Shponglefan wrote on 2022-11-19, 22:40:

Thank you. :) […]
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Nexxen wrote on 2022-11-19, 00:05:

Nice machine 😉
CF cards have few shottky diodes and they failed a few times on my cards. Resoldered and it's back in business.
At least that has always been the cause for my CFs.

Thank you. 😀

Yeah, I'm hoping it's a simple case of a failed component that won't be too tough to diagnose / replace. Though with the few number of components, I can't imagine it will take too long to figure out. 😁

Kahenraz wrote on 2022-11-19, 01:50:

I had the same problem with a set of three CF to IDE adapters I received last week. One was not dead but worked with some (but not all) cards. And those it did work with showed corruption at POST, hung, or failed to let the system boot.

I inspected it under my microscope and couldn't find any problem with the traces or solder joints. I agree, there isn't anything that should go wrong on these, which is really weird. The seller wanted it back, so I returned it without investigating further.

I had similar symptoms. My system would POST, but then hang when attempting to boot. I also noticed the LEDs on it seemed dimmer than normal, so I'm assuming some sort of voltage wonkiness is going on, though it's not with the PSU output since I tested those and its fine.

With few components should hopefully not take too much work to figure out what failed.

Dimmer LED light happens when I forget to plug the FD connector.
VRM busted? You'll tell in the near future. 😀

Shponglefan wrote on 2022-11-19, 22:46:

Today I added some RGB to my 'Ultimate' Windows 98 build.

Next up I may try adding an Audigy 2 ZS installed alongside the MX300, at which point I think this one will be done.

This is cute 😉
Bravo!

Finally located 5 pieces of 20MHz oscillator in SOJ package for reasonable price. Ebay search didn't include this seller, it was in the links bar below the another through seller's main store links while looking at their 20MHz oscillator which costs 3.5 times as much.

For the experiment with slowing 386 or 486 down to 10MHz.

Cheers,

pentiumspeed wrote on 2022-11-20, 02:31:

Finally located 5 pieces of 20MHz oscillator in SOJ package for reasonable price. Ebay search didn't include this seller, it was in the links bar below the another through seller's main store links while looking at their 20MHz oscillator which costs 3.5 times as much.

For the experiment with slowing 386 or 486 down to 10MHz.

Cheers,

I have friends in China, through Taobao everything is cheaper.
I asked them to buy crystals, they come 10x cheaper, from 5€ to 50 cents...

Hi,

Got one of my projects some head start. Started building some sets, P3 650 vs Athlon 650. Bought a radeon 7500 and looking for Geforce2 ti to company the P3. The Athlon mobo need recapping but it works.

I finally got my act together and registered here...

I also decided on the specs of the oldest of the retro systems I'm going to bother with for the time being. Went with a Windows 95C build with a P233MMX on a ChainTech i430TX mobo, 32 MB SDRAM (until I find another 32MB stick somewhere), Matrox Millennium G200-SD PCI, AWE32, 3Com 3c509B, Teac CD-524E, and a CF to IDE adapter. Currently doing a few benchmarks for stability testing.

Went on with little GM modules shopping spree lately. Got:
1) SC-55K from Yahoo Japan
2)E-Wave add-on from Serdaco for Orpheus
I already had Yamaha MU50. From full main stream coverage GUS midi was missing. Then I stumbled upon Hummtaro fantastic soundbanks thread. Good reason to dust off my X3MB. WoW! Recently added GUS SB sounds very close to real one.

Today I got little bit more organized. Bought one of those cheap label printers finally. Result - pic attached!
Yamaha is YMF744 PCI card with it's fantastic XG synth exclusively for Win98.
Now I have filled all my mixer channels. No room for upgrade..
Although I'm reading that there is a limit to midi-trough daisy-chain setups. I'd like to keep it so. I'm enjoying a lot on the fly music switching ability.

Note to myself before upgrading - Be patient. Wait for Orpheus II and you'll get automatically many free slots for your mixer while keeping same options...

I found that there was a delay caused by daisy chaining MIDI modules. I don't remember the testing method, but it was very noticable. A mixer is the optimal solution.

Tuba wrote on 2022-11-20, 12:45:

I finally got my act together and registered here...

Welcome to the community 😀

Worked on testing more sound card configs in my 486 system.

Tested out the combination of a GUS Classic, Terratec Profimedia Gold 16/96 and a Yucatan FX wavetable daughterboard, plus a Roland MPU-IPC for external MIDI.

Since the MPU-IPC has its port set to 330, I set the MIDI port on the Terratec to 300. For games with configurable General MIDI ports this was fine. I did run into an issue with X-Wing which doesn't allow for custom port settings. Though I could always use a custom batch file to change the Terratec port or just use an external MIDI module for that game.

Other than that one little wrinkle, everything else tested fine whether using GM, an external MT-32, GUS, or SB Pro compatible sounds.

Quite happy with this setup. 😁

DundyTheCroc wrote on 2022-11-19, 16:19:

pc3.jpg

What game is that? Looks pixelly-awesome and vaguely familiar 😉

pbagain wrote on 2022-11-20, 20:52:

DundyTheCroc wrote on 2022-11-19, 16:19:

pc3.jpg

What game is that? Looks pixelly-awesome and vaguely familiar 😉

Looks like Panzer Dragoon.

Shponglefan wrote on 2022-11-20, 21:07:

pbagain wrote on 2022-11-20, 20:52:

DundyTheCroc wrote on 2022-11-19, 16:19:

pc3.jpg

What game is that? Looks pixelly-awesome and vaguely familiar 😉

Looks like Panzer Dragoon.

Correct. Sega PC version. Still runs without much fuss on Windows 10.

pbagain wrote on 2022-11-20, 20:52:

DundyTheCroc wrote on 2022-11-19, 16:19:

pc3.jpg

What game is that? Looks pixelly-awesome and vaguely familiar 😉

Panzer Dragoon for PC, the one that came bundled with Diamond Edge 3D 2120 and uses NV1 hardware acceleration.

Recapped GA-7VKML... I think I will do a fun budget 2001/2002 build with a Duron

Yesterday I cleaned this card using Soap Water > Hair Dryer > Sun > a little bit of WD-40.

Today I cleaned this card using Soap Water > Hair Dryer > Sun > a little bit of WD-40.

ayandon wrote on 2022-11-21, 17:45:

Yesterday I cleaned this card using Soap Water > Hair Dryer > Sun > a little bit of WD-40.

Great job.
I hope you did rinse the card with clear water. You don't want residues of the soap on you card.
You can safe yourself some time and work, by drying hardware in the oven on low temperature. Keep the oven a bit open, so moisture can escape.
Also I wouldn't use WD-40. Do you have 99.9% isopropyl alcohol (also known as IPA or isopropanol)? You can get it super cheap if you buy a gallon. That stuff is insane. I scrub hardware with IPA and a cotton swab after I've bathed and dried them.

If you didn't rinse with a solvent such as IPA, won't the WD-40 eventually eat away at components and tracks?

I've been considering testing WD-40 as it's a 90% ingredient match for the spendier contact cleaners, and the cheaper ones, all the effectiveness is in the IPA content. It shouldn't damage PCB, IC packages or traces and contacts at all, but might remove screen printing, soften heatshrink like around capacitors and any globs of hot glue/wax that are holding inductors in place.