Okay, just wrapped another case swap, this time for my 486DX4/100 system. Naturally, I had a few problems to sort out as I went through this. Let's talk about it in a 🧵 here. I ended once swapping from a "new" Macase that I bought recently that was in better shape. Despite being the same model, they are slightly different! One is a little taller and has some other differences. Funny how things that look so similar can be different 😂

Time to do a case swap for my Pentium 233 MMX. We're going from one Enlight case to another! Here's the end result. I thought this was going to be easier than it was, let's talk about it in, you guessed it, a 🧵 here!

So, you might ask: why do a swap? Well, the current case for my Pentium 233 MMX is nice, but it is a little bit beat up. I found this poor computer in 2019 at Computer Reset being used as a "stepping stool" to get to higher shelves. And I rescued it!

Okay, the first PC project is complete in support of my "slight collection slimdown." I've set up my Compaq Presario 2200 to "match" how the Presario 2100 was configured. Let's talk about it in a 🧵 here. So, the first question people may ask is "why the trade up?" Well, the Presario 2200 is slightly faster, and is cosmetically in better shape. The 2100 is missing a FDD button and a volume button. Probably could be 3D printed, but that's ok.. a future project for someone else😂

I picked up this Parallel to USB adapter on eBay for $1 plus shipping. Let's check it out with my Panasonic KX-P2123 24-pin dot matrix printer! Time for a 🧵
So, the first thing I did was "unbox" it and throw that grody packing material away. Inside we have a cable, a floppy disk with drivers, and a manual. Nice!

Recently, I announced that I was working on a packet driver for the DaynaPORT SCSI/Link, which will bring wireless support to DOS for select SCSI emulators. But did you know there are other wireless solutions available as well? Let's talk other methods I have used in a 🧵 here!


First, and this one is tried and true, and I have used it the longest: the Cisco Aironet 350 PCMCIA cards. I presume you could also use the PCI desktop cards, but haven't tried it. You're limited to 802.11b and 128-bit WEP, but these cards work GREAT!

https://x.com/RetroTechChris/status/1746305970358128892

I'm behind on my testing... let's check out these new XTIDE Deluxe cards that I picked up from Monotech PCs that arrived this week and answer a few curiosity questions. Time for a quick 🧵
I installed a CF card into the first XTIDE Deluxe card, and installed it into an ISA slot in the Rustbucket PC. I also have a SCSI drive in this system. And.. as we can see here in my boot manager, BootIt Bare Metal, both drives are present! Perfect!

I got this dual floppy drive in the mail this week! It's a 1.2MB 5.25" and 1.44 MB 3.5" combo drive by Teac! Let's check it out in a 🧵 here!
So, first, let's talk about the model number. Figuring this out was a little confusing: there's one model number on the top, and then, since each drive is its own entity, I found a label for the bottom drive too. But, looking at the manual, this is a Teac FD-505

I bought this BlueSCSI V2 back in April. My goal was to get WiFi in DOS. Well, there is just one problem: there aren't any drivers for that. Well, that just changed 😂. This is very beta, but I wrote a DOS packet driver, and it seems to be working well! Big shout out to @wrljet who provided moral support, suggested tools, and offered suggestions!

I made it through testing the rest of the ISA and PCI interface cards that I talked about yesterday... erm... at least as well as I could. I'd say things went pretty well! Let's talk about it in a 🧵 here!


We'll use Windows 98 SE for the testing again. And I'm starting out with a "freshly" copied partition again. It's for the best when installing a bunch of drivers.

A few weeks ago, I purchased a group of 17 ISA and PCI cards of all different types! I've had a chance to test out some of them and the results have been PRETTY good, despite an issue here and there. Let's talk about the first round of testing in a 🧵 here! So, first, this is the shipping box for the card. Eek! And, naturally none of the cards were in ESD bags. Oh well. Annnnyway, moving on, I stacked and sorted. 6 NICs (plus 2 bonus ones I bought), 5 sound, 1 IDE, 1 video capture, 3 misc interface, and... 1 MODEM 😂😂

I finally got around to testing out all of my new hard drives! Let's see how it went. Time for a 🧵
So, I decided to start testing with all of the Western Digitals. My eMachines is PERFECT for testing drives, I can pop them into the HDD cage like a piece of toast 😂. The BIOS picks up the drive, I give it a quick partition and format, and then it's SpinRite 6.1 time!

Several days ago, I started a journey of exploring a very unique CPU in my "new" 486 system. It's a Green CPU U5S-SUPER33, and it is REALLY cool... and FAST. Let's talk about it, and why it took me so long to get this thread out, in a 🧵 here!
So, first, if you aren't familiar with the UMC Green CPUs, it might be because they were not available in the US (and perhaps other countries) after a lawsuit with Intel. The CPU itself has the marking "Not for US sale or import". Good thing I didn't buy this CPU 😂

I decided to try and retr0brite the Rustbucket PC a bit. I think it looks a little bit better now! Let's have a quick 🧵 to look at the method used!
I removed the front panel and separated out the drive blanks and gave them a wash. PC looks a little funny without its face 😂

A few days back, I ordered a bunch of hard disk drives. The first one, a Seagate ST32342A (Medalist) 4.3 GB IDE drive, arrived today. Let's check it out in a 🧵 here!
First thing I did was create a 2.0 GB DOS partition and format it. No issues so far!

Oookay, I have an update on my 486 DX/33 from earlier where I was trying to do a simple memory upgrade. After some review, I honestly can't imagine that this computer was EVER stable. Say what??? Yeah.. it's bad 😂. Let's discuss in a 🧵 here If you missed my earlier thread, it's here. I had the thread all put together and thought I was done. I figured I would run a quick MemTest and be on my way. Not quite! Disabling the cache "seemed" to fix things, and so I concluded "must be bad cache".

https://x.com/RetroTechChris/status/1921686824222629923

A few weeks ago, I bought this "ReSound" computer for its lovely Enlight AT case, but fell in love with the computer! The memory is more than a little anemic though at 2MB. Let's upgrade it. Time for a 🧵. So, given how terribly anemic this is, let's pop in a 16MB chip. I believe that it takes Fast Page memory. This should bring our total up to 18MB or so. I was lazy, so I just put it in any old bank!

I think it's about time we have a look at this Comtrade computer I picked up at the System Source Swap Meet a few weeks back! I did a Windows 98 SE install on it today and encountered a lot of trouble before I made one critical change. Let's explore all of this and more in a 🧵 First, some context on the purchase. At the System Source Swap Meet in Hunt Valley, MD last month, System Source had a bunch of PCs for sale, priced as marked. I snagged this one for $20 with LOTS of interest in its 5.25" floppy drive.

https://x.com/RetroTechChris/status/1916455568312541460

I picked up this $5 USB to Parallel adapter at the System Source Swap Meet. I thought it would be cool to print to my HP LaserJet 5L from a modern computer! Let's talk about it briefly in a 🧵 here!
So, here it is unboxed. Looks to be a decent length cable. Great!

I picked up a $5 SCSI CD-ROM drive (or two!) at the System Source Swap Meet in hopes of "righting" a "wrong" on this PC. Let's talk about it in a 🧵 here!
So, first, for those who didn't see it, here's everything I picked up at the swap meet. You can see the two CD-ROM drives I grabbed in the middle of the picture!

https://x.com/RetroTechChris/status/1916681393700012322

I bought this $20 PC at the System Source Swap Meet since I really wanted an Enlight ATX case! I didn't inspect it close enough, and thus didn't realize at the time I was buying a project 😅. But I think it worked out in the end. Let's talk about it in a 🧵 here!

So, as you saw from the initial picture, this thing has seen the elements. As I look inside, I also see leaves and other debris. Makes me wonder if this was stored in a shed or something of the sort.

I picked up a "new old stock" ATX case at the swap meet today. I moved my ITX Llama motherboard over to it. Time for a quick 🧵! Here's the back and inside of the case, and some included hardware. Look at that nice diagram that shows you where to use all of the screws and parts. Nice!