I got the Retro PC itch last week and decided to try and build a windows XP/DOS system using an i5 3570K CPU. (Sorry for the long post but its been so fun)

CPU: Intel i5 3570K
MOBO: ASUS PBZ77-V
RAM - 2x4GB PC3-10600U-9-11 DDR3 (I know Windows XP 32-bit only recognizes 4GB of RAM however I wanted the RAM to run in Dual Channel so I left both in as it will still use memory from both sticks just not the full 8GB)
GPU - ASUS Geforce RTX 660 2GB
SOUND - Ensoniq AudioPCI 1370
PSU - 500W L&C B500E
SSD - Crucial BX500 2.5 SSD 240GB
ODD - Generic SATA DVD ROM from Lenovo SFF PC
OS - Windows XP 32-bit SP3, DOS 6.22

My first mistake was not using a separate drive for DOS but I'll get to that...

XP installation was a breeze. I had to set my BIOS to CSM, and SDD to IDE mode to avoid any compatibility issues. (Yes I know you can use drivers for AHCI mode but I didn't want to go there) . I partitioned the drive to use most of the 240GB but left a few Gigs for DOS. (First mistake). Once in windows I used Snappy driver to install most of the drivers except for video. Installed the appropriate .Net Framework and the video drivers (They need SP3 and .Net framework) even though I don't use GF experience, the install wouldn't proceed unless I meet the requirements for it. Anyway, long story short, the XP install was successful, no issues. Runs any XP era game very well, silky smoothe. I was even able to use an old Nvidia Inspector to limit FPS to avoid using VSYNC. The GTX 560/660/760 are great XP GPU's.

DOS was a whole other animal.

So I used my DOS 6.22 CD boot disk to run FDISK and partition the remaining space to 2GB for DOS. No issues, and I formatted the C: drive to be bootable. Here is where problems began. DOS likes to be the first OS installed because of something to do with the MBR... I don't know... all I know is it messed up the XP boot process so I couldn't boot back into XP without having to repair the install. The way I would change between OS's was to use FDISK to select my active partition when I wanted to boot to either OS. I knew at this point though that I really should have used a second drive for DOS but I wanted to trouble shoot some things so I could tackle that later. So I carried on. Anyway, I was able to get DOS 6.22 running with no problems, however, getting the sound to work proved to be a problem. Despite installing everything properly, (ie; config.sys, Autoexec.bat) it appears the motherboard just does not support PCI sound cards emulating ISA soundcards. Something about the way the PCI card emulates ISA cards doesn't jive with more modern motherboards. (I think it has to do with the fact that there is no longer a way to reserve PCI slots for ISA emulation.) So once I figured that out I knew it was pointless to try to use a 2nd drive (which is the right thing to do anyway). But hey I was just messing around and It's good to know that even if you have a PCI slot, you might not be able to get DOS to work with sound even if the PCI card has the ability to emulate ISA sound cards in pure DOS. I would guess that anything 2006 and newer lacks this ability.

That being said I switched it up and tackled my Early XP rig instead, to make that a Windows 98/XP system.

CPU: Intel Pentium 4 Prescott 3.2Ghz (OC to 3.6Ghz)
MOBO: ASUS P4P800-X
RAM - 2x1GB PC3200 DDR 2.5-3-3-8 (Edited system.ini to limit win 98 to 512MB, also used the MEMPATCH to avoid errors)
GPU - ATI RADEON x800 PRO 256MB AGP
SOUND - Audigy 2 ZS
PSU - Corsair CX450
SSD - Crucial BX500 2.5 SSD 240GB
HDD - 40GB IDE (I don't remember the brand, it's old though but still works)
ODD - Generic SATA DVD ROM
OS - Windows XP 32-bit SP3, Windows 98 SE

XP installation was again a breeze. Once in windows XP I used Snappy driver again to install most of the drivers except for video and audio. Radeon x800 Drivers were the Omega drivers that came out during Catalyst 6.1. Again, the XP install was successful, no issues. Doom 3 benchmark was around 75-80fps with high settings, no AA.

Windows 98 was a bit trickier but I was able to get it going. I had to enter my bios and make some changes. Had to change IDE settings to compatibility so that my SATA drives would be recognized in DOS and Win98, Had to disable Hyperthreading for the CPU and enable MAX CPUID Value Limit then switch my active drive to the SATA one. Booted from win98 CD, ran FDISK, formatted c: /s, copied win98 directory on CD to Windows/options/cabs on C: so I could install without the CD.

I then had to copy edit.com and HIMEM.sys to the C:\. I then created a config.sys file that contained (Device=Himem.sys /M:1 /V). Once I did that I rebooted and ran the win 98 setup. It went well however it reached a point where it said I didn't have enough memory, this is where I edited the System.ini file to read only 512MB of RAM. Installation finished with no issues. Once I got into windows 98, I installed the MOBO drivers, Catalyst 6.2 for the GPU, Audigy2 drivers VXD with DOS support as per instructions I found here on VOGONS. I then copied over some old DOS games and installed 3DMAX 99. The dos games ran great, with SB16 emulation and the 8MB AUDIOPCI .ecw file. Unfortunately I could not get the Audigy to work in pure DOS mode despite following instructions.

Success though. A decent XP system that also runs Win98 and DOS games with GOOD FMSYMNTH EMULATION and ENSONIQ GENERAL MIDI!.

It took a lot of swapping them 1.44 MB disks, but now we're getting somewhere. Next step is to create a RAID5 array, or else the i960 will be poking its nose.

Fixed my cheapo ESS 1869F card's clipping issue by removing the TEA2025 amp entirely, then connecting a few pins together (pin 2 to 7, pin 15 to 10, pin 3 to 14, and 6 to 11. In order, they are OUT2 to IN2, OUT1 to IN1, BOOT2 to BOOT1, and the last two are both called FEED for feedback, they had to be tied both together as well.)
Will probably keep it aside as emergency card and purchase a more complete 1868/1869F (component wise, not chipset wise.) to use.

StriderTR wrote on 2025-03-20, 21:49:

dominusprog wrote on 2025-03-20, 21:42:

StriderTR wrote on 2025-03-20, 17:39:

My "new" Windows 98 build finally has a proper home. I got it all crammed inside a nice tiny case the best I could. I really wa […]
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My "new" Windows 98 build finally has a proper home. I got it all crammed inside a nice tiny case the best I could. I really wanted to keep this build as small as possible to fit into my limited use space. Sure, I have room to store things, but I like to use what I build, so keeping this build small enough to fit where I needed it was a must.

I mounted the internal SD/IDE in a 3.5 tray to keep it secured to the inside front of the case, while the external SD/IDE I mounted to an open expansion slot with a simple adapter I printed so I could easily swap out files as needed.

I also added an extra fan blowing right over the chipset heatsink to help keep things cooler becasue the Athlon 3000+ and that chipset get warm. It's a quick and dirty mount, but it works, and it keeps it all a lot cooler.

Now I just need to wait on the stickers I ordered from Geekenspiel to arrive so I can dress up the outside of the case a bit. 😀

Overall, this build it working out really well. It fits in the space it's needed and it's performing wonderfully so far.

Case: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CHPRKW18?

So, why not use a smaller (50x50mm) fan for the chipset? A smaller fan will cover all the fins, hence it'll do a better job cooling the chipset.

The one 50x50 I had in my "fans box" was on its last leg. Sounded like a mini rock tumbler when I fired it up. So, I just used what I had on hand.

It works good. Keeps that whole area of the board cooler. I mean, the fans not even necessary, I just prefer to keep this older hardware as cool as possible. If I ever get my hands on proper sized fan, I'll switch it out, but for now it works so I'm not all that worried about it. 😀

True that in this case the fan is not necessary but keeping these old parts cool is a good idea 🙂.

Another win. Finally got my 3C905B-TX rid of that "TriROM" boot interface that showed up no matter what mobo it was in.

Had to desolder the EEPROM. Might add a socket later down the road but thank god it went away, it was annoying to wait for it to exit TriROM.

Tested the 2 x 1GB DDR 333MHz sticks.

One is fine and passes 100%, the other one gives hundred of thousands of mistakes.
I can't really understand if it is some incompatibility, but I don't know what other test I could use to check if it is not.

Nexxen wrote on 2025-03-22, 00:36:

Tested the 2 x 1GB DDR 333MHz sticks.

One is fine and passes 100%, the other one gives hundred of thousands of mistakes.
I can't really understand if it is some incompatibility, but I don't know what other test I could use to check if it is not.

Memtest86 is likely the best, if they are both the same sticks then I doubt it'll be an incompatibility if one works and the other doesn't.

H3nrik V! wrote on 2025-03-21, 05:37:

StriderTR wrote on 2025-03-21, 00:38:

I was thinking about doing that. Currently using SD cards, one for the system, one for ISOs etc. […]
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H3nrik V! wrote on 2025-03-20, 23:09:

Migrating my W98 disk setup to one ssd having both a Win98SE partition, an ISOs partition, a drivers partition and a partition with Win98SE install files and script for unattended install.
Holy smoke a reinstall is snappy now 😁

I was thinking about doing that. Currently using SD cards, one for the system, one for ISOs etc.

What adapter you using? I've got the one linked below, and it works, but It seems to be picky what drives you use with it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09GVDK2H1?

https://www.startech.com/en-dk/hdd/ide2sat2

I read many places that the StarTech ide2sat2 was indeed highly compatible, and it works fine with my Hynix 128 gig drive - haven't tried other drives, though. But I think I'm gonna buy some more of them and maybe keep the ISO part as a separate disk I can use in all rigs, as separate rather than a partition ...

Thanks!

I found them for sale over on Amazon and just picked one up. If I had seen it sooner I would have purchased the StarTech one over the one I got. I've always had good luck with StarTech products. 😀

https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Drive-Opt … /dp/B00EOJNGC2/

Have spent the arvo digging out and cleaning my C64, its been a hot minute since I last used her and while the box stopped a lot of the dust it still needed a good clean. I also wanted to check internally to make sure nothing had .. expired while in storage.

Thankfully she is still kicking !

Now I get to spend the next few days checking disks, tapes and carts to see if any have bit the dust, going to start backing them up. Im not 100% what a good way of backing the tapes up would be or if I even have the setup to do so, going to be a fun journey digging into that topic.

Now that i think about it it might be easier to do a bit of sailing and see if I cant find some booty that matches what I own rather than subjecting Disks and Tapes to even more abuse.

Trashbytes wrote on 2025-03-22, 01:10:

Nexxen wrote on 2025-03-22, 00:36:

Tested the 2 x 1GB DDR 333MHz sticks.

One is fine and passes 100%, the other one gives hundred of thousands of mistakes.
I can't really understand if it is some incompatibility, but I don't know what other test I could use to check if it is not.

Memtest86 is likely the best, if they are both the same sticks then I doubt it'll be an incompatibility if one works and the other doesn't.

I needed to hear that to dissipate my doubts.

Also, the mem chips look like they are piggybacked. Strange sandwich.

Edit: https://www.datasheets.com/part-details/k4h51 … ronics-26687961
Stacking is a technology developed by samsung, so it is what it is I guess 😀

Got an old Star LC-10 Dot Matrix Printer, originally bought for the Amiga, up and running on Windows 10.

Had to tell Windows not to verify the driver, else the driver installation would not go any further. This was done by giving the following commands in Command Prompt (Admin):
bcdedit.exe -set loadoptions DISABLE_INTEGRITY_CHECKS
bcdedit.exe -set TESTSIGNING ON

Restarted the computer

Mounted the dollar item USB -> Parallel Port cable that I got from eBay. Thinking they are all good, just got the cheapest that was available.

Windows 10 came out and said, unknown device.
Through Device Manager, right clicked on update driver for that Unknown Device
In the Update Driver dialog, selected the option to "Browse my computer for drivers"
Next, selected "Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer"
Next, selected "IEEE 1284.4 compatible printer," and clicked "Next"
Clicked on "Have Disk."

The little CD-ROM that the cable came with, grabbed the latest driver from there, in this case the 64-bit version is what matched this system.

Followed the prompts and once again, restarted the computer

Installed the Generic Dot Matrix printer driver in Windows and in this case, selected LPT2 as the port. (You can right click in Device Manager on the Parallel port part and see what port it has assigned for you)

Can this mess up your system, a little bit, everything is a gamble. It worked for me.

Cheers

I_Eat_Boogers wrote on 2025-03-22, 09:22:

Got an old Star LC-10 Dot Matrix Printer, originally bought for the Amiga, up and running on Windows 10. […]
Show full quote

Got an old Star LC-10 Dot Matrix Printer, originally bought for the Amiga, up and running on Windows 10.

Had to tell Windows not to verify the driver, else the driver installation would not go any further. This was done by giving the following commands in Command Prompt (Admin):
bcdedit.exe -set loadoptions DISABLE_INTEGRITY_CHECKS
bcdedit.exe -set TESTSIGNING ON

Restarted the computer

Mounted the dollar item USB -> Parallel Port cable that I got from eBay. Thinking they are all good, just got the cheapest that was available.

Windows 10 came out and said, unknown device.
Through Device Manager, right clicked on update driver for that Unknown Device
In the Update Driver dialog, selected the option to "Browse my computer for drivers"
Next, selected "Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer"
Next, selected "IEEE 1284.4 compatible printer," and clicked "Next"
Clicked on "Have Disk."

The little CD-ROM that the cable came with, grabbed the latest driver from there, in this case the 64-bit version is what matched this system.

Followed the prompts and once again, restarted the computer

Installed the Generic Dot Matrix printer driver in Windows and in this case, selected LPT2 as t10he port. (You can right click in Device Manager on the Parallel port part and see what port it has assigned for you)

Can this mess up your system, a little bit, everything is a gamble. It worked for me.

Cheers

This is interesting, I have one and need to repair it.
Good to know W10 can work with it.

Nexxen wrote on 2025-03-22, 09:10:

Trashbytes wrote on 2025-03-22, 01:10:

Nexxen wrote on 2025-03-22, 00:36:

Tested the 2 x 1GB DDR 333MHz sticks.

One is fine and passes 100%, the other one gives hundred of thousands of mistakes.
I can't really understand if it is some incompatibility, but I don't know what other test I could use to check if it is not.

Memtest86 is likely the best, if they are both the same sticks then I doubt it'll be an incompatibility if one works and the other doesn't.

I needed to hear that to dissipate my doubts.

Also, the mem chips look like they are piggybacked. Strange sandwich.

What in hell .. why would they do that, unless they tried doing that to repair that stick. I doubt it did much.

Trashbytes wrote on 2025-03-22, 10:40:

Nexxen wrote on 2025-03-22, 09:10:

Trashbytes wrote on 2025-03-22, 01:10:

Memtest86 is likely the best, if they are both the same sticks then I doubt it'll be an incompatibility if one works and the other doesn't.

I needed to hear that to dissipate my doubts.

Also, the mem chips look like they are piggybacked. Strange sandwich.

What in hell .. why would they do that, unless they tried doing that to repair that stick. I doubt it did much.

Both sticks are like that.
This is really beyond my knowledge. Let's say one solder joint is off. Good luck finding it. 🤣

Gonna send it back, it's purposeless to me now.

Today I listened to my first gen IPod Touch. Later I’m gonna load up Windows 95 and carry on writing a book I’ve been working on. Love that startup sound.

And the 3com card is done. Now it has an DIP32 socket, much like the non-MBA version of it (3C905B-TX, which is basically what it got turned into.)

Finally made a video overview of my retro PC, but feels a shame if I just posted it since I want to write a proper thread post for it detailing all the optimal stuff.
At least the video for that post is made now, now I just need a writeup.

Here's a new one for me. Flashed a Packard Bell /w the Intel Advanced/HL mobo with a MRBIOS upgrade to get IDT Winchip support. Now the KB and Mouse PS/2 ports are swapped!

What is clearly marked as the mouse port on the case only works with the KB plugged in. Same with mouse.

I mean, I'm sure it's possible to init the KBC and tell it which port is which, but in all my 30 years of upgrading BIOS images I have never seen that.

kingcake wrote on 2025-03-23, 02:33:

Here's a new one for me. Flashed a Packard Bell /w the Intel Advanced/HL mobo with a MRBIOS upgrade to get IDT Winchip support. Now the KB and Mouse PS/2 ports are swapped!

What is clearly marked as the mouse port on the case only works with the KB plugged in. Same with mouse.

I mean, I'm sure it's possible to init the KBC and tell it which port is which, but in all my 30 years of upgrading BIOS images I have never seen that.

Well at least they both still work .. could have been worse 🤣

Trashbytes wrote on 2025-03-23, 04:39:

kingcake wrote on 2025-03-23, 02:33:

Here's a new one for me. Flashed a Packard Bell /w the Intel Advanced/HL mobo with a MRBIOS upgrade to get IDT Winchip support. Now the KB and Mouse PS/2 ports are swapped!

What is clearly marked as the mouse port on the case only works with the KB plugged in. Same with mouse.

I mean, I'm sure it's possible to init the KBC and tell it which port is which, but in all my 30 years of upgrading BIOS images I have never seen that.

Well at least they both still work .. could have been worse 🤣

At first I thought the BIOS was obviously for the wrong chipset/kbc. I almost reverted back to the OEM bios. Then I happened to turn it on without the keyboard plugged in and it suddenly said "no mouse detected". Which gave me the idea to swap the KB and mouse around. Weird.