THE POTATO - CDDA on a 486DX

Treah · 2017-08-17T19:38:10.000Z

Well Debian 2.1 is only 7 floppies + 1 for drivers and 1 rescue one. So thats a total of 9 to get the system semi installed. You also needed a set of packages on a ISO file that is not hosted on the debian webpage anymore. However the acutal debian distro called POTAO was 2.2 so Im going to try and find me a ISO image with the binary files so i can do a full instal. I am also going to replace the HDD tonight when I get home with another one as this one is not showing up even in DOS and i cannot boot from it. I suspect there is something wrong with it.

Debain 2.2 is 17 floppies and also needs either a binary ISO file you burn onto a disc or you have to have internet access so that apt can pull them from the Debian archive. Since I do not have a ISA network card im going to try and track down the ISO.

The last 2 weeks I have been celebrating my birthday and was doing some other stuff so I wasent able to mess with this computer much.

noname1208 · 2017-08-18T15:03:02.000Z

This is awesome to watch, it makes me want to get the old Compaq laptop up and running. Not HP Compaq, just Compaq

Someoneman · 2017-08-19T00:21:34.000Z

For additional Potato Points, I want to see somebody play Cataclysm on a computer that’s literally powered by potatoes.

Treah · 2017-08-19T07:28:24.000Z

For additional Potato Points, I want to see somebody play Cataclysm on a computer that's literally powered by potatoes.

This could probably be done if you use something like a raspberry pi zero and a shitload of potato batteries.

Treah · 2017-08-21T22:35:18.000Z

So no go on the bigger drive… Looks like this computer has the 540mb limit for drives. I find it funny that the cdrom that was in these computers can hold 750mb but the biggest drive you can put in them is 540mb… Man PB were some cheepo bastards back in the day. I could fix this with a drive overlay (shudder) or buy a expansion card but both of them seam extreme for just getting it working. For now i think ill just stick with using the original 540mb drive.

As a side note I did find the documentation on what all the jumpers do and connections on the board. Good news is there might be an external battery connection i can use and a jumper i can set to use it. This would allow me to not have to deal with re-soldering on a new bios battery.

I also on a whim emailed Phoenix Bios to see if they would be willing to send me the original BIOS asm source files for phoenix bios circa 1994, I highly doubt they will but you never know…

kevin.granade · 2017-08-21T23:04:36.000Z

Someoneman:

For additional Potato Points, I want to see somebody play Cataclysm on a computer that’s literally powered by potatoes.

I have an ARM-based portable gaming console lying around somewhere that runs on AA batteries, just need to sort out 6V or so of potato power and we’d be cooking.

TooDAMNMuch · 2017-08-22T14:50:32.000Z

man packard bell, that is an old memory, i remember that company, they installed some shitware OS over win 3.1 on ours which did nothing but make all programs fail to start aside from internet explorer.

man computers sucked back in those days, but it was a step up from the 3 shades of green floppy driven machines i used at school.

Mantar · 2017-08-22T18:11:28.000Z

Treah:

Well Debian 2.1 is only 7 floppies + 1 for drivers and 1 rescue one. So thats a total of 9 to get the system semi installed. You also needed a set of packages on a ISO file that is not hosted on the debian webpage anymore.

Hey, look what I found, debian-2.1r2-i386 isos: http://mirror.debianforum.de/debian-iso-archive/slink/i386/

Treah · 2017-08-22T19:33:32.000Z

Ohh man thanks for the link to the ISO images that will help immensly.

UPDATE: I was able to fix the drive and get an OS to boot direct from the drive. This was after making a new external battery and correctly guessing the polarity of the pins on the header. Crafted one up with some electrical tape ( very shitty job ) and got it connected. The bios now no longer bitches and clears when power is turned off.
Now that I got that working I am actually starting to “like” the potato. Its little quirks and limitations are amusingly challenging. Its like its 1994 all over again

Oddly doing this fixed the drive and now DOS can see it and it boots correctly. I think im going to put on Debian 2.2 tho as its named potato and seams to have some features that normal linux has… 2.1 is just a bit too archaic.

Treah · 2017-08-23T19:47:12.000Z

Network Card? We don’t need no stinky network card!

So since I am cheep and don’t want to bother buying a network card for this computer and the computer has some serial ports on it i figured screw it ill use some gold old PPP to get network working.

So at work I rustled me up a NULL modem cable. Going to get the potato connected to a laptop running linux that has a serial port on its docking station. This should prove interesting…

TheWumpus · 2017-08-26T04:59:10.000Z

Kevin Granade:

[quote=“Someoneman, post:23, topic:14022”]For additional Potato Points, I want to see somebody play Cataclysm on a computer that’s literally powered by potatoes.

I have an ARM-based portable gaming console lying around somewhere that runs on AA batteries, just need to sort out 6V or so of potato power and we’d be cooking.[/quote]

Take a dvom and check V drop across the potato. Then link them up in series until you have 6 volts, and connect your potato banks in parallel until you have desired capacity. Boom, literal potato power.

Treah · 2017-08-29T21:18:09.000Z

Problem is not the voltage on something like that but the current. Probably wouldn’t be able to get enough to get it running.

In other news I have opted to drop linux for this test as trying to get a working cata on a old linux is too much of a pain. I have switched to netbsd and will see if i can get it running there. I am not as familiar with it but it seams promising to load ok in the ram space I have and there are compile instructions for it in the game. Will build me a binary on a VM with more processor power and then upload and download from git to transfer it or via CD-rom

wad67 · 2017-08-30T17:16:32.000Z

If it goes any slower than this, you win.
Takes around 10 minutes to sleep sometimes.

Zhilkin · 2017-08-30T18:51:55.000Z

[quote=“wad67, post:33, topic:14022”]If it goes any slower than this, you win.
Takes around 10 minutes to sleep sometimes.

LOL, it runs almost in realtime.

TheWumpus · 2017-08-30T18:57:15.000Z

Treah:

Problem is not the voltage on something like that but the current. Probably wouldn’t be able to get enough to get it running.

A good point. I think theoretically it could be possible using NPN transistors to amplify output current, especially if you built arrays in parallel. My circuit theory on anything besides simple D/C circuits is pretty rusty though, I don’t really get to play with anything else working on trucks.

Treah · 2017-08-31T14:51:11.000Z

[quote=“wad67, post:33, topic:14022”]If it goes any slower than this, you win.
Takes around 10 minutes to sleep sometimes.

Lol what are you running on that its running that slow?

vivat · 2017-08-31T19:57:39.000Z

what i need to do for running C;DDA from DOS6.22? i think i have 486sx PC or maybe pentium PC.
what compiler is good for this? and which libraries may be needed?
is borland C ok?

Treah · 2017-09-05T04:06:11.000Z

I would be able to give you some silver of information if I had yet got it working on my 486. I am pretty sure you wont be able to get it running on DOS unless you can import over a compiler that is C++11 compliant and get the other needed libraries moved over.

Curently i am trying to get it working on a Old version of linux. Debian ETCH.

kevin.granade · 2017-09-05T05:58:11.000Z

Your biggest problem is getting a dos nurses library set up, I have no idea if there’s a dos version of it.
A c++11 compiler that targets dos may or may not exist, if not it’s basically impossible.

Zhilkin · 2017-09-05T12:30:58.000Z

[quote=“Kevin Granade, post:39, topic:14022”]Your biggest problem is getting a dos nurses library set up, I have no idea if there’s a dos version of it.
A c++11 compiler that targets dos may or may not exist, if not it’s basically impossible.[/quote]
There is PDCurses - https://pdcurses.sourceforge.io/. As far as I know ADOM uses it.

Open Watcom V2 can probably compile to DOS, but I don’t know if it supports c++11 though.