Last one for tonight ..
Yep ..another 'adventure' game
The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes.
This was a seriously long install and unpack..
20 minutes ..
The install wrongly assigned my audio device and gave me expanded memory I dont have.
needless to say ..it didn't run and required some tweaking..
But
It's running now.

Think I got LSL1 running ..but I'll need to check for stability by playing it a while.
I ran memmaker again in DOS ..but this time instead of auto config I chose manual changes ..and designated a few tweaks even though I was just guessing most of the time ..for example chose aggressive interogation of upper memory and allocating monochrome text memory for program use ..this gained me a few more bytes ..
and when I accepted the changes and ran LSL again ...it ran.
I really could use a guide to how memmaker operates.
As I said ..I'm no expert in DOS.
but windows 3.11 still boots ..and LSL 1 now runs..
But ...I hate making random changes without understanding what I'm doing.
rgds
VS

Not really my kind of game ..but figured why the hell not try and install X-Wing.
It wasn't possible until last nights memory reconfig ..but installed today no problem to drive D:
..the scsi drive
How well it will play is yet to be determined ..but it is installed and plays through the intro with sound and speech.
rgds
VS

Still a couple to go ..
KQ 5 and INDY Fate of Atlantis ..
Possible Rise of the Robots and System Shock ..but not sure if a 386 can cope.
When all is completed I will "share" both drives C and D so I can export them in entirity to my NAS.
by then hopefully the CD audio lead has arrived and can start testing the CD ..
rgds
VS

Glad your all up and running!
Fate of Atlantis is a brilliant game, I played this one on my 386sx back in the day and loved it.
Rise of the Robots is a crime against humanity however, it looks lovely but is perhaps one of the worst video games I have ever played, don't let me put you off installing it though, everyone should play it once, it makes you really appreciate every other game from that point onward.

BSA Starfire wrote on 2020-05-23, 11:50:

Glad your all up and running!
Fate of Atlantis is a brilliant game, I played this one on my 386sx back in the day and loved it.
Rise of the Robots is a crime against humanity however, it looks lovely but is perhaps one of the worst video games I have ever played, don't let me put you off installing it though, everyone should play it once, it makes you really appreciate every other game from that point onward.

Just looked at the big box details ..
Looks like Rise of the Robots might just run..
386cpu 25mhz 8mb ram ..
I suspect that this is just about my limit.
Sadly not looking good for System Shock however ..
Needs a 486 minimum.
So ..
I'll add ROTR to the build even though ..like you ..I dont particularly like the game.
cest la vie.
VS

Really pleased to find an old game in my pile of 5.25 inch floppies from about 1983 ..
A very excellent and much loved by me back in my teens ...game.
A well coded DOS version of the strategy game MAHJONGG.
To be honest I can't believe it survived intact all this time without bit rot setting in.
The curse of all floppies at the end of their life.
I have noticed however That the older the floppy ..the better it lasts.
I guess they just made a better product back then ..and quality control went out the window as mass consumerism grew.
This I will definately play again, now that it resurfaced.
...It gave me an excuse to test the B: drive floppy at least.
rgds
VS

Got my first major problem..
Whilst going through a few 5.25" floppies the disk eject lever on the YD-380P drive crumbled and fell apart..
Not really enough of it left to glue together and no chance of buying a replacement easily.
So I guess I have no choice but to try and create a replacement.
I figured this might be do-able with some sort of epoxy putty ..
Recommendations appreciated.
requirements are ..it needs to be easily mouldable by hand ...retains its shape whilst curing...but sets like stone once cured ...and strong as the leverage is fairly substantial.
White in colour when cured preferably ..but not essential.
Just when I thought I was almost done.
grrr

I'd use a metal core of some sort and mold the putty around that.

evasive wrote on 2020-05-24, 10:43:

I'd use a metal core of some sort and mold the putty around that.

sounds like good advice buddy ..
Can you recommend a putty brand ?
rgds
VS

Unfortunately not as I have no experience using the stuff for a handle like that. I hope one of the other members does have experience with epoxy putty and knows what works and what doesn't.

This probably wont last ..so ordered some putty ..
but perhaps it might last ..or just as a temporary measure.
Cut 2 x metal ferrules from a telesopic FM aerial.
one for the inside of the lever where the metal shaft inserts ...and one for the outside as a collar.
This does have the problem of intruducing a larger internal thickness to the shaft..
result..it forces the lever parts to seperate ..
Liquid epoxy was then dripped into the gap and is now left to cure.
Not pretty ..but if it works ???
rgds
VS

Ok ..another adaption I am going to try ..which may or may not work.
I have 1 unused 8 bit ISA slot left and one 16 bit ..
These of course would require exterior blanking plates ..but as I was fitting them ..something I haven't tried yet occurred to me.
Rather than blanking off the 8 bit slot ..why not try fitting an external CF interface instead.
I will have to make a custom IDE ribbon for this but I have the IDC connectors and ribbon cable.
Hook this up to the secondary IDE of the controller card and set C/H/S 1023/16/63 and fit a 1gb compact flash as removeable storage ?
It may well not be accepted by the controller card , but nothing to lose by giving it a go.
I will report back on this experiment.
..and btw ..the 5.25" floppy lever is curing nicely but I wont be moving it until tomorrow.
rgds
VS

I fought back my urge to try and move this until this afternoon ....so over 24 hours to cure ..and it appears to be able to perform it's intended function without breaking off ..
This might not be the final time I have to repair it ..but figured a small touch up with a similar coloured paint was in order..
sprayed into a small container and applied by dripping ..not unlike the epoxy..
here is the result
Functionality over esthetics

So ..
I removed all hard drives from the computer ..so only the external CF adapter was connected..
I tried The Geometry settings 1023/16/63 ..with the 1gb CF inserted ...and set as master..
No way ..
It seems my bios or the controller card is restricted so 1023 cylinders is a no go ..
So ..
Removed the 1gb CF and substituted a 512mb ..and set the geometry the same as the conner 400mb+ which I know is acceptable to the controller and/or the bios..
826/16/63 ..
Created a partition ..made it bootable and installed DOS6.22
This works ..
back into the bios which _suggests _ a second drive is possible ...and rightly or wrongly I assumed this means a second drive on the same 40 pin connector /cable.
ie ..a slave drive.
Moved the jumper on the CF adapter to 'slave' and rebooted ...expecting the DFI386 to boot but with the CF as slave..
This failed.
My question then is ..
Does the ability to fit a second hard drive suggested in the bios not actually mean slave ??
ie only one hard drive per controller card ...unless ..the controller card has 2 ide 40 pin headers ?
This is coming from a post 486 era mindset and a confusing concept for me ..
If I want a second ide hard drive then a second controller card would presumably be needed ?
Or ..perhaps ISA controller cards were made which had 2 x IDE ports on them ?
I need to understand ..so any info would be most welcome.
rgds
VS

Just splashed out another £20 on one of these..
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264742756136
..which I guess is more recent ..and clearly states in the manual / the image that it _does_ support 2 IDE hard drives.
At £20 ..worth a punt ..particularly if it is also supplied with a copy of the jumpers\manual and claims to be 'new old stock' ?

reading the features description ..that is a lot of control for one card.

That I/O card is really from the end of an era when they had finetuned everything (production date is week 45 of 1999) and onboard I/O became a thing. They were cheap too at the time. Nice find.

Vipersan wrote on 2020-05-23, 21:53:

Really pleased to find an old game in my pile of 5.25 inch floppies from about 1983 .. A very excellent and much loved by me bac […]
Show full quote

Really pleased to find an old game in my pile of 5.25 inch floppies from about 1983 ..
A very excellent and much loved by me back in my teens ...game.
A well coded DOS version of the strategy game MAHJONGG.
To be honest I can't believe it survived intact all this time without bit rot setting in.
The curse of all floppies at the end of their life.
I have noticed however That the older the floppy ..the better it lasts.
I guess they just made a better product back then ..and quality control went out the window as mass consumerism grew.
This I will definately play again, now that it resurfaced.
...It gave me an excuse to test the B: drive floppy at least.
rgds
VS

Great, I love Shanghai too, have the first two games on Famicom, have it for Amiga, ST and Sanrio(Hello Kitty etc) Shanghai on the Super Famicom. I also play the version that comes with recent linux distro's regularly too. Think I might be an addict!
I've noticed the same with floppy disks too, the older they are the more reliable and longer lasting they seem, most of my old 5 1/4 disks from the 80's, really early90's are still fine, my ST disks from the same era too, also the little weird 2.8" floppies for the Famicom Disk system seem robust too despite most having no shutter. It's 3.5" HD disks I find are normally stuffed, the later the batch, the less likely they are too work.
Glad your drive is working and you've managed to repair the lever, have fun!

evasive wrote on 2020-05-26, 06:15:

That I/O card is really from the end of an era when they had finetuned everything (production date is week 45 of 1999) and onboard I/O became a thing. They were cheap too at the time. Nice find.

Yes indeed ..a nice find ...and looks like they have more if you are interested ?
rgds
VS

BSA Starfire wrote on 2020-05-26, 08:37:

Great, I love Shanghai too, have the first two games on Famicom, have it for Amiga, ST and Sanrio(Hello Kitty etc) Shanghai on t […]
Show full quote

Vipersan wrote on 2020-05-23, 21:53:

Really pleased to find an old game in my pile of 5.25 inch floppies from about 1983 .. A very excellent and much loved by me bac […]
Show full quote

Really pleased to find an old game in my pile of 5.25 inch floppies from about 1983 ..
A very excellent and much loved by me back in my teens ...game.
A well coded DOS version of the strategy game MAHJONGG.
To be honest I can't believe it survived intact all this time without bit rot setting in.
The curse of all floppies at the end of their life.
I have noticed however That the older the floppy ..the better it lasts.
I guess they just made a better product back then ..and quality control went out the window as mass consumerism grew.
This I will definately play again, now that it resurfaced.
...It gave me an excuse to test the B: drive floppy at least.
rgds
VS

Great, I love Shanghai too, have the first two games on Famicom, have it for Amiga, ST and Sanrio(Hello Kitty etc) Shanghai on the Super Famicom. I also play the version that comes with recent linux distro's regularly too. Think I might be an addict!
I've noticed the same with floppy disks too, the older they are the more reliable and longer lasting they seem, most of my old 5 1/4 disks from the 80's, really early90's are still fine, my ST disks from the same era too, also the little weird 2.8" floppies for the Famicom Disk system seem robust too despite most having no shutter. It's 3.5" HD disks I find are normally stuffed, the later the batch, the less likely they are too work.
Glad your drive is working and you've managed to repair the lever, have fun!

I dont think it would be breaking the rules to upload images of the 2x 5.25" floppies ?
In light of the age ..I guess it could be considered abandonware ?
if anyone has objection ..please say so ..otherwise I'll go ahead with this.
rgds
VS