RetroTech Chris Profile picture
May 24, 2024 8 tweets 5 min read Read on X
Okay, time for the Pacman PC components swap! I swapped over the HDD enclosure and the Zip 100 drive. Let's talk about it in a 🧵 here!


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Here are the components I pulled out of the Gateway! I do have a future plan for the ones we don't use today, we'll talk about that here in a minute!
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Zip 100 drive is in the slot. Now I just need to find some screws. Luckily I have a few 🤣
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And I did pop out two slot covers. I labeled them for future safekeeping and ease of pairing with this PC! Image
With all devices installed, I powered up and went into BIOS. OOPS, for the second time today, I have a jumper issue. I took out the CD-ROM drive and jumpered it to be the slave device. That took care of it. Also, my boot manager detects the two hard drives and Zip 100 drive!


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The sound card that I pulled out of the Gateway is a CT5806, a Sound Blaster 128 PCI Digital. I like this card because it works in DOS... and that is why I am keeping it for now! The drivers for that are here: easymamecab.mameworld.info/html/snddosdr.…
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And the final card I pulled out is this FutureTel PrimeView NS 320 MPEG capture card. I had three or four of these at one point! I was able to locate drivers for it and use it in the past! I documented it in an old video of mine.
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I need to see if I can find the system requirements for the MPEG card! The web page for this card is on the Wayback Machine, which is where I found the drivers too! Wonder if it will work in my Pentium Pro. Anyway, thx for following along as always!
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More from @RetroTechChris

Apr 5
Okay, let's look at one more retro item today: this ISA to USB interface card with an M-Systems Disk On Chip module! Can we use this little device to boot a computer? Absolutely! We'll test this out on the Pacman PC. Time for a 🧵 Image
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First, where did I get this, and what does it do? I picked this up from AliExpress, and this device basically lets you access USB drives from DOS systems. And it does support boot ROMs like the M-Systems Disk on Chip. We'll be using that today. Image
Let's look at some of the settings. We have a jumper to change the I/O address. Another jumper specifies 16 bit or 8 bit system. And the jumper in the middle? It's a mystery. The back of the board has some writing in Chinese that basically says "this end faces PC rear" Image
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Read 9 tweets
Apr 4
Recently I picked up this SMC network card, that supports network boot via a boot ROM. I spent some time with it, and we had some misadventures together. But it did give me a chance to test out my new POST card too. How could all of this be related? Time for a 🧵 Image
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First of all, let's take some time to admire the property sticker on the back! This card was allegedly property of America Online at some point 🤣 Image
Okay, so I got this SMC Ethercard Elite 8216T (say that five times fast) installed in my Pentium 233 MMX. I was able to pull up the boot ROM configuration page, but savings settings would freeze. That would be a bit of a metaphor for this card... Image
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Read 12 tweets
Apr 4
Hooray, my PS/2 Model 70 386 is fixed! No more issues with the system freezing on powerup when a Microsoft mouse is plugged in. How did I fix it? Let's talk about it in a 🧵 here! Image
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In case you missed it, I recently got a device to display BIOS diagnostic codes on powerup, and we learned that the system was getting stuck when it was testing the keyboard controller:
So, what did I do? I went to eBay and found an untested motherboard. For $35, I was more than willing to take a gamble! Image
Read 8 tweets
Mar 31
My parallel port POST test card arrived today! Let's test out my IBM PS/2 Model 70 386 to see if we can figure out why it is not powering up when certain types of mice are plugged into it! Time for a quick 🧵 Image
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First, a little about the tester card. It's an AliExpress special. That said, it did get here pretty fast. I'm impressed! Image
Alright, first off, let's try this card out without a mouse plugged in. Looks like the system boots, and we land on code 0x6E. I found this awesome reference manual called The BIOS Companion, and it has this code listed as "Reset page register; boot up system". That tracks! Image
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Read 6 tweets
Mar 29
Okay, you all voted, and for NOW, we're going to put this NEC MultiSpin 6X SCSI CD-ROM into my Pentium 233 system. This drive is REALLY cool! Let's talk about it briefly in a 🧵 here! Image
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First of all, if this ends up being permanent, I won't be too sad. The Philips drive that was in the system is starting to look a little ratty 😅. Granted, for form over function, it is an 8X drive, so TECHNICALLY this is a downgrade! Image
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Also, before I get too far into this, in case you missed it, I picked up this drive earlier today at a vintage computer sale that was happening a town or two over! I did grab all of the caddies you see here that go with the drive as well!
Read 9 tweets
Mar 29
Looks like someone about 20 minutes away from me is selling a massive Macintosh/PC collection. I think I might go have a look, just for fun of course! Some pics. 1/4 Image
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Pics 2/4 Image
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Pics 3/4 Image
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Read 5 tweets

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