Author Archives: Michal Necasek

Deskpro 386 at 30

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Michal Necasek

30 years ago, in September 1986, Compaq announced the Deskpro 386, a PC as revolutionary as it was conservative. Compaq decided to forge its own path and not wait for IBM to introduce a 386-based PC. At the same time, Compaq … Continue reading →

Posted in 386, Compaq, IBM, PC history, PC press | 26 Comments

E-mu SoundEngine

Posted on September 5, 2016 by Michal Necasek

An interesting piece of hardware popped up at the OS/2 Museum not long ago. It’s an E-mu SoundEngine General MIDI sound module from 1993. This module has very close ties to the original Creative Wave Blaster upgrade module, even though that’s not … Continue reading →

Posted in Creative Labs, E-mu, MIDI, Sound, Wave Blaster | 14 Comments

More Wobbles

Posted on August 24, 2016 by Michal Necasek

This is a follow-up to a previous post. I’ve had a chance to spend more time recovering the two dead PS/2 Model 80s. The first step was replacing the CMOS batteries because without a functioning backup battery, a PS/2 is … Continue reading →

Posted in Floppies, IBM, PS/2 | 13 Comments

Synology DSM 6 and Vintage Clients

Posted on August 19, 2016 by Michal Necasek

I’ve been a Synology DiskStation NAS user for four years now and used them as a SMB file server which is, among other things, accessed from various vintage clients (OS/2, DOS, Windows 9x, etc.). After upgrading to DSM 6, I found … Continue reading →

Posted in Networking, Software Hacks, Storage | 10 Comments

Windows 3.1 Standard Mode Crash with APM

Posted on July 22, 2016 by Michal Necasek

On some systems, Windows 3.1 and 3.11 in Standard mode crashes when it is configured to use APM, i.e. POWER.DRV is loaded. The crash only happens in Standard mode, not the typical default 386 Enhanced mode. Since POWER.DRV is involved … Continue reading →

Posted in Bugs, Windows | 16 Comments

Wobbly Floppy Drive?

Posted on July 12, 2016 by Michal Necasek

Over the weekend I tried to revive a PS/2 Model 80 whose CMOS battery died (after 25 years!). Finding a replacement battery fortunately isn’t difficult (6V lithium “photo” battery), but recreating the configuration information of course requires a reference floppy and … Continue reading →

Posted in Floppies, IBM, Plug and Play, PS/2 | 30 Comments

Intel OverDrive Part II: Pentium OverDrive

Posted on June 30, 2016 by Michal Necasek

The Pentium OverDrive is notable for supporting three physically different sockets (that’s not counting the Pentium II OverDrive). The Pentium OverDrive product was sold in variants suitable for Socket 2/3 (486 systems), Socket 4 (early Pentium systems), and Socket 5/7 … Continue reading →

Posted in 486, Intel, PC history, Pentium | 34 Comments

Better Late Than Never

Posted on May 30, 2016 by Michal Necasek

Better late than never, although in this instance, it’s really really late—about thirty years late. In the world of computing, that is eternity. The talk is about the new CR4.UMIP control bit documented in the latest (revision 58) Intel SDM, … Continue reading →

Posted in 286, Intel, x86 | 13 Comments

Updating Windows

Posted on May 27, 2016 by Michal Necasek

Updating older (but still supported) Windows versions can be a tedious tasks. Not only for humans but also for computers. Searching for updates for half an hour every time with the CPU going at full tilt must be a not … Continue reading →

Posted in Microsoft, Windows | 20 Comments

What’s the Point…

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Michal Necasek

Somethings things just don’t make much sense. Like this, for example: What’s unusual about an ISA sound card with a wavetable daughterboard? Nothing. But experts will recognize that the host card is a Terratec Maestro 32/96, which already has a … Continue reading →

Posted in Sound | 6 Comments