Doh. Think you've got me on the oldest date for a computer. I definitely didn't have any computers at that time.
May your bits be stable and your interfaces be fast.
Ron-
Be sure to checkout “Tips & Tricks” Dear Guest Visitor → Once you register and log-in please checkout the “Tips & Tricks” page for some very handy tips!
/Steve. -
BootAble – FreeDOS boot testing freeware
To obtain direct, low-level access to a system's mass storage drives, SpinRite runs under a GRC-customized version of FreeDOS which has been modified to add compatibility with all file systems. In order to run SpinRite it must first be possible to boot FreeDOS.
GRC's “BootAble” freeware allows anyone to easily create BIOS-bootable media in order to workout and confirm the details of getting a machine to boot FreeDOS through a BIOS. Once the means of doing that has been determined, the media created by SpinRite can be booted and run in the same way.
The participants here, who have taken the time to share their knowledge and experience, their successes and some frustrations with booting their computers into FreeDOS, have created a valuable knowledgebase which will benefit everyone who follows.
You may click on the image to the right to obtain your own copy of BootAble. Then use the knowledge and experience documented here to boot your computer(s) into FreeDOS. And please do not hesitate to ask questions – nowhere else can better answers be found.
(You may permanently close this reminder with the 'X' in the upper right.)
May your bits be stable and your interfaces be fast.
RonI still have my post Commodore 64 Toshiba laptop. What a machine it was, 2x 3.5 inch floppies! If I recall correctly it came with DOS 2.11. I still have a few odd and end parts from my first job. One part of interest (maybe) is a diode from a Burroughs B3500 mainframe power supply, and a Nixie tube display from the same machine. I really liked the B3500s, I learned how to machine language program it which probably sparked some interest in writing programs. There are still a few Palm Pilots around, including a Tx with wifi. The Pilots have been retired for quite a while now.
I think the B3500 is the first computer I got paid to program as a summer job (I was 17 and fresh out of high school). I programmed it in Fortran and ended up finding an intermittent hardware error. It turns out that after doing enough calculating it would get too hot and start making math errors. That was a difficult defect to find.
Decided to go through the DVD's in my rack and watch them. Watching WAR GAMES tonight. They have some cool old computer equipment. They even have CARD CATALOGS and MICROFILM READERS in the library. How did we ever survive the 60's, 70's, and 80's?
May your bits be stable and your interfaces be fast. Ron
May your bits be stable and your interfaces be fast.
RonI really liked the B3500. It was a physically large machine, I even had to reduce the size of the picture to upload it (really). I worked on them in a bank and they were programmed in COBOL which I knew nothing about, I was onsite for hardware repair. They had core memory, 60KD (kilo digits) per stack. One memory module of head per track disk was 10MB, took a 1 horsepower motor to spin the 4 platters, and weighed 750 pounds. We've come a long way since then! The disk module was on wheels and rolled into a 'garage' as it was called which held up to 5 disk modules. An 'EU' was at the head of each string, basically a control module which also contained an air compressor, air tanks with 5 micron filters, and hoses that ran to each disk module to 'fly' the heads. Part of the disk PM was draining any water from the filter bowls, checking the air pressure on the modules (3 pressure zones each), and checking the linked leather belts that spun it for tension.
Fun times (really). By the time I got there they were no longer teaching the B3500 so I went to B4700 training. The B4700 could have core or solid state memory, and although I don't have any the power supply diodes from it they were larger than the B3500. A small machine language program was manually punched into memory via the console keyboard which started loading the MCP (Master Control Program (OS)) I never liked the teletypes used as an output console, they were really hard to maintain so we kept a few spares. The processor keyboards were great, you could read and write hex directly into memory. The good old days.
Fun times (really). By the time I got there they were no longer teaching the B3500 so I went to B4700 training. The B4700 could have core or solid state memory, and although I don't have any the power supply diodes from it they were larger than the B3500. A small machine language program was manually punched into memory via the console keyboard which started loading the MCP (Master Control Program (OS)) I never liked the teletypes used as an output console, they were really hard to maintain so we kept a few spares. The processor keyboards were great, you could read and write hex directly into memory. The good old days.
Attachments
I worked on that movie. I made some graphics that was on screen for about .5 seconds, and spent a day on set.
Lisa turns 40 and a year later came the mac
Apple Lisa changed computing 40 years ago, but the world didn't notice | AppleInsider
Just about everything the Mac brought to technology was already there a year before with the failed Apple Lisa, that launched on January 19, 1983.
appleinsider.com
I owned a TI-99/4A. I played a bunch of games on it, loading them from audio tape. Bought a few game cartridges as well. I was writing a "Jckpot Yatzee" game for it when I came across a Packard Bell.
A Successful Failure: The TI-99/4A Turns 40
In June 1981, Texas Instruments released the TI-99/4A, a 16-bit home computer and gaming platform that became a huge cultural success in America after selling 2.8 million units, although it resulted in a business loss for TI. Forty years later, here’s what made it special.
www.howtogeek.com
The company I worked for at the time had multiple Lisas, being used by the Documentation department.Lisa turns 40 and a year later came the mac
Apple Lisa changed computing 40 years ago, but the world didn't notice | AppleInsider
Just about everything the Mac brought to technology was already there a year before with the failed Apple Lisa, that launched on January 19, 1983.appleinsider.com
Similar threads
- tits_are_a_type_of_bird
- Hardware