RetroSpector78 wrote on 2024-02-28, 09:31:I have 3 of these and all of them share common issues: […]
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I have 3 of these and all of them share common issues:
brittle plastics
power on / off issues
random shutdowns
PCB with lots of bodge wires (unclear if it was delivered to customer by AST this way, or if this was the result of a repair). Have different motherboards with different patches applied.
When it works its a nice little laptop, but it's a real pain due to its random and erratic behavior.
If you need any more info or pictures feel free to contact me. You can use whatever material I put out. (I have a video on it on my channel and will publish a new one tomorrow).
Ah hello! I've been watching your channel for a couple years now and saw your first video, currently watching the second one. There's some great shots of the components there I could definitely make use of on my website!
I have pages published on the 950N here now: https://macdat.net/pc/ast/ascentia_950n_home.html
I found an archive of the drivers as well so I need to put those up still.
It's a real shame they're so problematic, one of these configured with the TFT 640x480 option would hit the mythical requirements for the "perfect DOS gaming laptop". Mainly, 640x480 TFT screen and DOS compatible sound (of which that Vibra definitely counts). The Lexmark keyboard is also a big plus - it should have the exact same switches that ThinkPad keyboards of the time used.
Edit: Wait, I'm mistaken. There was no TFT 640x480 option, all were 800x600. Still a great DOS system though.
I was in talks with a guy on VCF that wanted to sell one to me that worked, but they went inactive. Maybe they'll come back at some point, I hope they do.
I probably have too many old laptops.