MattRocks wrote on 2026-05-26, 12:43:

Nexxen wrote on 2026-05-26, 11:33:

DaveDDS wrote on 2026-05-26, 11:12:

When it makes a disk "unrecoverable" are there any physical signs? Usually when drives start damaging media it's because of "cra […]
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When it makes a disk "unrecoverable" are there any physical signs? Usually when drives start damaging media it's because of "crap" sticking to the head which scrapes away at the disks magnetic coating producing visible lines where the head touches it while spinning,

It's been years since I had an LS120 ... I recall that it does higher capacity on "special" disks, but I don't recall if it can access/use "standard" 3.5" disks. If it can ... does the same kind of damage occur in those?

If no visible damage, try using a bulk eraser to completely "unformat" the disk, then see if it can be formatted/used in another drive.

And... the question ... how/why does it "jam", sounds like more than the media is getting damaged...?

I can confirm that it can read 3.5" floppies.
It was considered good at it.

When it worked, it was very good in a MMX/P2 build when USB was unreliable and CDR was slow. But, they were never critical. No publisher distributed software on LS120.

I think so after reading and watching stuff about it.
Other competitors were around.
I never heard of Caleb or Castlewood or Sony HiFD before some YT video review and it didn't end well for those.

Never made it to Italy or with too little publicity before they got boxed for good.
CDs and CD-RW made that tech irrelevant.
Zip wasn't that popular over here, most people wouldn't need it. Me finding a floptical 21MB was kinda pretty much sheer luck.
This is just me rambling 😀

I fixed the LED on my new 486. It didnt take much it just needed some added jumpers. Now the machine looks great. Though i think some cleaning of the case is still needed. Then I played some games on it.
I upgrade the HDD from 200 Megs to 2 Gigs. Added a CR Rom drive, removed the 8 megs or Ram and added 16 Megs. Put in a Jazz 16 sound card.

I've been looking around at Socket 7 options, and now I think it's best to ask for some pointers. Prebuilt computers (Compaq, HP, Dell, etc.) or custom built are both options; I have no real preference towards either side, so long as they meet the following criteria:

• Must have AGP.

• Must have upgradable RAM. Up to 256MB preferred.

• Must be compatible with (somewhat modern) ATX power supplies.

Following those criteria, does anybody have pointers?

AGP you say, VP3 / MVP3, Aladdin V or SiS 5591/5592 ?

Mind the L2 cache if you want to fully cache 256MB or more.

PD2JK wrote on 2026-05-27, 17:10:

AGP you say, VP3 / MVP3, Aladdin V or SiS 5591/5592 ?

Which one would be recommended?

RetroLizard wrote on 2026-05-27, 16:23:

I've been looking around at Socket 7 options, and now I think it's best to ask for some pointers. Prebuilt computers (Compaq, HP […]
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I've been looking around at Socket 7 options, and now I think it's best to ask for some pointers. Prebuilt computers (Compaq, HP, Dell, etc.) or custom built are both options; I have no real preference towards either side, so long as they meet the following criteria:

• Must have AGP.

• Must have upgradable RAM. Up to 256MB preferred.

• Must be compatible with (somewhat modern) ATX power supplies.

Following those criteria, does anybody have pointers?

AGP puts you in Super Socket 7 era. The Super matters because it's a generation later and the chipsets feature working USB, SB-Link, etc.

I'd be surprised if you find much choice as the whole class of machine is now uncommon.

RetroLizard wrote on 2026-05-27, 17:46:

PD2JK wrote on 2026-05-27, 17:10:

AGP you say, VP3 / MVP3, Aladdin V or SiS 5591/5592 ?

Which one would be recommended?

I used MPV3 and Aladdin V.

I prefer Aladdin V but the differences are probably more with branding and board features rather than chipset. The one I prefer has switches instead of jumpers, and it's just slightly nicer layout. Same board that features on Phil's Lab.

MattRocks wrote on 2026-05-27, 17:50:

RetroLizard wrote on 2026-05-27, 17:46:

PD2JK wrote on 2026-05-27, 17:10:

AGP you say, VP3 / MVP3, Aladdin V or SiS 5591/5592 ?

Which one would be recommended?

I used MPV3 and Aladdin V.

I prefer Aladdin V but the differences are probably more with branding and board features rather than chipset. The one I prefer has switches instead of jumpers, and it's just slightly nicer layout. Same board that features on Phil's Lab.

Would SS7 work with modern power supplies?

RetroLizard wrote on 2026-05-27, 18:35:

MattRocks wrote on 2026-05-27, 17:50:

RetroLizard wrote on 2026-05-27, 17:46:

Which one would be recommended?

I used MPV3 and Aladdin V.

I prefer Aladdin V but the differences are probably more with branding and board features rather than chipset. The one I prefer has switches instead of jumpers, and it's just slightly nicer layout. Same board that features on Phil's Lab.

Would SS7 work with modern power supplies?

Yes, most likely.
Nothing you would plop in a S7 board is that power-hungry, especially compared to the later 5v monsters.

What about the lack of -5V on modern power supplies? I'm not likely to use any cards that require -5V, granted, but I've heard that can cause problems?

RetroLizard wrote on 2026-05-28, 03:24:

What about the lack of -5V on modern power supplies? I'm not likely to use any cards that require -5V, granted, but I've heard that can cause problems?

Yeah, some cards require -5v to run... usually sound\midi cards, but I believe there are others as well. They represent a pretty tiny portion of ISA cards overall, but I have found cards as new as 2001 (albeit that was a prototype\sample) that wouldn't work without -5v.

These days the simplest solution (as long as you have a free ISA slot on your motherboard) is to build or buy a "Voltage Blaster". Not sure if you are in the US or not, but here they can be bought for less than $15 all assembled on ebay.

It is just a tiny tiny card that is only the length of an 8bit ISA slot. It takes the -12v pin from the ISA slot, passes it through a voltage regulator (and usually an LED so you can tell that it's working) and then supplies -5v to the proper -5v pin on the ISA slot. This should allow any -5v card on the ISA bus to work, even if a more modern PSU is being used. Presumably the PSU still needs -12v, of course, but I doubt you'd be trying to use some space age ATX12VO unit on a retro machine.

To find one on ebay you'll want to look for "voltage blaster" with quotes. For some reason they don't come up reliably without quotes.

Personally, I ordered a pile of parts to assemble a couple dozen of my own. 😀

RetroLizard wrote on 2026-05-28, 03:24:

What about the lack of -5V on modern power supplies? I'm not likely to use any cards that require -5V, granted, but I've heard that can cause problems?

I've never tried combining -5V 8bit ISA stuff with AGP.

For me, the more interesting details are in the AGP 1.0 (1996) to AGP 2.0 (1998) transition. There is a minor issue where a card could be AGPx1 compliant, but not AGP 1.0 compliant - one spec is for data transfer rates, the other is about signal voltages. There is also an issue in total Amps.

Seemingly, Intel overlooked the need to specify Amps. Separately, some NVIDIA reference designs (that might be followed by GeForce 256 OEM variants) did not account for the transaction time in switching between signalling voltages. Either issue can cause some early AGP 1.0 motherboards to fail.

My recollections and the evidence linked below both suggest the first wave of AGP motherboards assumed all AGP cards would electrically resemble an Intel i740, which is what AGP 1.0 was designed for. Some may argue 3dfx Voodoo 3 has only low power demands, but I say that is a category error because the Voodoo3 was a raving monster compared to the first wave of AGP cards (Riva 128, i740, Rage IIC).

Below is some interesting reading on 3dfx Voodoo3 and GeForce 256 cards causing first generation AGP motherboards to fail for various electrical reasons. Anecdotally, my own Chaintech MVP3 board popped its caps when exposed to overclocked 3dfx Banshee (from the second wave of AGP cards) - that's the whole backstory for why I have the Aladdin V today.

https://groups.google.com/g/alt.comp.periphs. … s/c/49Y2ZsbrQGQ
https://groups.google.com/g/3dfx.products.voo … 2/c/bmIaseThF3w
https://groups.google.com/g/alt.comp.periphs. … e/c/Dct9o7aMXjg

Well folks, finally some parts arrived.

I can now use an off-the-shelf AIO Mars Gaming ML-ONE120 (240 should work as well) on Socket 462 / A.

Running RTHDRIBL

Here's the Setup:

tehsiggi wrote on 2026-05-28, 19:26:

Well folks, finally some parts arrived. […]
Show full quote

Well folks, finally some parts arrived.

I can now use an off-the-shelf AIO Mars Gaming ML-ONE120 (240 should work as well) on Socket 462 / A.

The attachment IMG_20260528_201847.jpg is no longer available

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The attachment IMG_20260528_202630.jpg is no longer available

Running RTHDRIBL

The attachment IMG_20260528_210502.jpg is no longer available

Here's the Setup:

The attachment IMG_20260528_210447.jpg is no longer available

WIll be waiting over here for some benchmark screenshots. Socket A: Aiming for the Stars!!!

Been weeks I work on a project to make a "telemetry" .
The Pc send data to a ESP32 or a Arduino, cpu usage, ram usage, etc, via serial port, then the ESP32/Arduino use the data for a Oled display, and more later, as analog vumeters or a TFT display.
A bit like the BeBox did for cpu usage.
Of course the basic was quite simple, but I keep on adding functionalities, while trying to keep the code simple.
Mostly for me, I'm bad to write C code, or any code in fact 😀

I first used the parallel port, and it worked, but Serial is easier.
I code on Linux, but since it's just basic send_to_serial the final OS doesn't really matter.
And my plan is to make it for as many OS as possible.
For now it works on Linux Debian Etch, my primary dev platform, but also on FreeBSD, Win98, Win2k, BeOS 4.5.2, 5.03 and Dev (Dev jhas Bone for network), Haiku, on a K6-2 500 or a Athlon XP 1500.
The code is on a ftp/nfs/samba share, so easy to switch and edit.
Because editing code for BeOS is a pain with the local editor and terminal 😀
So I use ftp mount via Caja. Or wget and edit on my usual Mint machine.

The goal is also OS2, QNX 6.2.1, and whatever.
Surprising, but I can't get NetBSD to communicate with a serial port, on 3 different PC I tried.

I tried to use 86box, but serial is a pain and too slow.
So I've ordered a 3Com network card 3c59x, which is compatible with about everything, allow boot on LAN and is 10/100.
I often write boot on lan is a must for us, it just need a Linux computer acting as dhcp/tftp on the local network. Mine is a half broken laptop 15 years old.

The code is propably ugly, and of course I'm not good enough to code as well for Linux, BeOS, FreeBSD, Win98, Win2k, Os2, and others.
So I use help from Google AI, which is quite interesting ...
It's like talking with a kid.
It can do very good things, but has no concentration to have a global view.
And often make basic mistakes.
But at least it helps a lot.

How it works and what it does .
- a local program ask for cpu usage, ram usage, disk usage, or more. For example cpu temp. If you have mail.
If you forgot your grandma birthday.

- it send this as percent to a ESP32 or Arduino Nano via serial port. I didn't tried yet with a 8266, but will be the same.
- the ESP32 /Arduino Nano use the data to display it.

It can use a bargraph with leds and PWM ( I wait for LM3914 from AlieExpress), a Oled display (my default test), tubes cat eye if you have money, ( I _need_ to order a cat eye tube.), analog Vumeter for audio (works perfectly if you enjoy logarithmic usage for your disk drive).
It's just data between 0 and 100, so of course we do what you want with it on Arduino IDE.

I have no idea if some will be interested.
I will share everything on a Githug page when it's done.

I think most of people here would enjoy a Win98 version with a GUI. Google help me building the GUI, I compile it with mingw, but it.s a pain.
It takes 300 lines of code to display an empty window on Win98 ...
Even in 1998 it took less with GTK on Linux.
And I'm a Linux user since 1998,

An oscilloscope would be fun with that. One of the oldie, cheapies that are under a mhz, hence not much use. You rig it with a frequency on the Y axis, and put your load voltage into a VCO and it makes nice calm, chill Lissajous figures when load is low and goes all squiggly and frantic when load goes high.

i have an "oscilloscope".
A cheap DSO.
My Hantek 6022 is broken for now, need to fix it.
But for this king of this Pulseview is enough with a cheap Pico Pi or a CN can remember data logger.
I know how to use a scope, first time I used one was in 1991 😀
In fact since it's an exchange between a Nano or a esp32, just write the code with some printf or Serial.print , and you don't need a scope.
My first code was for a Nano, and timing was a pain because asynchronous.
Then I updated with a Max232 to also send a reply.
No more need of "delay" .
Now seeking a G400 for BeOS 😀

I was setting up my two Pentiums. One is one I have had for years and the other is one i got more recently for 30 bucks. The newer one had a better mobo and had an awe 32 but i love the case from the old PC so I swapped them. When I wanted to do fresh installs of windows 98 , the other computer installed as normal . The other computer was telling me all my disks had faults and errors and windows would not install. I tried many hard drives and tried over a couple days . One message gave me a hint more specific than the others errors, so i checked the bios settings and for the HDD everything was auto except the type which was LARGE instead of auto. Switching it back to auto solved the issues but man i cant believe how much time i wasted becuase of that.

I bought a "new" motherboard 😀

(=12.3 USD/10.61 EUR + free shipping)

Very retro-friendly board - legacy interfaces like 5x PCI, FDD, IDE, COM&LPT; moreover 4 slots for memory and 6x SATA2 ports and GbE LAN. And maaaany USB ports, 12 to be exact - 6 on the back, 6 on the pin headers.
Paired with quite good Q9400, not the fastest, but still one of the better performing for the LGA775. Maybe slower than my i5 2500K, but one more functional classic PCI (over P8H67) and floppy controller are (for me) more important than pure performance.

Yeah, I have old dc5800 at home, it may be similar in terms of performance, but no IDE ports and only low profile cards reduces this platform universality in half. That means no my beloved SB Live, no old IDE drives (and unfortunately only one 5.25 slot).

WinSxS wrote on Yesterday, 15:06:

Very retro-friendly board - legacy interfaces like 5x PCI, FDD, IDE, COM&LPT; moreover 4 slots for memory and 6x SATA2 ports and GbE LAN. And maaaany USB ports, 12 to be exact - 6 on the back, 6 on the pin headers.
Paired with quite good Q9400, not the fastest, but still one of the better performing for the LGA775. Maybe slower than my i5 2500K, but one more functional classic PCI (over P8H67) and floppy controller are (for me) more important than pure performance.

Nice board indeed! Reminds me of the EP45-DS4 I had briefly used in my Win7 desktop, but the P43 board is indeed much more retro-oriented, with 5xPCI and 2xPCIe (compared to 1xPCI and 6xPCIe on the EP45), and parallel port instead of 'novelties' like dual Gigabit, or Firewire. Core 2 Quad CPUs are still capable for almost any home office task, and even for large parts of the web.