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What retro activity did you get up to today?

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Reply 13380 of 30423, by Bruninho

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fixed an ipod nano gen 1 and filled it to the top with 233 songs. (well, they are 320kbps mp3). And created an on the go playlist with only 80's songs, like Take On Me, Billie Jean, Eye of The Tiger, No Easy Way Out, I Love Rock and Roll, and so on... right now enjoying it at work =)

It's quite scratched, it wasn't mine though, I am looking for ways to make it look a little better. Maybe wrap some custom skin?

Last edited by Bruninho on 2019-11-05, 13:00. Edited 1 time in total.

"Design isn't just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works."
JOBS, Steve.
READ: Right to Repair sucks and is illegal!

Reply 13381 of 30423, by bjwil1991

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Had to do some repairs on two laptops in my collection. First one was the IBM ThinkPad R40 and the infamous fan error. Fan was working without issues upon power on, but it threw the error after the memory count. I took a quick peek under the hood and found the connector for the fan was loose and somehow got off of the contacts on the board. I used the solder wick to clean off the old, crappy, lead-free solder and put on new lead solder. It still did not work, however, when I pressed the power connector for the fan forward, it sprang to life and would only work with that. I then took the fan out again, pressed the connector on the board forward, and held it there whilst using my other hand to solder the contacts to the board. After I waited a while for the solder to do its thing after I moved the soldering iron back into the holster, I let go of the connector and it stayed in place. I also added some solder to the grounding pads on the side in case that was loose as well. After that, I buttoned everything back together, yet I kept the keyboard a bit forward so I can watch the fan progress and to check for any other problems before putting it back together completely. Fan started to work like normal and the error message went away.

Then, my Toshiba Satellite Pro 410CDT was acting strange. First off, when I was installing the external CD drive drivers for MS-DOS/Windows 3.1 on my 2GB CF card, the screen was acting wonky. Picture was going fuzzy, and all of a sudden after pressing enter twice to restart the laptop after the drivers got installed, the screen went white as a ghost. Took it apart and cleaned the video board, as well as the contacts from the display/inverter board cables that connect to the video board and it sprang to life again, then it went out again. Found lots of white crud on the LIF socket for the video board and cleaned that up rather nicely and scrubbed the contacts with a toothbrush (yes, I know, bad idea) and electrical contact cleaner (I need DeoxIt badly again) and a broken end of a Q-tip. All of that crud went away and I also noticed the CMOS battery header had corrosion on there, but no damage done to the motherboard, which is yet to be determined. I let everything sit overnight and connected almost everything, minus the CF to IDE adapter, laptop battery, and the external CD drive that connects to the parallel port (oddball for a 1998 external CD drive, but I believe that was the norm until 2001 when they phased out USB external drives) this morning. Sprang back to life and once I get home from work, I will finish it off and do a double-check on everything to make sure it's fully functional before installing Windows 95 Upgrade on my 2GB CF card.

Also, when I connected the external CD drive to power, I turned it on, ejected the CD drive, and found another copy of Windows 95 on CD. So now I have 4 legal copies of 95: 95 Upgrade, 95C (two of them), and I believe this disc is 95B, but that is yet TBD.

Discord: https://discord.gg/U5dJw7x
Systems from the Compaq Portable 1 to Ryzen 9 5950X
Twitch: https://twitch.tv/retropcuser

Reply 13382 of 30423, by PTherapist

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Spent hours today working on and battling my 486.

First of all I measured the voltage from the old external lithium-ion CMOS battery and it's still holding strong after all these years. I don't keep these things connected inside whilst the PC is in storage though, so that's possibly why. I did measure a 2nd external battery, rated as 4.5V alkaline, but it came out as 0.11v so it's pretty much toast.

The network card in the 486 suddenly started working fine after I reattached the BIOS battery, which is weird. However...

I then lost the function of my PS/2 mouse and every reboot of Windows 95 afterwards lead to no keyboard either whilst the mouse was connected. I had an idea what was causing the problem and subsequently running the config program for my 3C509B network card confirmed it - I'd set the network card to use IRQ 12 same as the PS/2 mouse. Once I sorted that stupid mistake, everything was up and running perfectly.

So now I'm in the process of transferring some games over to it via Windows file sharing over the network. So we're talking 10Mbps and the slow disk read/write speeds of a 486. 2.3GB is gonna take a couple of hours. 🤣 🤣

Reply 13383 of 30423, by Bruninho

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PTherapist wrote:

So now I'm in the process of transferring some games over to it via Windows file sharing over the network. So we're talking 10Mbps and the slow disk read/write speeds of a 486. 2.3GB is gonna take a couple of hours. 🤣 🤣

I took 18 hours to convert 263 high quality songs to MP3 320kbps at 1x conversion speed just so I could put them on my 2GB iPod Nano, surely you won't take 18 hours to transfer 2.3GBs... 😜

"Design isn't just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works."
JOBS, Steve.
READ: Right to Repair sucks and is illegal!

Reply 13384 of 30423, by PTherapist

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bfcastello wrote:
PTherapist wrote:

So now I'm in the process of transferring some games over to it via Windows file sharing over the network. So we're talking 10Mbps and the slow disk read/write speeds of a 486. 2.3GB is gonna take a couple of hours. 🤣 🤣

I took 18 hours to convert 263 high quality songs to MP3 320kbps at 1x conversion speed just so I could put them on my 2GB iPod Nano, surely you won't take 18 hours to transfer 2.3GBs... 😜

I do have another 28GB of data to transfer across though, but I don't quite think I've got the patience to wait for what would possibly take a couple of days to complete. I'll probably pull out the HDD and do it in one of my modern systems instead. 🤣

Reply 13385 of 30423, by bjwil1991

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PTherapist wrote:
Spent hours today working on and battling my 486. […]
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Spent hours today working on and battling my 486.

First of all I measured the voltage from the old external lithium-ion CMOS battery and it's still holding strong after all these years. I don't keep these things connected inside whilst the PC is in storage though, so that's possibly why. I did measure a 2nd external battery, rated as 4.5V alkaline, but it came out as 0.11v so it's pretty much toast.

The network card in the 486 suddenly started working fine after I reattached the BIOS battery, which is weird. However...

I then lost the function of my PS/2 mouse and every reboot of Windows 95 afterwards lead to no keyboard either whilst the mouse was connected. I had an idea what was causing the problem and subsequently running the config program for my 3C509B network card confirmed it - I'd set the network card to use IRQ 12 same as the PS/2 mouse. Once I sorted that stupid mistake, everything was up and running perfectly.

So now I'm in the process of transferring some games over to it via Windows file sharing over the network. So we're talking 10Mbps and the slow disk read/write speeds of a 486. 2.3GB is gonna take a couple of hours. 🤣 🤣

It shouldn't take that long as long as you use straight up Ethernet between the systems. Also, I would advise you that the same username and password is required so that you won't get a message saying cannot connect to \\computer on your main tower or another system. I am planning on turning a Windows 98SE machine as a Dial-Up Server to connect my Packard Bell Pack-Mate 28 Plus to the network and see how slow it'll go transferring files and stuff.

Discord: https://discord.gg/U5dJw7x
Systems from the Compaq Portable 1 to Ryzen 9 5950X
Twitch: https://twitch.tv/retropcuser

Reply 13386 of 30423, by PTherapist

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bjwil1991 wrote:

It shouldn't take that long as long as you use straight up Ethernet between the systems. Also, I would advise you that the same username and password is required so that you won't get a message saying cannot connect to \\computer on your main tower or another system. I am planning on turning a Windows 98SE machine as a Dial-Up Server to connect my Packard Bell Pack-Mate 28 Plus to the network and see how slow it'll go transferring files and stuff.

It's currently transferring at around 1.5Mbps and completely saturating the 486 IDE, literally cannot even open the Start menu. 🤣

Mind you I'm not going direct PC to PC either, the ethernet setup is more like: My PC > Switch > Linux Server Bridge > 2nd Switch > 486. Sounds nuts, but I have so many devices networked up around the house, with multiple switches & routers so it's currently the best compromise.

And transferring stuff at dial-up speeds? Wow, that would be both frustrating to experience and yet fun to witness all at the same time. 😎

Reply 13387 of 30423, by bjwil1991

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The Dial-up modem in my 486 is 2400 baud. That'll be slow and the only option for connecting to the network once I find a Gravis UltraSound card at a good price.

Discord: https://discord.gg/U5dJw7x
Systems from the Compaq Portable 1 to Ryzen 9 5950X
Twitch: https://twitch.tv/retropcuser

Reply 13388 of 30423, by ShovelKnight

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Finally installed Gotek into my Super Socket 7 PC. I guess this counts as a retro activity despite the fact that the Gotek is a fairly new contraption. I also discovered that it’s too short to sit level with the front bezel of my case (CM Elite 360). I need to drill new holes in the Gotek enclosure to move it further away from the motherboard, but in this case I would also need a longer floppy cable. Currently the setup works, it just looks ugly 😀

Reply 13389 of 30423, by TheAbandonwareGuy

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Anybody here have good recomendations for a soldering starter kit? I'm sick and tired of my parts crapping themselfes and not being able to attempt any serious repairs. Basically I'm looking for recommendations for:

* A Soldering Iron in the $50 range that works good for electronics.
* Common cap values I should just go ahead and order to keep in stock.
* Some sort of "holding device" to hold whatever I'm working on while these meat claws of hands I'm stuck with try to fumble with tiny caps.
* Some sort of gloves, that are flexible but provide at least some burn protection. (again, meat claws for hands)

RetroEra: Retro Gaming Podcast and Community: https://discord.gg/kezaTvzH3Q
Cyb3rst0rm's Retro Hardware Warzone: https://discord.gg/naTwhZVMay
I used to own over 160 graphics card, I've since recovered from graphics card addiction

Reply 13390 of 30423, by Deksor

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@TheAbandonwareGuy

- Get a TS100 it's much better than the Yihua 936 (they're great for their price, but the TS100 is more advanced and less cheaply made hence why it's more expensive)
- I don't think people would recommend storing caps as they're chemical and degrade over time
- I think this is called "third hand' they come with two metallic claws and often a magnifying glass
- I don't think this kind of glove exist. Wearing gloves is actually a bad idea to solder because molten plastic will glue to your skin and burn you longer than the soldering iron itself. And I don't think that there are good burn protecting gloves that are thin enough to be that flexible.

Trying to identify old hardware ? Visit The retro web - Project's thread The Retro Web project - a stason.org/TH99 alternative

Reply 13391 of 30423, by Peter Swinkels

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In the reply to my last post I read someone mentioned approving of Qbasic programming. So here's some more stuff I made:

DEFINT A-Z
DECLARE SUB ComputerMakeMove ()
DECLARE SUB DisplayHelp ()
DECLARE SUB DrawDisk (Column, Row, ColorO)
DECLARE SUB DrawDisks ()
DECLARE SUB DropDisk (Column, ColorO)
DECLARE SUB FindMoves (ColorO, TriggerLength, AllowHelpingOpponent)
DECLARE SUB GreyOutDisks ()
DECLARE SUB InitializeGame ()
DECLARE SUB PlayGame ()
DECLARE FUNCTION CountDisks (StartColumn, StartRow, ColorO, XDirection, YDirection)
DECLARE FUNCTION Disks (Column, Row, NewDisk, ResetDisks)
DECLARE FUNCTION FoundMoves ()
DECLARE FUNCTION GameDone ()
DECLARE FUNCTION GetGameState ()
DECLARE FUNCTION MoveHelpsOpponent (OpponentColor, Column)
DECLARE FUNCTION StateText$ ()
DECLARE FUNCTION WinningPlayer ()

CONST FALSE = 0
CONST TRUE = -1

CONST DCOutsideField = 0
CONST DCNone = 1
CONST DCRed = 2
CONST DCYellow = 3

CONST GSNeitherPlaying = 0
CONST GSRedPlaying = 1
CONST GSRedWon = 2
CONST GSTied = 3
CONST GSYellowPlaying = 4
CONST GSYellowWon = 5

CONST DropDelay! = .1
CONST FirstColumn = 0
CONST FirstRow = 0
CONST LastColumn = 6
CONST LastRow = 5
CONST NoColumn = -1
CONST SlotSize = 50
CONST WinningLength = 4

DIM SHARED ComputerColor
DIM SHARED CurrentDisks(FirstColumn TO LastColumn, FirstRow TO LastRow)
DIM SHARED CurrentPlayer
DIM SHARED FirstColor
DIM SHARED HumanColor
DIM SHARED MovesFound(FirstColumn TO LastColumn)
DIM SHARED SelectedColumn

SCREEN 12: CLS : WIDTH 80, 30: WINDOW SCREEN (-145, -90)-(494, 429)
PlayGame

SUB ComputerMakeMove
DIM Column
DIM TriggerLength

   FindMoves ComputerColor, WinningLength, TRUE
   IF NOT FoundMoves THEN
…Show last 471 lines
      FindMoves HumanColor, WinningLength, FALSE
      IF NOT FoundMoves THEN
         FOR TriggerLength = WinningLength TO 0 STEP -1
            FindMoves ComputerColor, TriggerLength, FALSE
            IF FoundMoves THEN EXIT FOR
         NEXT TriggerLength
      
         IF NOT FoundMoves THEN
            FOR TriggerLength = WinningLength TO 0 STEP -1
               FindMoves HumanColor, TriggerLength, TRUE
               IF FoundMoves THEN EXIT FOR
            NEXT TriggerLength
         END IF
      END IF
   END IF

   IF FoundMoves THEN
      DO
         Column = INT(RND * (LastColumn + 1)) + FirstColumn
         IF MovesFound(Column) THEN
            DropDisk Column, CurrentPlayer
            EXIT DO
         END IF
      LOOP
   END IF
END SUB

FUNCTION CountDisks (StartColumn, StartRow, ColorO, XDirection, YDirection)
DIM CheckCount
DIM Column
DIM DiskCount
DIM Row

   Column = StartColumn
   CheckCount = 0
   DiskCount = 0
   Row = StartRow
   DO WHILE CheckCount < WinningLength
      SELECT CASE Disks(Column, Row, DCNone, FALSE)
         CASE ColorO
            DiskCount = DiskCount + 1
         CASE NOT DCNone
            EXIT DO
      END SELECT
   
      Column = Column + XDirection
      Row = Row + YDirection
      CheckCount = CheckCount + 1
   LOOP
   
   CountDisks = DiskCount
END FUNCTION

FUNCTION Disks (Column, Row, NewDisk, ResetDisks)
DIM Disk

   Disk = DCOutsideField
   
   IF ResetDisks THEN
      ERASE CurrentDisks
      Disk = DCNone
      
      FOR Column = FirstColumn TO LastColumn
         FOR Row = FirstRow TO LastRow
            CurrentDisks(Column, Row) = DCNone
         NEXT Row
      NEXT Column
   ELSE
      IF Column >= FirstColumn AND Column <= LastColumn THEN
         IF Row >= FirstRow AND Row <= LastRow THEN
            IF NOT NewDisk = DCNone THEN CurrentDisks(Column, Row) = NewDisk
            Disk = CurrentDisks(Column, Row)
         END IF
      END IF
   END IF

   Disks = Disk
END FUNCTION

SUB DisplayHelp
   CLS : COLOR 15
   PRINT
   PRINT SPC(3); "Connect Four - Help"
   PRINT
   PRINT SPC(3); "Keys:"
   PRINT SPC(3); "F1  = This help."
   PRINT SPC(3); "F2  = No computer player."
   PRINT SPC(3); "F3  = Computer plays as red."
   PRINT SPC(3); "F4  = Computer plays as yellow."
   PRINT SPC(3); "A   = Restart game."
   PRINT SPC(3); "Q   = Quit game."
   PRINT SPC(3); "R   = Red plays first."
   PRINT SPC(3); "Y   = Yellow plays first."
   PRINT SPC(3); "1-7 = Drop disk into column."
   DO WHILE INKEY$ = "": LOOP
END SUB

SUB DrawDisk (Column, Row, ColorO)
   LINE (Column * SlotSize, Row * SlotSize)-STEP(SlotSize, SlotSize), 0, B
   CIRCLE ((Column + .5) * SlotSize, (Row + .5) * SlotSize), SlotSize / 2.5, 0
   SELECT CASE ColorO
      CASE DCNone
         COLOR 11
      CASE DCRed
         COLOR 12
      CASE DCYellow
         COLOR 14
   END SELECT
   PAINT ((Column + .5) * SlotSize, (Row + .5) * SlotSize), , 0
END SUB

SUB DrawDisks
DIM Column
DIM Row

   CLS
   LINE (-1, -1)-(((ABS(LastColumn - FirstColumn) + 1) * SlotSize) + 1, ((ABS(LastRow - FirstRow) + 1) * SlotSize) + 1), 7, BF
   LINE (0, 0)-((ABS(LastColumn - FirstColumn) + 1) * SlotSize, (ABS(LastRow - FirstRow) + 1) * SlotSize), 1, BF
   FOR Column = FirstColumn TO LastColumn
      FOR Row = FirstRow TO LastRow
         DrawDisk Column, Row, Disks(Column, Row, DCNone, FALSE)
      NEXT Row
   NEXT Column
END SUB

SUB DropDisk (Column, ColorO)
DIM DelayStart!
DIM Disk
DIM KeyStroke$
DIM Row

   IF Disks(Column, FirstRow, DCNone, FALSE) = DCNone THEN
      Row = FirstRow
      DO
         DrawDisk Column, Row, ColorO
      
         IF Row = LastRow THEN
            EXIT DO
         ELSE
            IF NOT Disks(Column, Row + 1, DCNone, FALSE) = DCNone THEN EXIT DO
         END IF
           
         DelayStart! = TIMER
         DO WHILE TIMER < DelayStart! + DropDelay!
            IF TIMER < DelayStart! THEN DelayStart! = TIMER
         LOOP
       
         DrawDisk Column, Row, DCNone
         Row = Row + 1
         KeyStroke$ = INKEY$
      LOOP
         
      Disk = Disks(Column, Row, ColorO, FALSE)

      SELECT CASE CurrentPlayer
         CASE DCRed
            CurrentPlayer = DCYellow
         CASE DCYellow
            CurrentPlayer = DCRed
      END SELECT

   END IF
   SelectedColumn = NoColumn
END SUB

SUB FindMoves (ColorO, TriggerLength, AllowHelpingOpponent)
DIM Column
DIM CheckColumn
DIM CheckCount
DIM CheckRow
DIM DiskCount
DIM FoundMove
DIM Row
DIM XDirection
DIM YDirection

   ERASE MovesFound
   
   FOR Column = FirstColumn TO LastColumn
      FOR Row = FirstRow TO LastRow
         FOR XDirection = -1 TO 1
            FOR YDirection = -1 TO 1
               IF NOT (XDirection = 0 AND YDirection = 0) THEN
                  CheckColumn = Column
                  CheckRow = Row
                  CheckCount = 0
                  DiskCount = 0
                  FoundMove = NoColumn
               
                  DO UNTIL CheckCount = TriggerLength
                     SELECT CASE Disks(CheckColumn, CheckRow, DCNone, FALSE)
                        CASE ColorO
                           DiskCount = DiskCount + 1
                        CASE DCNone
                           SELECT CASE Disks(CheckColumn, CheckRow + 1, DCNone, FALSE)
                              CASE DCRed, DCYellow, DCOutsideField
                                 FoundMove = CheckColumn
                           END SELECT
                        CASE ELSE
                           EXIT DO
                     END SELECT
                     
                     CheckColumn = CheckColumn + XDirection
                     CheckRow = CheckRow + YDirection
                     CheckCount = CheckCount + 1
                  LOOP
               
                  IF DiskCount = TriggerLength - 1 THEN
                     IF NOT FoundMove = NoColumn THEN
                        IF AllowHelpingOpponent THEN
                           MovesFound(FoundMove) = TRUE
                        ELSE
                           IF NOT MoveHelpsOpponent(HumanColor, FoundMove) THEN MovesFound(FoundMove) = TRUE
                       END IF
                    END IF
                 END IF
              END IF
           NEXT YDirection
        NEXT XDirection
      NEXT Row
   NEXT Column
END SUB

FUNCTION FoundMoves
DIM Column
DIM Found

   Found = FALSE
   FOR Column = FirstColumn TO LastColumn
      IF MovesFound(Column) THEN
         Found = TRUE
         EXIT FOR
      END IF
   NEXT Column
   
   FoundMoves = Found
END FUNCTION

FUNCTION GameDone
DIM Column
DIM Done

   Done = TRUE
   FOR Column = FirstColumn TO LastColumn
      IF Disks(Column, FirstRow, DCNone, FALSE) = DCNone THEN
         Done = FALSE
         EXIT FOR
      END IF
   NEXT Column

   GameDone = Done
END FUNCTION

FUNCTION GetGameState
DIM GameState

   SELECT CASE WinningPlayer
      CASE DCNone
         IF GameDone THEN
            GameState = GSTied
         ELSE
            SELECT CASE CurrentPlayer
               CASE DCNone
                  GameState = GSNeitherPlaying
               CASE DCRed
                  GameState = GSRedPlaying
               CASE DCYellow
                  GameState = GSYellowPlaying
            END SELECT
         END IF
      CASE DCRed
        GameState = GSRedWon
      CASE DCYellow
        GameState = GSYellowWon
   END SELECT
   
   GetGameState = GameState
END FUNCTION

SUB GreyOutDisks
DIM Column
DIM Row

   FOR Column = FirstColumn TO LastColumn
      FOR Row = FirstRow TO LastRow
         CIRCLE ((Column + .5) * SlotSize, (Row + .5) * SlotSize), SlotSize / 2.5, 0
         SELECT CASE Disks(Column, Row, DCNone, FALSE)
            CASE DCRed
               COLOR 4
            CASE DCYellow
               COLOR 6
            CASE ELSE
               COLOR 8
         END SELECT
         PAINT ((Column + .5) * SlotSize, (Row + .5) * SlotSize), , 0
      NEXT Row
   NEXT Column
END SUB

SUB InitializeGame
STATIC CurrentFirstColor

   RANDOMIZE TIMER
   CurrentPlayer = DCNone
   tmp = Disks(FirstColumn, FirstRow, DCNone, TRUE)
   DrawDisks
   GreyOutDisks
   SelectedColumn = NoColumn
   
   COLOR 15: LOCATE 3, 3: PRINT "Connect Four, by: Peter Swinkels - press any key."
   DO WHILE INKEY$ = "": LOOP
   DrawDisks
   CurrentPlayer = FirstColor
END SUB

FUNCTION MoveHelpsOpponent (OpponentColor, Column)
DIM HelpsOpponent
DIM Row
DIM XDirection
DIM YDirection

   HelpsOpponent = FALSE
   Row = 0   
   DO UNTIL (Row = LastRow) OR (NOT Disks(Column, Row + 1, DCNone, FALSE) = DCNone) OR (NOT InterfaceWindow.Visible)
      Row = Row + 1
   LOOP
   
   IF Row > FirstRow THEN
      Row = Row - 1
   
      FOR XDirection = -1 TO 1
         FOR YDirection = -1 TO 1
            IF NOT (XDirection = 0 AND YDirection = 0) THEN
               IF CountDisks(Column, Row, OpponentColor, XDirection, YDirection) = WinningLength - 1 THEN
                  HelpsOpponent = TRUE
               END IF
            END IF
         NEXT YDirection
      NEXT XDirection
   END IF

   MoveHelpsOpponent = HelpsOpponent
END FUNCTION

SUB PlayGame
DIM KeyStroke$

   ComputerColor = DCYellow
   FirstColor = DCRed
   HumanColor = DCRed
   
   InitializeGame

   DO
      COLOR 15
      LOCATE 3, 3: PRINT "Connect Four - F1 = Help"
      LOCATE 5, 1: PRINT SPACE$(80)
      LOCATE 5, 20: PRINT StateText
  
      SELECT CASE GetGameState
         CASE GSRedPlaying, GSYellowPlaying
            IF NOT CurrentPlayer = ComputerColor THEN
            DO
               KeyStroke$ = INKEY$
            LOOP WHILE KeyStroke$ = ""
            SELECT CASE KeyStroke$
               CASE "A", "a"
                  InitializeGame
               CASE "Q", "q"
                  SCREEN 0: WIDTH 80, 25: COLOR 7, 0: CLS
                  END
               CASE "R", "r"
                  FirstColor = DCRed
                  InitializeGame
               CASE "Y", "y"
                  FirstColor = DCYellow

                  InitializeGame
               CASE CHR$(0) + ";"
                  DisplayHelp
                  DrawDisks
               CASE CHR$(0) + "<"
                  ComputerColor = DCNone

                  InitializeGame
               CASE CHR$(0) + "="
                  ComputerColor = DCRed
                  HumanColor = DCYellow

                  InitializeGame
               CASE CHR$(0) + ">"
                  ComputerColor = DCYellow
                  HumanColor = DCRed

                  InitializeGame
               CASE "1" TO "7"
                  IF NOT GetGameState = GSNeitherPlaying THEN SelectedColumn = VAL(KeyStroke$) - 1
            END SELECT
         END IF
      END SELECT

      SELECT CASE GetGameState
         CASE GSRedPlaying, GSYellowPlaying
            IF ComputerColor = DCNone THEN
               IF NOT SelectedColumn = NoColumn THEN DropDisk SelectedColumn, CurrentPlayer
            ELSE
               IF CurrentPlayer = ComputerColor THEN
                  ComputerMakeMove
               ELSE
                  IF NOT SelectedColumn = NoColumn THEN DropDisk SelectedColumn, CurrentPlayer
               END IF
            END IF
         CASE GSRedWon, GSYellowWon, GSTied
            GreyOutDisks
            DO WHILE INKEY$ = "": LOOP
            InitializeGame
      END SELECT
   LOOP
END SUB

FUNCTION StateText$
DIM Text$

   Text$ = ""
   SELECT CASE GetGameState
      CASE GSNeitherPlaying
         Text$ = "Inactive."
      CASE GSRedPlaying
         Text$ = "Red's turn."
      CASE GSYellowPlaying
         Text$ = "Yellow's turn."
      CASE GSRedWon
         Text$ = "Red won."
      CASE GSYellowWon
         Text$ = "Yellow won."
      CASE GSTied
         Text$ = "Game is tied."
   END SELECT
   
   StateText$ = Text$
END FUNCTION

FUNCTION WinningPlayer
DIM ColorO
DIM Column
DIM Row
DIM XDirection
DIM YDirection
DIM Winner

   Winner = DCNone

   FOR ColorO = DCRed TO DCYellow
      FOR Column = FirstColumn TO LastColumn
         FOR Row = FirstRow TO LastRow
            FOR XDirection = -1 TO 1
              FOR YDirection = -1 TO 1
                 IF NOT (XDirection = 0 AND YDirection = 0) THEN
                    IF CountDisks(Column, Row, ColorO, XDirection, YDirection) = WinningLength THEN
                       Winner = ColorO
                    END IF
                 END IF
              NEXT YDirection
            NEXT XDirection
         NEXT Row
      NEXT Column
   NEXT ColorO

   WinningPlayer = Winner
END FUNCTION

A Connect Four game. Enjoy.

My GitHub:
https://github.com/peterswinkels

Reply 13392 of 30423, by ShovelKnight

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I've been using a Chinese soldering iron (A-BF GS90D) for a few years now and it's been flawless. It was recommended to me by a mobile phone repair technician who highly praised it. It takes Hakko-compatible tips and is temperature-regulated. Since it's 90W it can output a lot of heat if needed (e.g. when soldering/desoldering ground connections).

Reply 13393 of 30423, by bjwil1991

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Last night, I did some more work on my Toshiba Satellite Pro 410CDT that suffered from a display issue, but, I did test the video before placing everything back in the laptop before I left for work and the display did work then and after connecting and screwing in everything, the display is fully functional once again and I will do some more stress tests on it and my external 24x CD-ROM parallel port drive works with the system in both MS-DOS and Windows 95 (upgraded to 95 from Windows 3.1) and it's coming along pretty well. Still need to find a 4x CD-ROM drive for the laptop so I can use the floppy drive externally and a new RTC battery along with a connector for it (need to figure out the dimensions and the space between the pins prior to purchasing the part) since it has corrosion.

Discord: https://discord.gg/U5dJw7x
Systems from the Compaq Portable 1 to Ryzen 9 5950X
Twitch: https://twitch.tv/retropcuser

Reply 13394 of 30423, by Peter Swinkels

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Improved version of a Qbasic Tetris clone I posted a few weeks ago:

DEFINT A-Z

DECLARE FUNCTION GetRotatedShapeMap$ (Shape, Angle)
DECLARE FUNCTION GetShapeMap$ (Shape)
DECLARE FUNCTION RandomShapeX ()
DECLARE FUNCTION ShapeCanMove (Map$, XDirection, YDirection)
DECLARE SUB CheckForFullRows ()
DECLARE SUB CreateShape ()
DECLARE SUB DisplayStatus ()
DECLARE SUB DrawBlock (BlockColor$, PitX, PitY)
DECLARE SUB DrawPit ()
DECLARE SUB DrawShape (EraseShape)
DECLARE SUB DropShape ()
DECLARE SUB InitializeGame ()
DECLARE SUB Main ()
DECLARE SUB RemoveFullRow (RemovedRow)
DECLARE SUB SettleActiveShapeInPit ()

CONST BLOCKSCALE = 24
CONST FALSE = 0
CONST LASTSIDEBLOCK = 3
CONST NOBLOCK$ = "0"
CONST PITHEIGHT = 16
CONST PITLEFT = 8
CONST PITTOP = 2
CONST PITWIDTH = 10
CONST SIDEBLOCKCOUNT = 4
CONST TRUE = -1

COMMON SHARED DropRate!, GameOver, Pit$, Score, Shape, ShapeAngle, ShapeMap$, ShapeX, ShapeY

InitializeGame
Main

SUB CheckForFullRows ()
    FullRow = FALSE

    FOR PitY = 0 TO PITHEIGHT - 1
       FullRow = TRUE
       FOR PitX = 0 TO PITWIDTH - 1
           IF MID$(Pit$, ((PITWIDTH * PitY) + PitX) + 1, 1) = NOBLOCK$ THEN
              FullRow = FALSE
              EXIT FOR
           END IF
       NEXT PitX
       IF FullRow THEN RemoveFullRow PitY
    NEXT PitY
END SUB

SUB CreateShape ()
    DropRate! = 1
    Shape = INT(RND * 6)
    ShapeAngle = INT(RND * 4)
    ShapeMap$ = GetRotatedShapeMap$(Shape, ShapeAngle)
    ShapeX = RandomShapeX
    ShapeY = -SIDEBLOCKCOUNT
END SUB

SUB DisplayStatus ()
    COLOR 4
…Show last 260 lines
    LOCATE INT((PITTOP * BLOCKSCALE) / 16), INT((PITLEFT * BLOCKSCALE) / 8) + 1
    IF GameOver THEN
        PRINT "Game over - press Enter to play a new game."
    ELSE
        PRINT "Score:" + STR$(Score)
    END IF
END SUB

SUB DrawBlock (BlockColor$, PitX, PitY)
    DrawX = PitX * BLOCKSCALE
    DrawY = PitY * BLOCKSCALE

    LINE (DrawX + (PITLEFT * BLOCKSCALE), DrawY + (PITTOP * BLOCKSCALE))-STEP(BLOCKSCALE, BLOCKSCALE), VAL("&H" + BlockColor$), BF
    LINE (DrawX + CINT(BLOCKSCALE / 10) + (PITLEFT * BLOCKSCALE), DrawY + CINT(BLOCKSCALE / 10) + (PITTOP * BLOCKSCALE))-STEP(BLOCKSCALE - CINT(BLOCKSCALE / 5), BLOCKSCALE - CINT(BLOCKSCALE / 5)), 0, B
END SUB

SUB DrawPit ()
    LINE ((PITLEFT * BLOCKSCALE) - 1, (PITTOP * BLOCKSCALE) - 1)-STEP((PITWIDTH * BLOCKSCALE) + 2, (PITHEIGHT * BLOCKSCALE) + 2), 15, B
    LINE ((PITLEFT * BLOCKSCALE) - 1, (PITTOP * BLOCKSCALE) - 1)-STEP(PITWIDTH * BLOCKSCALE + 2, 0), 0

    FOR PitY = 0 TO PITHEIGHT - 1
        FOR PitX = 0 TO PITWIDTH - 1
            IF GameOver THEN
                BlockColor$ = "4"
            ELSE
                BlockColor$ = MID$(Pit$, ((PITWIDTH * PitY) + PitX) + 1, 1)
            END IF

            DrawBlock BlockColor$, PitX, PitY
        NEXT PitX
    NEXT PitY
END SUB

SUB DrawShape (EraseShape)
FOR BlockX = 0 TO LASTSIDEBLOCK
    FOR BlockY = 0 TO LASTSIDEBLOCK
        PitX = ShapeX + BlockX
        PitY = ShapeY + BlockY
        IF PitX >= 0 AND PitX < PITWIDTH AND PitY >= 0 AND PitY < PITHEIGHT THEN
            IF EraseShape THEN
                BlockColor$ = MID$(Pit$, ((PITWIDTH * PitY) + PitX) + 1, 1)
            ELSE
                BlockColor$ = MID$(ShapeMap$, ((SIDEBLOCKCOUNT * BlockY) + BlockX) + 1, 1)
                IF BlockColor$ = NOBLOCK$ THEN BlockColor$ = MID$(Pit$, ((PITWIDTH * PitY) + PitX) + 1, 1)
            END IF
            DrawBlock BlockColor$, PitX, PitY
        END IF
    NEXT BlockY
NEXT BlockX
END SUB

SUB DropShape ()
    IF ShapeCanMove(ShapeMap$, 0, 1) THEN
        DrawShape TRUE
        IF DropRate! > 0 THEN SOUND 37, .3
        ShapeY = ShapeY + 1
        DrawShape FALSE
    ELSE
        SettleActiveShapeInPit
        
        GameOver = (ShapeY < 0)

        CheckForFullRows
        DrawPit
        DisplayStatus
        
        IF NOT GameOver THEN
            CreateShape
            DrawShape FALSE
        END IF
    END IF
END SUB

FUNCTION GetRotatedShapeMap$ (Shape, Angle)
    Map$ = GetShapeMap$(Shape)
    NewBlockX = 0
    NewBlockY = 0
    RotatedMap$ = STRING$(SIDEBLOCKCOUNT * SIDEBLOCKCOUNT, NOBLOCK$)

    IF Angle = 0 THEN
        GetRotatedShapeMap = Map$
        EXIT FUNCTION
    ELSE
        FOR BlockX = 0 TO LASTSIDEBLOCK
            FOR BlockY = 0 TO LASTSIDEBLOCK
                SELECT CASE Angle
                    CASE 1
                        NewBlockX = LASTSIDEBLOCK - BlockY
                        NewBlockY = BlockX
                    CASE 2
                        NewBlockX = LASTSIDEBLOCK - BlockX
                        NewBlockY = LASTSIDEBLOCK - BlockY
                    CASE 3
                        NewBlockX = BlockY
                        NewBlockY = LASTSIDEBLOCK - BlockX
                END SELECT

                MID$(RotatedMap$, ((SIDEBLOCKCOUNT * NewBlockY) + NewBlockX) + 1, 1) = MID$(Map$, ((SIDEBLOCKCOUNT * BlockY) + BlockX) + 1, 1)
            NEXT BlockY
        NEXT BlockX
    END IF

    GetRotatedShapeMap = RotatedMap$
END FUNCTION

FUNCTION GetShapeMap$ (Shape)
    SELECT CASE Shape
        CASE 0
           Map$ = "0000333300000000"
        CASE 1
           Map$ = "0000111000100000"
        CASE 2
           Map$ = "0000666060000000"
        CASE 3
           Map$ = "00000EE00EE00000"
        CASE 4
           Map$ = "0000022022000000"
        CASE 5
           Map$ = "0000555005000000"
        CASE 6
           Map$ = "0000440004400000"
        CASE ELSE
           Map$ = ""
    END SELECT

    GetShapeMap$ = Map$
END FUNCTION

SUB InitializeGame ()
    RANDOMIZE TIMER
    PLAY "ML L64"

    SCREEN 12
    COLOR 9
    LOCATE 1, 1
    PRINT "QBBlocks v1.00 - by: Peter Swinkels, ***2019***"

    CreateShape

    GameOver = FALSE
    Pit$ = STRING$(PITWIDTH * PITHEIGHT, NOBLOCK$)
    Score = 0

    DrawPit
    DisplayStatus
END SUB

SUB Main ()
    StartTime! = TIMER
    DO
        Key$ = ""
        DO WHILE Key$ = ""
            IF NOT GameOver THEN
                IF TIMER >= StartTime! + DropRate! OR StartTime! > TIMER THEN
                    DropShape
                    StartTime! = TIMER
                END IF
            END IF
            Key$ = INKEY$
        LOOP
        IF Key$ = CHR$(27) THEN
            SCREEN 0
            END
        ELSEIF GameOver THEN
            IF Key$ = CHR$(13) THEN InitializeGame
        ELSE
            SELECT CASE Key$
               CASE "A", "a"
                   DrawShape TRUE
                   IF ShapeAngle = 3 THEN NewAngle = 0 ELSE NewAngle = ShapeAngle + 1
                   RotatedMap$ = GetRotatedShapeMap(Shape, NewAngle)
                   IF ShapeCanMove(RotatedMap$, 0, 0) THEN
                       ShapeAngle = NewAngle
                       ShapeMap$ = RotatedMap$
                   END IF
                   DrawShape FALSE
               CASE CHR$(0) + "K"
                   DrawShape TRUE
                   IF ShapeCanMove(ShapeMap$, -1, 0) THEN ShapeX = ShapeX - 1
                   DrawShape FALSE
               CASE CHR$(0) + "M"
                   DrawShape TRUE
                   IF ShapeCanMove(ShapeMap$, 1, 0) THEN ShapeX = ShapeX + 1
                   DrawShape FALSE
               CASE " "
                   DropRate! = 0
            END SELECT
        END IF
    LOOP
END SUB

FUNCTION RandomShapeX ()
    IntendedShapeX = INT(RND * (PITWIDTH - 1))
    ShapeX = 0

    FOR XMove = 0 TO IntendedShapeX
        IF ShapeCanMove(ShapeMap$, 1, 0) THEN
            ShapeX = ShapeX + 1
        ELSE
            EXIT FOR
        END IF
    NEXT XMove

    RandomShapeX = ShapeX
END FUNCTION

SUB RemoveFullRow (RemovedRow)
    FOR PitY = RemovedRow TO 0 STEP -1
        FOR PitX = 0 TO PITWIDTH - 1
            IF PitY = 0 THEN
                BlockColor$ = NOBLOCK$
            ELSE
                BlockColor$ = MID$(Pit$, ((PITWIDTH * (PitY - 1)) + PitX) + 1, 1)
            END IF

            MID$(Pit$, ((PITWIDTH * PitY) + PitX) + 1, 1) = BlockColor$
        NEXT PitX
    NEXT PitY

    Score = Score + 1
END SUB

SUB SettleActiveShapeInPit ()
    PLAY "N21"

    FOR BlockY = 0 TO LASTSIDEBLOCK
        FOR BlockX = 0 TO LASTSIDEBLOCK
            PitX = ShapeX + BlockX
            PitY = ShapeY + BlockY
            IF PitX >= 0 AND PitX < PITWIDTH AND PitY >= 0 AND PitY < PITHEIGHT THEN
                IF NOT MID$(ShapeMap$, ((SIDEBLOCKCOUNT * BlockY) + BlockX) + 1, 1) = NOBLOCK$ THEN
                   MID$(Pit$, ((PITWIDTH * PitY) + PitX) + 1, 1) = MID$(ShapeMap$, ((SIDEBLOCKCOUNT * BlockY) + BlockX) + 1, 1)
                END IF
            END IF
        NEXT BlockX
    NEXT BlockY
END SUB

FUNCTION ShapeCanMove (Map$, XDirection, YDirection)
    FOR BlockY = 0 TO LASTSIDEBLOCK
        FOR BlockX = 0 TO LASTSIDEBLOCK
            IF NOT MID$(Map$, ((SIDEBLOCKCOUNT * BlockY) + BlockX) + 1, 1) = NOBLOCK$ THEN
                PitX = (ShapeX + BlockX) + XDirection
                PitY = (ShapeY + BlockY) + YDirection
                IF PitX >= 0 AND PitX < PITWIDTH AND PitY >= 0 AND PitY < PITHEIGHT THEN
                    IF NOT MID$(Pit$, (((PITWIDTH * PitY) + PitX) + 1), 1) = NOBLOCK$ THEN
                        ShapeCanMove = FALSE
                        EXIT FUNCTION
                    END IF
                ELSEIF PitX < 0 OR PitX >= PITWIDTH OR PitY >= PITHEIGHT THEN
                    ShapeCanMove = FALSE
                    EXIT FUNCTION
                END IF
            END IF
        NEXT BlockX
    NEXT BlockY

    ShapeCanMove = TRUE
END FUNCTION

My GitHub:
https://github.com/peterswinkels

Reply 13395 of 30423, by bjwil1991

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I'm going to try it out on my 486 desktop and Pentium 90 laptop. Will this work with a joystick as well or only the keyboard?

Discord: https://discord.gg/U5dJw7x
Systems from the Compaq Portable 1 to Ryzen 9 5950X
Twitch: https://twitch.tv/retropcuser

Reply 13396 of 30423, by Peter Swinkels

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bjwil1991 wrote:

I'm going to try it out on my 486 desktop and Pentium 90 laptop. Will this work with a joystick as well or only the keyboard?

Assuming you mean the games I just posted, no neither require or support a joystick. Don't expect anything spectacular. Feel free to modify the code as you please!

My GitHub:
https://github.com/peterswinkels

Reply 13397 of 30423, by BetaC

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While not the most retro, I managed to RGH my Star Wars Limited Edition Xbox 360. It now sits in the pool of homebrew enabled consoles along side it's 1.2 Xbox older sister, the Rebug PS3 Slim, the FHDB PS2, HBC Wii and WiiU, CFW PSTV/PSP/3DS, launch Switch, Everdrived N64 and Pseudo Saturn Kai enabled Saturn. I'll probably throw something on it once I finish backing up my disks.

rfbu29-99.png
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Reply 13398 of 30423, by mallensw

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Today I have been pulling my hair our trying to get a serial mouse working on a Zida 4dps with windows 98SE installed.

Reply 13399 of 30423, by oeuvre

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did you try plugging it into the USB-C port

HP Z420 Workstation Intel Xeon E5-1620, 32GB, RADEON HD7850 2GB, SSD + HD, XP/7
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