DustyShinigami wrote on 2024-11-09, 15:55:

I have 3 male IDE connectors on the motherboard.

What you have is a 34-pin FDD (floppy disk drive) connector and two 40-pin IDE (hard disk/CD-ROM) connectors.

The way the connections work is you would use a single FDD cable to connect both floppy drives (including the Gotek) using the 34-pin connector on the motherboard.

Then you would use a pair of IDE cables to connect the hard drives and CD-ROM respectively. You can have up to two devices connected via a single cable. Therefore, one hard drive + CD-ROM or both hard drives connected via one cable. Then the remaining device connected via another cable.

You shouldn't need any adapters, extensions, or anything else. Just regular IDE and FDD cables.

Shponglefan wrote on 2024-11-09, 17:34:

What you have is a 34-pin FDD (floppy disk drive) connector and two 40-pin IDE (hard disk/CD-ROM) connectors. […]
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What you have is a 34-pin FDD (floppy disk drive) connector and two 40-pin IDE (hard disk/CD-ROM) connectors.

The way the connections work is you would use a single FDD cable to connect both floppy drives (including the Gotek) using the 34-pin connector on the motherboard.

Then you would use a pair of IDE cables to connect the hard drives and CD-ROM respectively. You can have up to two devices connected via a single cable. Therefore, one hard drive + CD-ROM or both hard drives connected via one cable. Then the remaining device connected via another cable.

You shouldn't need any adapters, extensions, or anything else. Just regular IDE and FDD cables.

I'm guessing you're presuming I have single IDE cables that have 3 female connectors...? One at the top, one in the middle, and one at the bottom? Unfortunately, the cables that were in there when I bought it have cables with only two female connectors - one at the top and one at the bottom.

DustyShinigami wrote on 2024-11-09, 18:07:

I'm guessing you're presuming I have single IDE cables that have 3 female connectors...? One at the top, one in the middle, and one at the bottom? Unfortunately, the cables that were in there when I bought it have cables with only two female connectors - one at the top and one at the bottom.

What you need then are a couple of new cables with connectors for a pair of drives on each cable (FDD and IDE).

Shponglefan wrote on 2024-11-09, 18:53:

What you need then are a couple of new cables with connectors for a pair of drives on each cable (FDD and IDE).

So essentially something like this then?

DustyShinigami wrote on 2024-11-09, 19:44:

Shponglefan wrote on 2024-11-09, 18:53:

What you need then are a couple of new cables with connectors for a pair of drives on each cable (FDD and IDE).

So essentially something like this then?

Yes, exactly like that.

Note that for FDD cables, some will only have 34-pin connectors for 3.5" drives, but others may also have edge connectors for 5.25" drives. As long as you get a cable with 34-pin connectors, it should be fine for connecting the two floppy devices you have.

Shponglefan wrote on 2024-11-09, 19:53:

Yes, exactly like that.

Note that for FDD cables, some will only have 34-pin connectors for 3.5" drives, but others may also have edge connectors for 5.25" drives. As long as you get a cable with 34-pin connectors, it should be fine for connecting the two floppy devices you have.

Awesome. Thanks. It's a good job you mentioned the 34 pin connector for the floppy emulator; I figured it would be just a regular 40-pin cable. The floppy drive installed already has a 34-pin connector, which has those splits in the ribbon. But I'll look and see if I can find a dual one as well.

I suppose as an alternative, I could get some of these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/kenable-PATA-40pin-C … C75&sr=8-4&th=1

Okay, I have one of my 3-way IDE cables. I decided to test out the floppy emulator by disconnecting the existing floppy drive. It powers on, and I had to look up how to use it. I don’t believe any manual was provided with it when I got it. I can cycle through the image files, but I don’t know how to copy and paste. Do I need the other floppy drive connected up with a blank floppy disk in order to transfer files? Or is it possible to somehow copy them to a HDD? If it has to transfer things to floppy, isn’t that going to be an issue depending on the image file size? I don’t know how much each file is exactly.

DustyShinigami wrote on 2024-11-11, 20:12:

Okay, I have one of my 3-way IDE cables. I decided to test out the floppy emulator by disconnecting the existing floppy drive. It powers on, and I had to look up how to use it. I don’t believe any manual was provided with it when I got it. I can cycle through the image files, but I don’t know how to copy and paste. Do I need the other floppy drive connected up with a blank floppy disk in order to transfer files? Or is it possible to somehow copy them to a HDD? If it has to transfer things to floppy, isn’t that going to be an issue depending on the image file size? I don’t know how much each file is exactly.

Huh? I don't have my Gotek floppy emulator yet, but I thought the point of floppy emulators was that you copy floppy image files to modern storage (e.g. a flash drive) on a modern system and then you use those virtual floppies like a real one on your retro system.

So, if you wanted to install Windows 3.1, you'd put the 6 images on the floppy emulator, set the floppy emulator to image one, go a:\setup at your DOS prompt, cycle through the six floppies, and at the end, boom, you have Win3.1 installed.

Similarly, if you had an older application that could run directly off floppy, you set the floppy emulator to that floppy, and then, boom, a:\whatever at your DOS prompt and off you go.

(I hate to sound like the dinosaur that I am, and perhaps this came up earlier in this thread already, but I am guessing that you are too young to have any lived experience of computing in the 1990s, as opposed to us dinosaurs who had drawers with hundreds of floppies and bought floppies in 50 packs at Costco...)

VivienM wrote on 2024-11-12, 00:32:

Huh? I don't have my Gotek floppy emulator yet, but I thought the point of floppy emulators was that you copy floppy image files […]
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Huh? I don't have my Gotek floppy emulator yet, but I thought the point of floppy emulators was that you copy floppy image files to modern storage (e.g. a flash drive) on a modern system and then you use those virtual floppies like a real one on your retro system.

So, if you wanted to install Windows 3.1, you'd put the 6 images on the floppy emulator, set the floppy emulator to image one, go a:\setup at your DOS prompt, cycle through the six floppies, and at the end, boom, you have Win3.1 installed.

Similarly, if you had an older application that could run directly off floppy, you set the floppy emulator to that floppy, and then, boom, a:\whatever at your DOS prompt and off you go.

(I hate to sound like the dinosaur that I am, and perhaps this came up earlier in this thread already, but I am guessing that you are too young to have any lived experience of computing in the 1990s, as opposed to us dinosaurs who had drawers with hundreds of floppies and bought floppies in 50 packs at Costco...)

Well, the lived experience of computing in the 90s for me is probably less than most on here. I was, indeed, very young when I first used a Windows 95 and 98 machine. We had packs of floppy disks etc., but those were mostly bought and used by my dad. Before 95, we had a handful of floppy disk games, but it was mostly CD based games we had. So I didn't have the know how of tinkering and configuring PCs back then. It was only through my late teens and 20s that I started experimenting with them and learning stuff first-hand.

Regarding the floppy emulator - I was under the impression you put stuff on your USB pen drive as usual, the emulator converts them to image files, and then you can copy those to any device, such as a HDD. But I'm guessing that's not the case? In which case, the emulator isn't a good purchase for me. Not when the files I want to transfer from my main PC with the internet to the 98 machine are quite a few and large in size. There's no way any of them will fit on a floppy disk.

DustyShinigami wrote on 2024-11-12, 01:19:

Well, the lived experience of computing in the 90s for me is probably less than most on here. I was, indeed, very young when I first used a Windows 95 and 98 machine. We had packs of floppy disks etc., but those were mostly bought and used by my dad. Before 95, we had a handful of floppy disk games, but it was mostly CD based games we had. So I didn't have the know how of tinkering and configuring PCs back then. It was only through my late teens and 20s that I started experimenting with them and learning stuff first-hand.

Fair enough...

DustyShinigami wrote on 2024-11-12, 01:19:

Regarding the floppy emulator - I was under the impression you put stuff on your USB pen drive as usual, the emulator converts them to image files, and then you can copy those to any device, such as a HDD. But I'm guessing that's not the case? In which case, the emulator isn't a good purchase for me. Not when the files I want to transfer from my main PC with the internet to the 98 machine are quite a few and large in size. There's no way any of them will fit on a floppy disk.

Then you deal with this the old fashioned way! Fire up WinZip on your modern system, if they still have the option to split files based on 1.4M splits, zip your files to 1.4M splits. Then use WinImage or whatever to put each zip file on its own floppy image. Copy the images to your flash drive. Walk over to the floppy emulator. Fire up WinZip (you're so lucky to do this with a 98SE machine, if this was DOS you'd be digging up the command line PKZIP or the other Zip utility whose name escapes me), mount the last floppy (IIRC that's how you do this, you have to start with the last file), open the zip file. Swap floppies in the emulator until you've fed it every single floppy. Boom, you'll have your files on your hard drive.

You think this isn't fun? Hey, welcome to the world of trying to back up a 98SE system that needs a reformat to floppy in 1999. Or welcome to the world of trying to sneakernet a file you just spent 2 hours downloading on a 14.4 modem to the household's second computer.

At least it's mildly less painful with a floppy emulator than with real floppies.

But... you wanted retro, that's retro. Same as, say, someone with a vintage car complaining that it's hard to start and smells of gas - yeah, guess what, that's what carbureted cars from the pre-emissions era do.

DustyShinigami wrote on 2024-11-12, 01:19:

Regarding the floppy emulator - I was under the impression you put stuff on your USB pen drive as usual, the emulator converts them to image files, and then you can copy those to any device, such as a HDD. But I'm guessing that's not the case? In which case, the emulator isn't a good purchase for me. Not when the files I want to transfer from my main PC with the internet to the 98 machine are quite a few and large in size. There's no way any of them will fit on a floppy disk.

The Gotek floppy emulator is just that: it emulates floppy disks including the size limits of said disks.

If you want to know how it works, I recommend watching this video by Phil: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taFP1J_lZBI

Shponglefan wrote on 2024-11-12, 02:35:

The Gotek floppy emulator is just that: it emulates floppy disks including the size limits of said disks.

If you want to know how it works, I recommend watching this video by Phil: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taFP1J_lZBI

I'll be sure to give it a watch. Thanks. 😀

VivienM wrote on 2024-11-12, 01:45:

Fair enough... […]
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Fair enough...

Then you deal with this the old fashioned way! Fire up WinZip on your modern system, if they still have the option to split files based on 1.4M splits, zip your files to 1.4M splits. Then use WinImage or whatever to put each zip file on its own floppy image. Copy the images to your flash drive. Walk over to the floppy emulator. Fire up WinZip (you're so lucky to do this with a 98SE machine, if this was DOS you'd be digging up the command line PKZIP or the other Zip utility whose name escapes me), mount the last floppy (IIRC that's how you do this, you have to start with the last file), open the zip file. Swap floppies in the emulator until you've fed it every single floppy. Boom, you'll have your files on your hard drive.

You think this isn't fun? Hey, welcome to the world of trying to back up a 98SE system that needs a reformat to floppy in 1999. Or welcome to the world of trying to sneakernet a file you just spent 2 hours downloading on a 14.4 modem to the household's second computer.

At least it's mildly less painful with a floppy emulator than with real floppies.

But... you wanted retro, that's retro. Same as, say, someone with a vintage car complaining that it's hard to start and smells of gas - yeah, guess what, that's what carbureted cars from the pre-emissions era do.

Oh, I get that. About it all being retro etc. My only issue at the moment is transferring drivers and software to the machine quickly before I give it a reformat. I've bundled everything together in a single folder, which is over 400MB. I'll see if I can get the USB pen to work, but failing that, I'll have to look at burning them to a CD. The WinZip method sounds like a good idea for small to medium sized files, but some of these drivers and software are a few hundred MB. So I imagine those would require a HUGE amount of splits. ^^;

As an aside - does anyone have any vintage PS/2 mice they'd recommend? The one I have is a fitting generic Microsoft mouse, but it's a bit slow. I have cleaned it out, which has helped a bit, but was wondering if there are some better options out there? Especially as I will be playing some retro FPS games. 😀

DustyShinigami wrote on 2024-11-12, 12:45:

As an aside - does anyone have any vintage PS/2 mice they'd recommend? The one I have is a fitting generic Microsoft mouse, but it's a bit slow. I have cleaned it out, which has helped a bit, but was wondering if there are some better options out there? Especially as I will be playing some retro FPS games. 😀

Have you tried to adjust the mouse speed in settings?

Cleaning a ball mouse doesn’t help much with the speed of the cursor, but helps when it is not reacting properly because it is full of fluff.

CharlieFoxtrot wrote on 2024-11-12, 14:22:

Have you tried to adjust the mouse speed in settings?

Cleaning a ball mouse doesn’t help much with the speed of the cursor, but helps when it is not reacting properly because it is full of fluff.

I did previously. Before reformatting. Didn't feel like it made much difference. However, now that I've reformatted it and did a fresh install of 98 SE, it does feel snappier. 😀

So yeah - fresh install of 98 SE. Feels much snappier at loading. My only problem now is getting all those drivers and software across to it.

Also, I tried installing the CPU fan controller and - big surprise - it won't fit. The knob won't fit through the slot properly. I'm guessing it's more aimed at medium to large ATX cases...? Something I'll have to try another time.

If you’re feeling adventurous you can always install a variable resistor dial into your fans power supply often only needs a hole drilling

Greywolf1 wrote on 2024-11-13, 09:29:

If you’re feeling adventurous you can always install a variable resistor dial into your fans power supply often only needs a hole drilling

That's out of my comfort zone, I'm afraid. ^^;