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IBM PS/2 Model 70P

D

Denniske1976

Experienced Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
480
Location
The Netherlands
Hi guys,

Went to pick up an old PS/2 Model 70P yesterday... still in working condition and I have to be honest it actually looks like new!! No discoloration or yellowing, even came with the original bag. Model number says 8573-121, booted it and it's got 8MB of RAM, a 120MB harddisk and 386-20MHz processor. So it seems to be pretty original, they put on DOS 6.2 and some other utils. Now I was thinking, I have OS/2 version 3.00 original in the box somewhere. Since it's a 386 with 8MB of RAM, would it be able to handle this? Or is this more like something for the 486 based models?

Otherwise I'll downgrade it to the original DOS version, I have all of them around (might go for PC-DOS 4 or 5 maybe). The screen is also bright as can be, never thought that about a plasma screen. It cost me a bit (50 euros) but I'm very pleased with it and especially since it seems to have had very little use, even the inside is just too clean and dust-free for a computer this age :)

So, go for OS/2 or stick with PC-DOS?

Also, there's a port on the back to connect external storage, as in external 5.25 floppy drive. Weird thing is, I have one of those but it's got a different plug on the data cable (came with my PS/2 Model 60). It looks like kind of an LPT connector while the connector on the 70P is square with only 6 pins (I think). Would be nice if I could connect an external 5.25 floppy drive so I could tranfer some old software from 5.25 to 3.5 to my newer PC and archive it there. Anything on the external drives that I can use?

Dennis
 
Years and years ago I wrote a DMA driver for OS/2 running on the model 70 (a 3party DMA board). So yes, it can run OS/2, in fact I believe that was what it was meant to run as far as IBM is concerned. But which OS/2 version.. that I don't remember.

-Tor
 
They're cool machines! I have one as well, with the bag, and in similar condition. All except for the lower-right clip that holds the screen in place - that is broken, unfortunately (and the floppy doesn't work, but that's hardly unfamiliar w/ these particular machines, even if they were lightly used and stored correctly!)

One of these days, I'm hoping to find a donor machine to fix my screen. And I'll get around to fixing the internal floppy drive as well.

Too many projects, not enough time... :)
 
Yeah I've read about that floppy problem. Seen a drive on eBay, so if mine's broke I'll pick one up. They should be replaced easily (as in: remove cover and click drive out).

Will have a go at it tomorrow, it is a really cool machine and very portable actually :) Old "real" laptops always have their batteries gone and this one is DC only ;-)
 
I basically had a pseudo Model 70 for a few years (a Model 50Z with 386 upgrade card). Neat case, but 3 slots was a bit limiting. The Model 80 had more room, but alas, non-standard memory.
 
Yep I got one too. Nice machines. My original floppy went south as many have pointed out. I have a 2.88 in place and it works great. But don't expect to get 2.88 capacity the BIOS limits it to 1.44. As to which OS? I say go with OS/2 3.00 or OS/2 2.11 They are both good OS's but 3.00 AKA Warp looks cooler. But with the red plasma it will be hard to tell the subtleness of the colors. In the end it's up to you.
 
Hey guys,

Thanx for the replies... will try OS/2 3.00 tonight or tomorrow, reverting to PC-DOS is done fairly easy anyway. And since I have this OS/2 package still in 3.5" disk format (dunno how much floppies, never opened the box) it's a good test for that floppy drive as well ;-)

@tezza: Yeah, I've read your blog about the 70P and OS/2... pretty much everything else on your blog too (while at work, good thing my boss was away). Some very interesting stuff you have there, always nice to read up on other's experiences. And I found that blog about reviving a dead DALLAS battery very helpful too.

@ChromeDome: We'll see how it turns out, using OS/2 3.00 on that plasma screen. I was a bit more concerned about having 8MB of RAM and using OS/2 3.00, might be a bit too much of an OS for only 8MB (I remember Win 3.11 only ran about adequate with 8 megs, and OS/2 is really 32-bit while 3.11 isn't).

BTW: My Model 60 (the 286 in tower-case, like the Model 80) is running OS/2 1.10 Extended Edition and that works pretty well with only 2MB of RAM :)
 
Well, had installed OS/2 last night... version 3.00 (was about 14 disks). But I removed it again, while it doesn't run bad at all, I noticed the version of 3.00 I have is DUTCH!! WTF?!?!?! I HATE TRANSLATED SOFTWARE!! :wow:

So now I'll revert to DOS 5, have that around. First I dug up some PC-DOS 5.02 disks I have (two sets) and those are Dutch as well! Ugh, never liked Dutch software because everything has a different name. Even today we use English software on servers (except Terminal Servers because users want Dutch localised dekstops "just like at home").

I have a DOS 3.30 version in English, but somehow it won't work with the 120MB harddisk?? Are there any limitations to that version? Because I can FDISK the harddisk (max = 115MB) but when I reboot and want to format the disk there's a "Error formatting disk". And the disk is OK because I can use the whole disk and install OS/2 3.00 (with HPFS filesystem) without problems. On the other hand, DOS 3.30 won't even use the EMS/XMS anyways so I don't want that one on. I guess DOS 4 or 5 would be a good way to go.

DAMN! Have to go find some PC-DOS 5 disks in English. Even the verion of DOS 4.01 I have is Dutch... so I have about every version but the only ENglish ones are 2.10, 3.21 and 3.20 :confused:

@Chromedome45: I noticed mine has a 2.88MB floppy drive in it as well. I asked about it and they told me nothing was ever fixed or replaced on the machine. The blue release switch says "2.88" however. So did yours have a "1.44" originally then? Or did they just put in 2.88 drives and BIOS does the rest in a "who cares anyway" fasion?
 
Denniske1976 said:
I have a DOS 3.30 version in English, but somehow it won't work with the 120MB harddisk?? Are there any limitations to that version? Because I can FDISK the harddisk (max = 115MB) but when I reboot and want to format the disk there's a "Error formatting disk". And the disk is OK because I can use the whole disk and install OS/2 3.00 (with HPFS filesystem) without problems. On the other hand, DOS 3.30 won't even use the EMS/XMS anyways so I don't want that one on. I guess DOS 4 or 5 would be a good way to go.
Click to expand...
That's because DOS 3.3 doesn't support partitions over 32mb max. The only version that does is Compaq DOS 3.3.
I had to learn that the hard way, just like you have. :) I usually end up going to DOS 4.01 or 5.
 
Aha! That's why my HeadStart came with "it's own" DOS 3.31, since it's got a 40Meg harddrive.

Well, I'll be digging out some DOS 4 or 5 then (hope I can find 5, I was really pleased with EDIT replacing Edlin BITD when 5 came out). I do have an English version of MS-DOS 5.00 so I could install that one together with Windows 3.1 or something. We'll see.

Another question, though... since I forgot that one: I can't, for the love of it, get the backslash working :confused: The keyboard was setup as NL, 850 codepage in DOS 6.2 that was on it originally. The weird thing is, the backslash is right below the slash, in a kind of "modern-laptop-you-have-to-do-FN+slash-to-get-a-backslash" way. Tried CTRL+/ and also CTRL+ALT+/ but nothing comes on. I haven't tried CTRL+SHIFT+/ btw, might that be the one? But anyhoo, anyone know how to get the "little" characters work? There's more of them below most of the numeric keys (top row above the QWERTY, from 1-0), stuff like pounds sterling, 1/4, 1/2 etc are also there.
 
Uhm... is there any way to check if mine does 2.88 then? From what I see in spec sheets etc it should be 1.44M but it's strange why they put in a 2.88 then. Would be really cool if mine would do 2.88, just imagine the world of possibilities that lay ahead ;-)

Or can I just format one of those 3M 2.0M IBM format floppies to get 2.88M? Using DOS 5 or something, or is that really PC DOS or IBM proprietary? Tried todownload the reference disk to see if I can get anything of a configuration printed, but every link seems to be dead (they all link back to ftp.ibm.com). I do have a reference disk with it but that one's bad (hmmmkay) because it won't be read when inserted :-(

I do have OS/2 1.1 Extended in English BTW, would that be worth installing on the P70? Because I think that was meant for 286 computers (16-bit OS) since I can use it on my Model 60.
 
Well, installed MS-DOS 5.00 (and PC Tools 7.1 as well). PC Tools SI.EXE (System Information) reports a 1.44M disk drive, so I guess they'd just put in what they had around, since obviously this would be the factory installed drive. It says 2.88M on the button and is limited to 1.44M by the BIOS I guess. I have to say, I think it's kind of sloppy from IBM. You'd expect some more precision with this (like at least get a 1.44M button on the drive).

Now to find out how to get that \ working... maybe I'll get Windows on as well. Always liked MS-DOS 5.00, I think one of the best versions.

What I did notice BTW: The thing somehow keeps time but it's somehow at uhm... stand still? :confused: When I first booted the computer yesterday to install OS/2, I set time and date (because it was 2 days behind and at 12:43). Yesterday I set it at 13-10-2011 and 22:53 and today it was STILL at 13-10-2011 and 22:53!! WTF?!?! I've seen computers not keeping date/time, but they always reverted back to jan 01, 1980.
 
Denniske1976 said:
What I did notice BTW: The thing somehow keeps time but it's somehow at uhm... stand still? :confused: When I first booted the computer yesterday to install OS/2, I set time and date (because it was 2 days behind and at 12:43). Yesterday I set it at 13-10-2011 and 22:53 and today it was STILL at 13-10-2011 and 22:53!! WTF?!?! I've seen computers not keeping date/time, but they always reverted back to jan 01, 1980.
Click to expand...
When I read that, I thought to myself, that sounds just like the problem we saw in our business' model 50Zs many years ago. The answer was to load IBM's DASDDRVR.SYS driver. See http://ohlandl.ipv7.net/SCSI/dasddrvr.html for more info. Unfortunately, according to that page, the clock issue is not known of on the model 70P (8573), although to note is that DASDDRVR.SYS does correct one model 70P issue.

Something worth trying is to use the IBM version of DOS 5, not the PC version.
 
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