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RetroTech Chris Profile picture
@RetroTechChris
Jan 4, 2025 • 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
Feb 8
Let's talk about my newest PC acquisition, which might be the most budget build ever 🤣. But there was a reason for buying it. I'll cover that... along with a Windows 95 installation, in a 🧵. Let's go! Image
First, why did I buy this? Well, the plan was to do a case swap with another system I had, which had some strange "fit" issues. However, that planned got smashed... literally. So, I thought we might as well explore what's left of this PC!
This system has a PC Chips M748MR motherboard, an Intel Celeron 400 MHz processor, and 16MB of RAM. Yikes! And of course the case is nothing fancy, but is nostalgic for me. But yea, this is the most budget build ever, for sure! Image
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Read 13 tweets
RetroTech Chris Profile picture
Feb 1
I just watched a video where YouTuber Action Retro set up a web server on a floppy disk using ELKS (the Embeddable Linux Kernel Subset). I thought, I have to try this for myself! Let's talk about it briefly in a 🧵 Image
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So, first of all, what is ELKS? It's the Embeddable Linux Kernel Subset, and it will run on a wide range of hardware, including 8088 systems. Pretty wild for a modern product! If you want to read more or try it out, GitHub repo is here: github.com/ghaerr/elksImage
Alright, let's go. I need to choose a system that will support the networking for ELKS. Turning to the Wiki, as of right now, the network cards supported are NE1000, NE2000, Western Digital 8003, Western Digital 8013, and 3com Ethernet III (3c509). My 486 DX4 has a 3Com 3c509! Image
Read 11 tweets
RetroTech Chris Profile picture
Jan 25
I got a new DOS file transfer toy! Now, these have been around since the dawn of time, but let's talk about it: a MicroSD to LPT Printer Port Adapter. We'll give it a test on my Compaq LTE 5400. Time for a 🧵 Image
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First, if you are interested in reading about these, there is a thread on Vogons! Included in that thread is where I found the DOS drivers for it, you can go here for that, and to read about this device! vogons.org/viewtopic.php?…Image
Also, here's a few more perspective shots of it, captured from different angles. Image
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Read 11 tweets
RetroTech Chris Profile picture
Jan 17
I got some Xircom PC Cards in the mail today! Let's test them out and see if they work! 🧵 time! Image
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First, if you missed it, a few days ago I posted this. Given what I have paid for these in the past, I was very pleased!
And speaking of the past, here's what I had before today: four cards. These Xircom RealPort Ethernet 10/100 cards are great for getting a laptop without Internet connected to a wired network! Image
Read 10 tweets
RetroTech Chris Profile picture
Jan 8
My holiday break is quickly coming to an end. So, I think it's time to power on the retro PCs that I have yet to power on recently. I am sure this will go flawlessly 😂. Let's do most of this, in real time, in a 🧵 here! Image
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Alright, you've already seen the first three. My trusty, original 486DX4/100 powered right up, as did the Packard Bell Multimedia 601 Pentium 233 MMX Image
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How about the Kehtron 486 DX/50? Weeelll.. the front seven segment display needed reconnected (I really should fix this permanently), and the sound card was being a pain, but I moved it over one slot and it is now working! Image
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Read 30 tweets
RetroTech Chris Profile picture
Jan 3
The challenges and solutions in retro computing never cease to amaze me, and today's project is no different. Today's goal was getting working storage in this AST Premium Exec 386 laptop. And fortunately, somewhat against the odds, I found one! Let's talk about it in a 🧵 here! Image
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So, anyway, the issue I had with this laptop is that the original 20MB 3.5" IDE hard drive had died. I thought "no problem, I'll pop on eBay and get one." Except they are scarce and expensive. I picked up two 120MB drives and one 40MB drive. None of them worked. Image
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In the past, I had also tried a CF card. I could get the CF cards to a point where they were accessible, but when I go to boot, I get a blinking cursor.. and sometimes a "non system disk or disk error" a few minutes later. Tried multiple CF cards, same result. Image
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Read 9 tweets

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