w1retap
[H]F Junkie
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2006
- Messages
- 13,713
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Yawp. I still fire up this old classic now and then:I'm in the same boat. I still play the odd old game with dosbox, emulators, etc. But I really don't need more junk around the house.
Just found these for $21 shipped total. I'll be putting them to good use.
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Good question, the reason (if it breaks or indeed is now broken) I want to have a repair-path for it is because its financial value is irrelevant to me, it belonged to my grandfather who was writing a book and jotting down memories about his life at the time of his passing in the late 80's. He also had an Apple SilentWrite thermal-paper printer (Fax paper) but sadly those documents he saved-off have faded due to the relatively temporary nature of how fax paper works and how it was stored.
I still have the discs, still have the software (Bank Street Writer among others) and so if the hardware still works (it's been kept temperature and humidity controlled, not in a garage or attic) I'd like to be able to try and explore that option for repair if need-be. It might be lost to time, it might not, but if there's a dedicated community that repairs stuff like this I figured this was a good place (and thread) to ask in.
Last time I fired it up was probably a decade ago, and it worked fine, read discs......played a game of Dr. J vs. Larry Bird on it and then shut it down hoping the caps would last another 100 years.
Its amazing to pop the cover on those things and see where it all began. Typing LIST $ and BLOAD (well maybe I am mixing my Apple and Commodore syntax but I digress) was my first step to getting into tech which turned into a career to this day, so its more about the feelz than the dollars.
Ye gods. For a second I thought those were the "unlock your processer's full capacity with a license key" things. Glad that idea sank.Just found these for $21 shipped total. I'll be putting them to good use.
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Wasn't that what the little red switch that read 115v220 on the back of the case was for?Ye gods. For a second I thought those were the "unlock your processer's full capacity with a license key" things. Glad that idea sank.
Ye gods. For a second I thought those were the "unlock your processer's full capacity with a license key" things. Glad that idea sank.
Do you remember that particular little idea of theirs? You'd buy, say, a dual-core CPU with one core disabled, or a Celeron locked to a lower-than-normal speed, and you could buy a license key that you'd enter into special software that would unlock the second core or enable the CPU's full speed. I think that like one or two Gateway models had those CPUs and then the idea failed.Did it though? Intel has had artificial market segmentation for decades at this point. They basically have a check box in the firmware that enables or disables things like ECC or SMP support, requiring you to buy a separate CPU and sometimes motherboard at a higher price point.
Oh my god, that's cool! Thanks for sharing!Perhaps it's time to fire up my late Father's HP again. Mouse long since ran away. To do what I don't know. Should probably pass this on to someone who better appreciates it.
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Do you remember that particular little idea of theirs? You'd buy, say, a dual-core CPU with one core disabled, or a Celeron locked to a lower-than-normal speed, and you could buy a license key that you'd enter into special software that would unlock the second core or enable the CPU's full speed. I think that like one or two Gateway models had those CPUs and then the idea failed.
So they still certainly do practice segmentation but nothing that in-your-face egregious (some may feel differently, of course.)
This is an amazing piece of hardware, Susquehannock! I have several really nice modern machines, including the laptop I'm typing this on (10850H, 2080, etc), but I still use my old machines more. This laptop and another are mostly used with tabs open with PDF manuals for various old machines.Perhaps it's time to fire up my late Father's HP again. Mouse long since ran away. To do what I don't know. Should probably pass this on to someone who better appreciates it.
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This is how I feel about the hardware of the 1990s and 2000s - I was there and lived it to it's fullest, so there isn't any personal reason for me to go back and re-live it again.I don’t get retro builds. Having lived through a lot of these old PCs I can’t say I understand what anyone gets out of using one today.
way back when, I tried to revive some old hardware with then-new-and-revolutionary BeOS. And then when that worked, and I realized there was still nothing to do with those systems, I decided old hardware was just junk and haven’t had any interest in going back.
But I’m glad people are enjoying it.
Argh, I know, right - hindsight is 20/20.When I was ~10, my dad and I burned a dozen or so 386 motherboards which were NIB in the back yard. I forget how he got them, probably from one of the computer shows. I wanted to keep one but he told me they were worthless. This was 1997 or so and he had just built me a K6-2 box.. We took a truck load of AT&T computers to the landfill around the same time
Use QEMM daddio.Kids these days have it too easy, I wonder how many of them would still be "gamers" if they had to learn about using "loadhigh" and "himem.sys" before they could play their games.
I mainly like retro PC's because emulation doesn't always get it right (sound/graphics), games can have issues on modern systems, and the overall feel of the speed and sounds of the system is much different. It's also pretty fun to go back and install the original OS on an old system, set the FSB/multiplier/voltage jumpers, SCSI ID's, IDE master/slave jumpers, etc. Plus when something fails, it is much easier to repair versus the BGA mounted stuff of today. Oh, and you can now purchase things for pennies on the dollar versus what they were back in the day. I now have tons of stuff that I only dreamed of owning back in the 80's and 90's.
So your nickname isn't just an ironical thing??
Thank God for chiplets.Did it though? Intel has had artificial market segmentation for decades at this point. They basically have a check box in the firmware that enables or disables things like ECC or SMP support, requiring you to buy a separate CPU and sometimes motherboard at a higher price point.
Nope. My uncle had a set of these floppy discs for some game I've never heard of. Helped me install it. Instantly hooked. I was like 11.So your nickname isn't just an ironical thing??
Aaaand, now I feel old.Nope. My uncle had a set of these floppy discs for some game I've never heard of. Helped me install it. Instantly hooked. I was like 11.
There's an Apple ][c+ sitting in my parents basement, still worked last time it was used 30 or 35 years back.Anyone know where someone might get a vintage Apple II+ recapped and rechipped? At the very least I'd be shocked if the belts in the Disk][ Drives are still good, figure I plug it in, it starts to make that familiar boot-up sound...........and explodes, releasing the all-powerful Blue Smoke that we, in the know, understand is the magic that computers run on........
So long as I don't plug it in and try to get it to work, it still works in my mind.
There's an Apple ][c+ sitting in my parents basement, still worked last time it was used 30 or 35 years back.
It's not recapped, but it is in a house with chain-smokers, so there is a protective nicotine film on the components and circuit boards.
Wow, I appreciate your reverse engineering skills. Though maybe you think this way easy, it's like that sometimes.I made an AMD Athlon K7 Goldfinger clone if anyone wants to tryout some Slot A overclocking.
https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=71328&start=20
This one was pretty simple since I had clear pictures and the board was all through-hole. It only took about 30min to make the schematic. But it is pretty challenging when you don't have the physical product and you're going off low resolution pictures from 20 years ago lol.Wow, I appreciate your reverse engineering skills. Though maybe you think this way easy, it's like that sometimes.
I got bored the other day and created a VM of Windows 98 for some retro gaming. I had one of Windows 2000 but I misplaced the drive it was on. It was fun trying to get the drivers to work correctly and actually get the game to launch.I'm in the same boat. I still play the odd old game with dosbox, emulators, etc. But I really don't need more junk around the house.