Love the look of this system!

If my Google skills are functioning then the onboard audio is an Aztech AZT1008 ISA PnP. These should indeed provide very good DOS and Soundblaster compatibility which is a nice surprise for such a comparatively late model workstation system!

I haven't used Aztech cards much myself but the Kayak manual indicates that indeed there was a Windows volume control and that it was the only way to control the volume. However, check this package out:

https://www.vogonsdrivers.com/getfile.php?fil … 788&menustate=0

Hopefully there's a DOS volume control utility in there somewhere 😀

I believe the specific card you're looking for is the Aztech "Pro 16V-A" but don't quote me on that

I have pair of PII 400 MHz identical CPU's, you can have them for the cost of shipping.

TheDosGuru wrote:

Hi fellow VGers! I've been out of the scene for so long. I've spent the last decade collecting big box games (mostly brand new […]
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Hi fellow VGers! I've been out of the scene for so long. I've spent the last decade collecting big box games (mostly brand new sealed Sierra titles) and haven't done a whole lot of hardware. I grew up hanging out at Egghead Software after school (and eventually working there).

So this is my first attempt at a PC build - so far my collection is mainly Amigas (1000/3000) and a IIGS. I wanted a machine that could do things that 14 year old me could never afford (but could dream of) as well as have just enough similar tactile feedback for nostalgic reasons.

I have to admit, i am not very pleased with this machine. My gaming era of interest spans the early 80s to the early 90s, and this machine is much too new. PnP? PCI? USB? puhleeeze. I originally wanted a mint 486 based desktop rig (it has to be a desktop!) - maybe a nice AST Bravo or Compaq Deskpro, but sadly they were kind of hard to find.

I found this HP Kayak and it was fairly cheap. HP workstations from the late 90s really had some excellent build quality. This is a P2-333 with integrated audio (more on that in a bit) IDE, and AGP graphics. Getting it up and running with just a stack of unlabeled 3.5's from when I was a kid was fun, and I finally have it up and running with a fresh DOS 6.22 install.

The integrated audio is surprisingly compatible with all sorts of games - HOWEVER, I can't seem to set the volume. There is no volume knob anywhere on the machine (some of these Kayak workstations do - this one does not).

While it's nice that the audio gets routed to an integrated speaker, i can barely hear anything. Do I have to install some form of windows to tweak the mixer? I hope not.

So plans to upgrade this machine: expand memory to 768mb, i think there is a 2nd CPU slot so get another one, perhaps get two really fast P2s in there. I have an AWE32 as well as a Roland Sound Canvas to hook up to it. I have an IDE to SDHC adapter on order, as well as an external USR Courier modem and Voodoo 3 graphics card. (stay tuned)

About upgrading the machine, 2 CPUs are useless for DOS/Win 9x since they doesn't support more than 1 CPU/Core/Thread. 2 CPUs is only worth if you are dualbooting with an OS with multiple CPU support like Windows NT/2000/XP or Linux

768 MB RAM is kinda overkill for DOS plus it won't take advantage of it.

What is your HP Kayak model and what chipset uses?

because if it uses the older Intel 440LX, you'll be limited to that Pentium II 333 (fastet FSB 66 Pentium II) or a Mendocino Celeron if you machine supports it.
If the machine has the later Intel 440BX chipset, you can upgrade to the faster 350/400/450 Pentium II or even Pentium III (probably only the Katmai based P3 450/500/550/600)

Such an awesome case! I tend to steer clear of "branded" machines due to their quirks, but at the same time I absolutely love desktop cases. And this one seems really versatile. Would love to know the chipset and max supported CPUs too — I might start looking for something similar to put my P-III in.

Awesome machine! I really like the HP Workstations, they are solid and reliable.

I will soon reactivate mine, I have the tower version
Does your Kayak show you a "memory test smiley" at boot?

Hello there,

my first post - regarding this HP Kayak machine. I've got exactly one of those HP Kayak XA mini towers (like this one above in the picture) and got some issues with it. Maybe someone can help out?

First of all, the front control panel/display seems to be dead - or is there a special driver necessery? The power, reset buttons work. The HDD led works too.
Only the power LED is blinking RED after the boot sequence. First it is orange, but after a second or more it turns red and blinks. The machine boots up without any error. No beep post codes, nothing. It works, but the red LED blinks and the LCD display is still empty. Checked both cables coming from the LCD fron display, both are correctly connected to the mainboard.

Maybe someone could help out?

Thanks and kind regards
Tulac

My HP Kayak XAs and XU tower workstations have onboard “Advanced logic” sound chip.
There is no volume dial you have to install the driver and use the windows volume settings.

I think there are drivers for Win95/Win98/NT-4.0 and maybe Win2000.

Dual CPU’s are only supported in Win-2000

The XAs is a single CPU computer.
The XU is a dual CPU computer.

Your best setup for a DOS gaming machine would be to install Win98se with updated.
These also came with Matrox video cards. I had Matrox G450 dual head for dual displays.
512mb of ram is enough for Win98 and 2000
These also cam with Quantum fireball IDE hard drives on the XAs
And Seagate Cheeta SCSI hard drives on the XU.

If you want to add SCSI and Ethernet you add on of these combo cards.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_tr … rd+pci&_sacat=0

Well, sad but true - just found out, the display is broken. Someone tried to open the panel and bent the LCD, so it broke at the connections...

I'll guess, there is no way to get a replacement...

🙁

You might be able to find a replacement on eBay. It's worth a look as these are really fun systems.

These where the UNIX HP 9000 PC equivalents of the 1990’s and early 2000’s.
I remember using one of the early tower models and thinking “I have to have one at home”.
So later I went on to purchase some XU models with dual Pentium ll 400 CPU’s and Windows NT 4.0.
It served me well for work and was a powerhouse. Rock Solid. It gave me confidence that I was using the right
Tool for the job. There was basically nothing it could not do.

We used these at my work too on my recommendation they purchased several of these and we used them
For a 24/7/365 business critical environment.
They worked great and never let us down. Very reliable.
This was HP’s top of the line WIndows PC of the 1990’s.
And I really liked the Keyboard which had an LED light that would blink when you received an email.

But for PC gaming I would go with the XA’s model with a Pentium lll 500.

As long as your not playing any speed sensitive games you've got a really flexible system. It'll play any dos games you can throw at it.
P2 400 should be able to majority of any Win9x games that don't like XP Its a good match for the voodoo 3
The only thing P2 isn't very good at is slowing down if you do have any speed sensitive games, gives you a good excuse to keep looking for that 486 😉

as already mentioned You'll need to run NT flavour of windows to take advantage of a 2nd CPU. Windows 2000 is actually pretty good at playing Win98 era games. and you can always dual boot with Win98 for dos and any games that don't like 2k.

I like OEM systems that route to the internal speaker. if you want to use the headphone port or just need basic sound set that as the primary sound device in windows. (dos games obviously you need to go into setup)
When you want good sound though proper speakers then you configure it to use say your AWE.

overall I think its a sexy beast. out of interest what's the video card that came with it?

I think the installation CD also supported Win95 with drivers.

Does anyone have a recovery CD for this workstation? I've found a few of the drivers by looking at the chipsets but it would be amazing to get this factory. I'm sure they would be 'similar' specification in most of the units but I have the XM600. Can anyone help me with this?

Strangest thing is I found a place in the US with a mail order copy of 'mydrivers' claiming to be a full restore CD. I don't live in the US and getting it to Dubai will be a proper pain in the ass.

If anyone at all with any version of the XM has a restore CD and could make it available somewhere that would be amazing.
Thanks fam
Rich

What I never liked about the HP Kayak XA’s and XU is the noisy fans. Ant way to quiet these fans ?