Home on Old Silicon

Sun SPARCstation 1->2 (SuperWorkstation SW-40S)

Mon, 12 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The SuperWorkstation SW-40S represents an interesting chapter in Sun-compatible workstation history. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, several third-party manufacturers produced Sun-compatible systems that could run SunOS and later Solaris. These machines often offered performance improvements or cost savings compared to official Sun hardware.

The SW-40S was essentially a SPARCstation 1 chassis upgraded with SPARCstation 2 internals, creating a hybrid system that reports itself as a 4/75 (SPARCstation 2) while housed in the original “pizza box” form factor. This particular machine dates from approximately 1989-90, placing it at the dawn of the SPARC workstation era.

Osborne 1

Mon, 05 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The Osborne 1 is the first commercially successful portable computer, released on April 3, 1981 by Osborne Computer Corporation. It weighs 24.5 lbs, costs $1,795, and runs the CP/M 2.2 operating system.

Background

The Osborne 1 was developed by Adam Osborne and designed by Lee Felsenstein, first announced in early 1981. Osborne, an author of computer books, decided that he wanted to break the price of computers. The computer’s design was based largely on the Xerox NoteTaker, a prototype developed at Xerox PARC in 1976 by Alan Kay. It was designed to be portable, with a rugged ABS plastic case and a handle. The Osborne 1 is about the size and weight of a sewing machine and was advertised as the only computer that would fit underneath an airline seat. It is classified as a “luggable” computer. This Osborne I is the oldest computer in my collection by six years, so I wanted to do it justice.

Sun SPARCstation IPC

Tue, 15 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The SPARCStation IPC (Model Number 4/40), codenamed Phoenix, was the first in the line of lunchbox SPARCstations based on the sun4c Sparc architecture. It was released in July of 1990. Its clamshell design made for a compact system that fit nicely on the desktop without consuming the entire desktop.

Acquisition

Logging in the Console

I acquired this IPC via eBay from a Sun salvage guy on March 11th 2021. It arrived in nearly perfect condition with a 424Mb hard drive and Sun OS 4.1.2 installed. Upon booting the IPC, and examining the syslog, I found that in its past life it was named Salisbury, and the last time it had been booted up was January 7th, 1995, about 26 years, 2 months earlier. There was one user configured on the system, a fellow named Mitch Mathena. I tried reaching out to a likely candidate on LinkedIn but did not get a response.

Sun SPARCstation 2

Mon, 12 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The SPARCstation 2, code-named “Calvin,” was introduced in November 1990 and quickly became one of the most popular Unix workstations of its era. It represented a significant performance leap over the original SPARCstation 1, offering roughly three times the computational power while maintaining the same compact “pizza box” form factor.

This particular machine has been upgraded with a Weitek PowerUp processor running at 80 MHz, significantly boosting its performance beyond the stock 40 MHz CY7C601 processor. The Weitek upgrade was a popular third-party enhancement that extended the useful life of many SPARCstation 2 systems.

Kaypro II

Mon, 04 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The Kaypro II was the first consumer computer released by Non-Linear Systems in 1982. Kaypro was a subsidiary of Non-Linear Systems that was formed to sell consumer computers. Non-Linear Systems, located in San Diego, CA, was a factory automation company that was started in the 1950s. The company had a lot of experience with early microprocessors through their factory automation business, and when they saw the consumer success of Osborne I, they decided to enter the consumer computer market with the Kaypro II. There was never a Kaypro I (roman numeral) but there was later a Kaypro 1. Marketing was probably not their strong suit.

Sun SPARCstation IPX

Sat, 12 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The SPARCStation IPX (Model Number 4/50), codenamed Hobbes, was the second in the line of lunchbox SPARCstations based on the sun4c Sparc architecture. It was released in July of 1991, a year after the SPARCstation IPC. Like the IPC, whose chassis and plastic case it shared, it was a lunchbox design, and still my favorite of the SPARCstation Era.

Acquisition

Interior view showing the broken power supply mount

I acquired this IPX via eBay from a Sun salvage guy in 2020. It arrived in nearly perfect condition with a 1GB hard drive and Solaris 2.5 installed. The power supply is attached to the upper part of the clam shell, and, when I opened the box, the attachment screw socket had been broken off the top of the clamshell. Fortunately, it was still attached to the mounting screw, so I later used JB weld to reconnect the socket to upper part of the clam shell, and it has worked flawlessly since.

Sun SPARCstation 5

Mon, 12 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The SPARCstation 5, code-named “Aurora,” was introduced in March 1994 as Sun’s entry-level workstation. Despite its budget positioning, the SPARCstation 5 offered remarkable performance and became one of the best-selling Sun workstations ever produced. This particular machine features the top-of-the-line 170 MHz TurboSPARC processor, making it one of the fastest SPARCstation 5 configurations available.

History

By 1994, Sun Microsystems had established SPARC as the dominant architecture in the Unix workstation market. The SPARCstation 5 was designed to be an affordable entry point into the Sun ecosystem while still delivering serious computing power.

Commodore SX-64

Wed, 25 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The Commodore SX-64, also known as the Executive 64, was a portable computer that was released by Commodore in 1984. It was designed to be a compact version of the Commodore 64, which was one of the most popular home computers of its time. The SX-64 was the first full-color portable computer with a built-in color monitor, making it a highly desirable machine for both business and personal use. Despite its relatively high price, it quickly gained a following among professionals who needed a portable computer for presentations and on-the-go work. Today, the Commodore SX-64 is considered a classic computer and is highly sought after by collectors and enthusiasts alike.

Silicon Graphics Indigo R4400

Thu, 30 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The Indigo is one of the most capable graphics workstations of its era, and was essentially peerless in the realm of hardware-accelerated three-dimensional graphics rendering. It was produced between 1991 and 1995. This R4400 Indigo uses a 150MHz MIPS R4400 (IP20) processor and can support up to 384MB of RAM. It also contains Elan Graphics with 4 Geometry Engines and 24-bit color.

Acquisition

The restored Indigo R4400 with custom monitor

I acquired the R4400 while working on the R3000 Indigo with the failed power supply. The R4400 is superior to the R3000 as it is faster, runs a more recent version of Irix, and has much better graphics. I met the previous owner on a forum talking about the SGI machines. He was moving and needed to get rid of several computers (in fact, an entire garage full). I thought about it for a day, but that R4400 was too good to pass up. It arrived a week later.

Sun SPARCstation 10

Mon, 12 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The SPARCstation 10, code-named “Campus-2,” was introduced in May 1992 and represented a major architectural advancement for Sun. It was the first Sun desktop workstation to support multiple processors, allowing up to two CPUs in a single pizza box chassis. This machine marked Sun’s transition from the Sun4c to the more powerful Sun4m architecture.

History

The SPARCstation 10 was a revolutionary machine when it launched. While multiprocessor systems existed in the server space, the SS10 brought symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) to the desktop for the first time in Sun’s product line. This capability made it extremely popular for compute-intensive applications in engineering, scientific computing, and software development.

Compaq Portable I

Sun, 16 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The Compaq Portable I was the manifestation of a bold plan to start a company to compete with IBM and their newly released PC, the IBM 5150. Compaq was a renegade company, venture-backed, that set out to do a clean room implementation of the IBM BIOS. Not only did they do it, but they also did it perfectly. In March of 1983, they released the Portable I, an 8088 computer with shock-mounted floppy drives and a 9-inch CRT. This machine was indeed luggable and substantially heavier than the Osborne I or Kaypro II, both CPM machines, in my collection.

Silicon Graphics Indy

Mon, 31 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The Silicon Graphics Indy, code-named “Guinness,” is a low-end multimedia workstation introduced on July 12, 1993. Silicon Graphics Incorporated (SGI) developed, manufactured, and marketed Indy as the lowest end of its product line for computer-aided design (CAD), desktop publishing, and multimedia markets. Various Indy configurations existed and sold at price points between $5,000-$16,495 new. Indy was the first computer to come standard with a video camera, called IndyCam. Indy was discontinued on June 30, 1997, and support ended on December 31, 2011.

Sun SPARCstation 20

Mon, 12 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The SPARCstation 20, code-named “Kodiak,” was introduced in March 1994 and represented the pinnacle of Sun’s pizza box workstation line. Building on the multiprocessor foundation of the SPARCstation 10, the SS20 offered support for up to four processors and significantly higher clock speeds. It was the most powerful desktop SPARC workstation of its era.

History

The SPARCstation 20 arrived as the culmination of Sun’s pizza box workstation development. With support for up to four hyperSPARC or SuperSPARC processors, it offered computational power that rivaled many servers of the time, all in a compact desktop form factor.

Compaq Portable II

Fri, 28 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The Compaq Portable II was the fourth computer produced by Compaq and was released in 1986. It has an 80286 processor and a socket for an 80287 math co-processor. This Compaq Portable II (I’ll call it CP2 for short) is the Model 4 that came with a 360K floppy drive, a 20MB hard disk, and 640KB on the motherboard. This model weighed around 26 pounds and was considerably more portable than the Portable I or the Portable 286, sold in the original Portable I chassis. Its retail price was $4,499; it’s unclear how many were produced.

NeXTstation Color

Tue, 15 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The NeXTstation Color was introduced in September 1990 and was considered by some to be the Mac that Steve Jobs could not build at Apple. It had a more modern OS based on a Unix derivative and Mach Kernel, and it compared favorably to high end Macs of the day that were still running the non-multitasking MacOS. The NeXTstation Color was the first color NeXTstation and a lower-cost alternative to the NeXT Cube. Of historical significance, NeXT computers and their object-oriented design software tools were used by Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau at CERN to develop the world’s first web server (CERN httpd) and web browser (WorldWideWeb). Pioneering PC games Doom, Doom II, and Quake (with respective level editors) were developed by id Software on NeXT machines.

Sun Ultra 1

Mon, 12 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The Sun Ultra 1, code-named “Electron,” was introduced in November 1995 and marked Sun’s transition to 64-bit computing. As the first desktop workstation based on the UltraSPARC processor, it represented a fundamental architectural shift that would define Sun’s product line for years to come. This machine bridges the gap between the classic pizza box era and the modern 64-bit future.

History

The Ultra 1 was a landmark machine in Sun’s history. The UltraSPARC processor introduced the SPARC V9 64-bit architecture, which offered significant advantages over the previous 32-bit implementations. The 64-bit address space was essential for applications dealing with large datasets, and the processor’s VIS (Visual Instruction Set) extensions provided hardware acceleration for multimedia and graphics operations.

Sun Ultra 5

Mon, 12 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The Sun Ultra 5, introduced in February 1998, was Sun’s answer to the growing demand for affordable 64-bit workstations. It marked a significant departure from previous Sun designs, adopting industry-standard components like IDE hard drives and PCI expansion slots while maintaining the UltraSPARC architecture that made Sun workstations so capable.

History

The Ultra 5 represented a strategic shift for Sun Microsystems. By the late 1990s, the workstation market was facing increasing pressure from high-end PCs running Windows NT and Linux. Sun responded by creating a workstation that could compete on price while offering the reliability and performance of Solaris and the SPARC architecture.

Compaq Portable III

Thu, 03 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The Compaq Portable III was released in 1987. It was much smaller than the Compaq Portable II that preceded it by a year. This Compaq Portable III is the Model 2 that came with a 12Mhz 80286 processor, 640KB of RAM, optional 80287 math coprocessor, 360K/1.2M floppy diskette drive, and 20M Hard disk. The list price for the model 20 was $4,999. A year later, the Compaq Portable 386 was released utilizing the same design.

IBM 5155 Portable

Sun, 22 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The IBM Portable Personal Computer 5155 model 68 is an early portable computer developed by IBM after the success of the suitcase-size Compaq Portable. It was released in February 1984.

Acquisition

I acquired the 5155 on eBay in November of 2021. The computer was in fair condition. Both floppy drives were wedged into the case to make them appear original, but both were a tan color, of different types, and neither worked when I acquired it.

CDE Keyboard Repeat Rate on Solaris 2.6

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

If you’ve used CDE on Solaris 2.6 for any length of time, you’ve probably noticed that the default keyboard repeat rate feels sluggish. The default autorepeat delay is 500 milliseconds before a held key begins repeating, and once it starts, keys repeat every 50 milliseconds. For anyone accustomed to a faster repeat rate, this can make editing text or navigating the terminal feel painfully slow.

CDE’s Style Manager provides a toggle to enable or disable autorepeat entirely, but it does not expose the actual repeat rate or delay settings. To change those, you need to pass options directly to the X server.

Compile Time Comparisons Across Vintage and Modern Hardware

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

One of the things I enjoy doing when I get a vintage machine running is putting it through a real-world workload. Synthetic benchmarks are fine, but nothing tells you how a machine feels quite like watching it do actual work. For this test, I compiled a set of C++ libraries I wrote over the course of my career, roughly 33,000 lines of code, on every machine in my collection that could handle it.

DOS Networking with mTCP

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Getting a vintage DOS machine connected to a modern network might seem impossible, but thanks to the work of Mike Brutman and others in the retro computing community, it’s not only possible but surprisingly practical. The key is a combination of packet drivers and mTCP, a lightweight TCP/IP stack designed specifically for DOS.

The Challenge of DOS Networking

In the DOS world, TCP/IP was an afterthought. Network cards existed in the mid-80s, but they were expensive and primarily used for proprietary networking protocols like Novell NetWare. DOS was never designed for networking—it’s not multitasking, it has no built-in network stack, and it has limited memory to work with.

Getting SunOS 4.1.4 Working

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Getting SunOS 4.1.4 installed and fully functional on real hardware turned out to be more difficult than I expected. What should have been a straightforward install from CD turned into a series of false starts, mostly around disk partitioning and disk labels. After several failed attempts I found it was far easier to start with a disk that already had a valid Sun disk label on it rather than trying to get the installer to label a blank drive correctly.

Replacing a Sun IPX Power Supply with a Mini ATX

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The power supply is always the first thing to go on vintage Sun workstations. The original supplies in the SPARCstation IPC, IPX, and LX are proprietary units that are increasingly difficult to find and expensive when they do turn up. When the power supply in my SPARCstation IPX failed, I replaced it with a TF Skywindintl TF400, a compact 1U Mini ATX supply rated at 350 watts. It is inexpensive, readily available, and vastly overpowered for the IPX, which makes for a reliable replacement.

M48T02 Timekeeper External Battery Mod

Thu, 15 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The M48T02 timekeeper chip is found in many vintage computers from the late 1980s and early 1990s, including Sun SPARCstations, SGI workstations, and various other systems. These chips combine a real-time clock, NVRAM, and a lithium battery in a single package. The problem is that the battery is sealed inside the chip and eventually dies, taking the clock and stored settings with it.

You can buy replacement M48T02 chips, but they’re becoming harder to find and increasingly expensive. Worse, any new chip you install will eventually suffer the same fate. A better solution is to modify the existing chip to use an external coin cell battery that can be easily replaced.

ZuluSCSI Disk Images

Mon, 12 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve made bootable disk images available for most of the workstations in my collection. Almost all the workstations use ZuluSCSI SCSI emulators for their primary disk, making it easy to back them up and mount CD images without actually dragging a CD-ROM drive out.

These images are available free for anyone pursuing getting a classic workstation functional again. You can find the download link for each image on the corresponding workstation or pizza box article page.

Apple IIe Platinum

Thu, 04 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In January 1987 came the final revision of the Apple IIe, often referred to as the Platinum IIe, due to the color change of its case to the light-grey color scheme that Apple dubbed “Platinum”.

History

The Apple IIe was one of the most successful computers of the 1980s. First introduced in 1983, it remained in production for over a decade, making it one of the longest-lived personal computers ever made.

Collection Release Dates

Thu, 04 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

These are release dates and end-of-sales dates for computers in my collection. While release dates are relatively easy to find, end-of-sales dates prove significantly more difficult to research.

There is little, to no, information for the Compaq Portables and Sun SPARCstations with regard to their ending sales dates. If you have corrections or additional information, please let me know.

Macintosh Color Classic

Thu, 04 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The Macintosh Color Classic, introduced in February 1993, was Apple’s first compact Macintosh to feature a color display. It combined the beloved all-in-one form factor of the original Macintosh with a 10-inch Sony Trinitron color CRT.

History

The Color Classic represented the end of an era for Apple’s compact Macintosh line. While it brought color to the classic form factor, it was also one of the last machines in this iconic design language before Apple shifted focus to other product lines.

The Rise and Fall of SPARCstation Clones

Thu, 04 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In the early 1990s, Sun Microsystems made a bold decision that shaped the workstation market: it opened up the SPARC architecture for licensing. The result was a short-lived but fascinating ecosystem of third-party workstation manufacturers producing machines that were functionally identical to Sun’s own hardware — often at a fraction of the price.

The Open Architecture Gambit

Sun authorized chipmakers like Fujitsu Microelectronics, LSI Logic, and Tera Microsystems to resell its 40 MHz SPARC logic chipset and the SPARCstation 2 board design. These licensees could then supply SPARC-compatible system vendors, opening the floodgates for clones. The SPARCstation 2, with its CY7C601 processor running at 40 MHz and delivering roughly 28.5 MIPS, became one of the most widely cloned designs.

Commodore 64 Hardware Reference

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

For anyone working on Commodore 64 hardware, Ray Carlsen’s website is the absolute bible for technical documentation.

Ray Carlsen’s Commodore Reference

Ray Carlsen maintains an authoritative Commodore 64 hardware resource with detailed technical documentation covering:

Power supply repairs and replacements
Common failure modes and diagnostics
Component-level repair guides
Schematics and technical specifications

This is an essential bookmark for anyone serious about Commodore restoration.

Resource: https://www.portcommodore.com/rcarlsen/

Commodore SX-64 Schematics

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The Commodore SX-64 was the first full-color portable computer, released in 1984. It was essentially a Commodore 64 built into a portable case with a 5-inch color CRT monitor and a built-in 1541 floppy disk drive.

These schematics are invaluable for repair and restoration work on the SX-64.

Download

Download SX-64 Schematics (ZIP, 20MB)

Compaq Portable BIOS Diskettes

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Compaq computers of the Portable II and Portable III era did not have BIOS modification screens built into ROM as became the standard in the industry. With most machines, you can hold some combination of keys on the keyboard while the machine is booting up and get to a configuration screen before DOS loads. Compaq machines, however, use a different strategy.

The only way to change BIOS variables on these machines is to boot the Compaq Diagnostics Diskette, which then provides the user interface to make changes to the BIOS. If you don’t have that diskette, you aren’t going to be successful with a Compaq Portable II or Portable III.

IBM PCjr Resources

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The IBM PCjr has a dedicated community of enthusiasts who have created invaluable resources for restoration and upgrades.

Mike Brutman’s PCjr Page

Mike Brutman’s comprehensive PCjr resource is the absolute authority on all things PCjr. The site features active community forums and detailed technical content covering everything from basic setup to advanced modifications.

Resource: https://www.brutman.com/PCjr/pcjr.html

TexElec

TexElec manufactures specialized boards for the PCjr including the JRIDE (Jr IDE Board), which allows you to add IDE storage to your PCjr. The owner is responsive and proactive with customer support.

Indy Retro-Reimagined Display

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This project documents the transformation of a Sun LCD monitor into a retro-styled display matching the iconic teal aesthetic of Silicon Graphics Indy workstations from the 1990s.

Donor Monitor

Like the NeXT display project, this build starts with a Sun LCD Monitor Model 365-1432-01 from the 2000s era. With its 1280x1024 native resolution, it works perfectly with both Silicon Graphics and NeXT workstations.

Color Selection

The SGI Indy came in two color schemes: the iconic Teal Blue and a Stone finish that matched period-appropriate keyboards and mice. After examining paint samples, I decided I had a much better shot at recreating the Teal Blue rather than the Stone finish.

NeXT Retro-Reimagined Display

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This project describes the transformation of a Sun LCD monitor into a retro-styled NeXT display that never actually existed in the original NeXT product line.

The Problem

When restoring a NeXTstation Color, finding an appropriate period display can be challenging. Original NeXT monitors are rare and expensive. Using a modern LCD works functionally but detracts from the vintage computing experience. Even pairing it with an authentic Sun monitor didn’t quite feel right for showcasing the NeXTstation.

Resetting IDPROM on Sun Workstations

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This guide provides instructions for reprogramming the IDPROM (Identification PROM) on various Sun workstation models, including sun4c, sun4m, sun4d, and sun4u architectures.

The IDPROM contains critical system identification information including the machine type, Ethernet MAC address, and serial number. When the NVRAM battery dies (which happens on all Sun workstations eventually), this information is lost and must be reprogrammed.

Prerequisites

Before attempting IDPROM modification, document your existing IDPROM data if possible:

Silicon Graphics Parts Sources

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Finding parts for Silicon Graphics workstations can be challenging. These vendors specialize in vintage SGI equipment.

Ira Moser

Ira Moser maintains a collection of vintage SGI equipment salvaged from defense contractors. Direct contact is recommended for specialty items that may not be listed.

Resource: http://www.meco.org/catalog/

SGI Depot

SGI Depot offers comprehensive inventory listings and is a good resource for specialized equipment searches.

Resource: http://www.sgidepot.co.uk/sgidepot/vw.html

Sun Hardware Reference Guide

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This comprehensive reference guide covers Sun workstation hardware specifications and technical details.

Sun Hardware Reference

The Sun FAQ and hardware reference provides detailed information about Sun workstation models, specifications, and technical documentation.

Resource: http://www.alyon.org/InfosTechniques/informatique/SunHardwareReference/sunfaq.html

SunOS 4.1 Using DNS without NIS

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This document describes modifying the shared C library on SunOS 4.1.x systems to use DNS resolution via /etc/resolv.conf instead of NIS-based hostname lookups.

Prerequisites

Superuser access required
“SHLIB CUSTOM” package installed via SunInstall or add_services
Properly configured /etc/resolv.conf file
Ability to verify with /usr/etc/nslookup

Step-by-Step Procedure

1. Create Working Directory

cd /usr/lib/shlib.etc
mkdir tmp
cd tmp

2. Extract Library Objects

Extract position-independent code objects and remove symbol definitions:

ar x ../libc_pic.a
rm __.SYMDEF
mv rpc_dtablesize. rpc_dtablesize.o
mv rpc_commondata. rpc_commondata.o
mv xccs.multibyte. xccs.multibyte.o
ar x /usr/lib/libresolv.a

The resolver library objects are already position-independent and can be merged safely.

ZuluSCSI Storage Solutions

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

ZuluSCSI boards provide an excellent solution for replacing aging SCSI hard drives in vintage workstations. These boards emulate SCSI devices using SD cards or other modern storage.

Why ZuluSCSI

For workstation storage solutions, ZuluSCSI offers:

Reliable operation with vintage SCSI controllers
Drag-and-drop functionality for disk and CD images
No moving parts means silent, cool operation
Easy backup and restore of entire drive images

Where to Buy

ZuluSCSI boards are available from Rabbit Hole Computing:

Sun SPARCstation Voyager

Tue, 24 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The SPARCstation Voyager, introduced in 1994, stood out as a portable computing solution, differing from the traditional laptop. Its notable feature was the capability to run on rechargeable batteries for several hours, making it an ideal choice for those in need of a fully functional UNIX workstation that could be conveniently transported. It found widespread use in scenarios like software demonstrations, where sales engineers could effortlessly carry the machine and set it up within minutes. The Voyager was available in several configurations, including options with black and white LCD, color LCD, or a headless variant compatible with a standard Sun color monitor.

NCR PC4

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The NCR PC4 was introduced by NCR Corporation in 1985. It was one of the early entries into the burgeoning personal computer market and was designed to compete with established players such as IBM and Compaq. The PC4 was marketed primarily to business users, focusing on its reliability and design. I believe it was used a lot in the banking industry.

The PC4 featured an Intel 8088 microprocessor and 5 ISA expansion slots. It came in many configurations, including a two-floppy drive configuration, one floppy drive, and one hard disk configuration. The PC4 supports up to 640Kb of RAM, with 256K on the motherboard. Its compatibility was not perfect, and later NCR released the PC4/i that improved on some of the compatibility issues. Some say the “/i” referred to “really IBM compatible.”

Post 3

Wed, 15 Mar 2023 11:00:00 -0700

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Wed, 15 Feb 2023 10:00:00 -0700

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Post 1

Sun, 15 Jan 2023 09:00:00 -0700

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Bootable Compact Flash Card for IBM PCjr

Sat, 19 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This guide documents the process of creating a bootable compact flash card for the IBM PCjr. Using a CF card as a hard drive replacement provides reliable, silent storage for your vintage PCjr.

Requirements

40-pin IDE to Compact Flash adapter (not 44-pin!)
Compact Flash card (I used a 15GB SanDisk II)
DOS 3.3 boot floppy disks
Power connection for the adapter

Important: Make sure you get a 40-pin IDE adapter, not a 44-pin. Lesson learned the hard way. These are available on eBay for around $6.

IBM PCjr

Sat, 19 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The PCjr, launched in March of 1984, was the first home computer produced by IBM. IBM envisioned that home users wanted a game machine that could also be used by business professionals at home.

Background

The PCjr had major problems in the market. IBM likely got into the home computer market a bit early for such a staid company. They already had the iconic IBM PC (Model 5150) on the market but sold at a much higher price point and targeted at businesses. At the same time, Apple was selling the Apple II, straddling the school, home, and business markets. The Commodore 64 was a wild success in the home, mostly as a game machine, but was pretty useless as a business machine for all but the simplest tasks.

Retrobright: Science and Philosophy

Sun, 16 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Retrobright is a technique for bleaching old, yellowed plastic back to its original or near-original color. The yellowing that affects vintage computer plastics occurs due to a chemical reaction in ABS plastic when exposed to heat and ultraviolet light over time.

For those interested in the detailed chemistry behind this deterioration, the Hackaday article “The Retrobright Mystery” provides an excellent technical explanation.

Most Affected Systems

Certain computer models suffer particularly badly from discoloration. Apple IIs, Osbornes, and Ataris are among the worst, often turning a horrible yellow color that bears little resemblance to their original appearance.

About

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

About Me

Todd Vernon, Curator and Restoration Practitioner

Todd is a former hardware and software engineer who worked on X-Planes at NASA. He has extensive experience as a software engineer for multiple companies, Internet entrepreneur, and CEO who founded three tech companies in the Boulder, Colorado area.

After retiring in 2018 following the sale of VictorOps to Splunk, Todd has dedicated himself to restoring vintage computers from the 1970s through 1990s in his Workshop, Wrecking Crew Labs.