In a message dated 98-04-05 14:35:36 EDT, you write:
<< Has anyone actually seen a 2.88 MB floppy drive? >>
certain 95xx ps2 models such as my 9577 and a few older thinkpadss had 2.88
drives. i think i saw some aftermarket 2.88 drives a few years ago, but
nothing since.
david
Hi all,
I picked up the "Sun" workstation that appeared for free here a couple of
weeks back and was pleasantly surprised at the haul, and a little
perplexed. What I got:
Cadnetix box with big colour monitor
Cipher C880 tape unit (Big sucker)
CItoh 1550B DM printer
A 286 workstation
Optical mice/pads and keyboards
All the thick-ethernet cabling and hardware for the PC nodes
About 30 10" tapes containing schematics for their legacy products
About 30 8" diskettes (Dysan!) with really neat 2-pack 3-ring holders
About 100 5 1/4" diskettes with SCO stuff on them
Since it was supposedly working when pulled, I plugged everything in and
just fired it up (Well, I looked into the top of the case first to make
sure there wasn't any sign of rust or water damage). So far, nothing. I
finally figured out how to get the case apart (very tricky little latch
that has to be pulled from the *inside*) and have examined it in more
detail. I believe it's a 68020 machine, and the manual says it runs a
"Cadnetix-modified" version of Berkley Unix 4.2. There are two large HD's
which are extremely inaccessable, but I may have to pull them to look
since they make a lot of noise. There is a 6-slot vertical backplane with
4 cards; what I believe is the memory board, the 68020 board, one marked
"Graphic Ram J177 Rev C", and one that is attached to the last with ribbon
cables. The keyboard plugs into the back of the display and the mouse into
the keyboard. Oh yeah, and there are three 5" fans screaming away in
there.
BTW, it's been powered on for 20 minutes or so with no display. My Sun
3/50 with 12 megs of ram only takes 5. The display is just black, although
on power on/off I can see signs of life (red/blue/white lines for an
instant).
Anyone have any technical info on this monster? I have the system users
guide, but no technical data on it whatsoever.
Thanks,
Aaron
PS - I think my wife was thinking divorce when I kept carrying boxes into
the house; I don't want to eat my pride and find that I can't get this
working....
for those of you that goto hamfests/radio rallies, here is a tip. if possible,
see if you can get in the night before under the premise of "setting up" i
actually did buy a table to sell some things, but me and another guy were able
to get inthe night before and set up our table and get our tickets. we were
also able to scope out other's tables and get the best stuff. unfortunately, i
missed out on a table of small hard drives for $4 each, and was a minute late
to get a home based robot called robie for $20. (grrrrrr) best thing to do is
scan everyone else's things all the time and buy what you see. nobody refused
to sell to us. i didnt sell much but here's what i bought:
4 mac adb keyboards, not tested $1
kaypro II with matching printer in great shape with original books and system
disks $10
nec scsi card for ps2 $4
apple ][+ with enhanced encoder board, ssc, and videx videoterm with dual
floppy drives. also got a box labeled applemouse, but it had 6 mouse cards in
it, but no mouses! also got hayes micromodem and dos/pascal manuals.
apple cd drive, two scsi cases, one with drive, one blank , $1 each
ps2 xga card
profile drive, no controller card, may have a lead on two lisas from the guy i
got it from.
also got some late model things cheap that arent worth mentioning. this may be
old hat, but i've noticed that it's worth mentioning you are interested in old
computers and are looking for X computer. that's how i got the lead on the
lisas.
david
><Yeah, but with extra RAM, etc. it could very well benchmark as a higher o
><lower MHz, even with today's Winbench's.
>
>Lower mhz yes faster never. Faster means a timer error or the program is
>broken. The 386 implmentation on that card is very vanilla and no cache.
Ok. Than what the heck is all this about AMD's and Cyrix's having LOWER
megahertz (the Cyrix PR233's only 187.5) and actually benchmarking and
performing like an Intel at a higher speed?
>Besides it's checkes out on mine at 16 using norton, QAFE+ and a few
>others.
OK. If there's one thing that I've learned, what chip manufacturers put on
chips means nearly NOTHING. It's the software, RAM, bus and how they work
together that makes performance/lack thereof.
><Linux won't run XF86 even in mono mode with less than 8MB RAM, which make
><zero sense because any PC that shipped with 8MB RAM and a mono card was
>
>Whatever you do don't tell my 386sx/33 that! It might stop working.
OK. At our school, we've got some NICE 386's. SVGA video cards w/2MB RAM,
16MB RAM each, and an interesting way to put a 3.5" drive in a 5" bay. Now,
I really need a small IDE HDD or a 3.5" MFM HDD and controller for one...
>< There are several projects going on to have Linux run on 286 and lowe
><machines, and, of course, lowering RAM consumption. There's an 8MB
><distribution that only requires 512K (I believe) RAM, if you give it enou
><swap space (in that case, it would be 3.5MB)
>
>Look up ELKS.
That's one, but there are many others. You could recompile them to be
optimized for a 386, though.
><>Windows 3.1 does run on it with the 1meg.
><It'll run, but in my experience, Windows 3.1 doesn't do to much with it.
><friends 286 (they were still using it last summer when they moved, but i
><was retrofit with MY 210MB HDD, and a SVGA monitor and graphics card) Yo
><can't extract files, run most software that was designed for Windows 3.1
>
>Runs good and most software that will fit in 1meg runs ok. Swapping is
>heavy though so a fast disk helps.
Yeah, but how much Windows 3.1 software fits on a meg? I'd say at least 2.
I ran Windows 3.1 from 1993 to 1997, and I'd have to say that most programs
that I ran were fairly large, most in double-digit MB's.
>3.0 is ok but it will not run some apps at all!
Yeah, and Windows 3.1 won't run a lot of apps. It really all depends on the
owner, what they want to do, how they want to do it, and what SW they
already have. BTW, where can I get a lisence+docs, disks for Windows 2.x?
I need one for the above computer...
><I'd go with 3.0, if I had a choice. If I was you, I would just upgrade t
><DOS 5.0 or so. It'll run loads of software, and is more consistent with
>
>I'm running 6.22 and LW had 5.x on his.
I like DOS. It's a good OS. If it were kept more alive today...
><hardware that you have, minus the 386CPU. And, it's smaller, so you coul
><actually have more software on it. Come to think of it, I believe that
><Windows 3.1 is like 25MB, plus the DOS 5.0 that's required to run it, whi
><fits on 5 720K floppies, I believe.
>
>Huh? I had 6.22, win3.1, procomm+, and a few other things and had about
>4.5mb free on a 20mb drive. DO5.0 would reduce it some but not alot, 3.3
>would be far smaller and still run w3.1.
Really? 3.3? BTW, did you ever get that Linux box working? I just started
w/Linux in Jan. and since then, I've installed, removed, reformated and ran
7 or so distributions. If you want, I can help, although I doubt my
usefulnes past my own machines...
If Linux/UNIX clones were really wnated, Minix is free for personal
use... a older version, if it can be found, would probably work.
Tim D. Hotze
>I have a bunch of 80 MB mac hard drives. would an old PC SCSI card
>run them?
Depends. If it was designed for a Mac specifically, then it won't work.
But 9/10 SCSI devices will work indescriminately on a Mac, PC, or Unix
machine, provided that drivers exist, if required.
>>HUH? Neither of these are an helped/hindered by the 386. SCSI is not
>>needed to run 1.44/1.2 FDDs. You can put scsi in there even when it
>was
>>an plain xt. To run the bigger floppies you need a controller that
>will,
>>most XT controllers will not. JDR and JAMCO sell a board that will do
>up
>>to 2.88 drives in a XT slot.
>Has anyone actually seen a 2.88 MB floppy drive?
I have. Almost got one. They were $7 new, black, from IBM. Actually, I
don't really like 2.88MB drives: The meida STILL costs about $3-$4 a disk,
and when you can just get 2 or 3 $0.25 or LESS 1.44MB disks, and then use a
program to cut files down, you end up with better prices. So, unless you
had a specific use, or REALLY wanted to cut down on total disk #'s, I can't
say that I want one, especially not now, when Castle Wood's
(http://www.castlewoodsystems.com) coming out with a $199 ORB drive, that
can outperform Jaz drives, and hold 100MB more for $30 a piece on 2.1GB
media. THAT'S innovation: New technology, low price, and a cool name.
Ciao,
Tim D. Hotze
>
>
><up comes an Intel flashscreen
>< Inboard 386 PC
>< Vers 1.1 02/17/89
>< Intel Corporation
>
>Same beast I have in my Leading Edge XT.
>
><recognize Very rudimentary Auto and Config usual but with inbrdpc.sys
>< Of course I quickly pop it open No HD !!??
>
>Don't lose those files!
>
><Snooper tells me it has 2 ser ports and 2 paral. configured and
bench-mar
><20mhz ( don't know how accurate Snoop's bench is but this sure beats
an X
>
>It's warped. It's a 386/16 and that's all.
How accurate are those diags anyway? Are they to be trusted?
>
>That's been going on for a while and there was a AT (286) version as
well.
>
>< The possibilities are interesting. I'm wondering if I could beef up
the
><Put in an Extended Graphics Adapter (not Array) and hook up my 3270
><type IBM monitor (5272). There's an interesting section in Que's
"Upgradi
>
>IF it's ISA-8 you likely can.
>
>< It would be neat if I could run Linux on it.
>< Excuse my blathering but I'm like a kid with an amazing new toy.
>
Although this certainly is a cool toy (I'd love to have an XT I could
do something wiht), you shouldn't be able to put Linux on it. For
one thing, it seems to need drivers, and Linux doesn't have them.
Also, the fact that it's an ISA card could reduce performance. Lastly,
the thing may not run at full 32 bits,protected mode.
>
>Windows 3.1 does run on it with the 1meg.
Yes, but no windows programs except the ones that came with it.
>
>
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
Hi,
----------
> From: Zane H. Healy <healyzh(a)ix.netcom.com>
> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
>
> Anyway, the result was I pulled my VT420 out of storage, hunted up a
cable
> for the terminal, and powered it on. It seems to be working just fine,
and
> much to my surprise and pleasure it has 16Mb of RAM. Of course it's only
> running VMS 5.3 on a pair of RZ-23's, but hey it's faster, smaller and
> quieter than my MV2! Now to get a better Hard Drive, and add a CD-ROM.
& try NetBSD ....
cheers,
emanuel
Today I picked up from the garbage a 9pin Epson and what I first thought
was a big old IBM XT figuring I could always off it to someone after I checked
out it's peripherals. When I got home I found it was a 5150. I noticed it had a
paste-on sticker "Intel Inboard 386" Someone's attempt at humor I thought
since the 5150 was the first IBM PC IIRC and likely had only 256k RAM.
It had the DIN plugs for kb and cassette and two full-ht. IBM fdds; couldn't
see a Hdd. The 5 expansion slots seemed full tho and I was getting more
interested. I hooked up a monitor and kb and fired it up without opening it up
first (I know-risky). Started up fine, flashing cursor checked the drives and
up comes an Intel flashscreen
Inboard 386 PC
Vers 1.1 02/17/89
Intel Corporation
conv. mem. init. 640 k
ext mem. 256 k
Initial Op. Speed Very Fast
system BIOS 32-bit RAM
EGA BIOS ROM
iNBRDPC Dev. Driver installed
I hit a key and up comes a C:\ prompt.!
Nothing too interesting on the HD , usual WP5.1 and Lotus a few others i don't
recognize Very rudimentary Auto and Config usual but with inbrdpc.sys
Of course I quickly pop it open No HD !!??
It turns out it has a 20 Meg "Plus Development" Hard Card .
The Intel card is a 16mhz and it has an empty socket for a 387
The small serial port card has f - 15 pin and 25 pin sockets.
Small Herc. type card video and prtr.ports
The floppy controller card has a f-35 pin ext. socket ?
Snooper tells me it has 2 ser ports and 2 paral. configured and bench-marks
20mhz ( don't know how accurate Snoop's bench is but this sure beats an XT)
I was blown away I didn't think an XT much less a PC could be upgraded
without replacing the MB. And the Hard Card was gravy
The possibilities are interesting. I'm wondering if I could beef up the RAM
Put in an Extended Graphics Adapter (not Array) and hook up my 3270
type IBM monitor (5272). There's an interesting section in Que's "Upgrading
and Repairing PCs" on the 3270PC BTW. I wonder also what the cassette
and 35 pin I/Os offer in the way of interfacing According to Snooper there's
16 Irq's.and I could free up a exp. socket by pulling the hard card if I could
put in a bigger HD. Would a SCSI card be an option so I could put in 1.2 and
/or 1.44 fdds ?
It would be neat if I could run Linux on it.
Excuse my blathering but I'm like a kid with an amazing new toy.
ciao larry
lwalker(a)interlog.com
><up comes an Intel flashscreen
>< Inboard 386 PC
>< Vers 1.1 02/17/89
>< Intel Corporation
>
>Same beast I have in my Leading Edge XT.
That would be cool to have.
><Snooper tells me it has 2 ser ports and 2 paral. configured and bench-mar
><20mhz ( don't know how accurate Snoop's bench is but this sure beats an X
>
>It's warped. It's a 386/16 and that's all.
Yeah, but with extra RAM, etc. it could very well benchmark as a higher or
lower MHz, even with today's Winbench's.
>< I was blown away I didn't think an XT much less a PC could be upgraded
><without replacing the MB. And the Hard Card was gravy
>
>That's been going on for a while and there was a AT (286) version as well.
>
>< The possibilities are interesting. I'm wondering if I could beef up the
><Put in an Extended Graphics Adapter (not Array) and hook up my 3270
><type IBM monitor (5272). There's an interesting section in Que's "Upgradi
>
>IF it's ISA-8 you likely can.
>
>< It would be neat if I could run Linux on it.
>< Excuse my blathering but I'm like a kid with an amazing new toy.
>
>No way! All the ram you have is the 1meg on the inboard and I think it
>used the 256k (maximum) on the mother as expanded mem. If yu can find the
>memory card that piggy backs to it you can add either a meg or maybe two
>to it. Nomantter what linux in less than 4meg would be poor and
>completely unrunable in under 2mb.
Linux won't run XF86 even in mono mode with less than 8MB RAM, which makes
zero sense because any PC that shipped with 8MB RAM and a mono card was
either: 1) Something like a NeXT machine 2) A graphics machine, but was
DEFINATELY NOT A GENERAL-USE PC!
There are several projects going on to have Linux run on 286 and lower
machines, and, of course, lowering RAM consumption. There's an 8MB
distribution that only requires 512K (I believe) RAM, if you give it enough
swap space (in that case, it would be 3.5MB)
>Windows 3.1 does run on it with the 1meg.
It'll run, but in my experience, Windows 3.1 doesn't do to much with it. My
friends 286 (they were still using it last summer when they moved, but it
was retrofit with MY 210MB HDD, and a SVGA monitor and graphics card) You
can't extract files, run most software that was designed for Windows 3.1.
I'd go with 3.0, if I had a choice. If I was you, I would just upgrade to
DOS 5.0 or so. It'll run loads of software, and is more consistent with the
hardware that you have, minus the 386CPU. And, it's smaller, so you could
actually have more software on it. Come to think of it, I believe that
Windows 3.1 is like 25MB, plus the DOS 5.0 that's required to run it, which
fits on 5 720K floppies, I believe.
Ciao,
Tim D. Hotze
>Allison
>
<up comes an Intel flashscreen
< Inboard 386 PC
< Vers 1.1 02/17/89
< Intel Corporation
Same beast I have in my Leading Edge XT.
<recognize Very rudimentary Auto and Config usual but with inbrdpc.sys
< Of course I quickly pop it open No HD !!??
Don't lose those files!
<Snooper tells me it has 2 ser ports and 2 paral. configured and bench-mar
<20mhz ( don't know how accurate Snoop's bench is but this sure beats an X
It's warped. It's a 386/16 and that's all.
< I was blown away I didn't think an XT much less a PC could be upgraded
<without replacing the MB. And the Hard Card was gravy
That's been going on for a while and there was a AT (286) version as well.
< The possibilities are interesting. I'm wondering if I could beef up the
<Put in an Extended Graphics Adapter (not Array) and hook up my 3270
<type IBM monitor (5272). There's an interesting section in Que's "Upgradi
IF it's ISA-8 you likely can.
< It would be neat if I could run Linux on it.
< Excuse my blathering but I'm like a kid with an amazing new toy.
No way! All the ram you have is the 1meg on the inboard and I think it
used the 256k (maximum) on the mother as expanded mem. If yu can find the
memory card that piggy backs to it you can add either a meg or maybe two
to it. Nomantter what linux in less than 4meg would be poor and
completely unrunable in under 2mb.
Windows 3.1 does run on it with the 1meg.
Allison
