Re: CpuSpd - A Hardware Based CPU Speed Control Utility for DOS/Win9X Retro Gaming

Posted on 2023-08-29, 03:01

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by johnnycontrario

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I don't have my VIA C3 box handy to try this and I don't know where that memory area is on it. I'm guessing the memory range that should be excluded can be easily identified by looking at memory contents with MSD or DEBUG. Did you get a look at the contents of that range, and if so, what did it look …

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Re: HDD Clicker - HDD Sound Simulator

Posted on 2023-06-25, 18:49

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by johnnycontrario

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

I just got mine last week. Like other folks, I was concerned that the piezo buzzer wouldn't be realistic enough, but it's way more convincing than I expected. Up close, it's a sterile popping sound, but inside a case running a couple fans and a real floppy drive, I have to listen closely to notice …

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Re: Making Windows 3.11 work in DOS7.10 (patches inside)

Posted on 2023-06-25, 15:19

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by johnnycontrario

in Milliways

in Milliways

It's a little bit of both. Windows 3.11 has sporadically little issues regarding the memory management, especially if you use FILESHIGH, STACKSHIGH, FCBSHIGH and BUFFERSHIGH. Sorry if I'm off topic, but I have to thank you for pointing this out. I was struggling with a 486 build that would crash …

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Re: Thoughts on SBCs?

Posted on 2021-12-25, 03:16

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by johnnycontrario

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Yeah, SBC systems are a bit more expensive, but the possibilities are more interesting than the typical AT tower under your desk. My next project is to use one of my extra backplanes with a 10" LCD and mechanical keyboard to build a portable PC I can bring to a friend's house. I'm tempted to make …

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Re: Thoughts on SBCs?

Posted on 2021-12-24, 23:28

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by johnnycontrario

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I love SBC's. I originally got into them because I don't have a lot of space for retro computing and realized I could build a compact retro system on a small ISA backplane and a half size SBC. I now have a small collection of components. I think one of the coolest things is being able to switch to a …

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Re: Gotek like Optical Driver Emulator - Is it possible?

Posted on 2021-12-20, 07:10

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by johnnycontrario

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I really like 0x90's solution of accessing bin/cue images on another machine via serial port, and it got my wheels turning. What about creating a device that emulates the Microsolutions Backpack devices that connected to the parallel port? There's a Linux driver, which might provide some clues on …

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Re: Real hardware DOS gaming console for HDMI displays

Posted on 2020-12-15, 20:38

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by johnnycontrario

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

My idea is to create a standard similar to PC104, but optimize it to reduce costs as much as possible by using non-standard parts (like, say using cheap 2.54mm headers and sockets instead of ISA edge connectors), and focusing on modern I/O. The costs will never compete with Raspberry Pi, but my …

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Re: Real hardware DOS gaming console for HDMI displays

Posted on 2020-12-15, 06:44

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by johnnycontrario

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

So here's an idea I had... Taking advantage of the ISA compatible x86 SOCs is really interesting, and I think using them to build a compact retro-computer would appeal to a broader audience than just the people who want to plug it into their living room TV. If the game console idea isn't more …

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Re: SD->CF (Secure Digital to Compact Flash) Adapter for use with CF->IDE adapter.

Posted on 2020-12-12, 18:04

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by johnnycontrario

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I've had a similar experience but with one of these jabronis: https://www.amazon.com/Syba-Compact-Adapter-Enclosure-SD-ADA45006/dp/B0036DDXUM I cracked it open, and it's just a simple mechanical adapter. Can't remember if it has a voltage divider for 3.3v. But, either way, it doesn't have a jumper …

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Re: Real hardware DOS gaming console for HDMI displays

Posted on 2020-12-10, 06:00

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by johnnycontrario

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I recently stumbled across the Pi KVM project and it had me thinking along the same lines. Creating a version of the Pi KVM project that works with retro hardware could potentially accomplish all of the stated goals. It seems to me one of the big challenges is the video capture. I have an idea, but …

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Re: Lets Talk Aztech Sound Cards, I need some help with sound issues!

Posted on 2020-12-01, 18:38

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by johnnycontrario

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

That first screenshot does not show a high DMA, but the game screenshot has HDMA set to 5. I think your card's Sound Blaster compatibility in Windows DOS VM may be limited to 8-bit PCM. Does the game sound work if you set the game to a plain Sound Blaster, A220 I7 D1 without High DMA? This MMSN824 …

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Re: Lets Talk Aztech Sound Cards, I need some help with sound issues!

Posted on 2020-12-01, 00:50

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by johnnycontrario

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

That first screenshot does not show a high DMA, but the game screenshot has HDMA set to 5. I think your card's Sound Blaster compatibility in Windows DOS VM may be limited to 8-bit PCM. Does the game sound work if you set the game to a plain Sound Blaster, A220 I7 D1 without High DMA?

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Re: 486 SBC in Socket 7 or Slot 1 Mainboard?

Posted on 2020-11-30, 23:45

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by johnnycontrario

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

What would happen if I plugged a 486 SBC into a Socket 7 or Slot 2 motherboard? The RAM, CPU, BIOS and Controller would all be on the SBC. Could I use this to make an ATX or uATX 486? in my opinion you could follow a path that i have been thinking about for some time, since I am also passionate …

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Re: 486 SBC in Socket 7 or Slot 1 Mainboard?

Posted on 2020-11-29, 18:52

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by johnnycontrario

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

If you want a platform good for upgrading and squeezing every last drop of performance from a system, then SBCs are probably not the best choice. On SBCs with only an ISA edge connector, your only upgrade options are ISA cards. You're stuck with whatever onboard graphics, I/O, networking, etc, are …

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Re: SD Card to IDE Adaptor issues with FIC Slot 1 motherboard.

Posted on 2020-11-25, 06:19

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by johnnycontrario

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Before you posted your last update, I was about to ask about this: - Attempting to use FreeDOS and 3 different DOS programs to detect the CHS configuration of the drive. Then using it in the BIOS. Freezed on BIOS, As well as reported the drive as only 8 GBs This may be a significant clue. On the …

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Re: SD Card to IDE Adaptor issues with FIC Slot 1 motherboard.

Posted on 2020-11-24, 23:18

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by johnnycontrario

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I have two of these SD to IDE adapters. I have not had any problems with FAT16 partitions, however, wiping the first couple of blocks with the linux dd command before formatting the disk in the target computer has become a habit of mine. I believe there are some Windows utilities that can accomplish …

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Re: 8-bit guy gets ultra-rare NOS IBM (prototype?) from Computer Reset then proceeds to obliterate it

Posted on 2020-09-27, 00:34

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by johnnycontrario

in Milliways

in Milliways

carlostex wrote on 2020-09-26, 23:21: I've seen worse: https://youtu.be/QOG6DAVFrkc Welp, that's enough internet for me today.

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Re: 8-bit guy gets ultra-rare NOS IBM (prototype?) from Computer Reset then proceeds to obliterate it

Posted on 2020-09-26, 17:02

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by johnnycontrario

in Milliways

in Milliways

I just watched. 8-bit guy's hardware competence level is cringe . The only thing I learned from this video is that this computer exists and he should be kept very far away from it. I stopped following this moron a while ago. I think he did something stupid with an original apple ][ case, I don't …

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Re: Micro ATX 486 - what's the degree of interest?

Posted on 2020-08-29, 18:38

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by johnnycontrario

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I didn't know about ZFx86 chips being a dead end. For some reason I thought they were the same thing as the Vortex86 chips. Oops. That EBOX is an interesting machine. Every time I look at a machine like this, I always wish it had an ISA slot for a sound card. I think just about everyone will have …

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Re: Micro ATX 486 - what's the degree of interest?

Posted on 2020-08-29, 06:17

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by johnnycontrario

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Here's my opinion, for what it's worth. Making new 486 motherboards is a really cool idea, but there is little practical or economical reason to do so. Maybe someday when working original 486 boards are rare and very expensive. That said, I love the idea, and I would definitely enjoy building one as …

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