Re: 286 Motherboard repair - Please assist

Posted on 2020-07-29, 21:34

by

by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Agree that the tantalum caps that had yet to fail shouldn't be replaced. They will actually self recover with use, meaning the more you use the better they become. Hmm this quote is interesting: Impurities, tiny mechanical damages, or imperfections in the dielectric can affect the structure, …

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Re: Overheating EMU8K on AWE32 CT2760

Posted on 2020-07-27, 23:26

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

I haven't measured temps, but I can tell you it gets scorching hot after a short while, I can't keep my finger on the chip for more than an instant and I can feel the heat radiating to the surrounding area. The card does work fine, including the AWE Synthesized Music, but I haven't used it long …

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Re: Cd rom audio

Posted on 2020-07-27, 04:53

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

To my knowledge all CT1600 SBPro cards have the same white connector for the CD Audio In, in the OP's card it isn't there so probably the previous owner ripped it off accidentally while trying to unplug the cable. Compared to the MPC connector type this one can be somewhat difficult to unplug so I …

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Re: Installing Dos 6.22 - Multiple files couldn't be read, still installed and works?

Posted on 2020-07-25, 05:40

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

It works because DOS needs only a few small files in order to boot, the rest are utilities and such installed under C:\DOS. Keep in mind that the MS-DOS installation may fail in a similar way if you have cache/memory issues (bad cache module or timings set too tight for example). So you may want to …

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Re: What's the dumbest retro mistake you've made?

Posted on 2020-07-25, 05:29

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by TheMobRules

in Milliways

in Milliways

Probably turning on a NOS Seasonic power supply on 220V mains with the switch set to 110V. In my defense, I was going through a big haul of retro stuff and was really tired by that point. The loud "bang" and the spark sure startled me! I consider it karma for laughing at a poor infrastructure guy in …

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Re: What game are you playing now?

Posted on 2020-07-25, 05:10

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by TheMobRules

in Milliways

in Milliways

From that era of Bioware, I liked Mass Effect 1 and 2 (despite the sidequest tedium of ME1), and was a big fan of Dragon Age: Origins. However, I found Dragon Age II to be catastrophically bad, and it left such a bad impression on me that I never gave Bioware another chance. Maybe it was unfair from …

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Re: Collecting rants

Posted on 2020-07-24, 17:03

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Rant #2: The hopeless state of search engine pollution when you try to look up information on anything that's obsolete. I agree, this is extremely annoying. The other day I was searching reference documentation for some old compilers and a large part of the search results I got were links to …

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Re: Anyone can identify this 286 motherboard?

Posted on 2020-07-24, 02:01

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

If the fan doesn't even start then it's the PSU protection kicking in, so you have a short somewhere (assuming the PSU is OK). Almost certainly one of the tantalum caps is shorted.

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Re: Simple text-mode window library for DOS?

Posted on 2020-07-24, 01:55

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by TheMobRules

in Milliways

in Milliways

I also found it in a Github repo and compiled with BC3.1 myself, but thanks anyway! Based on the sample MEMOPAD app that comes with the library it looks really promising, so this weekend I'll see what else it can do. Thanks again.

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Re: Simple text-mode window library for DOS?

Posted on 2020-07-24, 01:04

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by TheMobRules

in Milliways

in Milliways

Thanks for all the suggestions. I do have VBDOS, but I had no luck trying to find the reference docs, which makes it difficult to do certain things I would need, like calling external libraries compiled with non-Microsoft tools. I'm going to try and find DFlat then.

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Re: Collecting rants

Posted on 2020-07-22, 18:57

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

It's interesting to note how some preconceptions can affect prices in a noticeable way, case in point: Tseng video cards. These (the VLB models in particular) are usually listed at insane prices, probably because of this prevalent notion (not just in this forum) that they are "the absolute best of …

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Re: Retro builds with modern conveniences

Posted on 2020-07-22, 18:26

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I usually try to keep my systems somewhat period-correct, but considering most custom-built PCs generally had components from different eras even back in the day, I am not very strict about it. As for modern conveniences: Gotek, but only for the initial installation of OS and other software that is …

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Re: Is this a decent PSU?

Posted on 2020-07-20, 18:50

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Yeah, Sparkle is good despite the name, those units are made by FSP. In addition to the brands mentioned I can add Delta, a very reliable manufacturer. Also the StarTech AT units that were available brand new until not long ago are well built.

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Re: 440BX - Does it need a heatsink?

Posted on 2020-07-19, 00:01

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Thanks guys. I have pretty good airflow in the case right now, so that isn't a concern. I'll keep using it with the bare chipset for now and later on when I have the chance I may buy a heatsink to put on it.

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Simple text-mode window library for DOS?

Posted on 2020-07-18, 23:09

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by TheMobRules

in Milliways

in Milliways

Lately I've been playing around with DOS programming after a long long time so I'm trying to get back in the loop with a few projects. I've been looking for a C library that allows me to do some basic text-mode UI stuff such as creating windows, displaying text in them, that sort of stuff, nothing …

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Re: Motherboard mounting - PLEASE HELP!

Posted on 2020-07-18, 21:05

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

If there is a threaded hole in the tray right under that hole in the motherboard, you can use a screw there provided that: - you use a plastic hex standoff instead of the regular metal ones - you use a washer between the screw and the board If there is no hole in the tray on that position, just use …

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440BX - Does it need a heatsink?

Posted on 2020-07-18, 20:58

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I recently got a Tyan Tsunami 440BX board from 1998, and while it seems to be working perfectly, I noticed that unlike most other 440BX boards I've seen this one does not have a heatsink on the main BGA chip. So my question is: does the 440BX really need some sort of extra cooling? The fact that my …

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Re: Replacing VIA RTC VT82887 battery in M560 motherboard

Posted on 2020-07-18, 17:02

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Usually motherboards will not POST without an RTC chip. If you want to use the board you should put the RTC back in, even if the battery is dead. The RTC will be powered while the computer is on, so it should work, of course you will need to fit a new battery if you want to keep the settings/time …

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Re: 72 pin SIMM brand recommendations or just get whatever (486 build)?

Posted on 2020-07-18, 04:09

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I can do 0WS on a 386DX-25 with 80ns RAM if I fill both banks and enable memory interleaving. This is on a cacheless CHIPS-based "386A" motherboard (unknown brand, might be ECS).

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Re: What retro activity did you get up to today?

Posted on 2020-07-17, 20:32

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Woohoo, my Ali based Socket 4 P60 system works again with a brand new Maxim RTC! I'm testing all my AT boards, and am chuffed at least this one works. The other socket 4 I have also has a dead Dallas chip, but that one is not socketed... how easy is it to desolder it without proper desoldering …

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