SETBLASTER wrote:

. Some kind of mod to a SNES controller to make it connect to a 486 DOS PC.

They have existed for quite some time 😀 I had made one for a PSX controller back in the day, and it worked great.

Regarding your list - how about a PicoPSU and its derivatives as a power supply alternative?

- DIN to PS/2 adapter, both directions (for new keyb on AT-style systems, and AT keyb on new systems)
- floppy and IDE cables without blocked-off key pin
- serial DB25 to DE9 adapter
- serial mouse, or PS/2 mouse that supports serial communication with PS/2 to serial adapter.
- chip puller for pesky E(E)PROMS and cache chips
- chip remover for LIF-sockets (i.e old CPUs)

Revolter wrote:

Regarding your list - how about a PicoPSU and its derivatives as a power supply alternative?

Usually they lack the negative 12V supply and it may cause a lot of problems and wasted time... (Talking from an experience, unfortunatelly...)

Revolter wrote:

SETBLASTER wrote:

. Some kind of mod to a SNES controller to make it connect to a 486 DOS PC.

They have existed for quite some time 😀 I had made one for a PSX controller back in the day, and it worked great.

Regarding your list - how about a PicoPSU and its derivatives as a power supply alternative?

hey i never saw that, what a great mod.
but it works on windows only??? or you can use it in DOS? how do you setup the driver for DOS?
a SNES controller is better than any other controller.

i have updated the list.

SETBLASTER wrote:

how do you setup the driver for DOS?

Sorry, I forgot that it only works in ZSNES DOS version - turns out direct support for this project has to be implemented in DOS applications in order for it to work. It was probably the only thing I used it for on that system, so this detail has eluded me %(

Lots of little bits of kit for making everything fit.
Drive rails for 286 class machines,
tons and tons of different screws,
spare PC speakers,
CR2032 coin cell holders,
3.5 to 5.25 drive bay adapters

just in general you want lots of stuff in stock. I recently built another machine and i was glad that i had bins full of RAM, ISA/VLB/PCI boards, power supplies, cables, drives, etc for when things didn't work.

Revolter wrote:

SETBLASTER wrote:

how do you setup the driver for DOS?

Sorry, I forgot that it only works in ZSNES DOS version - turns out direct support for this project has to be implemented in DOS applications in order for it to work. It was probably the only thing I used it for on that system, so this detail has eluded me %(

i think that with your modded gamepad, plus a DOS TSR called SNESKEY, you can en up having it working on some DOS games
but i haven't found info about that on PUre DOS. nor reviews

http://www.emulatronia.com/reportajes/directpad/md/soft.htm

SNESKEY acts like emulating that you are typing on the keyboard.

dionb wrote:

- chip remover for LIF-sockets (i.e old CPUs)

I can't recommend these enough. I went from spending two hours removing a stubborn 486 cpu with a screwdriver, to about 4 to 20 seconds with this tool (no matter how hard the CPU is jammed in there)

gloomkeep wrote:

dionb wrote:

- chip remover for LIF-sockets (i.e old CPUs)

I can't recommend these enough. I went from spending two hours removing a stubborn 486 cpu with a screwdriver, to about 4 to 20 seconds with this tool (no matter how hard the CPU is jammed in there)

lif.jpg

I'll need one soon since I got to remove my old 486 SX CPU that's in a LIF socket - can't for the life of me find that tool anywhere though.

Maybe I can find or make something myself that grips underneath the CPU on both sides so I can wiggle but damn, even removing an ISA card can mean a LOT of pulling and that's just a slot. This is pulling 168 pins from a socket.

I'd like to recommend a IC Straightener tool like the one shown here. Not a necessity by any means but pretty handy to have if you're also using IC Pullers.

Picked this up at a local thrift store a few months ago for 5 bucks. Best 5 bucks I've ever spent. It's a diagnostics tool for XT and AT class machines mostly, but it can be used with any computer with an ISA or MCA slot. It includes a BIOS POST display, voltage line indicators, and a logic probe! It also comes with software that has tables of codes for almost every type of BIOS, pinouts for most common motherboard ICs, and a software suite that includes hundreds of tests for everything from serial port loopback tests to an editor to directly edit HEX values on your HDD! Pretty useful if you work on anything older than a 486.

Also, I found this page on wiring a SNES controller to your parallel port.

http://arcadecontrols.com/Mirrors/www.csc.tnt … ork/default.htm

9) AGP to PCI adapter

Do these things even work?

appiah4 wrote:

9) AGP to PCI adapter

Do these things even work?

Yep, but it depends. Many video cards can POST with these just fine, but it's up to their drivers if they can do Direct3D and OpenGL in Windows. Linux is easier in this regard. I have a bunch of such adaptors for sale on the CPU-World forums. PM me if you're interested.

I was thinking of getting one of these DIMM slot testers

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PC-DDR2-DDR3-Memor … b1~nA:rk:7:pf:0

Supposedly will find open or short address and data lines on a mobo, amongst other things. Anyone used one, do they work?

Also those ISA/PCI analyzer testers - do they only work on really old mobos or will they also work on more modern mobos that have PCI slots (eg socket 775 or Super Socket 7 boards)? I seem to find many mixed reviews of these and no clear idea if they are useful or useless. I cant' tell from the reviews if it is the user that is useless or the hardware.

ISA POST cards work everywhere with ISA slots present. PCI POST cards are a different matter. If a mainboard has an ISA slot, I don't bother myself with a selection of a compatible PCI POST card.

The ISA POST card is less useful on newer motherboards because the bios effectively hast it built in. Where it really comes in handy is when you're repairing a computer such as the IBM XT, where it just won't boot and it gives you no information at all.

red_avatar wrote:

gloomkeep wrote:

dionb wrote:

- chip remover for LIF-sockets (i.e old CPUs)

I can't recommend these enough. I went from spending two hours removing a stubborn 486 cpu with a screwdriver, to about 4 to 20 seconds with this tool (no matter how hard the CPU is jammed in there)

lif.jpg

I'll need one soon since I got to remove my old 486 SX CPU that's in a LIF socket - can't for the life of me find that tool anywhere though.

Maybe I can find or make something myself that grips underneath the CPU on both sides so I can wiggle but damn, even removing an ISA card can mean a LOT of pulling and that's just a slot. This is pulling 168 pins from a socket.

To say the truth, I was not aware of the fact that such a special tool existed.

Even back in the days, when I was working as a part time IT tech, we were using slot cover brackets to lever them out. Not the flimsy tin foil kind that is common today, I'm talking about the slot covers of the old times, which are thick and almost unbendable.

The process, as very nicely described by a fellow vogoner:

"The trick is to lever them out evenly. If you lift up one side too much further than the others, you will bend the pins. So lift up each side by 1mm or less at a time, and work your way all around the chip over and over until it comes out. It can be a bit of a lengthy process,"

But it worked and still works based on my experience.

How do you extract chips where one side is so close to another component (e.g. power connector) that there's no way of slipping a tool down on that side?