The text adventure community is still going strong: new tooling for Infocom's Z-machine gaming system, interpreters for essentially every platform, thousands of new games --- I wrote some myself (I won fourth place in the yearly Interactive Fiction Competition in 2012!). You can still write games which can be played on the original Infocom interpreters, although most are now too big and need newer interpreters. The latest Inform compiler is a semi-declarative rule-based system where you write text in natural language. http://inform7.com/
Castlevania for DOS?
Maybe it's this one: http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/398/Castlevania.htm
BTW, would you consider dumping those floppies later when you get a way to read them?
I've actually seen and used that setup before.
There is a PS/2 connector next to the DB-25 serial port. It will only work with a mouse. If you open up the case you should find that top slot isn't actually a PCI or ISA card, but a specialized riser card designed for that motherboard.
For the keyboard, you will need an adapter that lets you plug a PS/2 keyboard into the AT connector (found just above the DB-25 serial port). It's a cheap and simple electrical adapter as the protocal is 100% compatable with PS/2, looks like you can still find them on amazon.
I agree with /u/FozzTexx — you're thinking of an Apple II series machine. Oregon Trail on the Apple II has the color palette you've described.
Just pop one of these on the RCA end of the cable and plug it right into your TV's RF input. RCA to F-type adapter This assumes a US/Canadian television. Euro aerials use a slightly different plug.
Looks like a fairly basic ADC board. There are a number of generic design examples used the AD574A ADC chip that look a lot like this - 9 pin input for analog signals going to the mux chip on top, although most examples I'm seeing in my searches use 8255 chips for the bus interface, this one is all discrete logic chips. You can see the empty header rows which would have gone to a 25 pin d-sub typically labeled for digital signals if it is the same as what I'm seeing elsewhere. Everything found below is from the first page of a Google search with the search terms "8-bit ISA ADC card ad574a"
Here is one such example - link cold because it's a MS Word file. rbainnovations.com/abstracts/Hardware/V.%20%20PC%20based/2.Datalog12-n.doc
Also some talk of building such a card as an exercise in this book on Google Books titled <em>MICROPROCESSORS, PC HARDWARE AND INTERFACING</em>
Here's what I found, including comments by the designer. It appears to have been used in a McGraw Hill home study course.
Here's what seems to be an instruction manual, on the Internet Archive
If you want real hardware, look for an (in order) 800XL, 130XE, 65XE, or 800. If you want a floppy drive, look for an Atari 1050. For a printer, the Atari 1025 is a 9-pin dot matrix that doesn't require an additional parallel interface, but they're hard to find in good condition.
For emulation, if you're on a Mac go for Atari800MacX and if Windows then Altirra.
The Atari 400 has a built-in RF modulator so all you should need is the little switch box, or alternatively an RCA to F connector adapter like this one:
https://www.amazon.com/VCE-Adapter-Connector-Coaxial-Commodore/dp/B08BYD8GV4
in the very unlikely scenario you need -5v you can just use an inverting dc>dc converter
and I did watch the video, the thing is neat, but $50? maybe if you have some super rare and valuable hardware you might find some value in it
personally for that price I would like it if it just took 12v in and generated the 5v. -5v, and -12v... like a really really nice picopsu
honestly I would be a lot more interested if it were an open source project, but since it's not if I personally wanted something like this I'd rather make one myself
Hey, what do you know -- I recognize some of these! The ones I know (Africa, Carlos, Good, Holiday, Spiritu) came on a "multimedia sampler" CD that was included with a Packard Bell system in 1995. If I recall correctly, they originate from a company called Passport Designs (who also provided the famous Canyon.mid for Windows 3.1/95). They came on the disc in both RMI (MIDI-like, plays fine on Windows Media Player) and WAV formats (I'm assuming the RMIs were the originals, and the WAVs were professionally mastered versions-- they are also the ones that you hear in these clips). I've grabbed these from my files real quick (yes, I actually keep this kind of stuff on hand...) and uploaded them here.
The rest, however, I haven't a damn clue about. Many sound very much from the same era, with that cheesy smooth jazz feel that everything "multimedia" seemed to sound like for a while. A few others a bit older, with a style that reminds me of the Japanese band T-Square as it sounded in the 80s. I suspect, though, they might be other songs provided by Passport for a different compilation, with some minimal overlap between them. For instance, my Packard Bell disc has a bunch of similar songs (about 40 more) that I don't see represented on this tape.
I'll post any more impressions I get of these as I listen to them in more detail.
EDIT: "Reggae" sounds like a Roland MT-32 and reminds me a lot of the Monkey Island games, although I haven't played them enough to know offhand if it might be from one of the games.
I'm going to guess its not on their site because it wasn't designed by them, but was a rebranding of some other manufacturer. The model number led me to an Italian computing magazine from 1992 which features a Unibit with the same model as yours (NB-320S) with identical specs and an identical chassis outside of different colored keys. I don't know Italian so I can't really give any more background then that. If you can though, the magazine it came from is digitized at http://issuu.com/adpware/docs/mc115
Edit: page 118 to be specific. Same hard drive size, same RAM size. Looks like you're the proud owner of a 386SX laptop, running at a blistering fast 20 mHz. We should try finding someone who reads Italian.
I found a link to buy a Rev B with the daughter card : https://www.recycledgoods.com/micron-tech-inc-2-m-b-memory-dip-sys-bd-235-0140-w-daughter-bd-235-0141-rev-b/
It does have a picture of the dip switches for that configuration.
Here's another: https://www.amazon.com/MICRON-1308D-235-0140-Daughter-235-0141/dp/B016YJWJJU#immersive-view_1535924331051
Would it be rediculous to plug it in and start trying different dip switch settings (powering off, of course) to see how much memory is shown?
https://www.amazon.com/Xeno-Energy-XL-050F-Lithium-Battery/dp/B005NI59W8
Some models of old Mac actually REQUIRE the battery to boot successfully. It could be that without the battery, this one needs to build up juice in the caps before it will boot. (
By the time the 486 came out, diskettes were 1.44MB. You're trying to copy files larger than that? Most software for that computer came on diskettes in the first place.
But the simple way is to get a null-modem-USB cable (https://www.amazon.com/USB-Serial-Adapter-Modem-9-pin/dp/B008634VJY/ref=sr_1_4). Hook one end to your vintage PC the other to your modern PC.
Programs like Kermit should still be available for both PCs (and will fit on one floppy so you can get it to your vintage computer) and do a wonderful job of transferring multiple files. You may have to experiment a bit to get the max baud rate that will work with the older computer, but it should be pretty high so the files will transfer pretty quick.
You're looking at a serial terminal. It'll show information when it receives serial data. That temrinal has two RS-232 ports on the back. You'll need to wire that to something that is sending and accepting RS232 serial data.
You can use your PC or mac or the like) to do this if you like, by using a USB/Serial port adapter (like this: https://www.amazon.com/SIIG-JU-CB1S12-S3-USB-Serial-Adapter/dp/B000FOL6QI ) - you'll need a DB25/DB9 adapter, also available on amazon.
You can also wire that to a raspberry pi or linux machine and use it as a console for that. Serial terminals only require 3 pins to work (TX, RX, and GND), so you can wire that to your RPi.
One thing you might want to try is putting hte terminal into setup mode. I found a PDF on the net that says hitting SHIFT and SELECT at the same time on the terminal will put it in setup mode.
Try that, and see if you can see menus and stuff.
The characters you're seeing are almost certainly 'line noise'. Basically noise on the serial interface. It shows the terminal is working :)
If you get a setup screen, post a picture!
That link my be some help. I'm not sure, but I think there is a difference between the dumb terminals and the monochrome & CGA monitors of the past years. As in they aren't interchangeable, but I could be wrong. I know a local PC recycle place by me has a bunch of dumb terminals still.
Yes, I bought a few 68010 chips from ebay last year for a project quite cheap. And the 68000 is even easier to find.
I'm pretty sure it can't run any UNIX system, due to the lack of an MMU for virtual memory. See: https://www.debian.org/ports/m68k/
Forget windows on it if you want the best experience from those. Get Desqview for the closest to multitasking you can get in DOS. It's awesome.
For games on a 486+, beyond the usual Quake & Duke, check out Big Red Racing and Death Rally as well as Spectre-VR and Descent. You can also play a couple games I helped make.
If you are setting up a coaxial 10-Based T network... good luck with that crap. We hated that shit in our early lan-party days.
On a 286 or 386 you have to really go back to stuff like the Kings Quest games. There's a lot of really good old-school games for 286 and 386 that I am blanking on right now.
In 1983 Columbia Data Products made one of my favorite CGA games as a kid in order to show off their IBM-PC clone - possibly the one you have. The game is a very good rip off of Space Invaders called Space Commanders. You can find download it from Abandonware sites.
It look like you've killed the MBR boot-loader. It may be that all you need do is to replace that in the first sector of the hard drive, using the command
fdisk /MBR
once you have managed to reboot the Win95.
See if you can find a Win95 emergency boot CD online. Have a look on bootdisks.windowsreinstall.com
You may also have some luck with the supergrub2 emergency boot CD
If you want to try something a little different on that machine, it's supported by MorphOS (modern AmigaOS semi-clone).
I think the free version runs for 30 minutes before slowing down.
I've got a Dorling Kindersley one called the Complete Book of Windows that's done in a hand drawn cartoon style
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Windows-Including-Introduction-Computer/dp/0746023391
Yeah. I ended up getting 2 kinds of them This one: VCE 2 Pack Atari Adapter, Phono RCA Female to F Type Male RF Connector Coaxial Adapter for Atari 2600/7800 Sega/Coleco/Commodore Game System https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BYD8GV4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_58QSB674HNV9V0BE1JJE
And this one: RCA to F Adapter, Atari Adapter for TV, 2-Pack RFAdapter Coax Male to RCA Female Connector Convertor for Atari 2600/7800, C64 Mini, Commodore, Sega, Colecovision Game System https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VWQF6WS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_P8RE46YMQJDJJWVVFV7E
Thanks!
Try these, then you can use any coaxial cable you have lying around.
You can get them locally at any place that sells TV antennas or stereo equipment too. Good luck!
Premium system:JFJ Easy Pro Universal CD/DVD Blu-Ray Repair Machine 110V with Extra Supply Kit Up to 250 Repairs for $199.
I have always dreamed of a Model 100. You can't find a keyboard with full-depth keypress on anything and a LCD screen should save on battery. Online says it would run 20 hours on four AA...
I now dream that I could piece together something with eink and a ras pi with a legit keyboard... 7 inch display is a bit tiny for my old eyes.
Thank goodness it still boots! My money would be on the rubber bumpers degrading.
For future use when doing surface mount caps use something like this: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00CM2A97S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_i_AZWAP06D23G7BH2PNS7Y?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Makes it 100% easier and makes for a better connection!
I think this is what you need.
https://www.amazon.com/Viking-DLE-200B-Two-Way-Line-Simulator/dp/B004PXK314
You would need a computer with modem at each end, one to dial in, one to host a dial in server. Probably a PPP server?
Huh, you learn something new every day, all my old stuff has either had screw terminals, RCA, or those obnoxious spring connectors.
I was able to find this on Amazon. It's not the answer to OP's question, exactly, but it ought to give them somewhere to work from. It does look like the connectors can just be removed and replaced with whatever OP needs to connect to. I don't know if OP knows how to solder or not, but if they need RCA/phono plugs, solderless ones are available.
Either way, doesn't look like it's anything special, just an uncommon connector.
You'll have to read the ROM and disassemble it. I bought one of these from Amazon for reading and programming eproms and flash memory TL866CS USB Universal Programmer.
Then disassemble it with something like this: http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/pclare/DASMx/
Also, there are probably easily readable text clues right in the ROM.
Cool find though, I love stuff like this, especially reverse engineering it too!
Copyright 1957, this book predates even the Lisp programming language. Without knowing the contents, I can guess is is either about programming in Fortran, or (probably more likely) the kind of features and functionality you would typically find in the various assembler languages in common use at the time.
Author's Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_D._McCracken
This is also a great book, though the price is ridiculous. I think I paid $15 for it brand new 10 years ago.
I'll second the PCMCIA / CardBus suggestions, for both USB and Ethernet.
Amazon has a cheap USB card (AISN: B07N85N5PG), but it looks like eBay may be a better option for an Ethernet card.
You can also find PCMCIA Wi-Fi cards, generally nothing newer that 802.11g or early 802.11 draft-n. You also need to be mindful that many Win 9x Wi-FI drivers don't support WPA2 encryption (some won't even support WPA, only WEP) if you decide to get a Wi-Fi card.
the hard drive is IDE, very common, you should have no problem finding an IDE hard drive. you can also try IDE-compact flash device such as this: https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Pin-Compact-Flash-Adapter/dp/B0026OYEEQ
I think based on the sizing it's this
There is a datasheet linked from the page.
Although the BASIC program is from 1982, the results seems similar to this much more recent paper:
Here's 2 paper clips on Amazon Marketplace for $500!
But they obviously don't know what they have because this seller on ebay is selling 1 paper clip for $500,000!
I've used this one in almost all of my vintage PC's.
https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Single-Adapter-Reader-35BAYCF2IDE/dp/B000T9QQP0
Things I like about it are:
My biggest complaint is that it only comes in black. I wish it came in a light color that matched older systems better.
Oh! I was wrong, one of my smaller TVs still has a RF input so I guess I can use that. Is all I need some sort of RCA to F Connector converter like this? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08BYD8GV4
I'd still like to know if anyone has a solution to my original question, though, for the future.
Thanks!
Something like this with an industrial CF card for examaple? The adapter itself seems to be entirely passive minus perhaps voltage regulation, so it's up to the CF card to be compatible
I'd say your best bet is to install an ethernet card or a usb card. You could also pull out the hard drive and attach it to a modern computer via an external hard drive adapter, like this: https://www.amazon.com/Inateck-External-Reader-Applicable-SA03001/dp/B08BNPXSJ9/ref=asc\_df\_B08BNPXSJ9/
The memory chips are socketed and back in the late 80's, when confronted by memory issues on this type of memory, we'd pull and replug each one. It's a friction socket and the pins are thin, so you have to be careful removing and inserting. On inserting, if there is resistance, don't force it. If you do mash a chip, you can straighten the pins and retry, but eventually they will snap off if mashed too much. Use a DIP extractor like https://www.amazon.com/Jonard-S-340-Insulated-Spring-Extractor/dp/B006C4BCAK/
I have a Hantek 8-channel that I've been using since 2017 and it's really good for the price point. The only issue is that you need to connect it to a laptop or PC since it doesn't have a display screen. If you don't mind a small size, this one may work for you, but I recently purchased this one for my workbench and have not been disappointed.
You want one of these. If you don't have the original composite cable or it is worn, you'll want this too. Don't bother with that ancient RF adapter.
You can actually completely bypass that if u want and pick up a couple rf to rca adapters. In my city there like 86 cents a piece and your local av shop. That is assuming your tv still has an rf canle tuning antenna plug. Most lcd tvs are doing away with them but any old 5-8 year old lcd tv still had the tv tuner plug. If your tv doesnt have rf you may need to buy an rf to composite converter these cost more. Or. If u dont care about the space and wizardry to turn it on throw an old vcr behind ur tv and run it through there. I converted all my rf stuff to straight up composite by doing hard mods.
Grab one of these they work slick i keep a drawer of about 5 on hand used to run all my rf off 3 way splitter t’s and these things. https://www.amazon.ca/RFAdapter-Connector-Convertor-Commodore-Colecovision/dp/B07VWQF6WS/ref=asc_df_B07VWQF6WS/?tag=googlemobshop-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=459034437540&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=22161113967220574&hvpone=&hvpt...
You're not going to convert anything on it to a full USB port. You can, however, get a CardBus/PCMCIA to USB adapter. I have a couple of these and can't complain. The USB power cord is not required unless you are using a high current device such as an external hard drive or CD-ROM. You will also need an operating system that supports USB.
Different thought: I use these, and a tiny SSD. I don't care for the shortened lifespan of flash cards.
Also they tend to be smaller, which works better for old hardware and software. I have a bunch of these that plug right into the IDE header. Haven't tried them with a 386 but I can't offhand think of a reason they wouldn't work, and for $8 a pair it's not much of a gamble.
I suspect the vertical ones (which have the same adjustment points) would work too if you're worried about absolute footprint.
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B08Q854RFR/
But for me this is easier to swap parts and test. Also finding modern cases which have AT mounting points is essentially impossible anyway.
Not sure how you desoldered it, but these things are cheap and work really well: https://www.amazon.com/YIHUA-Electric-Desoldering-Charging-Through-Hole/dp/B094ZCRXMN/ref=sr_1_8?crid=13U010ENHBKUP&keywords=desolder+iron&qid=1651973871&sprefix=desolder+iron%2Caps%2C103&sr=8-8
I got one of these after busting a trace trying to get one of these RTC chips out. What used to take an hour with tons of stress on the board now only takes 5 minutes with zero stress.
Also, battery modding these RTC chips is really easy and will save you a ton of money- I have a glitchworks replacement too and it was a waste of money. I can get one modded in under 10 minutes now. I bought a ton of battery holders for around $5 on ebay, so the mod only costs a few cents.
I recently got an old Canon Starwriter 30 and it's floppy drive needs a new belt. Rather than spending $15.99 on that I figured I might was well go for the $30 emulator.
Is it compatible with this one: https://www.amazon.com/Gotek-SFR1M44-U100-1-44MB-Floppy-Emulator/dp/B0762NCHC6/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=gotek+floppy+emulator&qid=1651268042&sr=8-1
Thank you!
You can get an internal PCI based one from amazon germany here:-
and an external one here:-
Thanks for this. I think I’m going to return the one I bought as it can’t power the drives. 0.8A I saw on it. It was the Unitek on Amazon. SATA/IDE to USB 3.0 Adapter, Unitek IDE Hard Drive Adapter for Universal 2.5"/3.5" Inch IDE and SATA External HDD/SSD, Support 10TB https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NAUIA6G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_MZ6M2N0812R1PP2JGNSS?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
I bought mine years ago, but mine is a lot like this one: https://www.amazon.ca/110v-Power-Supply-Molex-5000mA/dp/B002TJNDU4/ref=sr_1_7?crid=2EN3YJJL2HJGE&keywords=molex+power+supply&qid=1650556163&sprefix=molex+power%2Caps%2C210&sr=8-7
Yeah those rca type connections were often used to connect to the antenna on the TV usually though some kind of adapter. Assuming you have a coaxial (catv) jack all you'll need is this:
https://www.amazon.com/RFAdapter-Connector-Convertor-Commodore-Colecovision/dp/B07VWQF6WS/
If you're working with a much older TV you'll need something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Ancable-Matching-Transformer-Converter-Receiver/dp/B07JJZXJ7B
Yep. The RCA jack on the rear of the CoCo is for RF (specifically VHF), not composite video. You can use an adapter like this with your RCA cable to connect it to the TV.
I know this is old, but this post comes up on Google regarding the keyboard tray (which is how I got here). Anyway, for anybody looked for a similar keyboard tray for a 5150/60/70 I wanted to let people know you can find a similar one on Amazon / eBay by searching for "Innovera IVR53001 Standard Desktop Keyboard Drawer"
I got one for $30 in Mar 2022.
ATX PSUs are easy. Just plug them in apart from the computer and test voltages. You can pick up a tester for cheap to do this for you so you don't have to break out the dodgy paperclip for starting the unit.
https://www.amazon.com/Computer-PC-Tester-Connectors-Enclosure/dp/B076CLNPPK
AT power supplies can be a bit trickier, i don't know of a cheap tester for these. Similar testing method though, you can google it for more info/pinouts.
Anything older gets very sketchy. Some of these must be plugged into the computers to generate proper voltages and can even be damaged if they aren't. Definitely look for help with the specific machine if it's not AT or ATX(12V).
I have found this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/HITACHI-THINKPAD-DISPLAY-SCREEN-LMG9983ZWCC/dp/B002EI52E0 (but out of stock), but found some panels with the same part number on ebay :wondering:
Do you need that particular one for some reason? USB to a DB25F parallel port isn’t super uncommon, here’s one I found on Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/UGREEN-Parallel-Connector-Converter-Supports/dp/B012FF3CW0
I usually avoid resoldering onto the old battery location and just use the external battery connector with a AAA battery holder like this.
3x AAA giving 4.5v to that connector seems to work fine for me. I used this for my main 386 and got a good 10 years out of three alkalines.
windows/super key is pretty easy to remap to TAB, but I use an external audio device so multimedia controls are not needed.
You can buy those controls as an external device: https://www.amazon.com/Multimedia-Controller-One-Click-Function-Adjuster/dp/B093B11QKJ/ref=sr_1_15?crid=3OKSOMIYZTYP1&keywords=usb+multimedia+controls&qid=1644862439&sprefix=usb+multimedia+controls%2Caps%2C78&sr=8-15
Can also run Echelon - that might be one of the highest tech games you'll get to operate on that machine. It probably won't run well but it should run and it supports the weird video mode...
I wanted to play this on my Sanyo MBC-555 but, while i could get video to display with the add-in CGA card, there was no easy way to make the non-standard keyboard or sound operate.
If you haven't check out Silicon Cowboys. It was on Netflix and is now on Amazon Video via the IMDB channel. It is a good documentary about the real Compaq portable and beyond with lots of interviews with original employees and industry folk.
That is based on a book written by Rod Canion(former CEO and founder) has called Open: How Compaq Ended IBM's PC Domination and Helped Invent Modern Computing. The book is really good and has tons of cool details about how they duked it out with IBM. For instance, when IBM announced a portable it almost put them out of business because sales dried up in anticipation of the new IBM so they parked 18 wheeler trailers around Houston full Compaq Portables in case IBM's portable didn't live up to the hype. If it had, they'd have an abundance of inventory with lessened demand. Amazing book IMO.
If you're familiar with Raspberry Pi and want affordable start with Retropie or Recalbox emulation (also Google search 'arcadepunks') where you can experience virtually all of the greats.
https://retropie.org.uk/about/systems/ https://www.recalbox.com/
Here's one I just found on ENIAC: https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_univOfPennperatingManualJun46_7248165
You should also be able to find many more operating manuals on there.
Edit: Here's a Univac one: https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_univacunivng1959_9057395
It should use what you have configured in Windows. What does the MIDI settings in the Multimedia Control Panel look like for you? I don't know much about your card (I only ever used an SB16 with Windows 95) but according to this review it uses a system called DLS for its sample-based MIDI synthesis, so there should be some driver application to configure that specific to your card.
I'm not sure what would cause that, sorry, I'm not at all familiar with that card (I only ever had SB16 cards). I don't know if you'd have any luck experimenting with the MIDI settings in the Multimedia Control Panel, if you have a different option for MIDI there that might work? (Depending on what your card offers).
Sorry for so many questions, but almost nobody else cares about this machine. On the CF=>IDE adapter, did you use the StarTech one?
https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Pin-Compact-Flash-Adapter/dp/B0026OYEEQ
There were a lot of options, but everyone said to go with the startech one. I have it on the way in the mail now, but I picked up a cheap one that was next day and it didn't work at all.
That would be really helpful it it works in the newer PC. You'll probably find a way to get the disk images on there (ethernet, USB if your 95 has USB support). There is a great collection of MS DOS images on The Eye.
I recently acquired a Heath-Zenith Z-100 system (see previous Reddit post).
One of the things I wanted to do was to archive the hundreds of floppy disks that came with the system. The problem was that most of the terminal programs from the day (MEX, IMP, QTerm, etc.) were never designed for speeds much more than 9600 baud. So I decided to do a little hacking and have modified one of my favorite terminal programs, IMP by Irvin Hoff, to work at speeds up to 115k bps. The modifications to IMP are platform-independent so if you have a CP/M system with a serial port and corresponding IMP overlay, you can easily modify the existing overlay to take advantage of the higher speeds. The article on my blog shows you how to do it. Note: your serial port transfer speed is also dependent on CPU speed and baud rate chip limitations but I've achieved speeds ranging from 19200 baud on my Kaypro 4 to 115k upload speeds on my Apple's CP/M card. For the Z-100, 38400 bps is stable. All in all, very respectable data rates for early 80s CP/M systems. Now the archiving can begin!
Stay Strong CP/M Brothers
here goes: it's a 1GB zip file created with 7zip, ultra compression mode, no password, md5 sums are inside the archive:
https://anonfiles.com/T9b731r3u4/BeOS_zip
apart from Dano version i had there are some additional goodies inside. have fun!
also not an owner, here. I searched the Guiness World Records and the internet for "shortest ethernet card" but nobody has claimed anything that I could see.
this is probably one of those 'pay someone to find out' deals. well, sort of.. https://www.hackster.io/news/sergey-kiselev-s-open-hardware-8-bit-isa-nic-gets-your-ibm-pc-xt-or-other-vintage-system-online-fbed11ce5de8
it's open, you can do it, or buy 1 perhaps: https://www.tindie.com/products/weird/isa-8-bit-ethernet-controller/
you could pcbway a batch with the corner cut off or something.
If you can't find cleaning disks, by the way, the drives are pretty easy to clean by hand.
Use swabs like these, with 94% isopropyl alcohol.
https://www.amazon.com/Read-Right-Cleaning-Swabs-RR1241/dp/B00A6ZC09I
(Don't use Q-tips, the cotton unravels and can get stuck in the head gap)
You want The C64 Studio my good (wo)man, combined with VICE64.
C64Studio acts like a full IDE, and you can launch your BASIC - and later Machine Language - applications directly into VICE64 (the best Commodore emulator available).
Both run well on Windows10.
Version 3.47 might work for you too. I just downloaded it here:- https://filehippo.com/download_daemon-tools-lite/3.47/post_download/ and it behaves fine on Windows ME (Don't have a Win95 box to test on sorry).
Finding an older computer and running Win2000 or WinXP is probably your best bet for easy. Linux might be able to handle it. Locating old Pentium III or P4 machine shouldn't be terribly hard if necessary and there were CD burners back then. If at all possible you should on-board IDE ports or an IDE controller card. There were totally CD burners back then, although you may need a separate CD burning software package for good results. InfraRecorder supports 2000 and XP for sure.
Go ahead and try one of the Core2 machines, you have nothing to lose. It should be completely fine to run 32 bit OSes on 64 bit hardware and the type of memory shouldn't matter. You would of course be capped at 3-3.5gb usable ram due to 32 bit OSes and Windows. Also Win2000/WinXP will likely only recognize and/or use one processor (or core).
I wouldn't go back to Win98 or Win98 SE unless you absolutely have to.
P.S.
Does your IDE-USB device work with older CD or DVD drives? Both CD drives and IDE ZIP drives used ATAPI.
It'd be easier to use an RS232 USB converter, and then use software on the PC that lets you use an RS232 device as a keyboard.
One potential option is something like a Raspberry Pi Zero. A RS232 to TTL serial converter would let you use the M100 as a serial console for the Pi, which would allow you to run word processing software like, to pick an example completely at random, WordGrinder (http://cowlark.com/wordgrinder; disclaimer: I wrote this). The Pi Zero is tiny, it's got onboard wifi, and it draws 80mA with the wifi turned off. It needs 0V and 5V, and chances are you could power it from the M100 itself. I don't know what the M100's battery compartment is like but it's not beyond the bounds of possibility that you could fit in some modern lithium polymer rechargeable batteries and a Pi Zero in there.
Plus, because there's no graphics, there's no temptation to fire up a web browser when you're supposed to be writing!
Edit: Apparently the M100 used four AAs. Nope, not getting a Pi Zero in there. They're not that small.
I think I saw mentioned somewhere that you had to enable ReGIS support at build time.
Throughout 2014 work was done on the ReGIS support. I'd head on over to http://invisible-island.net/xterm/ and grab the latest version and compile it yourself. How well it will work, I have no idea.
I've used 5.25 floppies on relativey recent Ubuntu releases (16.04, or maybe 14.04) so it might be a hardware issue. Try booting an older Live CD to see if it plays well with the hardware.
Another option is to make a Freedos cd or thumbdrive and boot that, and try to format the floppy.
I still think the BIOS error is a distraction.
Most likely your HDD is failing, the IDE cable is bad, or (less likely) you have RAM issues.
Windows isn't my wheelhouse, but this looks like a storage problem, not a CPU/BIOS issue.
If you have a workable system, but the boot-loader is shot, you can boot up the system with an emergency boot-loader disk (floppy or CD).
You're going to have to download a boot-loader disk of some description from the web which is capable of booting your (hopefully still workable) Windows 95 system, and burn it to a CD or to a floppy. You say you don't have a floppy, so you'll have to use a CD to boot from.
I've also remembered another one that might work for you: hiren's boot cd 15.2 Use the 'bootfix' utility or one of the other things.
Btw, this page shows how to switch floppies in DOSBox. There's two ways. imgmount
multiple image files and then hit CTRL-F4. Or, repeatedly copy each disc contents to a single directory and hit CTRL-F4 to refresh.
imgmount for images (iso, img, etc)
mount for directories
I wonder if pulling out the CMOS battery for a few minutes. Might reset everything in your bios. In many cases, it does. I have never seen that scenerio, in which you described.
You can also get a copy of CPU-Z. I believe that tells you how much video memory you are using.
Linux is free open source operating system. W10 is a Microsoft product, not free, and closed source. The distro, Linux Mint is free, and easiest to use for Windows users, familiar interface. Find more at https://linuxmint.com/. So, yes, you will need to boot from USB. So, first download RUFUS (https://rufus.ie/). This is a free program, the best I know for windows to make bootable USB. Then download Linux Mint, and use RUFUS to make your live USB. When you boot on it, it will come to the desktop. Firefox is default browser. Surf a bit, try out some of the software (all free) and decide. Linux uses much less resource to do the same as Windows. So, it runs faster and smoother. Gives new life to old Windows PCs, and no need for anti-virus software. Enjoy!
https://sourceforge.net/projects/limbopcemulator/files/
Get 2.10.0...
And I will DM you the link (not my link of course) from where I got the XP hard disk image (although XP is abandonware, I don't wanna be fakely accused of piracy by sharing a link...)
For what is worth, GOG.com is now selling a DRM-free version of SimCity 3000 that is patched to the latest version and that you can use without any CD or crack. I would try using that.
Or you could download stuff from Usenet/NNTP/Newsgroups in multiple chunks as each message was constrained to a certain size.
In either case, BBS or Usenet, you could use PAR2, aka Parity Archive format, to create additional files that could fix errors in your downloads or even recreate missing sets: a RAID of sorts - "redunant array of internet downloads"
Burn an XP CD. XP came on CD (not DVD) so any CD burner could write an XP CD. Windows 7 and up, i believe, can write ISO images directly to CD natively. CD burners (if you don't have one) are plentiful and cheap, you could grab one for a few dollars at any thrift store, or eBay. Writable CD's are equally plentiful and a pack of 25 runs at about $20 IIRC.
You can do a format and chkdsk from DOS. FreeDOS comes on CD images, and can be burned much like the XP CD. Linux also has similar tools, which are much more powerful, but maybe harder to understand. GParted is a VERY useful Linux based partition manager, and is pretty easy to use, even for a novice.
Many years ago I gleaned a 15" digital CRT monitor from my street, it worked fine so I used Freecycle to locate a local guy doing stuff similar to what you are aiming for. He told me he was collecting free / donated items, testing, repairing, installing Windows, and then giving working systems to less fortunate people so they could go online and do all the things. It was related to his church somehow. I replied to his post on Freecycle soliciting computer bits.
The problem is that there's no way that I know of to convert from HDMI to the 9-pin digital signal used by those monochrome monitors. Even composite to monochrome is going to be a problem if you go with an older rpi with composite output. They're also old, expensive (I bet that $100 doesn't include shipping) and often DOA, dying or otherwise faulty. I get it, they're great, but retrocomputing is fraught with complications that make this goal unrealistic if you want "relative ease."
It really sounds like you just want a machine for distraction free writing. Get yourself a Raspberry Pi or other small machine, and get a 16:9 monitor on a mount that allows it to be in portrait mode. This is really great for reading and writing, the tall aspect ratio really changes the whole feel. Then have it boot directly into FocusWriter, a no-frills word processor that hides everything and lets you type. Woodgrain not your thing? It can look like this if you want it to. I think the end result is what you're looking for even if you didn't get there in the way that you wanted.
Sounds like a keyboard switcher to switch keyboard (and maybe also mouse) between multiple computers.
They aren't usually worth a ton, there were tons of these type devices on the market - so unless this one has something unusual about it it probably isn't worth much.
Note that similar devices are still available brand new.
Would something like this work and I can replace what i need? https://www.amazon.com/BOJACK-Electrolytic-Capacitor-Assortment-0-1uF%EF%BC%8D1000uF/dp/B07PBQXQNQ/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=2OCWRMXY685S6&dchild=1&keywords=capacitor&qid=1635278073&sprefix=capa%2Caps%2C200&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyRUxQR1E2Mk5HQlg0JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNzEwODU0MlpZQkpJQUZGQVlZWCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNTA3MTYwVUhXMjBCQ0VJT0paJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==
Here are three options:
I'm currently doing #2 because I found a small older LCD TV with composite input and built in speakers. I tried #3 with a newer TV and it worked fine.
For my TI, at least, there's some chromatic blurring when used with an LCD that I don't see when I hook it to a CRT TV.
I tried #1 but I think the RF converter I have is shot because the results were not great...
The sheets should be Lead Insertion Grade foam, the OP will have to state the thickness used. I am not sure how many page flips a smaller dip would stay in for. I use this https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B005T77Y2G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 in a flat drawer.
Easiest way to dump the roms in that thing is with an eprom reader/writer. Some thing like this:
ACEIRMC TL866II Plus Universal USB MiniPro EEPROM Flash BIOS Programmer AVR GAL PIC SPI Support 40 pin (Programmer Host) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082D5NQ2P/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_TXCYRRC3RY7Y33M0DZSZ