Re: My dream come true Windows 95/DOS machine.

Posted on 2023-02-01, 12:59

by

by jheronimus

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

Nice build! How are you liking the EWS64XL so far? Don't see people using that card too often lately. I own one, and it's a pretty cool card, but damn my headphone jack is noisy 😀 Maybe I'll give it another go after shielding the cables with tinfoil or something.

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Re: Windows 98 SE build: A series of unfortunate technical issues

Posted on 2023-01-25, 19:53

by

by jheronimus

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

A workaround is available for the 3dfx version of Descent II (both the original and D2_3dfx) by simply setting the following environment variable prior: SET FX_GLIDE_SWAPINTERVAL=2 It caps the frame rate to the half of the screen refresh rate. Example: 30 FPS if 60 Hz is set. Very cool to know, …

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Re: Windows 98 SE build: A series of unfortunate technical issues

Posted on 2023-01-24, 16:38

by

by jheronimus

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

DESCENT II The first game I tried running. It seems to have speed issues. At the highest resolution it goes in slooooooooow moooootioooooooon, while in the lowest itmovesreallyfreakingfast, and I am not really sure, but it might have something to do with the Voodoo3. In regards with the sound, I …

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Re: which dos soundcards with onboard wavetable could remap instruments to mt-32 presets?

Posted on 2022-12-15, 20:21

by

by jheronimus

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

There's an MT-32 mapping file for Turtle Beach Tropez/Maui cards, but I never tried it.

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Re: How about a MR-BIOS ROM file repository?

Posted on 2022-12-15, 19:29

by

by jheronimus

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

You I believe posted a helpful reply on discord that I don’t recall where it was now. Any chance you could post here also? I think I was asking about different brands of bioses that may work. Unfortunately this motherboard is pretty useless as a project to me if I can’t figure out how to get non …

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Re: How about a MR-BIOS ROM file repository?

Posted on 2022-12-15, 14:15

by

by jheronimus

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

And, although it ended up being the incorrect image for my motherboard, there's an image in the "MRBIOS Big Bundle" that is missing every other byte. Specifically, it's in V002B406, but the "target5" download contains the complete copy. There could be more examples of this. Just something to …

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Re: How about a MR-BIOS ROM file repository?

Posted on 2022-12-08, 10:39

by

by jheronimus

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

Was there a Pentium Mr Bios ? Never heard about it. There are over 250 of those, I identified most of them here . However, the earliest Intel one are for 430FX. 430LX/430NX have not been found or even mentioned anywhere. Same goes for Unicore Award . The only 3rd party BIOS upgrades for 430LX/430NX …

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Re: PCChips M218 286 motherboard info needed

Posted on 2022-11-26, 14:44

by

by jheronimus

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

kixs wrote on 2022-11-25, 19:31: I used to have 286 in 1991 but never had any need for EMS - at least that's my memory. What programs/games require EMS on a 286? I think there are a few games that use EMS for extra features/effects — Wing Commander, X-Wing, for example.

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Re: PCChips M218 286 motherboard info needed

Posted on 2022-11-25, 06:08

by

by jheronimus

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Thanks for the image! At least now I know the filename, finally 😀 Doesn't seem to work for me either. Tried all window options, tried unshadowing all addresses in the BIOS just to make sure and also enable/disable EMS Global control — still says "EMS Disabled" at boot.

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Re: PCChips M218 286 motherboard info needed

Posted on 2022-11-25, 04:41

by

by jheronimus

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I'm setting up this board right now. Haven't figured out the jumpers yet, but they do affect the amount of RAM the system sees when SIPP modules are installed (got 5 megs recognised only when the jumpers are set like in your picture, otherwise it's 640K or around 2.5 megs). So two theories so far is …

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Re: Quake and Quake 2 won't run on a Super Socket 7 system?

Posted on 2022-11-20, 16:37

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by jheronimus

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

For quake2, try adding "+set cd_nocd 1" Thanks so much for pointing me towards disk drives issues! Fixed the issue by installing the latest version of IDE drivers (attached). So for now my drivers combination is ULi 2.13 and IDE 3.56. Also checked "fast boot" options in IDE utility and forced …

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Re: Quake and Quake 2 won't run on a Super Socket 7 system?

Posted on 2022-11-20, 01:24

by

by jheronimus

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

My instincts are heading towards the CD-ROM. Try -nocdaudio and -nosound to see if it'll initialize. Try other redbook audio games and see if they hardlock too. Huh, it worked for Quake (both dos and gl), but not for Quake 2 (run also with -nocdaudio -nosound, but couldn't actually find proper …

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Quake and Quake 2 won't run on a Super Socket 7 system?

Posted on 2022-11-20, 00:03

by

by jheronimus

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

Hi, all! I'm building an SS7 system using a Chaintech CT-5RSA2 board (ALi Aladdin V chipset). Whenever I try to run Quake II I get an orange screen with an hourglass mouse pointer and the system freezes. If I try to run Quake (doesn't matter if it's dosquake or GlQuake), it freezes at the console …

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Re: Help picking a good Socket 7 motherboard

Posted on 2022-11-12, 16:01

by

by jheronimus

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

This thread has inspired me to revisit my SS7 ALi V board, setting up a small mATX build with K6-3+ and a Voodoo 3 :) Definitely not hassle-free, but kinda fun. Playing the "let's pick a working combination of drivers and tweaks" right now. Also threw 98lite into the mix. Super Socket 7 definitely …

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Re: Help picking a good Socket 7 motherboard

Posted on 2022-11-10, 13:54

by

by jheronimus

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

This is not accurate at all. The Pentium 2 is a VERY inflexible CPU. It can either be fast or WAY too slow when you disable the L1 cache. <...> So, no, the Pentium 2 doesn't even come CLOSE to the Pentium MMX when it comes to DOS gaming. The OP originally mentioned "minimal amount of hassle" though …

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Re: Help picking a good Socket 7 motherboard

Posted on 2022-11-10, 13:24

by

by jheronimus

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

That's an excellent point, and I'm aware that we're talking very incremental differences here between most Socket 7 systems and early PII systems. This is more of a collector's bug purchase than anything rational (It's a sickness). Got you, nothing wrong with that :) If I had to choose between …

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Re: Help picking a good Socket 7 motherboard

Posted on 2022-11-10, 08:26

by

by jheronimus

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

You mention that you already have a P2-233 machine, and your goal is to just play DOS games. All of the Socket 7 boards in this lot are late and pretty fast, the difference between them and your Pentium 2 machine just isn't big enough. You'll have a new build that will overlap your current system in …

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Re: I bought a CT4330 but a CT3600 (with 8MB RAM) was delivered. Not sure if I should keep it or get a refund/replacemen

Posted on 2022-09-29, 21:55

by

by jheronimus

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I imagine an AWE64 also wouldn't come with RAM expansion, because those are kinda rare and expensive. And the stock AWE MIDI bank is pretty meh. So your CT3600 is a lot more useful, you can use a lot of great soundfonts with it. I would even go so far as to say that 8MB is optimal, because larger …

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Re: Retro Rig Photo Thread

Posted on 2022-09-21, 17:12

by

by jheronimus

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

Did my first build in months: https://i.imgur.com/IzqYlAsl.jpg The catalyst for all of this was that I finally found a NOS 14 inch SVGA screen — .28mm dot pitch, shadow mask, kind of a fish bowl. I think this kind of screen can lend itself nicely to 2D and early 3D titles — so this is what I've had …

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Re: Two curated collections of particularly fine FM game music compositions

Posted on 2022-09-12, 21:43

by

by jheronimus

in Milliways

in Milliways

Aaargh! More suggestions! ;-)) I will add them to my private playlist but I hope you'll forgive me for not adding them to the video just yet. It took me way too much time of fiddeling to make them and I really should get on with other things. ;) It's absolutely fine, I didn't expect you to add them …

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