The analog input of my SGI Multilink seemed to be dying on me, so I dug out a video card with DVI-D and hooked that up instead. Now it seems it's the whole Multilink, not just analog (screen losing sync all the time, particularly at native resolution of the 1600SW monitor) 🙁

Worse, my DVI card, a nice ATi 4650 AGP is artefacting all over the place 🙁 🙁

Today I set a dial up connection between two USB modems I had around on virtual machines running Windows 98SE. I wanted to go older, but 98SE was the earliest with driver support.

With some tinkering, there is no battery or expensive line simulator, ring simulator or any other simulator. I can successfully access the Internet from VM #2 using web from the NIC on VM #1. Just the two modems and a plain phone line between them.

Here's some screenshots of VM #2!

Unchecked Wait for Dial Tone Before Dialing option

Still remember my old ISP's dial up number like it was yesterday. It's only natural to use it 😀

Overall, I'm happy it works. I know it's nothing special, but I'm pleased to get it down to such a simple process that I can hopefully use it reliably on an actual machine on one end with a proper ISA/PCI/Serial modem, and a VM with USB modem on the other from my main PC.

x0zm_ wrote:

Today I set a dial up connection between two USB modems I had around on virtual machines running Windows 98SE. I wanted to go older, but 98SE was the earliest with driver support.

That's awesome. I recently did something similar with a pair of Apple //c's with old Apple modems (a 300 baud and a 1200 baud). With a 2-port ATA device and a PBX running in a VM, I was able to get them to dial each other as chat terminals. A big challenge was neither the modems nor the //c use anything like a standard serial cable and I didn't have anything official to go with the modems, so I had to make my own cables -- twice. One of these days I might set it up again and see if I can get them to dial *out* to a real-live BBS, but for now tcpser is as good as it gets.

@x0zm_, do you have somewhere some instructions to share for the "server" part vm with modem? I would love to do something similar: Use my Pentium MMX over com port cable as client and my modern computer with usb-com adapter as modem/ISP server to serve the internet connection.

I should try this between my Compaq Presario C700 (Windows 7) and my Packard Bell Pack-Mate 28 Plus (Windows 95) as a 2400 baud connection. Yes, I know that'll be slow as molasses. I'll be installing the Adaptec CardPark ISA PCMCIA kit with the 56K PCMCIA modem and 3Com EtherLink III PCMCIA card.

For the VM #1 configuration, what is the configuration for that?

GigAHerZ wrote:

@x0zm_, do you have somewhere some instructions to share for the "server" part vm with modem?

bjwil1991 wrote:

For the VM #1 configuration, what is the configuration for that?

I'll re-do it again, take screenshots and do a write up for it later tonight or tomorrow. It's fairly straight forward, just took a bit to figure out the first few times around.

Sweet.

x0zm_ wrote:

GigAHerZ wrote:

@x0zm_, do you have somewhere some instructions to share for the "server" part vm with modem?

bjwil1991 wrote:

For the VM #1 configuration, what is the configuration for that?

I'll re-do it again, take screenshots and do a write up for it later tonight or tomorrow. It's fairly straight forward, just took a bit to figure out the first few times around.

Excellent, I have been thinking about building something similar to this setup: https://dogemicrosystems.ca/wiki/Dial_up_server in the last weeks.
However this solution feels like overkill because I have no real practical use-case. All my retro boxes have Ethernet uplink so there's no real need for a dial-up connection, except reviving an old modem just for the squeechy sounds 😉

Cloned my 80GB HDD to my 480GB SSD successfully, copied the data from the E and F drive I backed up to the SSD, and installed a nightly build of XBMC4Xbox-33032 for XBMC4Xbox 3.5.3 as the movie database (themoviedb.org) scraper wasn't working on the original build and all of the movies and TV shows are being recognized. Almost all of the music is recognized, except for 1 track that's not showing up in there, but the file is there.

All of the old concerns about drive model compatibility are out the window now? I used a 120GB PATA drive as I didn't want to invest in a massive drive that wouldn't be accepted by the Xbox when I softmodded mine. Same with my PS2.

gex85 wrote:

Excellent, I have been thinking about building something similar to this setup: https://dogemicrosystems.ca/wiki/Dial_up_server in the last weeks.
However this solution feels like overkill because I have no real practical use-case. All my retro boxes have Ethernet uplink so there's no real need for a dial-up connection, except reviving an old modem just for the squeechy sounds 😉

bjwil1991 wrote:

Sweet.

I wrote it up and posted it here.

Doing this brought out some severe PTSD from deep down inside. Modems making noise late at night while people here are sleeping. Memories of trying to hide the modem noise when I didn't know M0 / L0 strings as a kid wanting to go online at night. 🤣

Mister Xiado wrote:

All of the old concerns about drive model compatibility are out the window now? I used a 120GB PATA drive as I didn't want to invest in a massive drive that wouldn't be accepted by the Xbox when I softmodded mine. Same with my PS2.

Those concerns were mostly about drives being lockable or not. If you wanted to use Xbox Live, you needed the original, unmodded BIOS and system, logging on with a modded system running would render the console a lifetime ban. The original BIOS/system required a locked drive. You might remember that people used to dual boot unmodded and modded systems back then.

However, as you know, Xbox Live is closed down for original Xbox since more than a few years, and there's really no use for the original system left. If your box is hardmodded, most, if not all, compatibility concerns are out the window nowadays. Dunno about softmods, they're using the original BIOS in the beginning of the boot sequence, but afaik there is a grace period of a few seconds before the check at boot, might be that the modded BIOS image loads before that runs out.

Bricked my -66 system again, probably graphics card. UGHHH!!!! more troubles than FUN!

I had been reverse engineering the jumper settings for a MHz display in one of my cases, but I could not get one of the segments to work. I had concluded that the segment must be defective 🙁

Today I desoldered it from the PCB (nice first job for my new desoldering station), and tested it. The segments LED is indeed not working 🙁 Unfortunately it's the middle horizontal one, so I can only make a 1 or a 7 now 🙁

I wonder if I can find a replacement. Finding the data sheet for the display unit was surprisingly easy (and very helpful).

Cyrix200+ wrote:

I had been reverse engineering the jumper settings for a MHz display in one of my cases, but I could not get one of the segments to work. I had concluded that the segment must be defective 🙁

Today I desoldered it from the PCB (nice first job for my new desoldering station), and tested it. The segments LED is indeed not working 🙁 Unfortunately it's the middle horizontal one, so I can only make a 1 or a 7 now 🙁

I wonder if I can find a replacement. Finding the data sheet for the display unit was surprisingly easy (and very helpful).

Those 7 segment displays are usually standard off the shelf stuff. Shouldn't be hard or expensive to find a replacement 😀

If you can't find a 2 digit one, I'd guess two 1 digit ones would be fine too. The pin configuration on those displays seems to be pretty standardized.

Cyrix200+ wrote:

I had been reverse engineering the jumper settings for a MHz display in one of my cases, but I could not get one of the segments […]
Show full quote

I had been reverse engineering the jumper settings for a MHz display in one of my cases, but I could not get one of the segments to work. I had concluded that the segment must be defective 🙁

Today I desoldered it from the PCB (nice first job for my new desoldering station), and tested it. The segments LED is indeed not working 🙁 Unfortunately it's the middle horizontal one, so I can only make a 1 or a 7 now 🙁

I wonder if I can find a replacement. Finding the data sheet for the display unit was surprisingly easy (and very helpful).

pic1

pic2

Yes, they are easy to find a replacement for. I replaced a 2 digit display on one of mine -- I think I got the LED display from either Digikey or Newark.

Almost soldered the Creative Music System/Game blaster replica sound card. Finally got rid of the noise.

LONG LIVE CMS

"What retro activity did you get up to today?"

Heh, wash some mobo/buys some mobo.
Planing to recap some 478 SIS651, and waiting for Sl1 i820 Intel (on RD-RAM)

took a voodoo banshee that I salvaged from a box of scrap with a few scuffs on the back and a slightly bent pin on one of the memory modules from the basement upstairs to test... boots up fine 😀 no 3D tests or anything yet... just wanted to see if it works at all... the system was on for maybe 10 seconds... and when I turned it off and tried removing the card again I almost burnt my thumb on the heatsink, are they usually that hot? 🤣

...ok that's odd, the system was off for several minutes now and the heatsink is still hot.