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Ibm ps/1

As I already wrote, I own a mod.2121 386@16 equipped with a CF adapter and 1GB CFlash, but only 512MB visible by the system. I think this is the maximum capacity for this bios.
I am sure I have read here somwhere but can't remember where. There should be a program that let you break the 512MB limit or at least make more disk out of a single CF. Could someone point me to the file and instructions? cheers.
Stefano
 
I have a 2121 386SX...I want to display 640x480 in 256 or 16-bit color in Windows 3.0 / 3.1...is it better to track down an extra 256KB of VRAM and put it in the empty banks

Or

Use a 512K or 1mb svga card, stick it in the ISA slot and reroute the monitor cable to that? Has anyone ever tried this with any sort of success?

Thanks.
 
I believe the PS/1 2121 uses the same "Enhanced VGA" chipset as some of the later PS/2 models, which can support 256-color 640x480 mode if you upgrade it to 512K of VRAM, but IBM never released a Windows 3.x driver for it -- only for DOS (VESA compatible) and OS/2.

There are some "generic" SVGA 640x480 @ 256 color drivers for Windows 3.x you can try, but I don't know if anyone actually got it to work.

And unless you're lucky enough to have one of the proprietary RAM upgrade cards for it, I don't know if it's worth trying 256-color mode on a 386SX with only 2 MB of RAM, anyway.
 
Yeah, I got the 4MB ram upgrade bringing me to 6mb total and a 340mb hard drive.

What kind of VRAM chips and to find some? I'm assuming they are 128k each and I would need two 128k chips to bring me to 512K.


vwestlife said:
I believe the PS/1 2121 uses t
he same "Enhanced VGA" chipset as some of the later PS/2 models, which can support 256-color 640x480 mode if you upgrade it to 512K of VRAM, but IBM never released a Windows 3.x driver for it -- only for DOS (VESA compatible) and OS/2.

There are some "generic" SVGA 640x480 @ 256 color drivers for Windows 3.x you can try, but I don't know if anyone actually got it to work.

And unless you're lucky enough to have one of the proprietary RAM upgrade cards for it, I don't know if it's worth trying 256-color mode on a 386SX with only 2 MB of RAM, anyway.
Click to expand...
 
Just had a wacky idea which may or may not work. Since the VGA chipset in the 2121 is basically a Tseng ET3000...could I get a video card based on that chipset and yank the 256kb chips off that and stick it on the PS1 Mobo? Crazy but it just might work?
 
Agreed. It will be very easy. I haven't designed a PCB in about a decade, but if someone one the forum is willing to send me a spare card I will reverse engineer it and have some PCBs fabbed. Not sure if I will be able to find suitable replacement latches. I would also like to R/E one of the serial cards as well. I guess most if not all USA PS/1 were delivered with a 2400 BPS modem. That's great and all, but I want a traditional serial port.

In addition to the RAM and serial card, someday I would like to design a single ISA-slot riser that can hide a card inside the low profile case, accessible through the mostly unused sound card panel.

If you have a RAM card or a serial card you can part with for a few weeks, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,
Nate
 
Greetings. I've IBM PS/1 model 2011, it seems floppy drive is dead, so I want to replace it with a Gotek floppy emulator. There are lots of tutorials for doing so, showing how to add power into the data cable of floppy as well, however I do have serial expansion board on my system (which seems to have a floppy power output), I'd like to ask if I get power from there for my floppy, what modifications would I need for data cable of floppy?

Many thanks in advance for your replies, ideas,
Best.
 
n8tron said:
Agreed. It will be very easy. I haven't designed a PCB in about a decade, but if someone one the forum is willing to send me a spare card I will reverse engineer it and have some PCBs fabbed. Not sure if I will be able to find suitable replacement latches. I would also like to R/E one of the serial cards as well. I guess most if not all USA PS/1 were delivered with a 2400 BPS modem. That's great and all, but I want a traditional serial port.

In addition to the RAM and serial card, someday I would like to design a single ISA-slot riser that can hide a card inside the low profile case, accessible through the mostly unused sound card panel.

If you have a RAM card or a serial card you can part with for a few weeks, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,
Nate
Click to expand...

Hi Nate, did you manage to sort out making a new RAM board? I'm really keen to get my 2121 up to at least 4mb!
 
I got an IBM PS/1 model 2011 computer, and few days ago I cleaned its inside with an air compressor (slowly and carefully with lowest power). I also replaced its dead battery (not soldered but luckily socketed) with a brand new DS12C887 battery, because I was having error 161 and 163 codes.

When I powered it on, those errors disappeared but I newly got 2401 error code (attached), with one long beep and two short beeps following.

The system boots fine by pressing F1, into quad-icons OS, but I'd love to eliminate that error code, I have no idea how such error appeared. I thought the new battery created such error, replaced the old one, but it was the same.

Any idea would be much appreciated.
Many thanks!
 
deksar said:
I got an IBM PS/1 model 2011 computer, and few days ago I cleaned its inside with an air compressor (slowly and carefully with lowest power). I also replaced its dead battery (not soldered but luckily socketed) with a brand new DS12C887 battery, because I was having error 161 and 163 codes.

When I powered it on, those errors disappeared but I newly got 2401 error code (attached), with one long beep and two short beeps following.

The system boots fine by pressing F1, into quad-icons OS, but I'd love to eliminate that error code, I have no idea how such error appeared. I thought the new battery created such error, replaced the old one, but it was the same.

Any idea would be much appreciated.
Many thanks!
Click to expand...

2401 is a video error. Failing unit: System unit and display. Check display cables.
 
Hi guys,

I'm new to this forum. It just happens that I've got a very nice PS/1 2121, as the one I had in my childhood, and I'm thinking on upgrading it as Nestor did with his.

Firstly, there may be a workaround to get the PS/1 with 512KB VRAM working on Windows 3.1. The trick would be to install the DOS VESA drivers for it and then use this patched SVGA driver which is VESA/VBE compliant:

https://bearwindows.zcm.com.au/win31x.htm

For now, I haven't upgraded yet the VRAM so I can't try it myself, but just wanted to share this information in case anyone with the 512KB upgrade wanted to give it a shot... IMHO it's quite likely it will work.

On the other hand, I would like to get a 2 o 4MB RAM expansion module for my PS/1, but I don't seem to find any on eBay or any other websites. And second-hand market for this kind of vintage upgrades is quite limited in my country (Spain). Would you know where could I search for one of these? And do they tend to be sold for reasonable prices? Thank you in advance!
 
Teix said:
Hi guys,

I'm new to this forum. It just happens that I've got a very nice PS/1 2121, as the one I had in my childhood, and I'm thinking on upgrading it as Nestor did with his.

Firstly, there may be a workaround to get the PS/1 with 512KB VRAM working on Windows 3.1. The trick would be to install the DOS VESA drivers for it and then use this patched SVGA driver which is VESA/VBE compliant:

https://bearwindows.zcm.com.au/win31x.htm

For now, I haven't upgraded yet the VRAM so I can't try it myself, but just wanted to share this information in case anyone with the 512KB upgrade wanted to give it a shot... IMHO it's quite likely it will work.

On the other hand, I would like to get a 2 o 4MB RAM expansion module for my PS/1, but I don't seem to find any on eBay or any other websites. And second-hand market for this kind of vintage upgrades is quite limited in my country (Spain). Would you know where could I search for one of these? And do they tend to be sold for reasonable prices? Thank you in advance!
Click to expand...

My 386SX TYPE 2121 has only 256 Kb of video ram. I've never seen a way to upgrade it to 512 Kb
 
fjk61011 said:
My 386SX TYPE 2121 has only 256 Kb of video ram. I've never seen a way to upgrade it to 512 Kb
Click to expand...

It's possible to upgrade if you populate the empty chip slots next to the 2121's chipset. It requires some soldering skills. If you use google translate you can see an explanation of the process here:

https://www.zonadepruebas.com/viewtopic.php?t=6184

As I said, I'm considering making the upgrade myself... Will let you know if I finally do it.

On the other hand, I've realised that the link I added on my previous message doesn't provide a valid address to download the SVGA VESA/VBE Win 3.1 driver. If anyone wants to try it, it can be downloaded directly from the source:

https://www.japheth.de

And in this webpage, left side menu, select "Windows Tools". Now on the shown list, "SVGAPatch" appears as one of the downloadable items.
 
Hello you all,

Fjk61011, you can use the driver available for the "IBM ThinkPad 700 / 700C" which uses a “SVGA/A video adapter” based on a compatible chipset (with "TI CF62011BPC" chip) named "IBMVGA256c" similar to the ones present in 2121 model (not sure if all models have this).
I'm using this driver in order to get 640x480x256c on Windows 3.1 after upgrading VRAM to 512KB. (found at: https://ardent-tool.com/9552/700c120.exe)

Info also shared on: https://ps1stuff.wordpress.com/documentation/ibm-ps1-model-2121/

Cheers
 
Last edited:
Krille said:
I've updated this program.

Changes:
A reboot is no longer required after enabling/disabling bidirectional parallell port mode.
Added some simple machine detection code so this should now only run on the IBM PS/1 models 2011 and 2121.
It's now using the same checksumming algorithm as IBM used.

View attachment 1021337
Click to expand...
I know this is from a while ago, but even with this tool I still can't get a parallel port ZIP drive to work - has anyone achieved this on a 2011?
 
Hi everyone,

As I am new to the IBM PS/1 2121, I am looking to replace the existing version of ROM software showing the quad split screen with another one - different language as the one I have is in German.

Any ideas/suggestions how to do this, and what tools I need?

Second question is about 4MB RAM expansion - any alternative options, custom modules?

I came across this github project, wondering if the modules are available? https://github.com/realfogman/ps1_ram_expansion
 
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