First post, by aka286dos
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After seeing PhilsComputerLab video on this youtube.com/watch?v=qX2_dm9or0Q - I decided to pick up one to get back into DOS gaming and programming. I wasn't able to boot msdos from straight up USB (non-system disk error or whatever) (using rufus from Windows XP in vbox), but FreeDOS 1.2 booted and installed fine. Edit: should have used E2B. 😒
HP 5710 profile on parkytowers - https://www.parkytowers.me.uk/thin/hp/t5710/
With a bit of googling, looking at different VT southbridge chipsets with 3058 audio, some datasheets indicate legacy soundblaster support, while others do not (which may reflect this thin client).
https://devicehunt.com/view/type/pci/vendor/1106/device/3058
Example VT southbridge with 3058 audio w/ legacy DOS SB support - PDF datasheet: ftp://ftp.alsa-project.org/pub/manuals/via/686a.pdf
Is the 8235 spec sheet for what's ID'd below? http://www.yuiop.co.uk/epia/stuff/South%20%20 … idge/VT8235.pdf
edit: board has VT1612A chip. http://www.yuiop.co.uk/epia/stuff/VT1612A.pdf
No mention of the legacy support except for the RO status that can be probed by tools like VIAFMTSR.COM and VIAUDIO.COM (which detect SB Legacy as disabled - I checked.)
(If you are wondering what VIAFMTSR.COM and VIAUDIO.COM are, see this thread:
I was hoping, just hoping that maybe this thing had DOS sound blaster support, as seen in this thread for a different chipset: VIA 686B AC'97 audio works really well in DOS (SB Pro stereo + OPL3 emulation!) )
This is PCISLEEP by Eric Auer 12mar2005 - Free open source software. Read GNU General Public License 2 at http://www.gnu.org […]
This is PCISLEEP by Eric Auer 12mar2005 - Free open source software.
Read GNU General Public License 2 at http://www.gnu.orgPCI BIOS version 2.10, highest bus number is 0.
Interfaces: 10 is OHCI for USB/FireWire, 20 is EHCI for USB 2.0, etc.
Bridges: 'from bus X to Y (subordinate Z)' shown as '[XX->YY(ZZ)]'
Power Management support shown as: D1 idle, D2 halt, D3 soft-offbus.device(.function) [vendor:model] classcode(/iface) vendor class
BusDevF vend:type class vendor description...
00.00.0 [1279:0395] 0600 other CPU host bridge
00.00.1 [1279:0396] 0500 other RAM (memory) controller
00.00.2 [1279:0397] 0500 other RAM (memory) controller
00.00.3 [1279:0399] 0500 other RAM (memory) controller
00.09.0 [1106:3038] 0c03 VIA USB controller [D1,D3]
00.09.1 [1106:3038] 0c03 VIA USB controller [D1,D3]
00.09.2 [1106:3104] 0c03/20 VIA USB controller [D1,D3]
00.0d [1002:5159] 0300 ATI VGA graphics [D1,D3]
00.11.0 [1106:8231] 0601 VIA ISA bridge [D3]
00.11.1 [1106:0571] 0101/8a VIA IDE controller [D3]
00.11.4 [1106:8235] 0680 VIA southbridge / ACPI? [D3]
00.11.5 [1106:3058] 0401 VIA audio [D3]
00.12 [1106:3065] 0200 VIA LAN / Ethernet [D1,D3]
PCI bus scan done.
ACPI I/O base 4000 (guess, config reg. 48 of 00.11.4 device).
Initially, before looking at the datasheet differences, I thought maybe the option was just missing from the BIOS - and maybe with some hacking (either unhiding menu option or adding code) could be re-enabled based on similar BIOSes for other VT chipsets:
VIA 686B AC'97 audio works really well in DOS (SB Pro stereo + OPL3 emulation!)
I had a quick poke at a BIOS update for the HP t5710 - 558h2102.bin from ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp29001-29500/SP29530.exe - using CTMC.EXE from ftp://ftp.heise.de/pub/ct/ctsi/ctmc10.zip - and didn't see any text strings that look like legacy sb options. 😢
Just posting in case anyone else was wondering the same.
One curious result I've had is that Jason Storm in Space Chase hard locks after jumping right after the level loads. Not sure if this is particular to FreeDOS or not, will update once I get MSDOS installed when my gotek usb floppy simulator arrives. Edit: still freezes in Windows 98.
Shareware download in case anyone else wants to confirm whether they get a hard lock with this game. https://archive.org/details/JasonStorminSpaceChase_1020
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Update 1: I installed Windows 98SE with E2B. Installed chipset, video, and sound drivers. Sadly on-board sound playback is kinda crappy? I tested Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II demo. Sounds seem delayed, tinny or a little like static mixed in? HP t5720 is a dream by comparison. I am going to install a PCI soundcard for this t5710.
I also installed a SD card adapter with the cheapest 8GB SD card I could find on ebay (~$1). The performance is terrible - writes are slow, and block the entire OS occasionally for 2-3 seconds at a time. Going to retest with a better rated, name brand SD card. I'll update here.
