Retro Computers

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19281192

A few days ago I posted about my old PC and there was some interest, here's an update.

tldr: the hdd saved everything! It has windows 3.1 and all the games I remember are still there.

Longer story: I bought a few adapters for PATA/IDE to USB and they didn't work. I had this weird issue where when I plugged the usb into my computer, the drive would power off. You can hear it spinning when it's on, plug in USB, drive powers off. Unplug USB, drive powers back on. So after buying 2 different adapters, I gave up on trying to read it that way.

Then, I got a floppy reader and a bunch of floppy disks. The software testdisk has a DOS version, so I copied that to a floppy and ran it on the computer. While it was analyzing the HDD it told me in an error message that the drive appeared smaller than it actually is, and I should update my bios settings.

After struggling to figure out how to get to bios (ctrl alt s, AFTER BOOTING), I googled my drive model and found the cylinders, heads, sectors information and manually typed that into the BIOS as a "user defined" hard drive, and that was all it needed to be able to read the drive.

After that it booted straight into PC DOS + Windows 3.1 and everything is there. I found recipes, games, and other programs.

I was going to try to send files over serial, but it wasn't working for me (i still haven't tried zmodem yet) but I couldn't even receive an echo to the serial port. So I've been backing things up by copying to floppy disk, then reading the disk on my laptop with a reader.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19133125

I have this vintage pc that I dug up and recently powered on, the hard drive seems to be failing (sector read errors) but I have a bunch of floppy disks i tried running today and it still works as long as it's running from the floppy and doesn't need to be installed first.

If you guys are interested, I'll post it running some things tomorrow. There's a bunch of things I want to do with it like try to replace the hard drive, get it online, and get a compiler so I can port programs or write new ones for it. Maybe install linux if that's a possibility on 6MB of RAM.

Let’s continue once again our magical trip into GUI Wonderland, and leave timesharing behind with the extremely capable Three Rivers / ICL PERQ and its stunning graphical capabilities! If you want to come with us, feel free to check this article out!

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Have you ever wondered if it's true you can instantly get malware?

Let’s continue our marvelous trip into GUI Wonderland, where we’ll learn 80s computing alongside our trusty Apple Lisa, the first personal computer with a GUI!

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Let’s have a look at the very first commercial computer with a graphical user interface, called Xerox Star, which was the successor of the Xerox Alto! What did its marvelous GUI look like? Was it ground-breaking and easy to use as we’d expect? Or, perhaps, was it too ahead of its time? Well then, let’s find out!

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Kevin Noki - a german maker - recreates a mac plus with use of 3d printing. Calls it a brewintosh. Very impressive work.

RETROKOMPOTT’s interview of the week (in German), this time with Eckhard Kruse, programmer and creator of Ballerburg II, which has some fame in Germany. #ballerburg #atari #retrokompott

https://youtu.be/55vWqoeOPUE?t=11002

Can you imagine a time before the Graphical User Interface, when you could only operate a computer with abstract-looking text instead of using simple menus, and it was unheard of to use the oh-so-common mouse? A time when computers were harder to learn, and even harder to master? Well then, join us in our splendid trip where we’ll discover one of the very first GUIs in a personal computer, found on the Xerox Alto!

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.capebreton.social/post/557460

This three part documentary covers the lifetime and story of the man who was robbed from being Bill Gates, Gary Kildall.

Dive into the untold story of Gary Kildall, the overlooked genius who laid the foundation stones of the personal computing revolution with his groundbreaking CP/M operating system.

In this eye-opening exposé, we unravel the momentous journey of a tech maestro who could have been in the limelight, akin to Bill Gates, but was tragically edged out by the fierce market strategies of Microsoft and IBM. Uncover the dramatic twists and the bitter rivalry that ensued as MS-DOS controversially eclipsed CP/M, bringing a sad and abrupt halt to Kildall's soaring career.

Watch as we shed light on a saga brimming with innovation, rivalry, and heartbreak, echoing the turbulent early days of the software industry.

Don't miss this deep dive into the life of a visionary who should have been etched in history as a titan of the tech world - Gary Kildall: the man who should have been Bill Gates.

#GaryKildall #CPM #DigitalResearch #TechHistory #UntoldStories