I love knowing there is an 80MB hard drive in there. I appreciate those who stick to the hardware of the day rather than fall back onto CF cards & whatnot.
@@TheRetroRecall At 17:00.. yeah.. there it go !!... now this is how I remember the damn floppys..+. working once in a while... and failing most of the time 😠 ..+. essentially when you need to show something to a client.. or to the boss 😠🤬....
I still have a 486DX66 running Windows for Workgroups 3.11 with TCP/IP. But I have no location on my desk for it, so it is in a cabinet for ~10 years now. I have the same WfW 3.11 in a Virtualbox VM, so from time to time I have a look at the OS and its applications, like Novell Perfect Office (WordPerfect 6.1, Quattro Pro 6.0 etc.) and some smaller applications, like e.g. Winzip and Acrobat Reader. Virtualbox is great for this purpose, since I have all Windows releases between 1987 (1.04) and 2023 (11 Pro). My oldest Virtual Machine is Windows XP Home installed and activated in March 2010, I still use it almost daily to play the wma copies of my LPs and CDs with WoW and TrueBass effects.
Hey Bert - that sounds like an awesome setup! I've often tinkered with Virtual setups, especially for testing and compatibility environments much like you have been doing with using your various software. So awesome to hear this - I am looking for a 486DX4100 VLB system to recreate my childhood PC! Stay tuned and thanks for watching!
It's fascinating to watch your videos and remind myself of what I had to do to build systems. Just for nostalgia, my first build was a 12.5 MHz 80286 with system memory that you had to insure the chip polarity was correct or the chips would heat up. I kept that system for about 3 years. I have found, though, since I fully retired in 2017 that Mac based are easier to use IF your not doing heavy gaming as most Macs logic boards (at least the newer MacBooks, MacBook Pros, and Mac Mini's) are not setup to handle only the onboard graphics. If one is only doing general computer working i.e. Internet, email document creation, Mac's are far easier to use than older WIndows based machines.
Love this share and I had no idea about the chip polarity! I know later ram chips required 'parity', but if you did that wrong you were still in the clear. Macs are neat for sure, but for my mainstream work (and compatibility) I stay close to PC. Thanks again for the comment and for sharing!
I had a mix of Windows 95 and 3.1 when I used school's pcs in mid 90's. Always marvelled regarding to computer stuff. Always looking at the blinking HDD's led blinking when the PC was kinda sluggish. The PCs running 3.1 were really slow but it were good for small games. I remember the GUI background loading.... big squares showing up forming the background pattern and then the Program Manager windows shows up.
Oh man, I always changed the back of my solitaire cards for the one with the bats, etc., exactly due to wishful thinking to escape the long, oppressively hot summers we experience here in Rio. But more to the point, I did find my old 386SX board a couple of months ago, unfortunatelly, the battery leaked and it's badly corroded and I don't think I'll be able to salvage it. I'm trying to find another and use the old one for parts. At least the math co-processor is still intact. Good stuff, glad you were able to make this one work.
Don't give up just yet on that old board. You would be surprised. Get that battery removed, add some vinegar to stop the corrosion reaction, then scrub it lightly with 99% IPA to remove the vinegar. Once done, scrape off the corrosion as best you can (I use a rubber tip Dremel attachment). Then take your multimeter in continuity mode to test the traces - solder on wires based on the outcome. This board looks good and works well now - however it was not in a good place when I first got this system :) Thanks for watching and good luck!
@@TheRetroRecall The battey was removed as soon as I found the board lol, almost a pavlovian reflex. But yeah, the damage was pretty bad. I did drown it in vinegar and it helped some, but I didn't scrub it as I don't have an antistatic brush, but never thought of using a Dremel. If you have the part number and let me know the rpm you're using I might be able to give it a try again. I saw that one of the tantalum was just totalled, parts of it simply broke off, so that I know I'd have to fix, and maybe some others are also bad, but I can try and order these parts. But I'm not that confident in my soldering skills. I actually began to refurbish an old ADF radio that will require some soldering just for the practise (and that old ADF is actually pretty cool by itself and works, but was rusting away before I began to treat it). I did want to save it as it's the only one of my old computer boards that survived and a 386 wasn't even on my preferred list of old computers but hey, a bird in the hand... ;) But thanks for the ideas and the support. Much appreciated :)
I know my dad actually filled in the Registration card for Windows 3.1, but he never send it in. i found it in the manuals we kept in the attic, and it was one of those cards where you also specified which system specs you had. I have the card somewhere, including the books for MS-DOS 6.22, Windows 3.1 and Windows 95.
At 17:00.. yeah.. there it go !!... now this is how I remember the damn floppys... working once in a while... and failing most of the time 😠 ... essentially when you need to show something to a client.. or to the boss 😠🤬....
That mini tower case brings back fond memories of my first computer. I have managed to acquire 2 of those recently after I foolishly got rid of my original case 20 years ago. First computer was a 386DX-25 with DOS 5.0
@@TheRetroRecall 5 years ago I downsized from a 1600 square foot house to a 900 square foot house. I've got a 15x15 climate controlled storage full of old computer stuff. As soon as I can get back on my feet and into another house with a basement, I plan on building several computers. I have managed to acquire all of the same components that I originally had so yes...... hopefully soon I'll have my first pc ever up and running
@@sethmiller5413 that's the best! My childhood pc was a 486 dx4100 with 4mb of ram (later with 16) an 850mb maxtor HDD and an ATI Mach 32 VLB video card, sound Blaster 16 card. Was fortunate enough to have a Creative Quad CD Rom drive - it was fast! That's the exact system I would love to build again. Really looking forward to hearing the results of your setup!
Haha! I remember those days. I still have a sealed copy of Windows 95 on floppy. I've debated opening it for a video.. But I think the collector in me wants to keep it sealed :). Installing from floppy can be fun and frustrating at the same time haha. Thanks for watching!
I was just putting a slot 1 P3 win95 system together for old gaming. And since I was at it, I decided to see if all my old floppy disks still worked. So 6.22 went on smooth. You do know there is a 4th doss disk? It's a supplement disk you install after disk 3 is done. The win3.1 installed perfectly, and it's been running for a week. I'm just playing some games and remembering how 3.11 works. But I'm ready to move on to 95 now and play all the games from 25 years ago.
I have a factory sealed copy of Windows 3.1 and I could never bring myself to unbox it. I just finished a XP build and am doing a Windows 98 one next. I just don't see much use in going older. Still, cool video.
For sure, mine isn't sealed so it was a fun experience. I have a Windows 95 full install on floppy sealed! I've debated opening it but will probably leave it be. Good luck on your builds and if you ever want to part with your Windows 3. 1 sealed, let me know!
Any ideas what an nec system would have been in the 1989-1991 era? 386? We had one that my uncle built for us that we used until he built us a win 95 setup in the mid 90’s. I was just a kid (age 4 or 5 pretty much), so all I remember is it was 3.5” floppy instead of the big old floppies from our trs-80 coco mk ii
386 for sure. TRS 80!??! That's awesome, I never had the opportunity to experience one of those amazing systems from Radio Shack! Thanks again for sharing this memory and for watching!
I still have some paranoia from the Win 3.x age... I still close a window by double click the application icon at top left of the window. I also still double click the title bar to maximize it or to restore the window to a small size. Noting the Windows 3.x window border markings and how the mouse reacts to them, it still works modern Windows versions when you move the mouse around the window border.
i have a 486 dx-66 on order. unsure if i’ll go with DOS 6.2 or Win 3.1. i don’t have physical install diskettes of either atm but will buy when i decide.
That's awesome!! I do not have any 486 systems in my collection. I would love to get a 486 dx4100 VLB system with an ATI Mach 16 VLB card, 8mb ram and an sb16! My childhood build :)
Dude it's a pain to install dos+311 on a 386, btw i got a 3 digit like case and a pentium one. But i find it more practical to use PCem or 86Box to emulate an old computer these days.
Can't seem to find a nice ISA/PCI AMD DX4-100 Win Compatible in the Detroit area That was the first system that I thought was badass, I remember we were still way behind technology wise lol
I loved the DX4 100 systems! You are right... although we were behind, if you had one... you were rockin'. I even had.. wait for it.. an ATI Mach 32 video card lol.
Hey, anyway to send you some files? I have images of Windows 1, Windows 1.1 and Windows 2.3. They are in a zip format and unzip to eather .img or in the case of Winsows 1.0 as the original install diskettes. I think they were originally 5 1/4 Disks.
Haha! I have heard people sending it away for fun, however I have not heard of them every getting one back! I am not even sure if the address on the card is active anymore... hmmmm would be a good test?? LOL
I love knowing there is an 80MB hard drive in there. I appreciate those who stick to the hardware of the day rather than fall back onto CF cards & whatnot.
I have IDE to CF adapters... However there is just something about being as authentic as possible. I have the hardware, why not use it :)
@@TheRetroRecall Agreed 👍
@@TheRetroRecall At 17:00.. yeah.. there it go !!... now this is how I remember the damn floppys..+. working once in a while... and failing most of the time 😠 ..+. essentially when you need to show something to a client.. or to the boss 😠🤬....
So amazing that you have a complete working copy of Windows 3.1 on Disk!! Can’t wait to see what new content you creat next!
Thanks!! The floppies worked, but they are starting to struggle after all of these years. Time to back them up I think!
I still have a 486DX66 running Windows for Workgroups 3.11 with TCP/IP. But I have no location on my desk for it, so it is in a cabinet for ~10 years now.
I have the same WfW 3.11 in a Virtualbox VM, so from time to time I have a look at the OS and its applications, like Novell Perfect Office (WordPerfect 6.1, Quattro Pro 6.0 etc.) and some smaller applications, like e.g. Winzip and Acrobat Reader.
Virtualbox is great for this purpose, since I have all Windows releases between 1987 (1.04) and 2023 (11 Pro). My oldest Virtual Machine is Windows XP Home installed and activated in March 2010, I still use it almost daily to play the wma copies of my LPs and CDs with WoW and TrueBass effects.
Hey Bert - that sounds like an awesome setup! I've often tinkered with Virtual setups, especially for testing and compatibility environments much like you have been doing with using your various software. So awesome to hear this - I am looking for a 486DX4100 VLB system to recreate my childhood PC! Stay tuned and thanks for watching!
It's fascinating to watch your videos and remind myself of what I had to do to build systems. Just for nostalgia, my first build was a 12.5 MHz 80286 with system memory that you had to insure the chip polarity was correct or the chips would heat up. I kept that system for about 3 years. I have found, though, since I fully retired in 2017 that Mac based are easier to use IF your not doing heavy gaming as most Macs logic boards (at least the newer MacBooks, MacBook Pros, and Mac Mini's) are not setup to handle only the onboard graphics. If one is only doing general computer working i.e. Internet, email document creation, Mac's are far easier to use than older WIndows based machines.
Love this share and I had no idea about the chip polarity! I know later ram chips required 'parity', but if you did that wrong you were still in the clear. Macs are neat for sure, but for my mainstream work (and compatibility) I stay close to PC. Thanks again for the comment and for sharing!
I had a mix of Windows 95 and 3.1 when I used school's pcs in mid 90's. Always marvelled regarding to computer stuff. Always looking at the blinking HDD's led blinking when the PC was kinda sluggish.
The PCs running 3.1 were really slow but it were good for small games. I remember the GUI background loading.... big squares showing up forming the background pattern and then the Program Manager windows shows up.
The good ol days!
Oh man, I always changed the back of my solitaire cards for the one with the bats, etc., exactly due to wishful thinking to escape the long, oppressively hot summers we experience here in Rio. But more to the point, I did find my old 386SX board a couple of months ago, unfortunatelly, the battery leaked and it's badly corroded and I don't think I'll be able to salvage it. I'm trying to find another and use the old one for parts. At least the math co-processor is still intact. Good stuff, glad you were able to make this one work.
Don't give up just yet on that old board. You would be surprised. Get that battery removed, add some vinegar to stop the corrosion reaction, then scrub it lightly with 99% IPA to remove the vinegar. Once done, scrape off the corrosion as best you can (I use a rubber tip Dremel attachment). Then take your multimeter in continuity mode to test the traces - solder on wires based on the outcome. This board looks good and works well now - however it was not in a good place when I first got this system :) Thanks for watching and good luck!
@@TheRetroRecall The battey was removed as soon as I found the board lol, almost a pavlovian reflex. But yeah, the damage was pretty bad. I did drown it in vinegar and it helped some, but I didn't scrub it as I don't have an antistatic brush, but never thought of using a Dremel. If you have the part number and let me know the rpm you're using I might be able to give it a try again. I saw that one of the tantalum was just totalled, parts of it simply broke off, so that I know I'd have to fix, and maybe some others are also bad, but I can try and order these parts. But I'm not that confident in my soldering skills. I actually began to refurbish an old ADF radio that will require some soldering just for the practise (and that old ADF is actually pretty cool by itself and works, but was rusting away before I began to treat it). I did want to save it as it's the only one of my old computer boards that survived and a 386 wasn't even on my preferred list of old computers but hey, a bird in the hand... ;)
But thanks for the ideas and the support. Much appreciated :)
I know my dad actually filled in the Registration card for Windows 3.1, but he never send it in. i found it in the manuals we kept in the attic, and it was one of those cards where you also specified which system specs you had.
I have the card somewhere, including the books for MS-DOS 6.22, Windows 3.1 and Windows 95.
Haha awesome! I wonder what would happen if we sent it in haha!
@TheRetroRecall so far, I'm aware it sends to an address in the Netherlands, where they are no longer there :(
At 17:00.. yeah.. there it go !!... now this is how I remember the damn floppys... working once in a while... and failing most of the time 😠 ... essentially when you need to show something to a client.. or to the boss 😠🤬....
Hahahha that was ALWAYS the way!
That mini tower case brings back fond memories of my first computer. I have managed to acquire 2 of those recently after I foolishly got rid of my original case 20 years ago. First computer was a 386DX-25 with DOS 5.0
Hey, that's sweet! Are you going to do a build with those cases? Were you able to get the hardware?
@@TheRetroRecall 5 years ago I downsized from a 1600 square foot house to a 900 square foot house. I've got a 15x15 climate controlled storage full of old computer stuff. As soon as I can get back on my feet and into another house with a basement, I plan on building several computers. I have managed to acquire all of the same components that I originally had so yes...... hopefully soon I'll have my first pc ever up and running
@@sethmiller5413 that's the best! My childhood pc was a 486 dx4100 with 4mb of ram (later with 16) an 850mb maxtor HDD and an ATI Mach 32 VLB video card, sound Blaster 16 card. Was fortunate enough to have a Creative Quad CD Rom drive - it was fast! That's the exact system I would love to build again. Really looking forward to hearing the results of your setup!
Thanks for sharing, takes one back. I installed Windows 95 from 30 Diskettes lol what a waste.
Haha! I remember those days. I still have a sealed copy of Windows 95 on floppy. I've debated opening it for a video.. But I think the collector in me wants to keep it sealed :). Installing from floppy can be fun and frustrating at the same time haha. Thanks for watching!
Nice job, fresh install is awesome..
Always is - and always seems to work much better than the previous one! Thanks for watching!!
I was just putting a slot 1 P3 win95 system together for old gaming. And since I was at it, I decided to see if all my old floppy disks still worked. So 6.22 went on smooth. You do know there is a 4th doss disk? It's a supplement disk you install after disk 3 is done. The win3.1 installed perfectly, and it's been running for a week. I'm just playing some games and remembering how 3.11 works. But I'm ready to move on to 95 now and play all the games from 25 years ago.
I didn't know about the 4th disk to be honest. I'll have to look into that, thanks! What does it supplement?
Good video. Thank you
You're welcome! One of my earlier vids for sure haha.
I have a factory sealed copy of Windows 3.1 and I could never bring myself to unbox it. I just finished a XP build and am doing a Windows 98 one next. I just don't see much use in going older. Still, cool video.
For sure, mine isn't sealed so it was a fun experience. I have a Windows 95 full install on floppy sealed! I've debated opening it but will probably leave it be. Good luck on your builds and if you ever want to part with your Windows 3. 1 sealed, let me know!
Any ideas what an nec system would have been in the 1989-1991 era? 386? We had one that my uncle built for us that we used until he built us a win 95 setup in the mid 90’s.
I was just a kid (age 4 or 5 pretty much), so all I remember is it was 3.5” floppy instead of the big old floppies from our trs-80 coco mk ii
386 for sure. TRS 80!??! That's awesome, I never had the opportunity to experience one of those amazing systems from Radio Shack! Thanks again for sharing this memory and for watching!
there's nothing like doing a fresh install of windows, with disks of course 😁
Haha yes, exactly! Albeit a frustrating one when your drive is acting up lol! Thanks for watching!
I still have some paranoia from the Win 3.x age... I still close a window by double click the application icon at top left of the window. I also still double click the title bar to maximize it or to restore the window to a small size.
Noting the Windows 3.x window border markings and how the mouse reacts to them, it still works modern Windows versions when you move the mouse around the window border.
Hahaha I'm guilty of that as well.
Great video, thanks for sharing, Does anyone knows what is the front right bottom hole used for?
Thanks and to be honest I don't know. I will rely on the community to help :)
i have a 486 dx-66 on order.
unsure if i’ll go with DOS 6.2 or Win 3.1.
i don’t have physical install diskettes of either atm but will buy when i decide.
That's awesome!! I do not have any 486 systems in my collection. I would love to get a 486 dx4100 VLB system with an ATI Mach 16 VLB card, 8mb ram and an sb16! My childhood build :)
Nice job!
Thanks and thanks for watching!!
Dude it's a pain to install dos+311 on a 386, btw i got a 3 digit like case and a pentium one. But i find it more practical to use PCem or 86Box to emulate an old computer these days.
Haha, a pain yes... Fun.. Yes.. :). Yeah PCem is cool, but there is just something about that retro hardware!
really now i can understand Windows its a simple program like office for dos the real os
Haha kind of :)
Can't seem to find a nice ISA/PCI AMD DX4-100 Win Compatible in the Detroit area
That was the first system that I thought was badass, I remember we were still way behind technology wise lol
I loved the DX4 100 systems! You are right... although we were behind, if you had one... you were rockin'. I even had.. wait for it.. an ATI Mach 32 video card lol.
Hey, anyway to send you some files? I have images of Windows 1, Windows 1.1 and Windows 2.3. They are in a zip format and unzip to eather .img or in the case of Winsows 1.0 as the original install diskettes. I think they were originally 5 1/4 Disks.
Thanks for this, I will check it out!!
It is interesting what will happen if you send that registration card to Microsoft?
Haha! I have heard people sending it away for fun, however I have not heard of them every getting one back! I am not even sure if the address on the card is active anymore... hmmmm would be a good test?? LOL
Great✌
Thanks!
@@TheRetroRecall thanks
I hate the BIOS on 386 machines if i had started with a 386 i would have stopped using pc's then and there.
Hahah!
It is never safe to turn off your computer 😁.
Haha!