen into the BIOS for Intel® Desktop Boards based on the Intel® 845 Chipset.

Create the logo file

Create the original image using the following:

• 1. Scan in a company logo.
  2. Create the image using a graphics software such as PhotoShop* or Paint*.
  3. Import an image from a digital camera.

Note

• 1. A maximum of 478 (rows) x 638 (columns) pixels work best.
  2. Images can be too complex and exceed the maximum file size. Try to use a simple graphic.
  3. The completed image must be saved as a 16-color bitmap (for example: MYLOGO.BMP).

Download the splash utility

• 1. Download BIOS Graphics Splash Screen and Logo Processing Utility (SPLASH07.EXE) and save it in a working directory like C:\SPLASH.
  2. Extract SPLASH07.EXE and then extract SW.EXE. You should now have the file needed: SPLASH.EXE.

Create the .USR file

• 1. Copy the image file you created into the same directory as SPLASH.EXE. (In this example, we'll use the file name MYLOGO.BMP.)
  2. Go to the command prompt and navigate to the directory containing SPLASH.EXE and the image file.
  3. Run the following command line to create the .USR file: (The switches, /__, are case sensitive):
  • SPLASH /s12 /lsp /jc /bg /FuMYLOGO.USR MYLOGO.BMP
  4. For more information on available command line switches, read the SPLASH07_Readme.TXT

Flash the logo file into BIOS

Prepare IFlash floppy disk

• 1. Download the IFlash BIOS utility for your desktop board to a working directory and double-click the file name to extract the update files.
  2. Double-click SW.EXE to extract additional update files into the working directory.
  Note
  • Depending on board model, SW.EXE may not be present; if this is so, skip this step.
  3. Double-click the file RUN.BAT to create the BIOS update disk. Follow all onscreen directions.
  4. Copy IFLASH.EXE from the working directory to the disk.
  5. Copy the image file you previously created to the disk (in this example: MYLOGO.USR).
  6. On the floppy disk, rename the AUTOEXEC.BAT to AUTOEXEC.BAK.

Update the BIOS

• 1. Insert the disk into the floppy drive and turn on the computer. Press Enter until the A:\ prompt appears.
  2. Type IFLASH and press Enter.
  3. Choose Update flash memory area from a file.
  4. Choose Update User data area.
  5. Press the down arrow to select the MYLOGO.USR file.
  6. Press Enter twice to begin the flash update. Do not interrupt the flash update process.
  7. When the update is complete, remove the floppy diskette and restart the computer.

Note

• Quiet Boot must be enabled in BIOS to view the new logo. Rapid Boot might need to be disabled to see it for any length of time.

Troubleshooting

IFlash update reports error when attempting to change logo
The following errors occur when trying to install a 4 KB .USR file into a BIOS that requires a 12 KB file:

• - (H31): Logical area size does not match BIOS.
  - (H01): The flash data image read from disk was found to be not valid.
  - Error: Flash update was unsuccessful.

Intel® Desktop Boards require the .USR file for custom logos to be compiled to a 12 KB size before the IFlash utility can update the user data area with the new splash screen.

To make sure the file is compiled to 12 KB, the Splash Screen utility command line must include the /s12 switch, as in this example:

• SPLASH /lsp /jc /bg /s12 /FuMYLOGO.USR /display MYLOGO.BMP

Note

• Older Intel® Desktop Boards (not listed below) can require a .USR file size of 4 KB. The default file size for the Splash screen utility is 4 KB, so by omitting the /s12 command line switch or changing it to reflect /s4, a 4 KB .USR file is generated.

Wow! Thanks for all the info. As soon as I get the board I'll give this a go.

Any chance you know how to dump the BIOS splash screen of an HP Pavilion 7270 from 1996? Believe it is an AMI BIOS.

Preparing to put together the 486 computer in my signature, pulled out all the parts from the boxes they were stored in. I'm wondering if the motherboard will actually detect and use an 8.2GB IDE HDD correctly. I may have to set it to 2.1GB with the jumper. regardless, ordered an IDE to Compact Flash adapter for the expansion slot and a 256MB Compact Flash from AliExpress, just in case.

I'm also kind of bummed about my choices for a VGA, I can only do 16bit ISA at best, and the only 16bit ISA VGA I have is a 512K Trident TVGA9000B. I am hoping to play some DOOM on this PC, but I'm afraid this will be too cheap. Options on eBay are extremely overpriced, I wonder where I can find a reasonably priced ET3000/4000 ISA in Europe 🙁

oeuvre wrote:

Any chance you know how to dump the BIOS splash screen of an HP Pavilion 7270 from 1996? Believe it is an AMI BIOS.

Sorry, no. I never had any HP motherboards. Maybe a tool like cbrom works, like "cbrom bios.bin /logo extract Logo.bmp". But you'll have to first inspect the BIOS to see what files are actually in there and what format they have. Intel for example has a tool to convert the *.bmp to *.usr which is than flashed into the user area of the BIOS. Unless you reverse-engineer that tool there is presumably not very much you could do with the dumped file since there is no way to get it back to *.bmp. And who knows what proprietary format HP uses (or has used back then) and how those are supposed to be flashed into the BIOS.

Maybe you can find a copy of that image or something comparable online? I did this whole endeavor because my D815EEA2 already had a custom splash screen when I bought it (which I didn't like at all). I would have loved to get the original splash screen back but I haven't found anything online and so there was no way to get it other than buy another D815EEA2 and hope it still has the original one. Since the motherboard I have works perfectly I did the next best thing and created the 3dfx splash screen for it.

The PSU of my 5x86 died yesterday 🙁

It's a full AT case, not a mini tower so the PSU is differently shaped than usual. It's time to buy some fresh caps ! (I needed some for a while anyways) ... as well as a new fan because the old one made a lot of noise (not due to it's age, but just because back then they didn't care of it I guess). I'm also going to clean the inside of that PSU because the bottom part is ... rusty ! That computer was probably left in a room with a lot of moisture for years because in fact the whole computer is rusty. The components weren't damaged by this (the PSU worked fine for something like 10 month. Actually two days ago the computer was still working fine). of course I tried to unplug everything and see if it started but it only made a whining sound and the fan didn't spin so this is definitely that PSU having a problem.

I'm also going to need new wires for the power button because when I removed the PSU I discovered that there was tape on the wires near the button ... and when I removed it, I saw that the wires were damaged. I don't want to leave it that way so I'm going to replace them ^^

voodoo5_6k wrote:

oeuvre wrote:

Any chance you know how to dump the BIOS splash screen of an HP Pavilion 7270 from 1996? Believe it is an AMI BIOS.

Sorry, no. I never had any HP motherboards. Maybe a tool like cbrom works, like "cbrom bios.bin /logo extract Logo.bmp". But you'll have to first inspect the BIOS to see what files are actually in there and what format they have. Intel for example has a tool to convert the *.bmp to *.usr which is than flashed into the user area of the BIOS. Unless you reverse-engineer that tool there is presumably not very much you could do with the dumped file since there is no way to get it back to *.bmp. And who knows what proprietary format HP uses (or has used back then) and how those are supposed to be flashed into the BIOS.

Maybe you can find a copy of that image or something comparable online? I did this whole endeavor because my D815EEA2 already had a custom splash screen when I bought it (which I didn't like at all). I would have loved to get the original splash screen back but I haven't found anything online and so there was no way to get it other than buy another D815EEA2 and hope it still has the original one. Since the motherboard I have works perfectly I did the next best thing and created the 3dfx splash screen for it.

Sounds like more trouble than its worth. Thank you

I became annoyed today. I am repairing a Packard Bell Legend 610 (20mhz 486)
After I got it and repaired the hdd and cleaned it thorougly it worked like a charm at first.
Since the start of last week it started to get bigger and bigger startup problems where the psu goes on and stops after half a second again. First you needed 2-3 tries to get it started and now after more then a week later it doesn't even start anymore after 20 tries 😠
I suspect that the 6 big caps in the machine need replacement but I need to build the pcb out to check what kind of caps it are and what ratings they have so I can order new ones.

So again alot of delay in restoring it back to perfect health...

Got my Intel D815EEA board in today. For $20 I am very pleased. The board looks almost brand new. Fits the Gateway TBR2 450 case perfectly. My 98SE project continues.

Those Gateway towers are quite flexible. If you wanted you could even build a modern gaming PC in the case.

Yeah, I had one as my main computer way back when, it went through several hardware iterations. The only major problem with them is most of them don't use a standard-sized ATX power supply, and have no way to mount one.

Finished installing all 1998 games I'm interested in on my PIII machine. Tomorrow night I will install the 1999 games. It will then become my GoTo retro PC I believe 😀 I so love this build.

I will likely make a photoshoot post of it in System Specs soon.

Well im putting together a matx ECS Pentium D system for a coworker. He asked if I could throw something together from spare parts for $10 and I think the results are ok!
Specs
Mobo: ecs 945gzt-m
Ram: Patriot DDR2 533mhz 1gbx2
CPU: Pentium D 820 2.8ghz
GPU: Nvidia Quadro FX 370
OS: Windows 10 HE
Intel 320 40gb SSD
All he is going to be doing on it are school assignments and so far from messing around with it it actually seems fairly snappy.

2GB and Windows 10 snappy? Colour me surprised.

appiah4 wrote:

2GB and Windows 10 snappy? Colour me surprised.

I think the SSD helps. Swapping will be a bit faster. Still, if there were any RAM slots available I would try and upgrade it with 2GB more.

Cyrix200+ wrote:

appiah4 wrote:

2GB and Windows 10 snappy? Colour me surprised.

I think the SSD helps. Swapping will be a bit faster. Still, if there were any RAM slots available I would try and upgrade it with 2GB more.

Ya the SSD is the only saving grace. Naturally it's 32bit 10 since this is a really crappy intel 945 chipset board. The pcie slot is only a x16 slot running at x4. It only has 2 ram slots and at least from the different sticks of ram i have and from what the ecs site says it will only take 1gb sticks. Honestly it feels just about the same as 7 32bit on 2gb of ram. Not amazing, but not terrible.

ODwilly wrote:

Cyrix200+ wrote:

appiah4 wrote:

2GB and Windows 10 snappy? Colour me surprised.

I think the SSD helps. Swapping will be a bit faster. Still, if there were any RAM slots available I would try and upgrade it with 2GB more.

Ya the SSD is the only saving grace. Naturally it's 32bit 10 since this is a really crappy intel 945 chipset board. The pcie slot is only a x16 slot running at x4. It only has 2 ram slots and at least from the different sticks of ram i have and from what the ecs site says it will only take 1gb sticks. Honestly it feels just about the same as 7 32bit on 2gb of ram. Not amazing, but not terrible.

Bullshit, it will take 2x2GB (but only register 3.25GB)

ECS says this about all there 9xx chipset boards. I ran 2x2GB in a 945GCT (an INFERIOR board) fine. If that's the eMachines variant of the board you can flash it to the normal versions bios without issues