Technical deep-dives into the operating systems, networking, and software that powered classic workstations and computers.
Technology Articles
Technical articles about vintage computing systems and software
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Between two Sun workstations: decoding the X11 wire protocol
What an xterm actually does on the wire during startup, captured between two Sun workstations and decoded byte-by-byte the morning of the capture, by Swift code that didn't exist the night before. The first piece of a Mac-native X server.
Trust Me, You Want SunOS 4.1.4 on Your Older Sun Boxes
How SVR4 STREAMS imposes per-packet overhead the IPX's BSD-based SunOS 4 stack doesn't pay - and why it shows up as interactive feel
Interactive Sun IDPROM Reset Tool — M48T02 / M48T08 / M48T59
Interactive web tool that automatically generates the OpenBoot mkp commands to reprogram the IDPROM after replacing or battery-modding any Sun timekeeper NVRAM chip — M48T02, M48T08, M48T18, M48T35, M48T59 — on a SPARCstation.
Bench Tools for Vintage Computer Repair
What you actually need on the bench to bring an old computer back to life, and a rough order to acquire it in. From a soldering iron and braid through a logic analyzer and a known-good test rig.
Commodore 64 250407 Visual Parts Locator
Five labeled diagrams of the 250407 breadbin board — ports, custom chips, RAM, and glue logic — with U-numbers that line up with Ray Carlsen's symptom guide
Commodore 64 Community Resources
The people, places, and projects that keep the Commodore 64 platform alive in 2026 — repair experts, modern-hardware vendors, archives, and forums
Commodore 64 Socketing Parts
Mouser part numbers for the DIP sockets and the 2114 color SRAM I use when socketing chips on a 250407 board
Commodore DOS Quick Reference
The handful of Commodore DOS commands you actually use on a 1541 — load, save, format, delete, reset
DIMM Pusher Tool
A 3D-printed tool that seats DIMM modules evenly in tight workstation chassis
NeXT Color Y-Cable to VGA
Wiring diagram for building a NeXTstation Color Y-cable that splits 13W3 video to VGA and DB19 keyboard/mouse to the SoundBox
NeXT Workstation Resources
Curated reference links for restoring and modifying NeXT workstations — pinouts, keyboard protocol, parts, and vendor sources
The IBM Buckling Spring Keyboard
How the famous IBM Model F and Model M keyboards produce their iconic click-clack sound, and a look at the rare Space Saving Keyboard variant
Bi-Color LED Daughter Card for ZuluSCSI
A small daughter card that repurposes the front-panel power LED on Sun workstations to also indicate drive access, using an RGB LED and an XOR gate driven by the ZuluSCSI accessory output
Image Security and Checksums
How to verify the SHA1 checksum of a disk image downloaded from oldsilicon.com before booting it on a classic workstation connected to your home network
IRIX 6.5 Disk Image Notes
README for the IRIX 6.5 prototype disk images hosted on oldsilicon.com — SGI Indy and Indigo, default accounts, networking via EZSetup or CLI, custom toolchest, and preinstalled GNU tools from the IRIX Freeware CD
Solaris 2.6 Disk Image Notes
README for the Solaris 2.6 prototype disk images hosted on oldsilicon.com — security, networking setup, CDE, preinstalled compilers and GNU tools, and the full /usr/local/bin listing
SunOS 4.1.4 (Solaris 1.1.2) Disk Image Notes
README for the SunOS 4.1.4 / Solaris 1.1.2 prototype disk images hosted on oldsilicon.com — sun4c machines, DNS-without-NIS patched libc, Motif 1.2 + mwm, X11R5/R6/OpenWindows, preinstalled GNU tools and gcc 2.8.1
Why is my Disk Image boot so slow?
Diagnosing slow boots when using one of the downloadable disk images — RPC timeouts from an unconfigured network, defective SD cards, and non-contiguous image writes
ZuluSCSI Overview
ZuluSCSI is a solid-state direct replacement for a physical SCSI drive, well suited to retro computers. Performance, SD card convenience, multiple SCSI targets per board, and mounting tips
cmacs: A Cross-Platform Terminal Editor for Vintage Unix
A portable terminal editor built from scratch in C++ that compiles and runs on SunOS, Solaris, IRIX, NetBSD, Linux, and macOS
Locked Out: Clearing the Firmware Password on Vintage Sun Workstations
How to bypass and clear a firmware password on Sun SPARCstations and Ultras when the timekeeper chip has lost its memory
Burning a New SPARCstation 1 PROM
How to upgrade the OpenBoot PROM on a SPARCstation 1 using a MiniPRO TL866II Plus programmer
Sun Boot ROM and Firmware Image Archive
Downloadable OpenBoot PROM and firmware images for Sun workstations and servers
Last OpenBoot PROM Versions for Sun Workstations
Reference table of the final OBP firmware versions available for each Sun workstation model
Fixing a Corrupted TOD Clock on SunOS 4.1.4
How to recover a SunOS 4.1.4 system that won't boot after setting a modern date corrupted the time-of-day chip
CDE Keyboard Repeat Rate on Solaris 2.6
How to increase the keyboard repeat rate in CDE on Solaris 2.6 by configuring Xsun server options
Compile Time Comparisons Across Vintage and Modern Hardware
Benchmarking C++ compile times across Sun workstations, SGI machines, Raspberry Pis, and modern desktops
DOS Networking with mTCP
Getting vintage DOS machines online using packet drivers and Mike Brutman's mTCP TCP/IP stack
Getting SunOS 4.1.4 Working
Notes on installing and configuring SunOS 4.1.4 on real hardware, including networking, DNS, X11, and GCC
Replacing a Sun IPX Power Supply with a Mini ATX
How to replace a failed Sun SPARCstation IPX power supply with an inexpensive TF400 Mini ATX supply
M48T02 Timekeeper External Battery Mod
How to add an external coin cell battery to M48T02 timekeeper chips
ZuluSCSI Disk Images
Getting started with ZuluSCSI disk images for vintage workstations
The Rise and Fall of SPARCstation Clones
When Sun had competition from its own architecture
Commodore SX-64 Schematics
Complete schematic diagrams for the Commodore SX-64 portable computer
Compaq Portable BIOS Diskettes
BIOS configuration utilities for Compaq Portable II and Portable III computers
IBM PCjr Resources
Essential online resources for IBM PCjr restoration and upgrades
Indigo Retro-Reimagined Display
Converting a Sun LCD monitor into an SGI Indigo-styled purple/blue display
Indy Retro-Reimagined Display
Converting a Sun LCD monitor into an SGI Indy-styled teal display
NeXT Retro-Reimagined Display
Converting a Sun LCD monitor into a NeXT-styled display that never existed
Resetting IDPROM on Sun Workstations
How to reprogram the IDPROM on sun4c, sun4m, sun4d, and sun4u workstations
Silicon Graphics Parts Sources
Where to find parts for SGI workstation restoration
Sun Hardware Reference Guide
Technical reference for Sun workstation hardware
SunOS 4.1 Using DNS without NIS
How to modify the shared C library on SunOS 4.1.x to use DNS resolution without NIS
Bootable Compact Flash Card for IBM PCjr
How to create a bootable compact flash card with DOS for the IBM PCjr
Retrobright: Science and Philosophy
Understanding the chemistry of yellowed plastic and the case for restoration