creepingnet
Veteran Member
Time to try this out for Blogging, feels weird in the "forum" format, but I kind of like it too...
Ah yes, amidst a bunch of personal crap going on in my life as of late, hence not spending a lot of time online until the past day or two, A colleague gives me yet another computer, this time a 1991 Compaq DeskPro 386s/20 with the original keyboard (and a chewed up IEC cable with replacement end I threw out because Electrical Hazards are not allowed in my world). Seems I have not lost my "golden touch" with Compaq stuff as it's only been 3 days and it's already back up and running DOS happily under my desk - much in need of Ethernet connectivity XD.
Turns out this is quite an impressive 386SX because it's got a couple pretty rare options. First off, it has 10MB of RAM, that's a heaping ton for a 386SX based system, but then the other one kind of explains why. Months ago, Adrian's Digital Basement did a MailCall video where a viewer sent in some crazy Press-Fit 386SX upgrade chip that turns it into a 486. Well.....this has one of these, and in all my 20 years of vintage 386/486 computing I have yet to ever see one of these in person, the one on ADB was the first I ever saw! It also has the slimline 5.25" 1.2MB floppy in it, which is something else that seems to be unobtainium at this point as well, as I've been looking for one for the Versa Dock for almost 2 years at this point. Actually, my thought was if the machine was a disaster (hah, it's a Pre-95 era Compaq, that's like giving the kiss of death to a Pre-95 Explorer or Ranger with a stick, those old Compaq's are almost as "bulletproof"). I would pull the floppy and put it in my VersaDock and part it out.
Every issue this thing had was either typical and easy (DS1287 dead battery), or stupid (cut line on Floppy cable that seems to not harm anything whatsoever since I covered it in electrical tape). By last night, I had the HDD set, and then things got more interesting - turns out it was running an early Linux distro, probably Slackware 96' given the look of it (Linux 2.0.3). Kind of shocked to see a early 90's 386SX with a 486 upgrade running Linux. Of course, I wiped it (I don't have any logins) and put MS-DOS 6.22 on there.
Everything works, original HDD, original keyboard, I put in a 3COM 3C509 and a SoundBlaster 16 Value to tighten it up. Just need to order a mouse and a blanking plate for the bottom drive bay that does not have one as I just don't see a point in putting a CD-ROM Drive in there, and if I want one, it has to be gray. I do have a retrobrite job planned for this unit as well, since it looks almost factory new aside from my chunking away at the DS1287 for a CR2302 battery. Seems exteremely snappy so far. MSD says it's a 386SX, looking up the IBM chip on the interposter CPU upgrade says it's 75MHz (!!!), might be neat to see how this handles DOOM or Wacky Wheels.
SPECIFICATIONS
Go to this thread for Pictures = https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=43144&start=3420
Ah yes, amidst a bunch of personal crap going on in my life as of late, hence not spending a lot of time online until the past day or two, A colleague gives me yet another computer, this time a 1991 Compaq DeskPro 386s/20 with the original keyboard (and a chewed up IEC cable with replacement end I threw out because Electrical Hazards are not allowed in my world). Seems I have not lost my "golden touch" with Compaq stuff as it's only been 3 days and it's already back up and running DOS happily under my desk - much in need of Ethernet connectivity XD.
Turns out this is quite an impressive 386SX because it's got a couple pretty rare options. First off, it has 10MB of RAM, that's a heaping ton for a 386SX based system, but then the other one kind of explains why. Months ago, Adrian's Digital Basement did a MailCall video where a viewer sent in some crazy Press-Fit 386SX upgrade chip that turns it into a 486. Well.....this has one of these, and in all my 20 years of vintage 386/486 computing I have yet to ever see one of these in person, the one on ADB was the first I ever saw! It also has the slimline 5.25" 1.2MB floppy in it, which is something else that seems to be unobtainium at this point as well, as I've been looking for one for the Versa Dock for almost 2 years at this point. Actually, my thought was if the machine was a disaster (hah, it's a Pre-95 era Compaq, that's like giving the kiss of death to a Pre-95 Explorer or Ranger with a stick, those old Compaq's are almost as "bulletproof"). I would pull the floppy and put it in my VersaDock and part it out.
Every issue this thing had was either typical and easy (DS1287 dead battery), or stupid (cut line on Floppy cable that seems to not harm anything whatsoever since I covered it in electrical tape). By last night, I had the HDD set, and then things got more interesting - turns out it was running an early Linux distro, probably Slackware 96' given the look of it (Linux 2.0.3). Kind of shocked to see a early 90's 386SX with a 486 upgrade running Linux. Of course, I wiped it (I don't have any logins) and put MS-DOS 6.22 on there.
Everything works, original HDD, original keyboard, I put in a 3COM 3C509 and a SoundBlaster 16 Value to tighten it up. Just need to order a mouse and a blanking plate for the bottom drive bay that does not have one as I just don't see a point in putting a CD-ROM Drive in there, and if I want one, it has to be gray. I do have a retrobrite job planned for this unit as well, since it looks almost factory new aside from my chunking away at the DS1287 for a CR2302 battery. Seems exteremely snappy so far. MSD says it's a 386SX, looking up the IBM chip on the interposter CPU upgrade says it's 75MHz (!!!), might be neat to see how this handles DOOM or Wacky Wheels.
SPECIFICATIONS
- i80386 SX-20 with a mysterious press-fit IBM 486 BX3/75 interposter upgrade
- No Math Co-Processor (would one even work with that upgrade?)
- 10MB of RAM on 72 pin SIMMS
- 1.44MB Floppy A, 1.2MB Floppy B (I might have flipped them, which was deliberate)
- 212MB Type-51 IDE HDD, 100% working, no bad sectors, quiet as some of my ATA-133 drives somehow (!!)
- VGA Graphics On-Board "Compaq" per MSD
- SoundBlaster Value 16
- 3Com 3C509 Ethernet
- MS-DOS 6.22 (I'm not putting Windows on it, making the best use of that 200ish MB as I can)
- Original Compaq Enhanced PS/2 Keyboard, the one with the LEDs on the keys, not above the numeric keypad, seems quite rare to me
Go to this thread for Pictures = https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=43144&start=3420