Unofficial PC Master Class Thread: Games to Hardware: Vintage and New

Tanooki

War Room Troll
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May 24, 2016
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Yeah I could go that route. I have a raid in this DIY laptop I have here, could have if I removed the optical 4 hdd/ssds total. Perhaps just a 250MB or so drive just for the OS and some general fluff, and the rest is where Program Files, etc all gets tossed to. For now I have to play by the warranty rules until about a week before Christmas. If/when it vaporizes again after that I could see going that way to save some scratch. I don't need a large drive, didn't even use 1/2 of what was working.

It's a Clevo 170SM if I recall right, basically every little piece in it is modular the same as a desktop which is very handy.

What this guy has here is more or less what I have, except I went with the Nvidia 980M 8GB video card(chip) instead along with no SSD and a 1TB HGST HDD. It's more or less on the nose other than that stuff.
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/16...__No_nightvision_for_a_while_now_I_guess.html
 
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GregN

aka The Grinch
20 Year Member
Joined
Dec 16, 2000
Posts
17,570
Does Commodore 64 and the Texas Instruments TI-994A count as PC gaming? I had both of those. I still have a boxed Rastan and Renegade for C-64 somewhere in my Dad's basement.
 

basic

back to basics
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Jun 2, 2006
Posts
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Does Commodore 64 and the Texas Instruments TI-994A count as PC gaming? I had both of those. I still have a boxed Rastan and Renegade for C-64 somewhere in my Dad's basement.

Fuck yeah the C64 does. Donald Duck's Playground was my childhood lol.
 

kuze

Akari's Big Brother
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Yeah I could go that route. I have a raid in this DIY laptop I have here, could have if I removed the optical 4 hdd/ssds total. Perhaps just a 250MB or so drive just for the OS and some general fluff, and the rest is where Program Files, etc all gets tossed to. For now I have to play by the warranty rules until about a week before Christmas. If/when it vaporizes again after that I could see going that way to save some scratch. I don't need a large drive, didn't even use 1/2 of what was working.

It's a Clevo 170SM if I recall right, basically every little piece in it is modular the same as a desktop which is very handy.

What this guy has here is more or less what I have, except I went with the Nvidia 980M 8GB video card(chip) instead along with no SSD and a 1TB HGST HDD. It's more or less on the nose other than that stuff.
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/16...__No_nightvision_for_a_while_now_I_guess.html

By all means ride the warranty out. But yeah SSDs are the way to go on laptops especially, no moving parts and way better performance.

You could always throw the 1 TB in an enclosure and hook it up externally if needed.
 

Late

Reichsf?rer-Finnland,
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SSD is definitely the way to go, best computer innovation in ages.
 

greedostick

Obsessed Neo-Fan
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Does Commodore 64 and the Texas Instruments TI-994A count as PC gaming? I had both of those. I still have a boxed Rastan and Renegade for C-64 somewhere in my Dad's basement.

All vintage computing is fair game. I would love to hear if anyone here in the USA collects Amiga. I really want to find a way to get into that little machine, but all the good stuff is in the UK.

I almost have all the parts together for my new Windows 98 SE build....

Still trying to locate a good deal on a 16mb Voodoo3. It's not easy. Everything is in freaking Bulgaria or the Ukraine. I may have to settle for a NVIDIA TNT2 until I can find one for a decent priced based in the USA.

If any of you all have a Voodoo3 2000, or 3000 for sale, or even a Voodoo2 (a good one), I'll buy it or trade.

I have a stack of late Dos, and Windows 95/98 games begging to be played. Hopefully all my parts arrive in the mail about this weekend when my semester ends, so I can put this thing together.

If any of you all are looking to get into vintage windows builds, now is the time. Other than the stupid expensive Voodoo cards, stuff is stupid cheap, and readily available if you live in a larger city. If you don't care about GLIDE things are MUCH cheaper.
 

Tripredacus

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I have no recollection what happened to my Voodoo 3. I know my Voodoo 2 I traded for a GeForce MX and $20 to a dude who was trying to get Windows NT 4 to boot on a Mac. My Intense 3D Voodoo disappeared with my storage unit around 2002.
 

Dr Shroom

made it in japan
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dude who was trying to get Windows NT 4 to boot on a Mac.

OxWmipi.gif
 

Tripredacus

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Original release of Windows NT 4 Workstation supported running on PowerPC CPU. He had a decent amount of success with it. He got it to install onto the drive but wasn't able to get into the desktop without a BSOD. I never found out if he did get it to work because he showed up to work wasted one time and I never seen him again.
 

greedostick

Obsessed Neo-Fan
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Well, started building this new Win 98SE machine today. I can't get the damn thig to display anything on the screen. Going to copy my vogons post here in hopes I can find an answer.

Link to album with build photos:
https://imgur.com/a/a9m7Q

I've been working on this build all day. Having issues.

I am only getting a black screen upon power up. No beeps, motherboard has green light. Everything spins, CPU fan, and case fans. Hard drive spins, CD-Rom drive spins.

This is my first win 98 SE build from scratch, so this is probably something real stupid. Please refer to the pics if you need to. I know they may not help, but I willing to try anything I can.

ASUS TUV4X Board. (link to get manual here) http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/sock370/694t/tuv4x/tuv4x-101.pdf
500w PSU
CPU - Unknown (it came with the build) Thinking a Pentium III Tulatin 1ghz since all the dips are off.
RAM - Again, unknown. I have 512MB coming any day now.
Hard drive - I have tried an IDE to SD adapter, with a 64GB SanDisk Ultra card, and a known working HD that already had Win 98SE on it.
Video Card - Voodoo3 3000 #S1B17 16MB AGP 2X Video Card 210-0364-003 (I tried 2 other non-voodoo cards as well)

What I have tried:

1. 2 monitors, and 2 different VGA cables.
2. multiple hard drives, and agp video cards.
3. Holding delete upon power up.
4. Triple checked the motherboard before install for broken and exposed traces.
5. Tried powering up with win 98se install disc in, although I don't knwo what the bios is set to boot to.
6. Changed the CMOS battery to a new one - Ialso think I reset the cmos with the jumpers, but the board does not appear to have the CMOS jumpers in the same place. I removed the jumper, and put it back on, on the SE side of the board, where the little connectors from the case go, SW, Reset, PWR, etc...

What may be the issue:

1. I see no power connector for the CPU - not sure if these old ones need a dedicated power cable?
2. All the little wires, reset, sw, +, -, etc --- maybe in the wrong spot. Been following the manual correctly... I think.
3. Made sure nothing was touching the motherboard, and made sure I used plenty of motherboard standoffs.
4. Maybe need to do something upon start up on the keyboard?
5. IDE cables in incorrectly.
 

ki_atsushi

So Many Posts
No Time
For Games.
20 Year Member
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Posts
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I think you will find this true no matter what OS you are booting on an SSD.

Nah, windows 7 takes about 30 seconds. When I had win 8 it was almost instant.


EDIT: Hey greedo, I'm sorry my friend, but the AGP slot might be fried if you're not getting video out of any cards you've tried. If everything is hooked up on the motherboard according to the manual and you're getting power, you should be able to see a hardware test or splash screen. If you're hitting the correct BIOS key at startup you should definitely be seeing something there too. Maybe check the pins of the slot and make sure they aren't bent or corroded (don't know what environment it's been in all these years).

Someone correct me if I'm wrong here or if there's any other possibilities.
 
Last edited:

Dr Shroom

made it in japan
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Joined
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Posts
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Well, started building this new Win 98SE machine today. I can't get the damn thig to display anything on the screen. Going to copy my vogons post here in hopes I can find an answer.

Link to album with build photos:
https://imgur.com/a/a9m7Q

I've been working on this build all day. Having issues.

I am only getting a black screen upon power up. No beeps, motherboard has green light. Everything spins, CPU fan, and case fans. Hard drive spins, CD-Rom drive spins.

This is my first win 98 SE build from scratch, so this is probably something real stupid. Please refer to the pics if you need to. I know they may not help, but I willing to try anything I can.

ASUS TUV4X Board. (link to get manual here) http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/sock370/694t/tuv4x/tuv4x-101.pdf
500w PSU
CPU - Unknown (it came with the build) Thinking a Pentium III Tulatin 1ghz since all the dips are off.
RAM - Again, unknown. I have 512MB coming any day now.
Hard drive - I have tried an IDE to SD adapter, with a 64GB SanDisk Ultra card, and a known working HD that already had Win 98SE on it.
Video Card - Voodoo3 3000 #S1B17 16MB AGP 2X Video Card 210-0364-003 (I tried 2 other non-voodoo cards as well)

What I have tried:

1. 2 monitors, and 2 different VGA cables.
2. multiple hard drives, and agp video cards.
3. Holding delete upon power up.
4. Triple checked the motherboard before install for broken and exposed traces.
5. Tried powering up with win 98se install disc in, although I don't knwo what the bios is set to boot to.
6. Changed the CMOS battery to a new one - Ialso think I reset the cmos with the jumpers, but the board does not appear to have the CMOS jumpers in the same place. I removed the jumper, and put it back on, on the SE side of the board, where the little connectors from the case go, SW, Reset, PWR, etc...

What may be the issue:

1. I see no power connector for the CPU - not sure if these old ones need a dedicated power cable?
2. All the little wires, reset, sw, +, -, etc --- maybe in the wrong spot. Been following the manual correctly... I think.
3. Made sure nothing was touching the motherboard, and made sure I used plenty of motherboard standoffs.
4. Maybe need to do something upon start up on the keyboard?
5. IDE cables in incorrectly.

Did I read this right or did you try to run the PC without any RAM?
 

Cousin_Itt

Galford's Armourer
10 Year Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2009
Posts
468
Do you have a speaker hooked up to your motherboard, else I don't think you're going to hear any error beeps. What kind of Kingston Memory are you using, possibly a bad/incompatible ram stick if it's not booting at all

Well, started building this new Win 98SE machine today. I can't get the damn thig to display anything on the screen. Going to copy my vogons post here in hopes I can find an answer.

Link to album with build photos:
https://imgur.com/a/a9m7Q

I've been working on this build all day. Having issues.

I am only getting a black screen upon power up. No beeps, motherboard has green light. Everything spins, CPU fan, and case fans. Hard drive spins, CD-Rom drive spins.

This is my first win 98 SE build from scratch, so this is probably something real stupid. Please refer to the pics if you need to. I know they may not help, but I willing to try anything I can.

ASUS TUV4X Board. (link to get manual here) http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/sock370/694t/tuv4x/tuv4x-101.pdf
500w PSU
CPU - Unknown (it came with the build) Thinking a Pentium III Tulatin 1ghz since all the dips are off.
RAM - Again, unknown. I have 512MB coming any day now.
Hard drive - I have tried an IDE to SD adapter, with a 64GB SanDisk Ultra card, and a known working HD that already had Win 98SE on it.
Video Card - Voodoo3 3000 #S1B17 16MB AGP 2X Video Card 210-0364-003 (I tried 2 other non-voodoo cards as well)

What I have tried:

1. 2 monitors, and 2 different VGA cables.
2. multiple hard drives, and agp video cards.
3. Holding delete upon power up.
4. Triple checked the motherboard before install for broken and exposed traces.
5. Tried powering up with win 98se install disc in, although I don't knwo what the bios is set to boot to.
6. Changed the CMOS battery to a new one - Ialso think I reset the cmos with the jumpers, but the board does not appear to have the CMOS jumpers in the same place. I removed the jumper, and put it back on, on the SE side of the board, where the little connectors from the case go, SW, Reset, PWR, etc...

What may be the issue:

1. I see no power connector for the CPU - not sure if these old ones need a dedicated power cable?
2. All the little wires, reset, sw, +, -, etc --- maybe in the wrong spot. Been following the manual correctly... I think.
3. Made sure nothing was touching the motherboard, and made sure I used plenty of motherboard standoffs.
4. Maybe need to do something upon start up on the keyboard?
5. IDE cables in incorrectly.
 

Tripredacus

Three 6 Mafia
10 Year Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2012
Posts
5,465
Nah, windows 7 takes about 30 seconds. When I had win 8 it was almost instant.

Maybe for you, but the boot times mean nearly nothing unless you have an actual requirement for them to be be fast. Windows 8 and newer OS have suspend-off. They do not truly turn off when they are shut down. If you are not certain if your PC is set up this way, do something like swap the RAM or hard drive out and turn it back on. :D

My Win7 x64 at home takes 6 seconds to boot. I've also had a Windows 95 PC take 6 seconds to boot also and a Windows 98 take 23 seconds.

Did I read this right or did you try to run the PC without any RAM?

He had RAM, you can see in the picture. He put "unknown" because he didn't bother looking up the info on the label. Look the thing up and make sure it meets the requirements as stated in the manual. If you do not know, post what is on the label here.

Greedo is getting no picture on the TV. Disconnect all drives and remove that sound card and see if you get video.

If not, you need to get some thermal paste because you want to reseat the CPU. In this process you can clean it off and see which one it is. Also reseat your RAM.

After you get video, you need to go into the BIOS and disable the onboard sound. Only then you can put your sound card in.

Hooking up front panel connectors is definately possible, but it won't effect booting unless those wires have a short. Power button is a 1/0 so it can be hooked up in any direction. Should be same for reset button. LEDs hooked up backwards will typically have reverse results. HDD activity will be on default, and off for activity. Power LED backwards will cause the power LED to not turn on. If you don't know about the FP connectors, you can just turn the system on, do reset using a pen/screwdriver like I do.

For the power, it is 20 pin ATX. If using a modern PSU or one with a 24 pin connector, 4 pins will be off the side, or if it is segmented, it will have nowhere to connect.

Need a pic of the video card you have. The manual you point to uses an AGP Pro socket, but the Voodoo 3 does not look to be of that type. Verify you are using AGP Pro video card and if not then get a PCI video card instead.
 
Last edited:

ki_atsushi

So Many Posts
No Time
For Games.
20 Year Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2005
Posts
23,647
Maybe for you, but the boot times mean nearly nothing unless you have an actual requirement for them to be be fast. Windows 8 and newer OS have suspend-off. They do not truly turn off when they are shut down. If you are not certain if your PC is set up this way, do something like swap the RAM or hard drive out and turn it back on. :D

My Win7 x64 at home takes 6 seconds to boot. I've also had a Windows 95 PC take 6 seconds to boot also and a Windows 98 take 23 seconds.



He had RAM, you can see in the picture. He put "unknown" because he didn't bother looking up the info on the label. Look the thing up and make sure it meets the requirements as stated in the manual. If you do not know, post what is on the label here.

Greedo is getting no picture on the TV. Disconnect all drives and remove that sound card and see if you get video.

If not, you need to get some thermal paste because you want to reseat the CPU. In this process you can clean it off and see which one it is. Also reseat your RAM.

After you get video, you need to go into the BIOS and disable the onboard sound. Only then you can put your sound card in.

Hooking up front panel connectors is definately possible, but it won't effect booting unless those wires have a short. Power button is a 1/0 so it can be hooked up in any direction. Should be same for reset button. LEDs hooked up backwards will typically have reverse results. HDD activity will be on default, and off for activity. Power LED backwards will cause the power LED to not turn on. If you don't know about the FP connectors, you can just turn the system on, do reset using a pen/screwdriver like I do.

For the power, it is 20 pin ATX. If using a modern PSU or one with a 24 pin connector, 4 pins will be off the side, or if it is segmented, it will have nowhere to connect.

Need a pic of the video card you have. The manual you point to uses an AGP Pro socket, but the Voodoo 3 does not look to be of that type. Verify you are using AGP Pro video card and if not then get a PCI video card instead.

The PC should still post without a processor or ram, you should be able to get into BIOS at the very least. No picture = video card problem.

Also, AGP Pro is backwards compatible with regular AGP cards. No problem there.
 

NeoSneth

Ned's Ninja Academy Dropout
20 Year Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2000
Posts
11,084
This is a ram hack from back in the day. ram chips piggy backed and linked through a RAM daughter board. custom kickstart needed to boot.
This Amiga 1000 still runs great btw. I love that is has all the signatures of the engineers on the inside of the case.
011451f6aad9782f54230eec63a86fc9acc0139e0d.jpg01c91e03410e56fb99f174d6ac81682bff0b2c2cac.jpg013af382c939300c8fa0e69aa03799a11b43967314.jpg
 

Tripredacus

Three 6 Mafia
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Posts
5,465
The PC should still post without a processor or ram, you should be able to get into BIOS at the very least.

This isn't true. It depends on the hardware. Modern motherboards will turn on but not POST with a CPU missing, because they have the additional board power from the power supply. On older boards, there was no additional power and the CPU completed the circuit. No CPU means no power on.

Also a board will not POST with memory missing, but it will turn on. If beeps are enabled at firmware and a speaker is present, it will give you the 3 beeps. But not all boards will do this. Intel boards do in all cases, Microstar boards some do and some don't, etc.
 

greedostick

Obsessed Neo-Fan
15 Year Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2003
Posts
4,474
OK, I pulled the processor. It looks clean, no bent pins.

Pentium III SL5B3
3124B225-0118
1000/256/133/1.75v

I got caught up today when trying to work on this thing. I completely forgot to clear the CMOS, but I'm going to do that later tonight.

I did however get around to fixing the Voodoo3 pins, and installing some new RAM.

512MB Samsung SDRAM PC133 168 Pin.

Still no dice, but need to clear that CMOS and go from there.

Need to get a shitty PCI graphics card as well, and just picked up a beeper (didn't realize these old boards don't have on-board sound)

Also need to check the AGP slot, I did notice that the Voodoo3 card does not take up the entire slot, there's a lot of room to the left of the card toward the back of the case. I Assumed it was compatible with this board though because it's an AGP Pro slot, and over at Vogons, they recommended that card when recommending me that motherboard.

Also, the CPU had new thermal paste, and the heatsink/fan was new. I bought that when I picked up the board on eBay.

The reason I never questioned the RAM, CPU, and Dip switches, was those all came pre-installed on the motherboard, so I just figured everything was compatible, but maybe didn't work.
 

Tripredacus

Three 6 Mafia
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Posts
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The reason I never questioned the RAM, CPU, and Dip switches, was those all came pre-installed on the motherboard, so I just figured everything was compatible, but maybe didn't work.

When all dip switches are off, then JEN jumper would be set to pins 2 and 3 enabling JumperFree. I'm guessing this means the board then does autodetect. I can see it is set this way in your pictures. If you are to disable JumperFree, then you move the jumper to 1 and 2, and set dip 3 to ON. See page 17 and 20 for this info.

Anyways, after you reset the CMOS, and you try to get it to POST without any drives connected or the sound card installed. You said you tried other video cards, aside from a PCI one. If you can't try a different CPU or RAM, you may just have a bum board.
 

greedostick

Obsessed Neo-Fan
15 Year Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2003
Posts
4,474
Thought I would give this a bump.

RAM prices.... Holy Fuck!

They're about triple what were when I upgraded to 16GB last year.

What the hell is going on?

Nearing $200.00 for quality RAM is absurd.
 
Last edited:

Yoshi

,
20 Year Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2001
Posts
1,444
I haven't been following, but now I'm glad I future proofed with 32GB of DDR4 when I did in the summer of 2016.
 

Gamefan

OldSkool4Life,
20 Year Member
Joined
Jun 27, 2001
Posts
3,728
Sold off the gaming rig and am now rocking a Surface Pro 4 i5 4GB RAM and 128GB HDD. Going to add in a 256GB EVO micro SD card this weekend.
 
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