Share this page!

Enter URL or ID to Unroll

You can paste full URL like: https://x.com/threadreaderapp/status/1644127596119195649
or just the ID like: 1644127596119195649

How to get URL link on X (Twitter) App

  1. On the Twitter thread, click on or icon on the bottom
  2. Click again on or Share Via icon
  3. Click on Copy Link to Tweet
  4. Paste it above and click "Unroll Thread"!
  5. More info at Twitter Help
RetroTech Chris Profile picture
@RetroTechChris
Jan 4, 2025 • 11 tweets • 6 min read • Read on X
Scrolly
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
Image
Image
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
Image
Image
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
Image
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

Image
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

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with RetroTech Chris

RetroTech Chris Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @RetroTechChris

RetroTech Chris Profile picture
Apr 19
How about some more exhibit pictures from VCF East? Here we have a cool Commodore / Atari accessor, an Amiga featuring me (😂) and a really cool AT&T Unix system Image
Image
Image
Image
There was a ham radio exhibit with a Win3.1 computer, and a block game on vintage hardware exhibit!! Image
Image
@yyzkevin is always up to something cool. His new PCMCIA cards will bring wireless networking, sound, and more to vintage laptops!! Image
Image
Image
Image
Read 10 tweets
RetroTech Chris Profile picture
Apr 18
Let's have a look at some items I've seen at VCF East consignment. I imagine this will be a 🧵, so here we go! First, a cheap dell laptop. A Google blade, and an expensive IBM AT 😅 Image
Image
Image
Image
Cisco Aironet 350 cards (I have plenty of these!). Zenith notebook. Some generic PCs Image
Image
Image
Image
More PCs. Media. Tandy 1000 EX Image
Image
Image
Image
Read 6 tweets
RetroTech Chris Profile picture
Apr 11
I don't think it's any secret that I collect Compaq LTE 5000 series laptops. Well, yesterday, I got a grail item in the mail: the Compaq MPEG and TV Video Adapter. This allows for MPEG playback as well as video output. Let's explore the MPEG capabilities a bit! Image
Image
Image
First, why is this a grail item? It's because they are EXTREMELY rare. I do have a few other rare items, including a 3rd party Zip 100 drive, MultiBay Weight Saver (which I use to store spare parts apparently 😂), MultiBay HDD adapter, and laptop dock that takes ISA cards. Image
Image
Let's take a look at it from a few different angles. We can see it has options for video out and video in, including S-Video, RCA style jacks, and "headphone" style jacks. Wow!!! Image
Image
Image
Image
Read 13 tweets
RetroTech Chris Profile picture
Apr 10
The time is nigh to discuss a tale of 4 eBay hard drives! We had some shipping perils, some DOA perils, and perhaps finally some success? Let's find out! 🧵time! Image
Image
Image
Image
So, let's start with the two drives in the first box. While the seller did issue a full refund, he "couldn't possibly imagine" that the drives were damaged in shipment. That makes the one of us 🤣 Image
Starting with the first drive, Western Digital Data Lifeguard found and fixed errors on one of the drives. Great! Image
Image
Image
Read 11 tweets
RetroTech Chris Profile picture
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
Image
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
Image
Image
Image
Read 9 tweets
RetroTech Chris Profile picture
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
Image
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
Image
Read 12 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

Send Email!

:(