Figured out the right combination of EXE's to get software mode all the way to s3 virge mode for Tomb Raider and created a little menu.

Made a super deluxe backplate for my ABIT NF7-S v2 using electrical tape technology.

Finding a proper backplate / IO shield is almost impossible....

zuldan wrote on 2025-01-19, 01:45:

Figured out the right combination of EXE's to get software mode all the way to s3 virge mode for Tomb Raider and created a littl […]
Show full quote

Figured out the right combination of EXE's to get software mode all the way to s3 virge mode for Tomb Raider and created a little menu.

The attachment Menu.JPG is no longer available

Made a super deluxe backplate for my ABIT NF7-S v2 using electrical tape technology.

The attachment Backplate.JPG is no longer available

Finding a proper backplate / IO shield is almost impossible....

I 3d printed one for a dual p3 motherboard I had. Took me a bit to get port alignment right but once I did it was a nice fit.

We had my kids 13th birthdayparty for his friends. A retro-lan 😀
10 stations ranging from p3-1GHz to a core i3-3220. Win98 or xp.
They played quake1-3, cs beta, midtown madness. What a blast.

I might have enjoyed setting these up as well. "Oops" 😀

zuldan wrote on 2025-01-19, 01:45:

Made a super deluxe backplate for my ABIT NF7-S v2 using electrical tape technology.

Hey, I used this technology a while ago to cover a broken corner in my laptop chassis, where it hit the pavement. It's very versatile tech, it seems! 😁

pan069 wrote on 2025-01-19, 00:47:

dominusprog wrote on 2025-01-18, 11:45:

Recapped this BEST UNION MF-719 sound card. Also replaced the transistor in the middle with a L7805CV regulator.

The attachment IMG_20250118_132458.jpg is no longer available

Looks nice and clean. I think I have this card in a box somewhere... 🤔

The build quality is not the best, but it's not the worst either.

Got one of these old Compaq iPAQ (PD1085) systems, no idea what to do with it...

Has this motherboard in it "https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/compaq … 2-0-legacy-free"

All I know so far is it has a PIII and 512MB PC100 RAM in it. Also have a spare optical drive, as well as an LS120 SuperDisk Drive for it (LKM-FC33-8).

Never owned one, so not sure what it's capable of. From the little research I've done, it seems it's got some sort of hardware lock to use only Compaq hard drives?

StriderTR wrote on 2025-01-20, 00:36:

Got one of these old Compaq iPAQ (PD1085) systems, no idea what to do with it... […]
Show full quote

Got one of these old Compaq iPAQ (PD1085) systems, no idea what to do with it...

Has this motherboard in it "https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/compaq … 2-0-legacy-free"

All I know so far is it has a PIII and 512MB PC100 RAM in it. Also have a spare optical drive, as well as an LS120 SuperDisk Drive for it (LKM-FC33-8).

Never owned one, so not sure what it's capable of. From the little research I've done, it seems it's got some sort of hardware lock to use only Compaq hard drives?

Wow, such a weird little thing. I think I remember seeing those 20+ years ago.

It could be fun to tinker with but that funky power supply and all the proprietary parts would probably stop me from getting too attached to it, for fear of it dying and being unfixable. Unless parts for them aren't hard to find for some reason.

Ozzuneoj wrote on 2025-01-20, 04:17:

Wow, such a weird little thing. I think I remember seeing those 20+ years ago.

It could be fun to tinker with but that funky power supply and all the proprietary parts would probably stop me from getting too attached to it, for fear of it dying and being unfixable. Unless parts for them aren't hard to find for some reason.

There are ways to "work around" non-standard power supply failures 😀

Re: I recently found this hardware, AKA the Dumpster find thread.

Dave ::: https://dunfield.themindfactory.com ::: "Daves Old Computers"->Personal

DaveDDS wrote on 2025-01-20, 13:34:

There are ways to "work around" non-standard power supply failures :-) […]
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Ozzuneoj wrote on 2025-01-20, 04:17:

Wow, such a weird little thing. I think I remember seeing those 20+ years ago.

It could be fun to tinker with but that funky power supply and all the proprietary parts would probably stop me from getting too attached to it, for fear of it dying and being unfixable. Unless parts for them aren't hard to find for some reason.

There are ways to "work around" non-standard power supply failures 😀

Re: I recently found this hardware, AKA the Dumpster find thread.

Dave ::: https://dunfield.themindfactory.com ::: "Daves Old Computers"->Personal

Of course, but that kind of kills the unique form factor of the machine in my opinion.

Anyway, if I had one I'd certainly tinker with it. I would be curious to know the limits of what games and software it would run acceptably with the Intel video and AC97 audio. If it supports a Tualatin PIII (TheRetroWeb says it should) it would make kind of a weird unbalanced retro gaming system. Not all that different from running a PIII with an i740.

I'm trying to access a MiniScribe 8425 XT drive. When powering on without the 40pin cable, should it do some initialization? Or is that complete done by controller electronics on the main board? The head doesn't move at all. I rotated the axle/flywheel a bit, it is visible on the outside. Philips P3105 machine by the way.

Finally finished the VGA out cable for my Radeon 9600Pro AiW I'd begun here:
Re: What retro activity did you get up to today?
and here:
Re: What retro activity did you get up to today?

All that was necessary was to make a 3D-printed shell for the card end of the cable.
Took just roughly two years to complete...oh dear.

Well done. I've always avoided these cards because of this adapter. It's hard to get a matched set when buying online.

Got an VGA-HDMI adapter that finally works. Currently testing it out with a MSI 6168 mobo.

ChrisK wrote on 2025-01-23, 12:59:

Finally finished the VGA out cable for my Radeon 9600Pro AiW I'd begun here: Re: What retro activity did you get up to today? an […]
Show full quote

Finally finished the VGA out cable for my Radeon 9600Pro AiW I'd begun here:
Re: What retro activity did you get up to today?
and here:
Re: What retro activity did you get up to today?

All that was necessary was to make a 3D-printed shell for the card end of the cable.
Took just roughly two years to complete...oh dear.

The Big Box 'O Video Cards at my nearest computer store has a very similar ATI video card, and I noticed that the adapter for it was in another nearby box of stuff. I decided I didn't need it, but I thought they ought to be together since each is useless without the other, so I screwed the adapter to the card and left it that way. The next time I stopped by, someone had again separated them for reasons that I do not understand.

PcBytes wrote on 2025-01-24, 00:43:

Got an VGA-HDMI adapter that finally works. Currently testing it out with a MSI 6168 mobo.

Yeah HDMI enabled Voodoo3!
Still have to fix my board, it doesn't have SGRAM at the moment. 🫢

After a week of work, finally finished recapping this AWE64-Value card. Working with these multi-layer boards is a nightmare 😓. Anyway, the purple 47uF caps in the center are Nippon, the two green 470uF on the right are Sanyo and the rest are made by Elna. Also installed a heatsink on the main chip 😁.

That looks AWEsome! Do I spot Würth caps?

Examining a MiniScribe 8425XT drive. The LED gives me a diagnostic code.

Something about the stepper for the heads. Doesn't move at all. I think the two stoere motor driver IC's need to be replaced. I found a few ST PBL3717A, so taking a gamble.

PD2JK wrote on 2025-01-24, 16:53:

That looks AWEsome! Do I spot Würth caps?

Thanks 🙂. If you mean the red cap on the bottom, that's the Elna Cerafine.

I have spent about an hour today trying to find my CDs for The 7th Guest. No idea where they are.

dominusprog wrote on 2025-01-24, 12:36:

After a week of work, finally finished recapping this AWE64-Value card. Working with these multi-layer boards is a nightmare 😓. Anyway, the purple 47uF caps in the center are Nippon, the two green 470uF on the right are Sanyo and the rest made by Elna. Also installed a heatsink on the main chip 😁.

The attachment IMG_20250124_143143.jpg is no longer available

The attachment IMG_20250124_143217.jpg is no longer available

Looks mint! What did you use to attach the heatsink? Thermal epoxy or tape?

Asking because for some reason while sorting through my cards i picked up a X-FI card and the heatsink was loose in the anti-static bag ... thing just fell off. No idea what Creative used but its very thin .. almost zero residue on the card or heatsink on the area of contact.