Sort of retro - a few weeks ago I posted a shot of some old software floppies that had belonged to a relative, and after a bit of discussion we agreed a deal that as they no longer have either the health nor the interest to retain any of this old material that it would be better if I took it all off their hands, which I've now done.
I wouldn't exactly call it a collection as such; more a very modest accumulation of items (hardware & software) that they've used over the last 30 years. I'll post up some pics as I sort thru it all.
There's a Compaq Portable III (with what seems to be quite close to original hardware it came with back in 87/88 here on German Shpock and Kleinanzeigen as well. Seems expensive but then again, these don't get any more common these days.
Installed a backplate on my K6-2 system, thanks to liqmat for being so generous with this part. I thought this PC would never have a backplate, but it actually does now..
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With patience, time and a great community like Vogons, anything is possible I guess!
These can be found relatively easy, as many motherboards used this I/O layout. I have two of these motherboards, Asus P/I-XP55T2P4 and Intel Advanced/ML (Marl). One valid part# for this type of I/O shield is 32140544A (just in case anybody else is looking for one...).
The Intel Performance/AU, Tyan Titan, etc. had that port layout too.
I'm new to this board and happy that I can be a member!
Today just placed an order for an AM27C400 adapter for my TL866II+ EPROM programmer and a KS ROM adapter for my Rev5 Amiga 500 boards. Yesterday, I kind of fixed an internal A500 floppy drive, but it still needs recapping and probably trace repair which I'm hoping to solve the disk change sensing issue it has.
This is probably the most tenuous link to, as well as most boring example of, "retro activity". When I build and troubleshoot my retro PCs, they get taken out from their under desk home and slide onto my desk. This chips and scratches the black coating on my cheap and nasty desk. For some reason I chose a black desk, which shows up dust and scratches as if it's its only mission in life. So, today I filled it in with permanent black pen (yes, my weekends are very exciting, thanks 😜)
Now to try to ink one of my yellow CD drive face plates black so I can use it in a black case...
In my process of turning a Pentium 4 PC into a DOS/win9x gaming machine i have found out about a lot of interesting stuff!
There is lots you can do with Windows 98SE that i was never aware of.
The OS has quite a few limitations when it comes to maximum storage and RAM, as well as issues with very fast CPUs, but all of those can be fixed.
There is something called "Unofficial Service Pack 3" for 98SE which comes with a lot of updated programs, hotfixes and major improvements for the OS!
Installing that was a breeze.
After that i installed something called "98SE2ME" which turns your 98SE installation into a Frankenstein-system that has all the stability and compatability of 98SE, but the better performance and options of Windows ME without any of ME's instability.
also... archive.org hosts lots of Images of old Windows OS-versions legally and completely free! 😲
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Now it looks much better but still some repairs to be done.
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Its labeled "3COM ASSY 2012-01". It seems to be "3C505" (thanks dionb!).
Most beautiful Ethernet card I own so far. With a 80186 CPU. Will try to find drivers and get it running.
Let me know somebody is interested in this, will open a new topic then...
JustDavid wrote:In my process of turning a Pentium 4 PC into a DOS/win9x gaming machine i have found out about a lot of interesting stuff!
There […] Show full quote
In my process of turning a Pentium 4 PC into a DOS/win9x gaming machine i have found out about a lot of interesting stuff!
There is lots you can do with Windows 98SE that i was never aware of.
The OS has quite a few limitations when it comes to maximum storage and RAM, as well as issues with very fast CPUs, but all of those can be fixed.
There is something called "Unofficial Service Pack 3" for 98SE which comes with a lot of updated programs, hotfixes and major improvements for the OS!
Installing that was a breeze.
Well, I have no experience with the unofficial SP3 for Win98SE, but I have avoided it for such concerns
oeuvre wrote:
JustDavid wrote:
I installed 98SE2ME on my 98SE installation with service pack 3! ; )
Those "service packs" always end up causing problems. In the future, try to avoid using them. You'll see what I mean soon.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. 😜 Besides, I believe that SP3 essentially makes IE unusable, which now is a bit more of a concern since I have set up an FTP NAS in my home, and the easiest way to access that data under 98 (if I wanted to) is with IE6, so I rather not make life harder for myself.
In regards to memory, I'm sure I'm correct in saying this (someone could back me up), but like 99% of all Win98 programs don't need more than 512MB of RAM, and if you want more RAM in your system for, say, a Win98/XP dual-boot setup, but don't want to make your 98 install unable to boot because 98 is stupid and doesn't know what 2GB of RAM is, then use HiMemX, a memory manager that allows you to limit the amount of RAM Win98 sees without altering any part of your Win98 instal. Simply download the executable, throw it somewhere in your Win98 install, (for example, in the C:\WINDOWS directory), and then add the following line into your config.sys file:
1DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEMX.EXE /MAX=524288 2 ^ Amount of RAM in kilobytes you want Win98 to see.
Also, if you want universal USB flash drive support, get nusb36e.exe (you can find multiple download sources here) and install it under 98. All it does is it takes some of that USB functionality from WinME and adds it to 98.
JustDavid wrote:
After that i installed something called "98SE2ME" which turns your 98SE installation into a Frankenstein-system that has all the stability and compatability of 98SE, but the better performance and options of Windows ME without any of ME's instability.
Never heard of that update. Again, though, who knows what that does under the hood.
I have replaced a few capacitors on my Elitegroup P5HX-B socket 7 baby AT motherboard. It had some capacitors of the brand Chhsi near the AT PSU connectors and CPU voltage regulators. Interestingly it also has a high quality Oscon elco near the CPU socket that looks original (that I haven’t replaced). I have also replaced the Dallas clock battery which sits in a socket on this board. The ‘new’ Dallas clock battery from a French ebay seller seems to be manufactured in the same year as the old one.. 😐 I wonder whether it works..
Besides I’ve tried to rescue a nice high quality socket 5 Intel motherboard, but the CPU socket lock tab is damaged (thanks to whoever did that) and it has a soldered Dallas battery that I can’t remove with my soldering iron, so that one is EOL. A shame for what should have been a bargain (cost me € 20). At least I was able to save a Pentium 90 and three SIMM’s.
Cleaned off battery acid residue from my ABIT AH4 motherboard. Cleaning will continue once I desolder the battery and will see how many traces I need to repair. Regarding this modo @brostenen, do you still have your AH4T?
Cleaned off battery acid residue from my ABIT AH4 motherboard. Cleaning will continue once I desolder the battery and will see how many traces I need to repair. Regarding this modo @brostenen, do you still have your AH4T?
Shure.... It is happy serving me as my Dx2-80 VLB-S3 and VLB-SCSI. 😜 Wonderfull board.
Don't eat stuff off a 15 year old never cleaned cpu cooler.
Those cakes make you sick....
Cleaned off battery acid residue from my ABIT AH4 motherboard. Cleaning will continue once I desolder the battery and will see how many traces I need to repair. Regarding this modo @brostenen, do you still have your AH4T?
Shure.... It is happy serving me as my Dx2-80 VLB-S3 and VLB-SCSI. 😜 Wonderfull board.
I installed my 80GB Western Digital HDD (new) in my Windows 98SE machine and changed the board from the Socket 423 to Socket 370 again since the PSU has issues with 2 HDDs, 2 ODDs, 1 FDD, and the IR Driver for my SB Live! 5.1 sound card. Is there a way to force the fixed disk to a different drive letter other than D? Some of my PC games require the CD-ROM to be set to drive D and not E-Z.
Partitions per HDD:
Maxtor 60GB: Primary (C:)
Western Digital 80GB: Logical/Extended (D:) --> assign to (F:)
Optical drive:
LG CD-RW (E:) --> should stay at (D:)
Samsung DVD-ROM (F:) --> should stay at (E:)
bjwil1991 wrote:I installed my 80GB Western Digital HDD (new) in my Windows 98SE machine and changed the board from the Socket 423 to Socket 370 […] Show full quote
I installed my 80GB Western Digital HDD (new) in my Windows 98SE machine and changed the board from the Socket 423 to Socket 370 again since the PSU has issues with 2 HDDs, 2 ODDs, 1 FDD, and the IR Driver for my SB Live! 5.1 sound card. Is there a way to force the fixed disk to a different drive letter other than D? Some of my PC games require the CD-ROM to be set to drive D and not E-Z.
Partitions per HDD:
Maxtor 60GB: Primary (C:)
Western Digital 80GB: Logical/Extended (D:) --> assign to (F:)
Optical drive:
LG CD-RW (E:) --> should stay at (D:)
Samsung DVD-ROM (F:) --> should stay at (E:)
