Artex wrote on 2020-08-10, 00:28:

Built (and I use that word loosely) my RetroBrighting rig!

At first it looked like it was small but then realized that is a full case front soaking. Good job ! Please post some pic's when done.

Horun wrote on 2020-08-10, 01:56:

Artex wrote on 2020-08-10, 00:28:

Built (and I use that word loosely) my RetroBrighting rig!

At first it looked like it was small but then realized that is a full case front soaking. Good job ! Please post some pic's when done.

Will do! It turned out great - I will attach a picture tomorrow.

Is that an aluminum turkey baking pan? Luckily peroxide and aluminum work well together.

My Windows XP build is almost finished. That case is so made for Windows XP silver theme. No idea about the brand or model. That little orb unfortunately does not light up or do anything fancy. Any tips for silver front panel fan controllers?

I think I found two that would look good with your case.

https://www.frozencpu.com/products/11217/bus- … l?tl=g34c17s286

https://www.frozencpu.com/products/9198/bus-1 … l?tl=g34c17s286

They have a decent selection of silver front panel devices if these two don't suit your needs. My brother had a very similar looking case back.

Wrote an entry on my blog, on how to mount an Amiga harddrive in read/write-mode on Linux. Not much, but at least it is something....

wiretap wrote on 2020-08-05, 12:17:

Powered up the SCSI hard drive (120MB - Maxtor 7120SR) on the GVP HC+8 in my Amiga 2000 -- it works and boots to workbench! I fo […]
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Powered up the SCSI hard drive (120MB - Maxtor 7120SR) on the GVP HC+8 in my Amiga 2000 -- it works and boots to workbench! I found some more SIMM memory in a box in the basement, installed it, and I now have 8MB of RAM. I also did the motherboard mod to enable 1MB of chip memory. This is going to be an awesome machine. I have a TF534 I'll be installing once my parts arrive to build it. But yea, there's a lot of cool stuff on the hard drive from the previous owner, including some games and lots of graphics art tools.

The mouse pointer is some weird green bird sitting on a branch, 🤣 -- it doesn't fully show up because I still am waiting on the transistors to fix the green output of my 1084S-D2 monitor.

That will be a nice machine for some WHDloader-Action.... Not that 1mb Chip will get you far, as you need 2mb Chip in order to have full WHD compatibility. My 500-Desktop have only 1mb Chip, and is much like your's. That is in terms of spec's. (1mb Chip, 8mb Fast and HDD). Yet any Amiga is awesomme stuff. I have OS 3.1.4 in mine as of now. And I have installed a 20 gig PATA-HDD in it. The goal with my miggy, is to have it running as an ADF-Bank and MOD-File player.

xcomcmdr wrote on 2020-08-02, 08:47:

Amiga Forever ! <3

So true.... So true.... Superior gaming platform between 1987 and 1992. Hardware arcitecture is one of the most beautifull ever created. So elegant.

Repaired a MicroATX slot-1 board that had a broken PLCC BIOS socket. 2 corners of the socket were cracked ever since I bought it on eBay ~10 years ago. I used that board for hotflashing PLCCs because the cracked socket made it easier for popping chips in and out. That took a toll though, and as the socket disintegrated from this abuse one of the pads got ripped off the motherboard.

I was tempted to solder the BIOS directly to the board, but decided to give a shot at installing a new PLCC socket, which is something I've never done before. I don't have hot air but it looked feasible with an iron. Over the weekend I made the attempt and it worked out fine. The iron melted the plastic a bit in the "floor" of the socket but that's harmless. I also ran a jumper wire to bypass the ripped pad. The board is running well so far, so I'll probably replace the rest of the old caps.

chrismeyer6 wrote on 2020-08-10, 11:00:

I think I found two that would look good with your case. […]
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I think I found two that would look good with your case.

https://www.frozencpu.com/products/11217/bus- … l?tl=g34c17s286

https://www.frozencpu.com/products/9198/bus-1 … l?tl=g34c17s286

They have a decent selection of silver front panel devices if these two don't suit your needs. My brother had a very similar looking case back.

Thanks, those would look great! If only I could find them in EU so I don't have pay so much for shipping.

vellu wrote on 2020-08-10, 15:15:

chrismeyer6 wrote on 2020-08-10, 11:00:

I think I found two that would look good with your case. […]
Show full quote

I think I found two that would look good with your case.

https://www.frozencpu.com/products/11217/bus- … l?tl=g34c17s286

https://www.frozencpu.com/products/9198/bus-1 … l?tl=g34c17s286

They have a decent selection of silver front panel devices if these two don't suit your needs. My brother had a very similar looking case back.

Thanks, those would look great! If only I could find them in EU so I don't have pay so much for shipping.

Sorry about that I didn't realize you were in the EU I hope you can find something you like locally. How's your system performance?

chrismeyer6 wrote on 2020-08-10, 15:24:

Sorry about that I didn't realize you were in the EU I hope you can find something you like locally. How's your system performance?

no worries, it's good to have options! I can't remember the score for 3DMARK03 but I finished Far Cry with this build as a stress test. Specs are:

- Intel D865GLC socket 478
- Intel Pentium-4-3200
- Scythe Infinity/Mugen
- 2 GB RAM
- 80 GB harddrive
- 3,5" diskette
- DVD-ROM
- ATI X800 Pro
- Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS

I'd say it's 2004-ish build for Windows XP.

That's a great setup. I built a system very similar to that for a friend around that time frame in highschool.

Ran 3DMark on my recently rebuilt K6-2 500 PC, with 128MB RAM. Then I went into the BIOS and tweaked the RAM timing settings and ran it again.

Before:

3DMark 99: 1917 3D Marks, 4445 CPU 3D Marks
3DMark 2000: 1074 3D Marks

After:

3DMark 99: 2391 3D Marks, 6039 CPU 3D Marks
3DMark 2000: 1312 3D Marks

Not sure if I'd see any further improvement by putting in a PC133 RAM stick, but I'm quite surprised that the currently installed RAM seems happy with the faster timings since one of the sticks claims to be PC66.

I did take a little time to play some games on the Versa M/75 and my 486 DX4-100 Desktop, though I found the Deskto has a RAM problem as it fell on the floor a week ago so I need to reseat one of the 72 pin Modules, it's reading as having 48MB instead of 64MB currently (DOH). Will have some time for that when the docking station comes in.

Currently downloading videos from my "The Creeping Network" youtube channel and then doing some updates to them as I'm consolidating down to ONE channel, the same one I've had since 2006 - "creepingnet" - which has vintage computing, vintage gaming, guitars, auto mechanics, small engine repair, other stuff.....I'm a bit like BBISBISHOPPCM (did I get that right), VWWestlife or Shango66 in that I do more than just one thing. It's just easier as a day-working, married man to handle ONE youtube channel instead of multiple. Plus I'm not doing it for the money, I'm doing it for fun anyway. Also made two huge long videos on both Versas using months of footage, including quite a crack-up of a video on the Words+.

Working on getting a file server set up for home use and for a public vintage/retro FTP.

It will be running on a Dell DL2300 server with 12x 3TB drives in RAID 6. The OS will be running on a different drive.

A pair of E5-2630 v2 CPUs arrived today to replace the bottom of the barrel 2.4Ghz quad cores that have no turbo whatsoever.

So while not necessarily "retro", I am putting it in here since it will be used as a public ftp for vintage / retro purposes.

I've been on a newly re-kindled Vintage computing bender.
It started with a mate who wanted me to help fix an old compaq luggable (I had one as a kid.. loved it).
Anyway, got that fixed thanks to good ol Gotek 😀

Then I did what any nostalgia loving nerd would do - I ebayed basically everything I had as a kid to try to replicate some sort of weird alternate universe where I didn't regretfully throw out all this cool stuff..

One of my many purchases has been this delightful Sharp PC-7100 (still in transit). It POST but doesn't boot.. so likely a FDD fail (the HDD /Hardcard is removed)
Anyway it got me thinking - well what would I want to do with this if I got it?
Well write apps for it of course..

So I started an 86 box, set it up to the same config as the sharp, grabbed open watcom and compiled a hello world app in windows 3.0 for real mode.
In short - it wasn't easy, but I got it up and running and have started constructing the little project I'm forming for it..
I am also doing a TGUI version for DOS but for some odd reason I just really wanted to torture myself with 3.0 real mode for a bit..

I tried to unsuccessfully restore an IBM Netvista Pentium 4 for a friend.

After manging to juryrig mounting an HDD and adding the missing floppy drive, replacing the DVD-ROM, cleaning it thoroughly, adding new feet to it, replacing the dead memory and the coin cell battery it actually booted.

I got as far as partitioning the HDD when it locked up hard, and refused to turn on again.

Now it just gives me a 3-1-4-3 beep code at POST, signalling a dead component on the motherboard.

Click F to pay respects. Will be shipped back to my friend as I don't have time to troubleshoot a Pentium 4 motherboard and its likely dead shitty capacitors..

Replaced Dallas RTC battery for Pentium motherboard. Luckily it was already socketed

A Sound Blaster 2.0 ended up on my doorstep today.
Got it mostly on an impulse as it was cheap and..well it's a 91' era soundcard 😀

Don't fully know for sure if it's working, as all it wants to do is output static and really abnoxious glitchy sounds.

Not surprised though. Unfortunately I dont have any AT PSUs lying around and my ATX adapter doesn't makeup for the -5V rail this card apperently needs.

Soo...I'm just gonna assume it works should I find something to power it.