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Ibm 5160

int 21h

Experienced Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2012
Messages
148
Location
Limerick, Ireland
Hi all,
I recently got an IBM XT and I have a few questions about it:
1) There's a switch at the back with has 88 written on one side and 86 on the other. My best guess is that this is for compatibility between the two processors, but I'm not sure?
2)I have a parallel to ethernet adapter. Is it possible for me to connect the XT to a network? It has PC-DOS 3.2.
3)I have tried to open debug.com but I am told "Incorrect DOS version". Is there any fix for this?
Many thanks in advance.
 
Hi all,
I recently got an IBM XT and I have a few questions about it:
1) There's a switch at the back with has 88 written on one side and 86 on the other. My best guess is that this is for compatibility between the two processors, but I'm not sure?
2)I have a parallel to ethernet adapter. Is it possible for me to connect the XT to a network? It has PC-DOS 3.2.
3)I have tried to open debug.com but I am told "Incorrect DOS version". Is there any fix for this?
Many thanks in advance.

1. Where is the switch located? On one of the ISA cards? Can you post a picture?

2. The simple answer is yes, if you search around on the forums you should find some threads on how to do it and the various limitations of this.

3. I am not sure about PC-DOS 3.2, but I know that some of the DOS flavors out there used a program called setver to get past the issue you are having. Check out this MS kb article for some info to get you started.

Welcome to the forums, you may want to post an introduction on the Introductions section :D
 
1. Where is the switch located? On one of the ISA cards? Can you post a picture?

2. The simple answer is yes, if you search around on the forums you should find some threads on how to do it and the various limitations of this.

3. I am not sure about PC-DOS 3.2, but I know that some of the DOS flavors out there used a program called setver to get past the issue you are having. Check out this MS kb article for some info to get you started.

Welcome to the forums, you may want to post an introduction on the Introductions section :D
Thanks for your quick reply :)
1) Yeah the switch is on an ISA card; in the slot furthest from the PSU.
Not the best pic but the comp is at a really awkward angle.
IMG_5817.jpg


2) Thanks I'll have a look :D

3) I'll have to wait until I find something that will let me transfer files over :p

I'll post an intro in the morning then! Really tired now :blush:
 
Thanks for your quick reply :)
1) Yeah the switch is on an ISA card; in the slot furthest from the PSU.
Not the best pic but the comp is at a really awkward angle.
IMG_5817.jpg


2) Thanks I'll have a look :D

3) I'll have to wait until I find something that will let me transfer files over :p

I'll post an intro in the morning then! Really tired now :blush:

I have no idea what that switch could be for. You'll probably need to open the machine up and look inside to see what it is hooked to. I would not mind seeing some internal pictures of it since I am very curious about what it could be for.. It is definitely not standard at any rate.

I don't think that parallel to ethernet adapter. More likely it it was used with some sort of specialized equipment that just happened to use an RJ45 like cable. Chances are if you popped it open it would just have wires translating the RJ45 pins directly to certain DB15 pins. You used to see this quite a bit in point sales type environments and in some scientific environments, though these days I'd guess most everything has switched over to USB (new stuff at least).
 
I'll open the case tomorrow then and get some pictures!
The adapter plugs straight in to a parallel port on an ISA card (which also has a serial port) and takes an RJ45, so wouldn't that mean that it should do the trick?
 
My guess is that you may have an 8086 accelerator card in there, but that's just a guess.

The "Incorrect DOS Version" message is just that. Part of every DOS distribution was also the set of utilities (e.g. DEBUG, FORMAT, etc.). You've got a mongrel--the utilities didn't come from the same version system that you're booting.
 
Incorrect DOS version means exactly that. The version of DEBUG does not match the DOS version on your boot sector. You'll have to get a set of disks in the version you prefer and reinstall so everything is the same.

BTW, SETVER doesn't work with DEBUG, even if you did have matching software, and my guess is also the accelerator board.

--T
 
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I'll open the case tomorrow then and get some pictures!
The adapter plugs straight in to a parallel port on an ISA card (which also has a serial port) and takes an RJ45, so wouldn't that mean that it should do the trick?


What adapter is it? I've had great luck with the Xircom PE3-10BT.

Take a look at mTCP - it will run great on an XT. http://www.brutman.com/mTCP


Mike
 
I'll open the case tomorrow then and get some pictures!
The adapter plugs straight in to a parallel port on an ISA card (which also has a serial port) and takes an RJ45, so wouldn't that mean that it should do the trick?

Well as I said chances are it is just like this which won't work to get you onto an ethernet network, but I most certainly could be wrong. Disconnect it and look for a model number and do a google search to be sure.
 
Got a couple of pics - it's an AST FLASHPAK-86.
IMG_5819.jpg


IMG_5820.jpg


I had a look at the board and it has an 8088 and 8086 on it. It plugs straight in to what looks like a CPU slot.

The parallel -> ethernet "adapter" I have is only a small light thing so I guess there's nothing inside that would be similar to the Xircom PE3-10BT. Thanks for the link, I'll get it on there as soon as I can get a proper adapter:)
There's also an AST bored in there which brings the RAM up to 640k (it's a 256k board); it seems to have a battery in it. Do I have to do anything special to get that working (I'v tried setting the date and it doesn't stay) or does it simply need replacing?
 
Got a couple of pics - it's an AST FLASHPAK-86.
I had a look at the board and it has an 8088 and 8086 on it. It plugs straight in to what looks like a CPU slot.

There's also an AST bored in there which brings the RAM up to 640k (it's a 256k board); it seems to have a battery in it. Do I have to do anything special to get that working (I'v tried setting the date and it doesn't stay) or does it simply need replacing?

The FlashPak thinggy may require some kinda software to utilize it's 16-bit capability, but may act as a speedup without any SW (can you determine the clock speed?). The other AST board (SixPak Plus?) most certainly needs a new battery, but may also include features other than the RTC & RAM as well.

Check the hdd for any AST software or directories and report back.

--T
 
The FlashPak thinggy may require some kinda software to utilize it's 16-bit capability, but may act as a speedup without any SW (can you determine the clock speed?). The other AST board (SixPak Plus?) most certainly needs a new battery, but may also include features other than the RTC & RAM as well.

Check the hdd for any AST software or directories and report back.

--T
Couldn't find any directories/programs that seem associated with AST. The other AST board is indeed a SixPak Plus;
Funny thing is, when I turn it on, it runs PC Tools Delux and when I quit that, it shows this:
IMG_5825.jpg
 
Yep... definitely a mongrel :)

Personally, I'd rename the existing DOS folder, SYS the hard drive, then copy over a full version of your DOS of choice. Then you've got everything already on the hard drive, and you've a full version of DOS with which to work.

BTW, that AST FlaskPak is COOL :) I love the kind've tech that uses switches to go back and forth between things! (one reason I love Commodore gear!)
 
Wow, that's a nicely loaded 5160, I'm jealous :D

The SixPak Plus has an RTC on it, but you will need the software to make it work. Get it here and yes go ahead and replace the battery, should be able to find it just about anywhere that sells batteries.

What size HDD is that?
 
Wow, that's a nicely loaded 5160, I'm jealous :D

The SixPak Plus has an RTC on it, but you will need the software to make it work. Get it here and yes go ahead and replace the battery, should be able to find it just about anywhere that sells batteries.

What size HDD is that?
The disk is 10MB; is there any easy way to copy software over to this machine? (I don't have another desktop with a 5 1/4" floppy drive)
@Maverick Thanks I'll do just that :) (once I can figure out how to copy software over :p )
 
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