Matt K : It has to do with the dos prompt. In the video the prompt is " Drive and > " c>. $p$g will make it " drive AND path > " like C:\> or c:\games\> ".
LOL!!! I just randomly bumped into your video while hopping around TH-cam. I was actually working part-time for IBM while attending UT-Austin during the mid-1980s, and I used my very generous 50%-off IBM employee discount in 1985 to buy a FULLY-LOADED PC/AT "Enhanced Model", with 512-KB of memory,. with the matching 80287 math coprocessor pre-installed, the IBM EGA display, an IBM dot matrix graphics printer, an IBM dot matrix color printer, a monitor swivel stand, and the IBM PC/AT Floor Standing Enclosure. You can see what the PC/AT Floor Standing Enclosure looks like in the link below. It made my PC/AT look like a cool 1980s minicomputer with the big vertical box placed next to my desk while I programmed using Turbo Pascal and Microsoft C during the 1980s: minuszerodegrees.net/5170/cards/5170_floor_standing_enclosure.jpg IBM would later copy this same floor-standing approach for their later PS/2 high-end models: www.google.com/search?q=IBM+Personal+System/2+Model+80&rlz=1C1AOHY_enUS708US708&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjM47Ka357UAhWW0YMKHRwECMUQ_AUICigB&biw=1430&bih=733 The PC/AT Floor Standing Enclosure was the predecessor to the later ATX tower cases that are now the norm. Prior to the PC/AT Floor Standing Enclosure, all PCs were placed horizontally on the desk with the monitor placed on top of the case. I also still have a mint-condition never used IBM 1.2-megabyte high-density floppy drive still sealed in its original IBM box. The total price for my IBM PC/AT order was about $6400 when I ordered it in 1985, and I paid $3200 after the 50%-off employee discount. The sprawling IBM campus in north Austin where I worked part-time during the 1980s also manufactured PC/AT and PC/XT computers, along with a UNIX version of the PC/AT that ran the Xenix 286 operating system that was licensed and ported by (gasp!) Microsoft to run the 80286 in protected mode. No one nowadays realizes that Microsoft previously developed a UNIX operating system for the 80286 CPU, decades before Linux. I was helping IBM to build PCs and attending UT-Austin at the same time that Michael Dell was building and selling PCs from his dorm room and Dell was advertising in the UT-Austin campus newspaper, The Daily Texan, under his original brand name of "PC's Limited". I see that you have the later IBM Model M keyboard. I am actually still using my earlier Model F IBM keyboard that does not have the function keys across the top. The Model F mechanical keyboard used a very unique buckling spring with a capacitive design, compared to the membrane design of the later Model M keyboards, and the Model F has full n-key rollover, and a lighter crisper louder mechanical key action than the later Model M keyboard that you have. Your RAM does not appear to be piggyback stacked on top of each other. My earlier PC/AT had 512-KB of RAM where two RAM chips were piggyback-stacked on top of each other and then soldered together in order to double the memory density. It looked weird, but it worked. My PC/AT motherboard looks like the RAM is having sex and humping each other with how two RAM chips are paired together with the top RAM's pins wrapped over the bottom RAM chip. I actually am still using my Model F keyboard connected through a USB adapter, 32 years after I received my PC/AT :-) Quality and durability in a keyboard is when you have been using a keyboard for 32 years and all the keys still work with the same satisfying click-clack mechanical sound. I doubt that the modern Cherry MX mechanical keyboards will still have all their keys functioning after 32 years of use. I last powered on my PC/AT during the mid-1990s and it still works with its DOS 6.3. I have been thinking about modifying the case to use a new ATX motherboard. But seeing your video makes me want to keep it in its original condition since its original keyboard also still works. My original IBM EGA display failed long ago, and I replaced it with a Princeton Graphics EGA display that still works fine. Both of my dot matrix printers still work. You may want to see if you can find the PC/AT Floor Standing Enclosure simply because it really helps to free up your desk space by placing the PC/AT vertically on the floor. In 1985, I also ordered through the mail a custom-sewn dust cover that fully covered my PC/AT Floor Standing Enclosure in thick beige canvas fabric with a stylish dark brown border trim with my initials monogrammed on the front panel. You can see a vintage ad for the "CompuTogs" mail order that I purchased from in 1985 here: books.google.com/books?id=Udw3QWX2LQ8C&pg=PA147&dq=CompuTogs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwikyPn32p7UAhVE1oMKHWLfCbwQ6AEIKDAB#v=onepage&q=CompuTogs&f=false No one runs a business like CompuTogs nowadays where you just send them your PC case measurements, and the CompuTogs lady in Illinois sews a stylish slip-on dust cover with your initials stylishly monogrammed on it. I ordered three CompuTogs dust covers at the time - one for my PC/AT Floor Standing Enclosure, one for the IBM EGA monitor, and one for the IBM standard-width dot matrix graphics printer. That same PC Magazine page also shows a Cray X-MP, and I also previously did scientific computing on a Cray X-MP and Y-MP supercomputers. Those were good times during the 1980s - working on a fully-loaded PC/AT at home and working on Cray X-MP and Y-MP supercomputers at work. That was also the unconventional way that I was introduced to UNIX during the 1980s - by using the Microsoft-developed Xenix 286 running on the PC/AT and Cray UNICOS running on the Cray X-MP and Y-MP. ENJOY YOUR PC/AT!!! It was the fastest state-of-the-art PC in 1984!! The average smartphone now has more computing power than that PC/AT which had a $5300 price in 1984 and was the world's fastest commonly-available PC at the time.
my first 90's pc ( 486 dx2 66mhz) had a 2mb videocard! And my first pc game was TFX flight simulator. that came on 11 or 12 floppy disk and was about 100mb and that took a full day to install! And a 15 inch monitor that weigh 40 pounds.
that comment is the most funniest shit Ive heard hahahaha! like scotty would say " im giving her all i got captain full power! i dont think she could take any more of this!"
I could never relate to anyone that has disliked this video. I was transfixed the ENTIRE time. I love old tech, I love old computers, and I love setting things like this up. I just lived a wonderful adventure through this video. Thank you. Reminds me so much of working on my first Tandy 2500 sx/20.
Thanks for the memory-berries with the IBM PC/AT. I had a friend help me upgrade my Atari AT clone by adding a 3.5" drive. I want to say the drive had the rails, but it has been too many years to remember for sure. I always wanted a co-processor, but never got one for any of machines through 486.
I always find it funny when people input the current date on really old tech. It's like you are waking it up from a long cryosleep and it's confused as to what year it is.
It is ! ^^ A day, younger, I repaired an old radio; And like the idiot I was, I was really expecting to hear a broadcast from the periode of the radio x)
Man, why would you not take advantage of it and put in the year 21XX? That's at least what I did for everything too old to check. In other words... no regerts
All I can say is thank you for bringing this back to me. This was the first PC I ever used at my grandfather's house at 8 years old. He never used it, but this kickstarted my computer craze that has lasted a lifetime.
I have seen Autocad run on an IBM 4.77Mhz 8088. You could see curves being plotted point by point. Then an 8087 was added and what a difference did that make.
I learned AutoCAD on a 286 which was screaming for the x87. Required a lot of patience when doing anything other than drawing horizontal or vertical lines. Just redrawing the screen was a moment of "time to go get a drink".
thank you dude. i have a lot of trouble with depression and not sleeping and you really help me relax. i love these old things that you find. take care.
jamie marchant Gates denies saying it and no one can cite when he did. Granted, computer journalism at that time wasn't exactly good about maintaining sources, so it's possible that Gates did say it, but it's pretty unlikely since he began making statements to the contrary before the 80s drew to a close.
Lol how so? Its more interesting to look and is a bit more comprehensible because its so large. But this is definitely nothing compared to the complex nano-sized ram we have today. We literally fit this big card 1000x over in a tiny space.
Yeah, a cringeworthy moment for me, guy unboxes a brand new AT and even though he has another machine with the correct parts...he boogers some out of sheet plastic. If it is not correct, it is not right. But then I am 63, a retired toolmaker, and OCD as can be. I also remember putting together several machines like this myself...before I down sized for retirement I had 23 computers networked in my house and a 3 server farm in my garage.
As a 3D printer owner I had the same thought, but he's right, doesn't need to be fancy. though, on that though, Imagin 30 years down the road when some of our early 3D printers are vintage machines in the same way as this old PC, only printing one matirial at a time, requiring regular upkeep, and constant monitoring during a print to stop failures, and ming in particular being a weird little Anet A8 DIY kit that I've had to tinker on and modify to work like I want (and still modifying), I guarantee the nostalgia is going to be comparable
Once every couple months I feel like I have to tell you that I admire what you do. All my childhood was just like this video, trying to upgrade and install softwares to my old 286. In the end I had a 40 MB drive 4 mb ram 4x cd rom 486 dx 44. I liked it because everything was 4. I feel just the right kind of itching nostalgia watching you. Congrats.
Was having some flashbacks to my days restoring and selling used IBM XT/AT, and the various clones back in the 1990s - especially when you got to the "A - B" Floppy Drive Ribbon at the 11:05 Mark. The amount of modding that would come into play was amazing.
Very cool TH-cam channel. It is awesome to see a guy younger than the IBM AT computer find such delight in them. I was a young university professor in 1984 and had (count 'em) TWO IBM AT PCs with 512KB RAM and 287 copros. They cost the university $12000 each (Canadian). My office computer was a Compaq 286 PC and I used the two ATs in the classroom and even connected to the internet with 300baud modems. All of the guts of these computers are VERY familiar to me as is the software you are using. I got pretty good at MSDOS and batch language to control TSRs and the like. Keep up the nostalgiac work!
The 512K RAM card doesn't backfill the conventional memory to 640K because when IBM designed the AT, they thought everyone would be using protected-mode operating systems, in which case it's more useful for the additional memory to all go into extended RAM, rather than conventional RAM. But the long-promised multitasking DOS never materialized and everyone kept on using regular DOS, so IBM offered the separate 128K card to increase the conventional RAM to 640K. Aftermarket companies introduced AT RAM cards that would "auto-backfill" so with them you wouldn't need the 128K card.
What continues to amaze me is that we're still using the exact same size for the backplane mounts for expansion cards. Even through PCI, AGP and PCIe, we're still using the same exact form factor. Yeah, there's low-profile and there's some oddball versions, but a typical expansion card has the same exact backplane shape and size today.
Oh, thank you for the tip about gsetup! I gave up trying to get the 3.5" side of my TEAC 505 with all of the various versions of the IBM Diagnostics. I was half a step away from replacing the BIOS with a set of aftermarket AMI BIOS ROMs to try to get around this issue.
Not sure. But process of elimination suggests it: Controller is supposed to be capable of it. Drive is definitely capable of it. The cable doesn't appear to have connectors for the more common connectors in use in more "modern" systems. The cable does appear to work fine when the BIOS simply treats the drive as a high density drive. So, the problem is detection: The setup program can't tell that the drive is high density capable. Best guess is that the older connector doesn't have a line to report its capacity resulting in the setup only offering low capacity choices? Googling the pinouts suggests the older style is a shugart connector. On the more modern connector pin 2 is used to for the density. The shugart connector uses that pin to report disk changes and doesn't appear to actually have the capacity select line. (pinouts.ru/HD/InternalDisk_pinout.shtml) Modern BIOSes appear to take the gsetup route of just allowing you to to tell the system what drives are in it.
OMG, the music @19:18 bring back so many wonderful memories. We used to have to play DOOM using the adlib car that came with my AT&T Globalyst. Still have that PC.
Thank you very much for this video. I was just a kid when my father took his IBM AT to his office and as long as it had only 512K ram and a monochrome display it looked awesome to me, thinking about all its future applications and expansions. It was the beginning of my involvement in pcs and informatics that lead to what I was able to build upon that in the continue of my life. This brings a lot of beloved memories to me. This showed up what a full optional AT was capable of back at the time. Thank you again. Great video!
I love the frantic tone of this video, like that part where the drive doesn't wanna do 1.44mb, you say you'll fix it after the video, and 5 minutes later you fix it.
For me, being a PC Gamer since 1994, my first PC was just perfect. A Pentium 75, later upgraded to the Pentium 133, 8 MB of RAM, later upgraded to 24 MB (because: why not??) and it’s overkill of 850 MB disc space. It was basically was more than I ever needed for games. From 1992 to 1997, that thing just was perfect. But - oh well - 3D graphics came and the performance needed went sky high. Still, I miss that PC, which died in 2007. Weird enough: For years, I couldn’t be bothered to upgrade my PCs, as they were each time powerful enough to last for 5 years to begin with. And I think, it will stay that way, though tinkering around with hardware is still something I like to do.
In these types of videos, i honestly only really understand about 70% of what you're talking about, but it doesn't seem to matter. You have such good patter, pacing and personality that I honesty could (and have) listen to you chat for hours :)
This is the computer that started me on a lifelong love of computers. In 1988 I was 20 :) My friend's dad had this very computer. When he wasn't home, my friend and I would play with the computer. We learned Dos on this computer. Kids these days don't even know what Dos is! Thanks for sharing this. It took me back to my younger days and made me smile.
Yeah, well. Everything was fun and games until the TRS-80 manual on BASIC gave THIS example: function(string). Thanks a lot. If they had f(*&)#(^*)$^*&^#*&^$*ing bothered to write function("string") my life wouldv'e been so much different.
Omg this is straight up my childhood. I remember adding coprocessor just like that. This was before magnetic mass drives were available. And when I saw that ugly looking stereo speakers, I almost teared up because that was the exact speaker brand I used for over 10 years. I think every new PC builders should see this video or anyone curious about PC building. This will put things to perspective to how far it has come and how much easier today is with unified API.
from what i remember adlip sound cards didnt had effects they replace effects on game with music instrument tones. remember i had a 286 at 20hz with a soundman(brandname)soundcard that was compatible with adlip and soundbluster i was working in a computer store at that time and this was cutting edge system back then....you took me long time ago man thank you :)
I love this channel!! this brings back so many memories! I remember tweaking so many settings to get some extra kilo bytes of memory to play games! it was a real hassle but when you finish you feel that you accomplished a major task and feel satisfaction!
9:50 I love watching the ID Documentary, and their first major release was the Commander Keen Game. Watching you play it was pretty cool, as I never heard the actual sound until now.
Man watching this video brings back so many memories. I had a 286 as my first PC back when I was a kid. Was typically awesome, and especially for it's time, it was quite a piece of revolutionary art.
18:51 I LOOOVE the Yamaha sound chips, the Yamaha YM2812 was used in the SEGA Genesis system and the Yamaha YA2151 was used for most arcade games. They are really made for music! I LOVE them!
Man this channel brings me back to when I was 5 years old and my dad taught me how to use a computer with *Windows 3.11* and *floppy disks*. I am the only child in my family who ever used 3.11 and actual floppy disks. I'm the only child in my family that knows how to boot into Windows from MS-DOS. That's pretty special to me, though I'm not sure why I'm so proud of it.
Good Day LGR! Keep in mind the 1.44 drive was introduced with the IBM PS/2 line of computers and there is no way your IBM AT would know about them. Microsoft included with MS-DOS 3.3 the capability of using 1.44 drives using DRIVPARM and DRIVER.SYS; taken from the Microsoft website: DRIVPARM=/d:01 /f:02 ; For a 720K floppy disk drive on B: DRIVPARM=/d:01 /f:07 ; For a 1.44K floppy disk drive on B: DEVICE=DRIVER.SYS /d:01 /f:02 ; For a 720K floppy disk drive on B: DEVICE=DRIVER.SYS /d:01 /f:07 ; For a 1.44K floppy disk drive on B: Take a look. It is how we were able to use our 1.44 drives in our office's AT.
Your actually incorrect. The last version of the bios rom available for the AT 5170 had support for 1.44mb floppy drives. The bios rom chips that support it are dated 11/15/1985 and came with the type 3 8mhz motherboard. You do have to remember for a little bit the late versions of the 5170 AT were being sold along side of the ps/2 systems at the end of the 5170s run.
Since this is an IBM PC AT, his not running MS-DOS 3.3 (OEM IBM PC DOS) in the video, but IBM PC DOS 3.3. At that time, MS-DOS had not become a generic product to purchase from the stores yet, but was licensed and in a degree adapted by the various IBM PC clone manufacturers to be bundled with their machines, while IBM PC's was still delivered with IBM PC DOS.
Correct. I worked at a company in Atlanta in 1985 that had a contract with IBM and we got one of the first ATs made. In fact it had one of the CMC flawed 20mb hard disks.. When this late-model AT was made in 1988, my work computer was already a COMPAQ Deskpro 386-25 and was miles ahead of this one in performance. BTW I think the poster here needs to change the DIP switch configuration on his plug-in expansion boards. In general he's going too fast and overlooking the things specific to these old ISA bus machines and their hardware limitations.
This video was nostalgic for me, as my first IBM PC compatible was an 8MHz Wyse 286 clone, with ~1MB RAM, an EGA monitor+card, 40MB MFM HDD, 5.25" 1.2MB, and 5.25" 360KB drives. I think we got it around 1987 and used it until it went senile (random sounds and characters appearing on the screen at 2AM) in the mid 1990s. The EGA monitor blew out around 1990 when we ran it with an Epson MX-80 printer sitting on top, apparently blocking the top grille and leading to an overheat, so it rocked a Hercules card+monitor for around a year until getting a Paradise SuperVGA upgrade that allowed me to play Space Quest IV in 256 color MCGA/VGA. I also added a SoundBlaster 2.0 around 1992, just before upgrading to a used 386DX-33. Some of my fondest gaming memories on that machine included: Starflight 1 & 2, UMoria, Wizardry 6, Commander Keen, Space Quest 1-4, Quest for Glory 1-3, Castles 2, Thexder, Firehawk, Hyperspeed, ZZT, IndyCar Racing, X-Wing, and lots of shareware. Wolfenstein 3-D pushed it a bit hard, requiring a reduced window size for optimal performance.
Man that a top of the line PC! 1mb of ram AND a math coprocessor. I’m jealous. My first P.C. was an 8088 screaming at 8mgz. My dad maxed it out with a 2400 baud modem, a 3.5 fdd, and 640k of ram. Felt like I owned the world then. Lol. Kinda miss those days. But it’s amazing to see what we have now.
That's the Sim City I remember. I had an IBM PS/1 back in 93. I had played all the DOS games back in the day (mostly shareware). For Christmas that year, I got a big box from Electronic Boutique. It had a CD ROM, a Sound Blaster sound card, an instructional VHS to install everything and a bunch of CD ROM software (including the voiced version of King's Quest 6). Later I got some upgrades like an extra 4mb of ram and installed DOS 6.22 for the memory maker feature.
its so cool to see you get so excited to get 30 year old hardware to work that most of us did way back when. I understand your enthusiasm, back then, you bought hardware or software, there was no guarantee it would work, even if it said it was for your system on the box. you had to understand how your computer and software worked, and to get it running after spending hours troubleshooting and fiddling (there was no internet back then to google for help, you were on your own, baby) you would be escastic, with a grin a mile wide. today, installing a new program...sorry, app, you select what you want, download, open, and go....boring...kids these days will never understand that if you wanted the latest game or software, you had to work for it!!
dave1135 try installing a game from the Google/iTunes app store in a different country and it's just as annoying as putting software on my first computer was
You'd be surprised at the lengths you need to go to get older "apps" working on, say, Windows 7 or 10. (8.1 was awesome compatibility-wise for some reason) But yeah, CONFIG.SYS is dead. Long live CONFIG.SYS. Also, remember that the downside is not being _able_ to solve an issue yourself. Less control over the OS means when something goes wrong, it's STUCK wrong as you no longer have easy access to all the drivers and software you need.
Hey, driver installation is still a bit of a task, grandpa "things were better back in my day, you crazy millennials". I actually prefer things how they are now. I did some fiddling around with DOS and old Windows versions on a virtual PC and it was somewhat tedious though I also have an appreciation for how things were back then, more in the sense of "tech back then was brand new and awesome and history is god damned interesting". I mean that "start-up sound" you get on vintage hardware? Absolutely pure sex. I love it.
I think you can still get that feeling nowadays. Early last year, before my 18th birthday, I decided to upgrade the graphics card in my 2014 custom-ordered desktop PC from a GeForce GTX 660 to a GTX 770 that I bought used, and I wanted to do it myself. Now, while I'm sure that to any seasoned computer tinkerer that's an easy task, it was the first time I'd messed about with the internals of any computer. I plugged the card in and just about died when the machine wouldn't turn on, and after googling my problem, I got it working with a new higher-capacity power supply. The smile on my face stayed for weeks, because not only did I now have more graphics power, I also did the installation wholly on my own and managed to overcome the problem I encountered with a nudge in the right direction from other people with similar problems. I'd think that's a feeling anyone who's ever worked on a PC could appreciate.
I can certainly understand your feeling; I built my current desktop with help with my stepdad. He put it together while I walked him through it. Because I am uncoordinated and was so excited to actually be putting my own custom rig together I couldn't stop shaking. XD It was a fun afternoon, and I spent the rest of the day setting up the software. I am super happy with my rig, and I advocate to everyone to build their own rig.
yup, i lived it, every upgrade, started in mid 80's for me, built my first computer 286, mono screen. when 3d just started it used to take all night to render a cube to rotate it!
You know there are newly designed 8-bit ISA XT/AT 1MB and 2MB (EMS) ram boards :) You get a bare PCB and have to buy the components and solder it yourself, but worth it! I have a 2MB card in my Commodore PC20-III (4.7MHz 8088 with 640K ram stock), Also made a IDE/PATA card to use more modern hard drives :) If interested I could make you one :)
Wow, IBM AT was my first work PC in 1985. I remember the drag-out business case fight with my IT leadership ("this thing has 10 MB HDD, you'll never use that amount of storage!"), and the weight. The PC case seemed made w. battleship-grade steel.
Man this brought back some memories. My first PC was a AT 286. I fitted a 1.44, memory expansion card and VGA card, good fun. It had a 20Meg MFM hard drive.
yes, you are. I'm not an "hardcore" computer guy, I was born in '87 and got a computer around '93-'94. A 386, if I recall that correctly, with DOS. While I indulge to remember it with sweet nostalgia, I do remember very well how freaking loud it was
No you are not. That's the proper sound a computer should make while starting up to tell you it is healthy and working. PC speakers nowadays are so quiet. If you even get one, and then it's most likely just a crappy little piezo beeper rather than a real speaker.
Funny enough, I actually went down from 32 GB of RAM on my 2013 PC to 16 GB for my 2018 build because after I'd finished my CFD project for my university degree, I found I just didn't have the need for so much memory lol.
@@eddiehimself I only bought 16GB of RAM as I thought it would be enough, but I have 127 tabs loaded out of 1073 total tabs on Firefox and some other processes running in the background as well, and my memory usage is already 10GB! I might have to upgrade soon...
God this video brings back all the memories of the annoyances of building older computers. No wonder adventure games were popular. You had to solve an adventure game just to build the computer to begin with.
I haven't laughed and smiled so much in years. Thank you. It felt so good to watch you bumble and get excited over something that was so tiring to me in my youth.
Wow, LHX Attack Chopper was one of my favorites on my 386 DX40 back then, but using 4 and later 8 MB RAM seemed to run it a little smoother. Keep on "Searching ... Tracking ... Firing" (LHX radar messages) Great video!
When we upgraded PCs to 640k back in the day, we'd actually have to buy a tube of integrated circuit chips and push each one onto the motherboard or an expansion board and hope for the best. We actually used the IC Chip inserter/puller tool that used to come in the 10 piece computer tool kits in the black zipper cases back then.
I built my first computer i the early '90's when I went to college. Dail up modems, installing sound cards, CD Rom etc....it was a 386 with a 12 baud dial up modem....10 hours of aol per month. watching you brings back some memories. I also have a computer in the back of my house that I've forgotten the password to.....as you were looking for your key, I was thinking the same thing. the ribbon cables..I forgot what that was all about, but, I figured out there was an "art" to figuring it out. I also had a pair of speakers similar to what you have there...LOL! i was SO excited when I installed my sound card, my video card to upgrade to a color monitor, and my CD rom and they WORKED!
A PC AT was my first contact with I.T. back in the days in the computer course we used to learn MS-DOS 5.0, Wordstar, Lotus 123, Dbase III+ and Clipper. Your channel is awesome, keep the good work.
thats what i like to see. he needs mounting rails but doesnt go running to ebay or a thrift store like some sissy pansy. just pulls out the drill and the xacto knife and gets the shit done like a man, because he knows time is of the essence.
Thanks man for making these videos. I was born in 88, so some of this is a little bit before my time, but I remember paying around with some of these machines back in the day. It's really cool that you got to be this machine's first user. Everything fresh out of the box, factory smells. I do appreciate the descriptions of the smells by the way. Thanks again for uploading. I really enjoyed these 2 videos. Keep it up!
Wow, there's a lot of $P$G requests in the comments. HERE YA GO :P
twitter.com/lazygamereviews/status/860546928257495045
what is "$P$G"?????
Matt K : It has to do with the dos prompt. In the video the prompt is " Drive and > " c>. $p$g will make it " drive AND path > " like C:\> or c:\games\> ".
Wow 1988? That was the year I was born!!! Lolz
IBM
LOL!!! I just randomly bumped into your video while hopping around TH-cam. I was actually working part-time for IBM while attending UT-Austin during the mid-1980s, and I used my very generous 50%-off IBM employee discount in 1985 to buy a FULLY-LOADED PC/AT "Enhanced Model", with 512-KB of memory,. with the matching 80287 math coprocessor pre-installed, the IBM EGA display, an IBM dot matrix graphics printer, an IBM dot matrix color printer, a monitor swivel stand, and the IBM PC/AT Floor Standing Enclosure.
You can see what the PC/AT Floor Standing Enclosure looks like in the link below. It made my PC/AT look like a cool 1980s minicomputer with the big vertical box placed next to my desk while I programmed using Turbo Pascal and Microsoft C during the 1980s:
minuszerodegrees.net/5170/cards/5170_floor_standing_enclosure.jpg
IBM would later copy this same floor-standing approach for their later PS/2 high-end models:
www.google.com/search?q=IBM+Personal+System/2+Model+80&rlz=1C1AOHY_enUS708US708&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjM47Ka357UAhWW0YMKHRwECMUQ_AUICigB&biw=1430&bih=733
The PC/AT Floor Standing Enclosure was the predecessor to the later ATX tower cases that are now the norm. Prior to the PC/AT Floor Standing Enclosure, all PCs were placed horizontally on the desk with the monitor placed on top of the case.
I also still have a mint-condition never used IBM 1.2-megabyte high-density floppy drive still sealed in its original IBM box.
The total price for my IBM PC/AT order was about $6400 when I ordered it in 1985, and I paid $3200 after the 50%-off employee discount. The sprawling IBM campus in north Austin where I worked part-time during the 1980s also manufactured PC/AT and PC/XT computers, along with a UNIX version of the PC/AT that ran the Xenix 286 operating system that was licensed and ported by (gasp!) Microsoft to run the 80286 in protected mode. No one nowadays realizes that Microsoft previously developed a UNIX operating system for the 80286 CPU, decades before Linux.
I was helping IBM to build PCs and attending UT-Austin at the same time that Michael Dell was building and selling PCs from his dorm room and Dell was advertising in the UT-Austin campus newspaper, The Daily Texan, under his original brand name of "PC's Limited".
I see that you have the later IBM Model M keyboard. I am actually still using my earlier Model F IBM keyboard that does not have the function keys across the top. The Model F mechanical keyboard used a very unique buckling spring with a capacitive design, compared to the membrane design of the later Model M keyboards, and the Model F has full n-key rollover, and a lighter crisper louder mechanical key action than the later Model M keyboard that you have.
Your RAM does not appear to be piggyback stacked on top of each other. My earlier PC/AT had 512-KB of RAM where two RAM chips were piggyback-stacked on top of each other and then soldered together in order to double the memory density. It looked weird, but it worked. My PC/AT motherboard looks like the RAM is having sex and humping each other with how two RAM chips are paired together with the top RAM's pins wrapped over the bottom RAM chip.
I actually am still using my Model F keyboard connected through a USB adapter, 32 years after I received my PC/AT :-) Quality and durability in a keyboard is when you have been using a keyboard for 32 years and all the keys still work with the same satisfying click-clack mechanical sound. I doubt that the modern Cherry MX mechanical keyboards will still have all their keys functioning after 32 years of use.
I last powered on my PC/AT during the mid-1990s and it still works with its DOS 6.3. I have been thinking about modifying the case to use a new ATX motherboard. But seeing your video makes me want to keep it in its original condition since its original keyboard also still works. My original IBM EGA display failed long ago, and I replaced it with a Princeton Graphics EGA display that still works fine. Both of my dot matrix printers still work.
You may want to see if you can find the PC/AT Floor Standing Enclosure simply because it really helps to free up your desk space by placing the PC/AT vertically on the floor. In 1985, I also ordered through the mail a custom-sewn dust cover that fully covered my PC/AT Floor Standing Enclosure in thick beige canvas fabric with a stylish dark brown border trim with my initials monogrammed on the front panel. You can see a vintage ad for the "CompuTogs" mail order that I purchased from in 1985 here:
books.google.com/books?id=Udw3QWX2LQ8C&pg=PA147&dq=CompuTogs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwikyPn32p7UAhVE1oMKHWLfCbwQ6AEIKDAB#v=onepage&q=CompuTogs&f=false
No one runs a business like CompuTogs nowadays where you just send them your PC case measurements, and the CompuTogs lady in Illinois sews a stylish slip-on dust cover with your initials stylishly monogrammed on it. I ordered three CompuTogs dust covers at the time - one for my PC/AT Floor Standing Enclosure, one for the IBM EGA monitor, and one for the IBM standard-width dot matrix graphics printer.
That same PC Magazine page also shows a Cray X-MP, and I also previously did scientific computing on a Cray X-MP and Y-MP supercomputers. Those were good times during the 1980s - working on a fully-loaded PC/AT at home and working on Cray X-MP and Y-MP supercomputers at work. That was also the unconventional way that I was introduced to UNIX during the 1980s - by using the Microsoft-developed Xenix 286 running on the PC/AT and Cray UNICOS running on the Cray X-MP and Y-MP.
ENJOY YOUR PC/AT!!! It was the fastest state-of-the-art PC in 1984!! The average smartphone now has more computing power than that PC/AT which had a $5300 price in 1984 and was the world's fastest commonly-available PC at the time.
Watching 30 year old hardware work is strangely interesting.
it is made to last forever
Old is gold =)
Why many of us are here! 😇
Over 1mb of ram. Madness, no one man was meant to have such power at his fingertips.
my first 90's pc ( 486 dx2 66mhz) had a 2mb videocard! And my first pc game was TFX flight simulator. that came on 11 or 12 floppy disk and was about 100mb
and that took a full day to install! And a 15 inch monitor that weigh 40 pounds.
If I said that I had a 2Tb standalone, would you be terrorised?
That said, back in the day, 1Tb could probably run IBM in the UK.
You learned how to program tight code. You would have what you do if we didn't
And a bargain at only $500 per MB!
that comment is the most funniest shit Ive heard hahahaha! like scotty would say " im giving her all i got captain full power! i dont think she could take any more of this!"
I could never relate to anyone that has disliked this video. I was transfixed the ENTIRE time. I love old tech, I love old computers, and I love setting things like this up. I just lived a wonderful adventure through this video. Thank you. Reminds me so much of working on my first Tandy 2500 sx/20.
Thank you, I'm happy you enjoyed!
Hey!
Thanks for the memory-berries with the IBM PC/AT. I had a friend help me upgrade my Atari AT clone by adding a 3.5" drive. I want to say the drive had the rails, but it has been too many years to remember for sure. I always wanted a co-processor, but never got one for any of machines through 486.
I always find it funny when people input the current date on really old tech. It's like you are waking it up from a long cryosleep and it's confused as to what year it is.
It is ! ^^ A day, younger, I repaired an old radio; And like the idiot I was, I was really expecting to hear a broadcast from the periode of the radio x)
hehehe so true, so true x'D
then it explodes due to the Y2K bug
Y2K bug really didn't exist for proper systems. The Year 2038 problem on the other hand will be a bad situation however.
Man, why would you not take advantage of it and put in the year 21XX? That's at least what I did for everything too old to check. In other words... no regerts
All I can say is thank you for bringing this back to me.
This was the first PC I ever used at my grandfather's house at 8 years old.
He never used it, but this kickstarted my computer craze that has lasted a lifetime.
I have seen Autocad run on an IBM 4.77Mhz 8088. You could see curves being plotted point by point.
Then an 8087 was added and what a difference did that make.
I learned AutoCAD on a 286 which was screaming for the x87. Required a lot of patience when doing anything other than drawing horizontal or vertical lines. Just redrawing the screen was a moment of "time to go get a drink".
thank you dude. i have a lot of trouble with depression and not sleeping and you really help me relax. i love these old things that you find. take care.
No one needs so much ram...he is showing off.
640k is all anyone will ever need.
Rodrigo i
Rodrigo wow 1.1 mb ram!!
I think that's a misquote.
jamie marchant Gates denies saying it and no one can cite when he did. Granted, computer journalism at that time wasn't exactly good about maintaining sources, so it's possible that Gates did say it, but it's pretty unlikely since he began making statements to the contrary before the 80s drew to a close.
the size of that 128k memory upgrade card is hilarious!
Yes its not like the 4-12 gb ram we have in smartphones
@ maybe
Lol how so? Its more interesting to look and is a bit more comprehensible because its so large. But this is definitely nothing compared to the complex nano-sized ram we have today. We literally fit this big card 1000x over in a tiny space.
@@richr161 yes exactly
Strangest part is how it looks to be like 1/4 populated. I guess the manufacturer used the same PCB for 128 and 512k models or somesuch.
Me: "hey, you can 3d print those rails!"
LGR: cuts a piece of plastic and drills holes in it
Me: "O-okay, this works too."
ahahhahahahah I thought the same.. and then he goes: _SLAP_ *cut* *cut* _DRILLLLLLL_ done :D
I was afraid he was drilling holes into his floor!
Yeah, a cringeworthy moment for me, guy unboxes a brand new AT and even though he has another machine with the correct parts...he boogers some out of sheet plastic. If it is not correct, it is not right. But then I am 63, a retired toolmaker, and OCD as can be. I also remember putting together several machines like this myself...before I down sized for retirement I had 23 computers networked in my house and a 3 server farm in my garage.
As a 3D printer owner I had the same thought, but he's right, doesn't need to be fancy.
though, on that though, Imagin 30 years down the road when some of our early 3D printers are vintage machines in the same way as this old PC, only printing one matirial at a time, requiring regular upkeep, and constant monitoring during a print to stop failures, and ming in particular being a weird little Anet A8 DIY kit that I've had to tinker on and modify to work like I want (and still modifying), I guarantee the nostalgia is going to be comparable
"Here's a sheet of plastic I 3D printed earlier..." **cuts plastic and drills holes in it**
I really like this type of content. It's good to know they still are big TH-camrs doing something different.
I mean, given that he's a tech guy-
Once every couple months I feel like I have to tell you that I admire what you do. All my childhood was just like this video, trying to upgrade and install softwares to my old 286. In the end I had a 40 MB drive 4 mb ram 4x cd rom 486 dx 44. I liked it because everything was 4. I feel just the right kind of itching nostalgia watching you. Congrats.
I love these more technical "struggle" videos. It really shows the work that goes in to keeping these old systems that we love going!
0d00d, you fixed *everything* you wanted to do on that box. Even homemade DIY floppy rails?! YOU ARE THE MAN!!!
Was having some flashbacks to my days restoring and selling used IBM XT/AT, and the various clones back in the 1990s - especially when you got to the "A - B" Floppy Drive Ribbon at the 11:05 Mark. The amount of modding that would come into play was amazing.
Very cool TH-cam channel. It is awesome to see a guy younger than the IBM AT computer find such delight in them. I was a young university professor in 1984 and had (count 'em) TWO IBM AT PCs with 512KB RAM and 287 copros. They cost the university $12000 each (Canadian). My office computer was a Compaq 286 PC and I used the two ATs in the classroom and even connected to the internet with 300baud modems. All of the guts of these computers are VERY familiar to me as is the software you are using. I got pretty good at MSDOS and batch language to control TSRs and the like. Keep up the nostalgiac work!
Jesus its like watching through a portal 30 years into the past.
That's the idea :)
L-Lewd... Opening up a computer like that and messing with it's parts.
i.stack.imgur.com/MKMpFm.jpg :3 Uguu.
That was me in my late 20's. Good times.
Early teens for me. Though I never really started pulling em apart till we had 486's.
Yea! Still the best game about vampires I've ever played.
Maybe LGR will do a review of Soul Reaver on PC some time?
I'm loving watching your old IBM PC AT videos, i'm new to the new generation and i'm interested in the stuff
The 512K RAM card doesn't backfill the conventional memory to 640K because when IBM designed the AT, they thought everyone would be using protected-mode operating systems, in which case it's more useful for the additional memory to all go into extended RAM, rather than conventional RAM.
But the long-promised multitasking DOS never materialized and everyone kept on using regular DOS, so IBM offered the separate 128K card to increase the conventional RAM to 640K. Aftermarket companies introduced AT RAM cards that would "auto-backfill" so with them you wouldn't need the 128K card.
What continues to amaze me is that we're still using the exact same size for the backplane mounts for expansion cards. Even through PCI, AGP and PCIe, we're still using the same exact form factor. Yeah, there's low-profile and there's some oddball versions, but a typical expansion card has the same exact backplane shape and size today.
Oh, thank you for the tip about gsetup! I gave up trying to get the 3.5" side of my TEAC 505 with all of the various versions of the IBM Diagnostics. I was half a step away from replacing the BIOS with a set of aftermarket AMI BIOS ROMs to try to get around this issue.
Glad it proved useful! It's a handy program indeed for systems of a certain vintage.
I have a sneaking suspicion that the issue might be the cable.
What would the cable have to do with the Diagnostic software not listing an option for 1.44MB? O.o
Not sure. But process of elimination suggests it: Controller is supposed to be capable of it. Drive is definitely capable of it. The cable doesn't appear to have connectors for the more common connectors in use in more "modern" systems. The cable does appear to work fine when the BIOS simply treats the drive as a high density drive.
So, the problem is detection: The setup program can't tell that the drive is high density capable. Best guess is that the older connector doesn't have a line to report its capacity resulting in the setup only offering low capacity choices?
Googling the pinouts suggests the older style is a shugart connector. On the more modern connector pin 2 is used to for the density. The shugart connector uses that pin to report disk changes and doesn't appear to actually have the capacity select line.
(pinouts.ru/HD/InternalDisk_pinout.shtml)
Modern BIOSes appear to take the gsetup route of just allowing you to to tell the system what drives are in it.
OMG, the music @19:18 bring back so many wonderful memories. We used to have to play DOOM using the adlib car that came with my AT&T Globalyst. Still have that PC.
Thank you very much for this video. I was just a kid when my father took his IBM AT to his office and as long as it had only 512K ram and a monochrome display it looked awesome to me, thinking about all its future applications and expansions. It was the beginning of my involvement in pcs and informatics that lead to what I was able to build upon that in the continue of my life. This brings a lot of beloved memories to me. This showed up what a full optional AT was capable of back at the time. Thank you again. Great video!
I love the frantic tone of this video, like that part where the drive doesn't wanna do 1.44mb, you say you'll fix it after the video, and 5 minutes later you fix it.
For me, being a PC Gamer since 1994, my first PC was just perfect.
A Pentium 75, later upgraded to the Pentium 133, 8 MB of RAM, later upgraded to 24 MB (because: why not??) and it’s overkill of 850 MB disc space. It was basically was more than I ever needed for games. From 1992 to 1997, that thing just was perfect. But - oh well - 3D graphics came and the performance needed went sky high. Still, I miss that PC, which died in 2007.
Weird enough: For years, I couldn’t be bothered to upgrade my PCs, as they were each time powerful enough to last for 5 years to begin with. And I think, it will stay that way, though tinkering around with hardware is still something I like to do.
In these types of videos, i honestly only really understand about 70% of what you're talking about, but it doesn't seem to matter. You have such good patter, pacing and personality that I honesty could (and have) listen to you chat for hours :)
This is the computer that started me on a lifelong love of computers. In 1988 I was 20 :) My friend's dad had this very computer. When he wasn't home, my friend and I would play with the computer. We learned Dos on this computer. Kids these days don't even know what Dos is! Thanks for sharing this. It took me back to my younger days and made me smile.
Great Rachel! I appreciated your history! Thanks for sharing it!
Yeah, well. Everything was fun and games until the TRS-80 manual on BASIC gave THIS example: function(string). Thanks a lot. If they had f(*&)#(^*)$^*&^#*&^$*ing bothered to write function("string") my life wouldv'e been so much different.
I bought one of these at machines 12mhz 286 with 1mb ram and 1.2mb 5 1/4 " drive and 20mb hdd for a little under $4k aud way back.
And 640x480 x 16 colour vga card and monitor. The monitor put the total price over $aud 4 k.
And 18 months later I was really daring and bought a 386sx40 motherboard ($1200 aud) and replaced the old mb.
Omg this is straight up my childhood. I remember adding coprocessor just like that. This was before magnetic mass drives were available. And when I saw that ugly looking stereo speakers, I almost teared up because that was the exact speaker brand I used for over 10 years. I think every new PC builders should see this video or anyone curious about PC building. This will put things to perspective to how far it has come and how much easier today is with unified API.
It really is amazing how far computers have come, while it's also amazing seeing how little has actually changed behind the scenes.
Assembly Required Yes yes one needs so much ram...he is showing off
You sir are true super geek... and that is meant to be a compliment. The sound of the computer booting up reminded me of my first computer in 1994ish.
This series is awesome. Your excitement for this project is infectious.
I love how he just ignored your comment lol
from what i remember adlip sound cards didnt had effects they replace effects on game with music instrument tones. remember i had a 286 at 20hz with a soundman(brandname)soundcard that was compatible with adlip and soundbluster i was working in a computer store at that time and this was cutting edge system back then....you took me long time ago man thank you :)
I love this channel!! this brings back so many memories! I remember tweaking so many settings to get some extra kilo bytes of memory to play games! it was a real hassle but when you finish you feel that you accomplished a major task and feel satisfaction!
9:50
I love watching the ID Documentary, and their first major release was the Commander Keen Game.
Watching you play it was pretty cool, as I never heard the actual sound until now.
LGR you make the best videos.
i adore how complex yet simple old computers are. i would have absolutely no idea what do to with any of it, but that's what we have LGR for.
Man watching this video brings back so many memories. I had a 286 as my first PC back when I was a kid. Was typically awesome, and especially for it's time, it was quite a piece of revolutionary art.
Nice video, seen both of them and I remember that I have a 8088 computer with a huge 20 MB harddisk and now I'm still up to date. I love that hobby!
I often miss the DIY PC age, i liked the rails solution on the floppy drive :)
One of the things I have loved about your video is you are such a geek for old tech. A man after my heart. LOL
I always feel your inner child getting excited when stuff works haha
It makes me happy :D
18:51 I LOOOVE the Yamaha sound chips, the Yamaha YM2812 was used in the SEGA Genesis system and the Yamaha YA2151 was used for most arcade games. They are really made for music! I LOVE them!
Man this channel brings me back to when I was 5 years old and my dad taught me how to use a computer with *Windows 3.11* and *floppy disks*. I am the only child in my family who ever used 3.11 and actual floppy disks. I'm the only child in my family that knows how to boot into Windows from MS-DOS. That's pretty special to me, though I'm not sure why I'm so proud of it.
Brings back the memories. I spent countless hours salivating over catalogs that showed all of this hardware for sale, at prices well beyond my reach.
Good Day LGR!
Keep in mind the 1.44 drive was introduced with the IBM PS/2 line of computers and there is no way your IBM AT would know about them. Microsoft included with MS-DOS 3.3 the capability of using 1.44 drives using DRIVPARM and DRIVER.SYS; taken from the Microsoft website:
DRIVPARM=/d:01 /f:02 ; For a 720K floppy disk drive on B:
DRIVPARM=/d:01 /f:07 ; For a 1.44K floppy disk drive on B:
DEVICE=DRIVER.SYS /d:01 /f:02 ; For a 720K floppy disk drive on B:
DEVICE=DRIVER.SYS /d:01 /f:07 ; For a 1.44K floppy disk drive on B:
Take a look. It is how we were able to use our 1.44 drives in our office's AT.
Yep. I remember those days.
Your actually incorrect. The last version of the bios rom available for the AT 5170 had support for 1.44mb floppy drives. The bios rom chips that support it are dated 11/15/1985 and came with the type 3 8mhz motherboard. You do have to remember for a little bit the late versions of the 5170 AT were being sold along side of the ps/2 systems at the end of the 5170s run.
Since this is an IBM PC AT, his not running MS-DOS 3.3 (OEM IBM PC DOS) in the video, but IBM PC DOS 3.3. At that time, MS-DOS had not become a generic product to purchase from the stores yet, but was licensed and in a degree adapted by the various IBM PC clone manufacturers to be bundled with their machines, while IBM PC's was still delivered with IBM PC DOS.
Wow!!! U just brought this middle aged Nerd Tech Back... Thanx Yo!!!
Correct. I worked at a company in Atlanta in 1985 that had a contract with IBM and we got one of the first ATs made. In fact it had one of the CMC flawed 20mb hard disks.. When this late-model AT was made in 1988, my work computer was already a COMPAQ Deskpro 386-25 and was miles ahead of this one in performance. BTW I think the poster here needs to change the DIP switch configuration on his plug-in expansion boards. In general he's going too fast and overlooking the things specific to these old ISA bus machines and their hardware limitations.
old school music. so nostalgic!! i remember playing on my mates brand new 286 as a kid.. so cool!!!
This video was nostalgic for me, as my first IBM PC compatible was an 8MHz Wyse 286 clone, with ~1MB RAM, an EGA monitor+card, 40MB MFM HDD, 5.25" 1.2MB, and 5.25" 360KB drives. I think we got it around 1987 and used it until it went senile (random sounds and characters appearing on the screen at 2AM) in the mid 1990s. The EGA monitor blew out around 1990 when we ran it with an Epson MX-80 printer sitting on top, apparently blocking the top grille and leading to an overheat, so it rocked a Hercules card+monitor for around a year until getting a Paradise SuperVGA upgrade that allowed me to play Space Quest IV in 256 color MCGA/VGA. I also added a SoundBlaster 2.0 around 1992, just before upgrading to a used 386DX-33.
Some of my fondest gaming memories on that machine included: Starflight 1 & 2, UMoria, Wizardry 6, Commander Keen, Space Quest 1-4, Quest for Glory 1-3, Castles 2, Thexder, Firehawk, Hyperspeed, ZZT, IndyCar Racing, X-Wing, and lots of shareware. Wolfenstein 3-D pushed it a bit hard, requiring a reduced window size for optimal performance.
Man that a top of the line PC! 1mb of ram AND a math coprocessor. I’m jealous. My first P.C. was an 8088 screaming at 8mgz. My dad maxed it out with a 2400 baud modem, a 3.5 fdd, and 640k of ram. Felt like I owned the world then. Lol. Kinda miss those days. But it’s amazing to see what we have now.
OVER A MEG OF MEMORY!?!
GET THE FUNK OUTTA TOWN, NO WAY!
the future is truly here!
That's the Sim City I remember. I had an IBM PS/1 back in 93. I had played all the DOS games back in the day (mostly shareware). For Christmas that year, I got a big box from Electronic Boutique. It had a CD ROM, a Sound Blaster sound card, an instructional VHS to install everything and a bunch of CD ROM software (including the voiced version of King's Quest 6). Later I got some upgrades like an extra 4mb of ram and installed DOS 6.22 for the memory maker feature.
That board is so long! IBM AT now with over a foot of ram!
Wow...sure bring back a lot of memories of my first AT PC. Not sure why computers were so much fun back then, but they sure were.
its so cool to see you get so excited to get 30 year old hardware to work that most of us did way back when. I understand your enthusiasm, back then, you bought hardware or software, there was no guarantee it would work, even if it said it was for your system on the box. you had to understand how your computer and software worked, and to get it running after spending hours troubleshooting and fiddling (there was no internet back then to google for help, you were on your own, baby) you would be escastic, with a grin a mile wide. today, installing a new program...sorry, app, you select what you want, download, open, and go....boring...kids these days will never understand that if you wanted the latest game or software, you had to work for it!!
dave1135 try installing a game from the Google/iTunes app store in a different country and it's just as annoying as putting software on my first computer was
You'd be surprised at the lengths you need to go to get older "apps" working on, say, Windows 7 or 10. (8.1 was awesome compatibility-wise for some reason) But yeah, CONFIG.SYS is dead. Long live CONFIG.SYS.
Also, remember that the downside is not being _able_ to solve an issue yourself. Less control over the OS means when something goes wrong, it's STUCK wrong as you no longer have easy access to all the drivers and software you need.
Hey, driver installation is still a bit of a task, grandpa "things were better back in my day, you crazy millennials". I actually prefer things how they are now. I did some fiddling around with DOS and old Windows versions on a virtual PC and it was somewhat tedious though I also have an appreciation for how things were back then, more in the sense of "tech back then was brand new and awesome and history is god damned interesting". I mean that "start-up sound" you get on vintage hardware? Absolutely pure sex. I love it.
I think you can still get that feeling nowadays. Early last year, before my 18th birthday, I decided to upgrade the graphics card in my 2014 custom-ordered desktop PC from a GeForce GTX 660 to a GTX 770 that I bought used, and I wanted to do it myself. Now, while I'm sure that to any seasoned computer tinkerer that's an easy task, it was the first time I'd messed about with the internals of any computer. I plugged the card in and just about died when the machine wouldn't turn on, and after googling my problem, I got it working with a new higher-capacity power supply. The smile on my face stayed for weeks, because not only did I now have more graphics power, I also did the installation wholly on my own and managed to overcome the problem I encountered with a nudge in the right direction from other people with similar problems. I'd think that's a feeling anyone who's ever worked on a PC could appreciate.
I can certainly understand your feeling; I built my current desktop with help with my stepdad. He put it together while I walked him through it. Because I am uncoordinated and was so excited to actually be putting my own custom rig together I couldn't stop shaking. XD It was a fun afternoon, and I spent the rest of the day setting up the software. I am super happy with my rig, and I advocate to everyone to build their own rig.
I used to have a set of those labtec speakers... I loved those darn things... great video LGR
Thanks for sharing this little piece of nerd heaven with me, brought back some of the fondest memories I have of early computing.
yup, i lived it, every upgrade, started in mid 80's for me, built my first computer 286, mono screen. when 3d just started it used to take all night to render a cube to rotate it!
Wow, 20min just went by like nothing! Need more LGR! More!!!! :D
Alaric Balthi Wait, this was 20 minutes? Felt like 5
beaitiful... you revived old nostalgic memories of PC AT machines...
LHX Attack Chopper might be one of my favorite games ever. So much fun and so god damned realistic (for its time).
LHX is the icing on this cake! I used to play that so much on my first computer, an XT 8088 with 10MHz and CGA only 😌
LHX FTW, i also loved it as a kid (still do) im 36 now), and also loved the pc speaker replication of the sfx and music.
WOW. That's so blanking cool! Thank you for sharing this rare event.
Clint, you know how to make someone happy on its bday!
great video as always.
now please, review battlezone98
Happy birthday!
I enjoy you having fun with that IBM machine so, so much
You know there are newly designed 8-bit ISA XT/AT 1MB and 2MB (EMS) ram boards :) You get a bare PCB and have to buy the components and solder it yourself, but worth it! I have a 2MB card in my Commodore PC20-III (4.7MHz 8088 with 640K ram stock), Also made a IDE/PATA card to use more modern hard drives :) If interested I could make you one :)
So many memories! I used to build these things all the time. Much more involved then computers of today.
I love your IBM so much. Thank you for this wonderful video!
As a former IBMer ( Enterprise Systems) I approve this comment
Wow, IBM AT was my first work PC in 1985. I remember the drag-out business case fight with my IT leadership ("this thing has 10 MB HDD, you'll never use that amount of storage!"), and the weight. The PC case seemed made w. battleship-grade steel.
LOVE IT! If I'd kept every computer I've owned since the 80's I'd have quite the collection.
Thanks LGR! Traveled thru the time...
Missing parts? Won't fit? No problem for LGR!
And next time on This Old DOS Box...
Man this brought back some memories. My first PC was a AT 286. I fitted a 1.44, memory expansion card and VGA card, good fun. It had a 20Meg MFM hard drive.
Am I the only one who kinda wishes computers still went beep boop CLACK BLEEAAARRRNNNGGGGHHHH CLACKCLACK BLEEENGGGG boop bleep
yes, you are. I'm not an "hardcore" computer guy, I was born in '87 and got a computer around '93-'94. A 386, if I recall that correctly, with DOS. While I indulge to remember it with sweet nostalgia, I do remember very well how freaking loud it was
It gets old fast.
No you are not. That's the proper sound a computer should make while starting up to tell you it is healthy and working. PC speakers nowadays are so quiet. If you even get one, and then it's most likely just a crappy little piezo beeper rather than a real speaker.
"CLACK BLEEAAARRRNNNGGGGHHHH CLACKCLACK BLEEENGGGG boop bleep" - Bill Cosby 1990
thats true thats actually where he got most of his material afaik
Love your channel. I enjoy a good nostalgia trip.
Jesus, 640K RAM.
Look at me with my plebian 16GB RAM.
IBM master race.
Funny enough, I actually went down from 32 GB of RAM on my 2013 PC to 16 GB for my 2018 build because after I'd finished my CFD project for my university degree, I found I just didn't have the need for so much memory lol.
@@eddiehimself I only bought 16GB of RAM as I thought it would be enough, but I have 127 tabs loaded out of 1073 total tabs on Firefox and some other processes running in the background as well, and my memory usage is already 10GB! I might have to upgrade soon...
@twhizz
Someone's compensating for something ;)
Lol, my p53 laptop have 128gb
heck yeah 640K RAM master race
I had this machine back in the day. I'ts funny to watch you deal with these long forgotten problems here, in the future.
thank you for making these videos. It reminds me of my "getting into computers" childhood. I really MISS my old IBM.
This video is a blast from the past for me. It was computers like this that I started programming on. Now I'm needing a 286 fix... :)
Oh and yes now you have to get an ISA network card, DOS packet drivers and mTCP installed and do some funky FTP, telnet and IRC schenanigans on it!
God this video brings back all the memories of the annoyances of building older computers. No wonder adventure games were popular. You had to solve an adventure game just to build the computer to begin with.
man I'm so jealous of this whole thing
I haven't laughed and smiled so much in years. Thank you. It felt so good to watch you bumble and get excited over something that was so tiring to me in my youth.
Sweet DIY hack(s) dude :)
Thanks!
Epic take back in time thanks pal.
Nothing like watching LGR in school :P
i'm watching after school
It's educational!
Try showing this to your PS4/XB1 loving CoD and FIFA playing classmates.
I'm watching it at work lol and by the way you can love this and still play FIFA or CoD.
MegaManNeo haha
I love your passion for this stuff.
1:30 I want to have all my 16 Colours at once! LOL. Hilarious
Wow, LHX Attack Chopper was one of my favorites on my 386 DX40 back then, but using 4 and later 8 MB RAM seemed to run it a little smoother. Keep on "Searching ... Tracking ... Firing" (LHX radar messages) Great video!
Please please *PLEASE* tell me "The Incredible Machine" works on this. I would love to see the game run and hear the badass music from this machine.
When we upgraded PCs to 640k back in the day, we'd actually have to buy a tube of integrated circuit chips and push each one onto the motherboard or an expansion board and hope for the best. We actually used the IC Chip inserter/puller tool that used to come in the 10 piece computer tool kits in the black zipper cases back then.
watching for the second time in 2019...
I built my first computer i the early '90's when I went to college. Dail up modems, installing sound cards, CD Rom etc....it was a 386 with a 12 baud dial up modem....10 hours of aol per month. watching you brings back some memories. I also have a computer in the back of my house that I've forgotten the password to.....as you were looking for your key, I was thinking the same thing. the ribbon cables..I forgot what that was all about, but, I figured out there was an "art" to figuring it out. I also had a pair of speakers similar to what you have there...LOL! i was SO excited when I installed my sound card, my video card to upgrade to a color monitor, and my CD rom and they WORKED!
3:24 that's what she said
I wish she said that!!! Nerds never get any... Too busy upgrading PCs...lol
Just after he said 4:50
A PC AT was my first contact with I.T. back in the days in the computer course we used to learn MS-DOS 5.0, Wordstar, Lotus 123, Dbase III+ and Clipper. Your channel is awesome, keep the good work.
thats what i like to see. he needs mounting rails but doesnt go running to ebay or a thrift store like some sissy pansy. just pulls out the drill and the xacto knife and gets the shit done like a man, because he knows time is of the essence.
I would 3D print them, and while the print was going on put the 5 1/4 in the bottom slot and throw the 3 1/2 on top. Alternatively "PAH! rails" :-)
I loved this whole new IBM unboxing and upgrade series. Honestly, lovely 😊 what a cool thing to do! ✨
0:00
What I see at the foot of my bed during sleep paralysis.
Such an underrated comment, i did a double take thinking i just saw something that wasn't happening.
Thanks man for making these videos. I was born in 88, so some of this is a little bit before my time, but I remember paying around with some of these machines back in the day. It's really cool that you got to be this machine's first user. Everything fresh out of the box, factory smells. I do appreciate the descriptions of the smells by the way. Thanks again for uploading. I really enjoyed these 2 videos. Keep it up!