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RetroTech Chris Profile picture
@RetroTechChris
Jan 4 • 11 tweets • 6 min read • Read on X
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Let's take a few minutes and look at this newly written Modern Generic SVGA driver for Windows 3.1. We'll check it out in Oracle VM Virtualbox 5.2.44 first in a 🧵 here (I do plan to try real hardware next!) Image
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First, I will say this is off to a GREAT start. The author has done a nice job at logging some of the issues that are present... and this driver has A LOT of promise! Image
Installation is pretty easy! Copy over vbesvga.drv and vbevdd.386 that you can download from the releases page of the project to your windows\system directory: github.com/PluMGMK/vbesvg…Image
From there, you have to modify system.ini in your windows directory. I updated the video driver, added the right file under the 386 Enhanced section, and also added a special section for the driver itself. I started out with some pretty ambitious defaults 😂 Image
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I noticed on first fire up that the .386 driver name didn't quite match the instructions, so I renamed it. Image
Alright, here we go. Looks like my settings were a little ambitious 😂. Let's scale down to 1024x768 with a depth of 16 Image
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Hey, look at that! Colors are rich! A few observations:
1) the "stray green lines" are a common bug with network file sharing and some vid drivers, we can turn that off.
2) Perf is a little slow, but WOW, this is a GREAT start
3) Something is up with the MS office logo bkgrnd. Image

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Another issue, and this is a known one: switching back to full screen from DOS windows has issues. I have the same problem with the standard "SVGA256 VESA patch" that I use with Win 3.1x, so this is parity as far as I am concerned.
How about 8 bit color depth? Well, it's a little more nuanced, but I am sure it will get there! Image
For comparison, this is what the virtual machine looks like with the "SVGA VESA Patch". There are a couple versions of the patcher that are mentioned here: forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?…
Anyway, that's my first take! I look forward to having a look as this progresses. And, yes, I think I will get out some real hardware next! You can also read more details about the project here:

@threadreaderapp unroll github.com/PluMGMK/vbesvg…Image

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More from @RetroTechChris

RetroTech Chris Profile picture
Jun 27
I've been meaning to make it back to the ReStore to pick up an item or two. And I wasn't disappointed! Looking forward to setting up some home automation, and checking out this ATI All in Wonder card. What else did I find? Time for a 🧵 Image
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The Altec Lansing subwoofer was still there, but we know the story on that from before, so I left it. I don't have compatible speakers. Image
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A media shredder and an uninteresting Lenovo PC Image
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Read 6 tweets
RetroTech Chris Profile picture
Jun 23
I decided to do a little Retr0briting on my thrifting finds. I think it turned out ok given how little effort I put into it! Let's talk about it briefly in a 🧵 here. Image
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So, for the speaker, I wanted to retr0brite the knobs and the upper portion of the grille. Disassembly was pretty straight forward. Look at the size of that speaker, pretty beefy! Image
I applied 40 volume cream developer like I had done in the past using a paintbrush. And then in the bin things went. I applied a new coat of developer cream twice throughout the day, and then just got lazy and let things sit overnight 😂 Image
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Read 5 tweets
RetroTech Chris Profile picture
Jun 22
Time to "unbox" and check out this Logitech Trackman Portable. Will it be as expected? Well... no. Does it work with my AST Premium Exec just the way I want? Yes. Am I happy with it? YES!! Let's get into details in a 🧵 here! Image
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Okay, well, let's start at the beginning and unbox. I took the "shrinkwrap" off, and this is the box. I always love having the box for cool devices like this. Image
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Here are the contents! Some manuals, the trackball itself, and some communications program called Crosstalk because.. well.. who doesn't need a telecom program bundled with a pointing device? 😂. Ah, those were strange times 🤣 Image
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Read 6 tweets
RetroTech Chris Profile picture
Jun 22
During my travels to different thrift stores in the Northern Virginia area, I did pick up THREE different parts to create an Altec Lansing setup. Or, so I thought I had what I needed for a setup 😂. Yeah, not quite. Let's talk about what I learned in a 🧵 here. Image
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When I was at one one of the thrift stores, there were a set of speakers and a subwoofer on a rack. I thought they would pair together since they were on the same shelf. These were the speakers. And I think this was the subwoofer (not my picture). Image
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Here once again is the subwoofer I picked up today. An Altec Lansing ACS45. And you can see my speakers are ACS5's. Looking at the back of the speakers, they use a standard 3.5mm connector. The subwoofer expects a DIN for the speaker connection. Oops. Image
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Read 5 tweets
RetroTech Chris Profile picture
Jun 22
Going through my thrifting photos for the past few days, and I didn't get to posting a few, so here we go. Time for a 🧵

First, we have some optical drives and some media I found at one of the Goodwills. Glad I waited, I found a much better deal on media at Savers today! Image
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At a Savers in Woodbridge, VA, Justin found a modem he wanted. I also saw a few computers (not too interesting), and this cool boombox! Image
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As I noted yesterday, L&Y Electronics is a vibe 😂. Even looking through the windows reveals the "organized" chaos that awaits. And it never disappoints! Image
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Read 4 tweets
RetroTech Chris Profile picture
Jun 19
As a part of my "PC deduplication" efforts, I decided to swap this UMC Green CPU into my Gateway 486/33C tower. Naturally, not everything went to plan 😂. Let's talk about it in a 🧵 here. Image
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First of all, to get started, here's some pictures of the insides of the Gateway. Currently there is a 486DX-33 "overdrive" processor, which I will hold onto for later. I took a nice picture of the card order (less critical for an ISA system, but figured why not!) Image
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Here are the cards currently in the system too. Some of them will get reinstalled, but some will not, more on that in a minute. That goofy card you see on the bottom left is for my tape drive! Image
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Read 19 tweets

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