New Finds - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

15 Nov 1999

-----Original Message-----
From: Philip.Belben(a)pgen.com &lt;Philip.Belben(a)pgen.com&gt;
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
&lt;classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu&gt;
Date: Monday, November 15, 1999 10:10 AM
Subject: Re: New Finds

...
 >>  12.  IBM PS/2 model 70 portable (joke) seems
to be a 386 with 12 meg HD.
...
 >> Pretty heavy for a portable and only runs with
a cord plugged into the wall.
...
 >
> ah yes, the P70. gas plasma display so that's why it can only run on ac
> power. make sure your floppy drive works, there was an ECA about that. they
...
 > seem to sell pretty good around this area,
although i have spotted one in a
...
 > computer junk store for $35, i'm holding off
for cheaper. When it was new, it
...
   sold for over
$7k. 
$7k?  Ouch!!

I passed one up a couple of weeks ago.  Seller was asking 95 pounds, was
prepared to sell for 80, but no less - she claimed the Windows 95 installation
...
 on the hard drive was worth that.  I told her just what
I would do if I got a
...
 machine with Windows 95 on it... (hint: it involves a
disk partitioning tool and
...
 a Linux distribution kit)

Philip.

Are you sure this was a P70 (which usually shipped with 386s) and not a P75
(which usually shipped with 486 or better processors)? I tried a Win '95
installation on my 4MB RAM/120 MB HD/386 P70, and from "power on" to
"ready
to use" took over two minutes. Trying to open any windows or run any
applications caused a frenzy of drive activity (reading and writing to the
swapfile, I suspect). I can't imagine anyone actually using a P70 running
Win '95.  Running Windows 3.11 though, they were decent portables for their
time - nice crisp display, good keyboard. Very capable "get some work done
in your hotel room" computers.

I know several people who have added MCA SCSI cards to the internal
expansion slot, and use their P70s as portable SCSI device testers.

Cheers,
Mark.