mpe wrote:

Are you using the GUS as IDE controller for CF card? Cool! I thought it is ATAPI only...

I am using XTIDE via 3COM boot ROM socket. As I already had an XT-IDE card on hand programming a new EEPROM was super easy - otherwise you would need an EEPROM programmer. IDE DOM is powered via Roland wavetable header's +5V/Ground pins - this is a very nice way of doing it as no modifications of any kind are needed (Model 30 PSU does not have Molex connectors). Theoretically you could power DOM with an IDE pin 20 but I am yet to find a sound card which supports this (XT-IDE card does it but as that is a 8-bit card plugging it to an 16-bit AT class machine is not an optimal thing to do). My machine's original 20MB hard disk is fully working with no bad sectors but as those are prone to break I am saving it to special occassions only. I just left it unplugged with heads parked after low-level formatting and running through it with SpinRite.

This is the reason why I prefer using sd2scsi devices rather than CF2IDE. They can be powered from the bus (scsi termination power) and no need for ugly molex power cables. Great solution though!

mpe wrote:

This is the reason why I prefer using sd2scsi devices rather than CF2IDE. They can be powered from the bus (scsi termination power) and no need for ugly molex power cables. Great solution though!

That certainly is a nice way as well, but are there any (bootable) sound cards with a SCSI interface? I believe at least Blasters do require a driver for it to work (=no BIOS). Otherwise you would just need a real SCSI (Adaptec etc.) adapter which becomes a problem when amount of ISA slots are limited to begin with.

Good question. Not sure. Some SCSI sound (like CT1770) use some flavour of Adaptec AIC chip which look no different to the one used on some AHA controllers. I wonder if you could use the same trick as you are using - putting Adaptec ROM BIOS into the 3Com boot ROM socket?

rikukos wrote:

mpe wrote:

This is the reason why I prefer using sd2scsi devices rather than CF2IDE. They can be powered from the bus (scsi termination power) and no need for ugly molex power cables. Great solution though!

That certainly is a nice way as well, but are there any (bootable) sound cards with a SCSI interface? I believe at least Blasters do require a driver for it to work (=no BIOS). Otherwise you would just need a real SCSI (Adaptec etc.) adapter which becomes a problem when amount of ISA slots are limited to begin with.

There is the Adaptec Soundmachine - a sound card tacked on to a SCSI card. Bootable, and has a floppy variant as well.
download/file.php?id=37513&mode=view

Completed my set of boxed Pentium chips. Not sure if there are 90 / 75 MHz models with this sort of integrated heatsink. Never seen one. Anyone knows?

Plus this 200 MMX overdrive:

All of these are working. They just need compressed air to remove dust. Some of them had broken clips on fans, but luckily I have spare.

Those heatsinks are absolutely standard. They came with those from intel. 😉

Of course. Just not sure if 75 MHz / 90 MHz models were ever sold with this heatsinks. Boxed 75/90 BPxxxxxx variants I've seen looked just like normal models.

A pair of Toshiba laptops, not bad for £25 😀

One is a Toshiba Satellite Pro 430CDS
The other is a Toshiba Satellite Pro 230CX.

Both are DSTN screens rather than TFT, but I've now got a very good selection of TFT having laptops so this bothers me less?

I previously bought two laptops with the same casing/motherboard as the 430CDS, but they had been destroyed by battery corrosion - I tried putting the TFT screen & video card from one of them onto this 430CDS, but no video output. I'm not sure if that's because of a bad screen, or whether there's a different VGA bios for TFT/DSTN panel driving.
At least I was able to use the RAM upgrades, today's Toshibas had just 16MB of RAM, which with Windows 98 is a bit tight, so now they're upgraded to 32MB and 48MB respectively 😁
0% corrosion in either of them, so nice. These batteries go straight in the bin:

For DSTN panels, they seem pretty nice, especially the 430CDS. Motion doesn't look *that* bad on them, though it is an interesting experience. I should probably not keep all of these

Bought an IBM ThinkPad T42 laptop and an Addonics 24x external CD-ROM drive (parallel port).

Thermalwrong wrote:

Both are DSTN screens rather than TFT, but I've now got a very good selection of TFT having laptops so this bothers me less?

I previously bought two laptops with the same casing/motherboard as the 430CDS, but they had been destroyed by battery corrosion - I tried putting the TFT screen & video card from one of them onto this 430CDS, but no video output. I'm not sure if that's because of a bad screen, or whether there's a different VGA bios for TFT/DSTN panel driving.

I've got a 430CDT with the TFT display running DOS. I could dump the BIOS and all that if you want.

Yum. A brand new CT3930. Look at that delicious YMF262... How much memory shall I get for this?

FAMICOMASTER wrote:

Thermalwrong wrote:

Both are DSTN screens rather than TFT, but I've now got a very good selection of TFT having laptops so this bothers me less?

I previously bought two laptops with the same casing/motherboard as the 430CDS, but they had been destroyed by battery corrosion - I tried putting the TFT screen & video card from one of them onto this 430CDS, but no video output. I'm not sure if that's because of a bad screen, or whether there's a different VGA bios for TFT/DSTN panel driving.

I've got a 430CDT with the TFT display running DOS. I could dump the BIOS and all that if you want.

Thanks for the offer, but the other dead laptop I have is a 430CDT, so I can desolder & dump the bios chip, or see if there's some other way it determines the difference between passive & active display mode.
Just one more thing in the big pile of things I *can* do, but don't really want to do, so it stays as a DSTN for now 😁

pan069 wrote:

Yum. A brand new CT3930. Look at that delicious YMF262... How much memory shall I get for this? […]
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Yum. A brand new CT3930. Look at that delicious YMF262... How much memory shall I get for this?

You need 2 16MB simms to max it out.

Thermalwrong wrote:

A pair of Toshiba laptops, not bad for £25 :) […]
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A pair of Toshiba laptops, not bad for £25 😀

DualScanToshibaNotebooks.jpg

0% corrosion in either of them, so nice. These batteries go straight in the bin:

Toshiba230CX-RTCBattery.jpeg

Yah, I don't believe that. These are the original batteries, and regardless of where on this blue marble it was stored, there is AT LEAST some (minor) corrosion where the batteries plug into the main planar. Check the connections and the underside of that area carefully. I have gone through so many Satellites, Dynabooks, Tecras and Librettos and there was not a single one that didn't at the very least have some "foggy connector".

Asked the seller to send me one of these cards for 15€ ... or 20€ with slot bracket. Unfortunately without bracket, but he agreed.
Which card? 😉

Nice! Those ELSA S3 video cards are rare!

I'd say the sound blaster clone !

jaZz_KCS wrote:

Thermalwrong wrote:

A pair of Toshiba laptops, not bad for £25 :) […]
Show full quote

A pair of Toshiba laptops, not bad for £25 😀

DualScanToshibaNotebooks.jpg

0% corrosion in either of them, so nice. These batteries go straight in the bin:

Toshiba230CX-RTCBattery.jpeg

Yah, I don't believe that. These are the original batteries, and regardless of where on this blue marble it was stored, there is AT LEAST some (minor) corrosion where the batteries plug into the main planar. Check the connections and the underside of that area carefully. I have gone through so many Satellites, Dynabooks, Tecras and Librettos and there was not a single one that didn't at the very least have some "foggy connector".

You were right 😀

The 230CX was completely free of any corrosion, but the 430CDS had the beginnings of corrosion - I took the board out, cleaned it, vinegar'd it a couple of times, made sure the vias were cleared, then cleaned it all off with isopropanol. The fan was jammed on it too.

Predator99 wrote:

Asked the seller to send me one of these cards for 15€ ... or 20€ with slot bracket. Unfortunately without bracket, but he agreed.
Which card? 😉

s-l1600 (1).jpg

Where is this listing at? I'd definitely give that for what looks to be an 8-bit sound card in the bottom left. My XT is eerily silent.