DOS Machine

I'm going to take a stab at what you just said AlaricD. I think you hit the nail on the head.

In present day if you buy a computer with all the bells and whistles where does one start if they have no knowledge to speak of. You get maybe two manuals that really do not interface.

You don't really know that there is a bit of maintenence you can do and a few tweaks to keep your computer running well either. The industry then is really not user friendly. The what, why, how where and when are not there. The help sites and forums then fill in a very needed function. To teach people.

To do work on a computer requires programs that require an operating system that requires hardware to make it all work together. Without any one of these things nothing works. Now what are we working with - just 1s and 0s put together in a mozaic of functions to give a certain result.

Now going back in time what does a DOS system have that todays systems have? A root directory. In DOS your fingers on the keyboard are controlling that root directory and if you can make up a directory tree within the root directory you have a pretty good idea what's happening. Todays system do not have that advantage as they are much more complex.

So today I am more of an computer operator wheras years ago I would be more of a tech. The funtions today are the same - nothing more than controlling 1s and 0s in a variety of ways so that we may store Data 1s and 0s until they are needed by us to do a job regardless whether they be graphics, word prcessing, games, or whatever.

Even XP has a bit of DOS - chkdsk for one thing.

OK then - here is a question for all to think about. How does a string of 1s and 0 get put in the correct address in storage from memory so that it can later be found, accessed, and brought out into memory to be used in a certain funtion?

This is the type of knowledge that pesent day users do not have unless then get extensive schooling on it. The computer they bought sure doesn't have it.

Just a way to think about all of this.

:)

Update. I am working with DOS on this machine. :) Thanks to all of you who helped and saved me a tremendous amount of time.

I have ordered a few parts and components and bought two packages of 5.25 floppies for 50 cents each (10 to a package). I wired in a new clock and set it. I did a diskcopy and couldn't read the copy.

Last weekend I hit paydirt at garage sales - books, manuals, hardrives, 2 5.25 floppies - tested and worked, mice, keyboards, 4 monitors, power cables, ribbon cables, 4 hard drives of 465MB, 500MB, 1275MB and 2250MB and they spin up and other "stuff". Even got a 3.1 MS users manual and an office 2000 manual. You people sure know where to look. The only goodwill I visited had nothing.

There are intermittant problems though I have to work out. The computer usually comes up on a menu screen which I can access. But sometimes after using for awhile I might get a "seek error reading drive C " or a "command interpreter fault or a disk boot failure. I took the case off once and subsequently could not re boot. Cables? MoBo? Controller? Connection? All cables were reseated and put case back on and it came up.

Am I having BIOS problems as the original battery was dead. The bios is a Phooine 8088 Promise version 2.51A. Anyone have any info on it? How do you know if it is working correctly and not corrupted.

Unfortunately, I have not found a manual on the PB 500 yet, BUt in searching I have found articles and other comments on this unit.

The upshot of this effort is I am using DOS. Learning commands and the like. It helps in learning about hardware and software in general. And there is a working "dinasaur" in existence today. I don't feel lonely any more. :D

> I did a diskcopy and couldn't read the copy. ... There are intermittant problems though I have to work out. ... sometimes after using for awhile I might get a "seek error reading drive C " or a "command interpreter fault or a disk boot failure.

I'd repeatedly remove and replace each end of all ribbon cables four or five times in an attempt to clean the contacts. I'd also remove both the floppy and hard drive controller and clean the gold contacts along both sides of the bottom edges with a pink pencil eraser.

If the hard drive is still giving you an occasional error, it could be a failing hard drive. (Given it's age).

> Am I having BIOS problems as the original battery was dead.

An 8088 with a CMOS/BIOS Setup? Be the first one I'd ever seen. Are you sure the battery wasn't just to keep the clock/calendar correct?

Up until the 80286 appeared, all the PCs I've ever seen were setup with little toggle switches or jumpers on the motherboard. (Options such as how much memory, type of floppy drive(s), color or monochrome, etc.)

Thanks Vernon, found the dip switches. That just answers a major question on the BIOS for me. Will clean the contacts as you sugeest. You don't know how many times in the fifties and sixties erasers were used. LOL Noir do I, but is was a bunch.

The hard drive does make an audible sound as it spins. 3600RPM it is. I have been into "format" on it. But it doesn't clank. Much louder than present day hard drives. If it proves to be bad what would you recommend for an upgrade. Am getting the floppy controller you mentioned. ST238r HDs sell from 59 refurbished to 95 to 135 new - I think they are new. Don't say refurbished. :)

Maybe go IDE with an 8-bit ISA IDE hard drive controller?

http://www.jdr.com/PDF/mct-ide8.PDF

And them enhance that with an additional 8-bit LBA card?

http://www.jdr.com/pdf/mct-lba.pdf

Sounds like it'd be fun to try and get it to work. :)

Sounds good to me. I think the first thing to do is stabilize the operation of the computer as it stands now. Then try "stuff". Lots of learning to do to.

It would be nice to find a manual too.