Zap! Posted January 13, 2020 Author Share Posted January 13, 2020 Thanks so much, and PM me your PayPal and shipping costs. I actually was a massive DOS gamer starting in 1993. A little late on the scene, but I still have plenty of old disks. Yay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wierd_w Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 I can throw in a misc item, I think. Some years ago, I ordered (what I thought at the time) was a single 3Com 10base-T ISA ethernet card. In reality, it was a shipment of 25 cards. Brand new, in cellophane. I have the "surplus" in a closet someplace. I can totally put one of those in too. Getting networking going in DOS is an... advanced... topic. However, it IS totally doable. Since FX supports IPX in addition to LPT and pals (and because ethernet cables are easier to source than laplink) it might be a good option for you. Let me make sure they are still where I left them before I commit to sending one though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wierd_w Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 NOPE-- Must have thrown them all out. Can't find them. Oh well, I did package up the drives, the SATA->IDE bridge, and I found a (basically brand new) 80 conductor EIDE cable. All packaged up. Just need to head to the post office. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wierd_w Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 In the mail! PMed you the tracking number. I sent it priority, so it should arrive sometime this week. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Usotsuki Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 There's a fair amount of Internet stuff for MS-DOS that makes it easier to deal with the fact that my Unisys CWD-5001 doesn't have a CD-ROM drive (and unless I can find a parallel model, can't have one - there's just no physical space for it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wierd_w Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, The Usotsuki said: There's a fair amount of Internet stuff for MS-DOS that makes it easier to deal with the fact that my Unisys CWD-5001 doesn't have a CD-ROM drive (and unless I can find a parallel model, can't have one - there's just no physical space for it). Like THIS ONE? You can get dos drivers for it even! Edited January 13, 2020 by wierd_w Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zap! Posted January 13, 2020 Author Share Posted January 13, 2020 (edited) 9 hours ago, wierd_w said: Getting networking going in DOS is an... advanced... topic. However, it IS totally doable. Since FX supports IPX in addition to LPT and pals (and because ethernet cables are easier to source than laplink) it might be a good option for you. I got my Atari Mega STE online about two years ago. I use something called the WiFi232. It was a lot of fun going online BBS's after all of these years. Wonder if it would work in DOS... Edited January 13, 2020 by Zap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wierd_w Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 (edited) Maybe, but if you get an ISA network adapter, you can do it natively. There are DOS TCP stacks. See for instance, this august software. http://www.windowsnetworking.com/j_helmig/doscltcp.htm It is entirely possible, with an old network card, to mount a share on a NAS as a drive letter in DOS. Just make sure your NAS supports legacy SMB 1.0 Edited January 13, 2020 by wierd_w 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zap! Posted January 13, 2020 Author Share Posted January 13, 2020 Well, the longer floppy cable arrived today, allowing me to hook up two drives at once. At first the 5 1/2” B: drive didn’t read. I cleaned the heads and popped in an old disk that I had. Wow! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wierd_w Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 (edited) OK. Looks like the tracking number finally went active. Expected delivery by Thursday. Glad that the 1.2mb drive is working! You can get quite a lot of vintage software from Archive.org by the way. Not sure how legal that is, so no deep links from me, but there are quite a few collections. Since that win98 laptop has a diskette drive, you should be in business if you have plenty of empty diskettes laying around, at least until then. I'll look in from time to time-- See how you are doing. Did that UMB/EMS driver work? Here's the link again so you don't have to go fishing. From the motherboard pics you sent, yours should be supported. (chipset ID 4 in the list-- NEAT chipset with 82c351) Dunno if you also have the "SCAT" chip or not. Might not get EMS, but you should definitely get hardware UMBs without needing EMM386. The "EMM Simulator" driver he offers claims it will work without the SCAT chip, so there's that too. Here's the docs for the EMM simulator, and the UMB driver, in that order. The EMM driver document gives an example config.sys. UMB_EMS4.DOC Version 5.22 02/20/92 Page 1 UMB_EMS4.SYS Device Driver EMS simulator for DOS 5.0 on 286 / 386 / 486 systems Copyright (C) 1991, 1992 All Rights Reserved Christopher Blum CompuServe: 76625,1041 1022 East Wayne Avenue INTERNET: 76625.1041@compuserve.com Wooster, Ohio 44691 BIX: cblum (216)262-3786 IMPORTANT INFORMATION - DISTRIBUTION AND LICENSING UMB_EMS4.SYS carries no warranties expressed or implied. It is solely up to the user to determine its suitability for use on his/her machine. This program is distributed as a self-extracting file containing the device driver and its associated documentation as a part of the UMB_DRVR.SYS package. Copying and redistribution is encouraged, but must be the original, unmodified file containing this documentation, and the transfer must not carry any fee or charge specific to this program: i.e. general BBS access or line charges are OK, but no 'download fee' or similar charge. This means that BBS operators may post this file for download, but may not charge a specific fee for it, and 'Distribution houses' may charge a disk-duplication fee, but not a specific charge for the program. UMB_EMS4.SYS is made available on a 'try before you buy' basis. It is not crippled in any way, and has no 'advertising'. The latest version will be available on CompuServe in the IBM forum ( 'GO IBMSYS', lib 1 ). Personal use license ( U.S. funds ) is $25 which should be mailed to the above address if the program is used after a reasonable trial period ( 30 days ). Please use the registration form at the end of the UMB_DRVR.DOC document. Users who register receive the latest version of the program, and may at any time send a self-addressed *and postpaid* diskette mailer and a diskette to receive further updated versions. Corporate users must contact me for corporate rate or site license arrangements. TECHNICAL SUPPORT Technical support, including pre-registration questions or install assistance, is available at your expense at the above telephone number. Please be aware that I am in the Eastern US time zone ( GMT-4 or GMT-5 depending on season ) and try to call at a reasonable hour: i.e. 9 AM to Noon, 1 PM to 5PM, or 7 PM to 10 PM. Saturday is OK, but *PLEASE* avoid Sundays. I can also be contacted via Email on CompuServe, BIX and INTERNET ( IDs above ) - I monitor my mail almost every day. It is not necessarily a good idea to leave me messages on CompuServe in the forum sections unless your question or discussion is of general interest. The Postal Service may also be used ( address above ). UMB_EMS4.DOC Version 5.22 02/20/92 Page 2 INTRODUCTION UMB_EMS4.SYS is a device driver providing EMS simulation from XMS ( HIMEM.SYS ) extended memory. It is a software implementation of the LIM 4.0 standard, implementing all features of the specification except page aliasing, which requires actual hardware support. All XMS extended memory is considered to be available also as EMS. The XMS memory is dynamically configured to EMS and back as programs open and close EMS handles. You should see, when you do a MEM display, that the EMS available and XMS available track with each other. The driver must be installed *AFTER* UMB_DRVR.SYS and HIMEM.SYS have been installed, preferrably using the DEVICEHIGH command to load into upper memory. It requires about 72K of memory to initialize, and takes no parameters. REQUIREMENTS AND RESTRICTIONS UMB_EMS4 has been run on 286, 386 and 486 systems with excellent results. It will run on any system supported by UMB_DRVR.SYS, DOS 5.0 and the HIMEM.SYS XMS server. Do *NOT* use simulated EMS provided by UMB_EMS4 for disk cache programs such as PC-Quick, HyperDisk, SMARTDRV.SYS, etc. They will work better with extended memory than simulated EMS ( see also following ). The driver is Windows-386-enhanced-mode-aware, but you need to start Windows in enhanced mode using 'WIN /3' ( UMB_EMS4 will back itself out at Win init and reinstall at Win exit, but you must force enhanced mode ) if you want it. The driver will not allow Windows to start in enhanced mode if any simulated EMS users are active. This is to allow Windows full use of extended memory, and further explains why you can't have any cache programs use EMS if they need to run while Windows is active. This can also affect shell programs or COMMAND.COM replacement programs such as 4DOS. If you have a choice, select to use extended memory for any such applications. I *STRONGLY* suggest that you set your XMS handle count to 64 by using /NUMHANDLES=64 for HIMEM.SYS, because the driver uses XMS handles and the EMS 4.0 specification says you should have a minimum of 64. It will work with the HIMEM.SYS default of 32, but there is some chance that programs which normally would run might not in that environment. UMB_EMS4.DOC Version 5.22 02/20/92 Page 3 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES If you're interested, here are some benchmark figures, run on a 16Mhz 386sx with Chips & Technologies NEATsx chip set with 4MB memory. The hardware figures below reflect the NEATsx EMS facilities using Chips and Technologies NEAT EMS driver version 2.0 and 2MB EMS. *** PC Magazine Labs Benchmark 6.0 Hardware UMB_EMS4 -------- -------- EMS read 527.83 12.80 ( KB/sec ) EMS write 527.83 12.80 *** MOVETEST ( PC Labs EMS Move test, 256KB move timing in seconds ) - 64 byte records - -- 128KB records -- Hardware UMB_EMS4 Hardware UMB_EMS4 -------- -------- -------- -------- EMS => Conventional 1.81 1.42 .05 .05 Conventional => Conventional .71 .65 .05 .05 Conventional => EMS 1.86 1.42 .05 .05 EMS => EMS 1.86 1.64 .05 .05 *** Disk defragmentation program ( 100MB drive, 80MB data. Program run two times, organizing data in two different orders. Identical initial data for all runs. Program used 2 MB of EMS or Extended memory for buffers ) Run #1 Run #2 Average ( times in min:sec ) ------ ------ ------- EMS ( Hardware ) 7:03 7:15 7:09 EMS ( EMM386 ) 7:15 7:32 7:24 Extended ( XMS ) 8:53 9:14 9:04 EMS ( UMB_EMS4 ) 11:50 11:05 11:28 Don't let these figures scare you... most programs tested run very well with UMB_EMS4 and show little performance difference. The above figures are 'worst case' and do not reflect the average program. Many programs such as Quattro Pro 3.0, Lotus, DBase, Paradox, a selection of games, several TSRs including a print spooler, and various others have been tested with no problems. UMB_EMS4.DOC Version 5.22 02/20/92 Page 4 INSTALLATION *PLEASE BE SURE YOU HAVE REVIEWED THIS DOCUMENTATION* prior to installing. Also, make sure you have backed-up your system and that you have a diskette you can boot from in case you have problems with your CONFIG.SYS settings. Installation is via the lines: DEVICE=UMB_DRVR.SYS ... DOS=HIGH,UMB DEVICEHIGH=HIMEM.SYS /NUMHANDLES=64 DEVICEHIGH=UMB_EMS4.SYS The driver will print a status report at initialization, and self- explanatory error messages if installation fails. If you do not have enough upper memory to load UMB_EMS4 high, you may use DEVICE= to load into conventional memory, but it is much better to load it high if possible. Rearranging your CONFIG.SYS to do so is highly suggested. Again, as with any new software, *MAKE SURE YOUR SYSTEM IS BACKED UP* and verify the operation of your programs. It is impossible for me to test all configurations and programs. If you have problems, let me know and I will try to straighten them out. KNOWN INCOMPATIBILITIES Word Perfect version 5.1 crashes if you use its default EMS 4.0 support. This can be avoided by either using the execute command: WP /32 when running it, or the command: SET WPC=/32 in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file at bootup. Either of these actions tells Word Perfect to use LIM 3.2 calls only. I am in contact with Word Perfect Corporation and am working on the problem. REVISION HISTORY 5.22 [02/20/92] - Initial release version. ***** END OF DOCUMENTATION ***** UMB_DRVR.TXT Version 5.22 02/20/92 UMB_DRVR.SYS Device Driver UMB provider for DOS 5.0 on 286 / 386 / 486 systems Copyright (C) 1991, 1992 All Rights Reserved Christopher Blum CompuServe: 76625,1041 1022 East Wayne Avenue INTERNET: 76625.1041@compuserve.com Wooster, Ohio 44691 BIX: cblum (216)262-3786 KNOWN PROBLEMS Chip set selections 17 and 18 ( Silicon Integrated Systems 386 and 486 sets ) do not function correctly in this version. I am working on the problem and will post a new version when they are fixed. CHANGES IN THIS RELEASE 5.22 [02/20/92] - 'Unbroke' cache systems broken in 5.17; ( Hopefully ) improved handling of false parity errors during processing; Added code to handle boot page for MR BIOS; Fixed handling of certain embedded video roms; Released UMB_EMS4 EMS simulator. CHIP SETS CURRENTLY SUPPORTED 00 - User-Specified Available Memory mode Chip ID(s): None 01 - Chips & Technologies CS8221 NEAT, CS8281 NEATsx, CS8223 LeAPset, CS8283 LeAPset-sx Texas Instruments TACT82S411 Single Chip AT United Microelectronics (UMC) UM82C210 286/386SX AT Chip ID(s): ( C & T ) 82C212, 82C241 ( 286 ) 82C812, 82C841 ( 386SX ); ( TI ) TACT82S411 ( 286, 386SX ); ( UMC ) UM82C212 ( 286, 386SX ) 02 - VLSI Technology VL82C200 Chip ID(s): VL82C201,VL82C202,VL82C203,VL82C204 ( 286, 386SX ) ( all 4 chips required ) 03 - FOREX FRX36C300 Chip ID(s): FRX36C300 ( 386DX ) 04 - Chips & Technologies CS8230 386/AT, CS8231 Turbo Cache 386/AT, CS8233 PEAKset/386, CS82310 PEAKset DM/386 Chip ID(s): 82C302, 82C307, 82C311, 82C351 ( 386DX ) 05 - Chips & Technologies 82C235 SCAT, 82C836 SCATsx, CB8291 ELEAT, CB8295 ELEATsx, CS8285 PEAKset-sx, CS8227 CHIPSlite, CS8288 CHIPSlite-sx Chip ID(s): 82C235 ( 286 ), 82C836 ( 386SX ) 06 - ETEQ Micro COUGAR II Chip ID(s): 82C491 ( 386DX, 486 ) 07 - OPTi Sx/AT, Sx/AT Cache Chip ID(s): 82C281, 82C282, 82C283 ( 386SX ) 08 - OPTi DX/BB PC/AT Chip ID(s): 82C496 ( 386DX, 486 ) 09 - OPTi 386WB PC/AT, 486SXWB PC/AT Chip ID(s): 82C391 ( 386DX ), 82C493 ( 486 ) 10 - OPTi 386/486WB EISA Chip ID(s): 82C682 ( 386DX, 486 ) 11 - Elite Microelectronics Eagle, Falcon Chip ID(s): e88C311 ( 386DX ), e88C411 ( 486 ) 12 - VLSI Technology SCAMP Chip ID(s): VL82C310, VL82C311 ( 286, 386SX ), VL82C311L ( 286 ) 13 - VLSI Technology VL82C286, VL82C386 TOPCAT Intel 82340SX, 82340DX Chip ID(s): ( VLSI ) VL82C320 ( 286, 386SX ), VL82C330 ( 386DX ) VL82C320A ( 286, 386SX, 486 ) ( Intel ) 82343, 82346 ( 286, 386SX ) 82343A ( 286, 386SX, 486 ) 14 - OPTi HiD/386 AT, HiB/486 AT Chip ID(s): 82C382 ( 386DX ), 82C482 ( 486 ) 15 - Sun Electronics SUNTAC ST62CS24, ST62CS25 Chip ID(s): ST62C241 ( 286 ), ST62C251 ( 286, 386SX ) 16 - Texas Instruments TACT83000 Chip ID(s): TACT83442 ( 386SX, 386DX, 486 ) 17 - Silicon Integrated Systems High Performance 80386 Chip ID(s): 85C310 ( 386DX ) 18 - Silicon Integrated Systems High Performance ISA486 Chip ID(s): 85C401 ( 486 ) BAD NEWS ( CHIPS THAT WILL NOT BE SUPPORTED ) Chips & Technologies: CS8220(82C201/82C202) [1] Intel: 82335/82335SX [2] Sun Electronics ( SUNTAC ? ST62CS02(ST62BC002) [1] United Microelectronics ( UMC ? UM82C230(UM82C231) [1] VLSI Technology: VL82C100 [1] Western Digital: ( Faraday ) FE3021/FE3021A [2] Notes: [1] - No shadow ram support [2] - Lock feature prohibits access MAYBE? ( NEED TECHNICAL DATA TO SUPPORT ) ACER American Megatrends (AMI) - Megatrends custom chips, *NOT* BIOS COMPAQ IBM PS/2 Micronics - custom chips PC-Chips brand chip set(s) Toshiba I have been unable to get any documentation for these systems. If you can have your system vendor or the chip set manufacturer contact me, I will try to include support for them. COMING ATTRACTIONS ( SUPPORT PLANNED OR UNDER DEVELOPMENT ) ACC Microelectronics: 2036 [2], 2046 Headland Technology: HT12/HT15 [1], HT18/HT21/HT22 [2], HT322 Intel: 82350 EISA(82359), 80386SL(Intel386SL) OPTi: L1/L2 Notebook Symphony Laboratories: SL82C360(SL82C361), SL82C460(SL82C461) Texas Instruments: TACT84500 EISA(TACT84542) United Microelectronics ( UMC ? UM82C380(UM82C384) [1] VLSI Technology: VL82C486 Western Digital: WD6000/WD75C10/WD76C10/WD7710/WD7910 [1] ZyMos Corporation: POACH(82C230/82C231) Notes: [1] - Support minimal ( maximum 64K UMB area ). [2] - Support limited ( maximum 128K UMB area ). If your chip set is not listed, have your system vendor or the chip set manufacturer contact me and I will try to support it. A newer, more flexible ( read as less Neanderthal, approaching the Bronze Age ) user interface is coming as soon as I get the time. Also in the works are features to save even more precious memory below 640K by: - loading the primary shell ( COMMAND.COM ) into upper memory - relocating all DOS areas possible to upper memory, including FCBS=, FILES=, BUFFERS=, STACKS=, and LASTDRIVE= - allowing the lower portion of the video ram area to be switched in and out to expand DOS base ram beyond 640K but not inhibit graphics modes ( only for chip sets with video area support ) I have ( I think ) found a way to *reliably* test for and list the chip set in a machine. I will be including a separate program to do this in the package soon. Of course, it will only recognize the chip sets it supports, so a negative result will not necessarily mean you have a chip set that will not be supported later. If there is enough interest, I will also write device-specific EMS drivers for the hardware facilities in the EMS-capable chip sets. Please Email or surface mail your thoughts ( no phone calls on this, please - save those for support questions ). Edited January 13, 2020 by wierd_w Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wierd_w Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 Reading the documentation, it looks like I would try this first: DEVICE=A:\UMB_DRVR.SYS /C=04 /M=--------........-------- DOS=HIGH,UMB DEVICEHIGH=A:\HIMEM.SYS /TESTMEM:OFF /NUMHANDLES=64 DEVICEHIGH=A:\UMB_EMS4.SYS That excludes all the adapter RAM in the VGA card so the driver does not try that silly low memory backfill crap, and ensures the system bios is fully excluded. It should give you a nice chunk of UMB and an EMS pageframe, and stay in real mode. Without seeing the memory map via something like MSD, I cannot suggest if the far end of the memory area can be used or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Usotsuki Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 6 hours ago, wierd_w said: Like THIS ONE? You can get dos drivers for it even! Yeah. But not right now - it's not important/necessary enough. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonGrafx-16 Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, wierd_w said: Reading the documentation, it looks like I would try this first: DEVICE=A:\UMB_DRVR.SYS /C=04 /M=--------........-------- DOS=HIGH,UMB DEVICEHIGH=A:\HIMEM.SYS /TESTMEM:OFF /NUMHANDLES=64 DEVICEHIGH=A:\UMB_EMS4.SYS That excludes all the adapter RAM in the VGA card so the driver does not try that silly low memory backfill crap, and ensures the system bios is fully excluded. It should give you a nice chunk of UMB and an EMS pageframe, and stay in real mode. Without seeing the memory map via something like MSD, I cannot suggest if the far end of the memory area can be used or not. Oh boy I remember messing with getting as much non-extended RAM as I could. I managed to get a bit under 600kb which is fine for most old DOS games. I remember Duke Nukem II (a legit full version that's on the Duke 3D CDrom) throwing a fit cause I didn't have enough RAM. LOL Edited January 14, 2020 by DragonGrafx-16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zap! Posted January 14, 2020 Author Share Posted January 14, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, wierd_w said: Did that UMB/EMS driver work? Here's the link again so you don't have to go fishing. Unfortunately I had to get ready for work, so the last time I used the 386 was for 10 minutes of Pharaor’s Tomb. ? I am off tomorrow though, can't wait to check! Edited January 14, 2020 by Zap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsson Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 Yes, half the fun of DOS was to decide which components to load and where they could go in the memory map to leave as much conventional memory as possible free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wierd_w Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 Yup. Squeezing back as much low DOS memory as possible, loading the leanest, meanest drivers into umbs, etc. You got to know what lived in what sections of memory quite well, if you were really picky. I have never used this hardware UMB driver before, so I am very interested in seeing how well it works. It it's a flop, he can always resort back to himem.sys and emm386.exe, but again-- that results in running in v86 mode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxpressed Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 What's nice about DOS gaming today is the benefit of all the knowledge gained from the trial-and-error memory management bitd. Just look up what works and go. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzip Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 5 hours ago, carlsson said: Yes, half the fun of DOS was to decide which components to load and where they could go in the memory map to leave as much conventional memory as possible free. For better or worse, I used the memmaker utility that came with DOS, it made those decisions and usually left me with enough memory to run what I needed to 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 The whole EMS/XMS/UMB/HIGH thing was a game in and of itself. When MemMaker came out it was great fun to see if it could outperform what I had done. And more fun to be had with bonus points for making one config fit ALL your stuff. Thinking about it makes me all teary-eyed and nostalgic. Suddenly I want to read my old MS-DOS 5.0 and 6.22 manuals. And it's a great time to do that. The air is chilly out there and it's nice and quiet. The bacteria farts that give us the spring smell haven't broken through the frozen ground. Not for another 2-3 months. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzip Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 2 hours ago, Keatah said: The whole EMS/XMS/UMB/HIGH thing was a game in and of itself. When MemMaker came out it was great fun to see if it could outperform what I had done. And more fun to be had with bonus points for making one config fit ALL your stuff. Thinking about it makes me all teary-eyed and nostalgic. Suddenly I want to read my old MS-DOS 5.0 and 6.22 manuals. And it's a great time to do that. The air is chilly out there and it's nice and quiet. The bacteria farts that give us the spring smell haven't broken through the frozen ground. Not for another 2-3 months. Funny, This stuff and TSRs in general are what keep me from being nostalgic about MS-DOS ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamemoose Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 Oh man....setting CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT was actually fun for me back then. It was like you did magic to get a friend's computer to run a game like Tie Fighter. At a company I worked for, I constructed a bootable disk that would load CD-ROM drivers, network drivers and such from a menu. I did a like of imaging with Norton Ghost and had images burned on CD or on the network, so I could choose what I wanted to run. The network driver setup was the bee's knees. And I believe I still have that disk....somewhere in the basement.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxpressed Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 When I got into retro computing, I realized I no longer needed resources such as IRQs for parallel ports and peripherals such as modems--things that were a hassle to remove or disable. These days, everything is pretty streamlined for me since I don't need or want to network these old PCs. Just a video card and a sound card (or two or three). Plenty of resources to go around when all you need is a gaming computer rather than a daily driver. The challenge now can be to have three different sound cards in the same build. I have a CF HDD on my 486 with about 20 different autoexec.bat/config.sys setups for each sound card--I just rename the extension after I pop in the card. For my P3 with 98SE, I image the OS with different video card/sound card combos on DVD-Rs. Takes about 10 minutes to reimage after I've selected the combo that I want. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zap! Posted January 17, 2020 Author Share Posted January 17, 2020 Update: For the most part, everything is working properly. Shout outs to all who of those have helped me in this thread, especially wierd_w. He not only generously sent me a free package of goodies, but also spent hours of his time in PM's and on the phone helping me. Much appreciated! So right now I have the 386 running DOS 6.22 and Windows 3.1. Added hardware is a Sound Blaster 16 and a CD-ROM. Accessories are my old Gravis GamePad, which I just took apart and cleaned. The HD is a 2gb CompactFlash to IDE adapter. Since DOS can't format such large sizes normally, it was formatted in EZ-Drive. Stuff to get done: 1) A serial mouse. My PS/2 to Serial adapter did not work with my PS/2 mouse, so one is in the mail. Not having a mouse is severely holding me back in Windows. 2) Remove that battery and replace it with a modern solution. I dread this, but I know that I have to do it. Miraculously, it's still holding a charge. 3) Get the Sound Blaster 64AWE that's coming in the mail. 4) Possibly get it connected online with WiFi232 or something similar. Stuff I can't figure out: When formatted with EZ-Drive, it can not detect both the A and C drives together. When I boot to the HD and I insert a disk in A, it lights up for several seconds, but doesn't make any noise and I get that abort, retry, fail message. The A drive works fine however. On a boot disk, it boots right up in A. However, then I can not see the C drive. What's odd is that the B drive always works when either the A or C drives boot up. It's the same story when formatted in Disk Manager. But when I format it in MSDOS, all drives work together just fine. But I can't do that, because it only formats in 120mb or so. Very weird. Any suggestions? Anyway, here's a pic from last night! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wierd_w Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 Yup. The floppy issue is very confusing. The system is able to read diskettes in drive A just fine as long as the DDO is not loaded. It stops working with BOTH ezbios and diskmanager one either one loads. Ezbios setup makes the HDD partition it creates bootable which is how we got this running. I identified Zap!'s multi io card-- https://stason.org/TULARC/pc/hard-disk-floppy-controllers/U-Z/UNIDENTIFIED-Two-IDE-AT-Interface-drives-SAI2S4-MU.html (We verified that the FDC is jumpered properly.)6 And i helped him get his Sb16 pnp going. He needs a proper serial mouse. I told him on the phone that the ps/2 to serial mouse adapters were always a crapshoot. Hes tried it on both his ports with no love. He has one on order. Has anyone encountered strange diskette behavior with DDO software like this before? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newtmonkey Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 You should consider getting a Roland MT-32 and Sound Canvas SC-55 to go along with your Roland speakers! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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