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IBM PS/2 Model 80 (Type 8580-321)

T

trmg

Experienced Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2016
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Northern California
I gave my friend lutiana some help with sorting and cataloging a majority of the stuff from his storage haul. One of the ways he conveyed his thanks for my help was by giving me this IBM PS/2 Model 80 (Type 8580-321) from the hoard. It's my first dive into the PS/2 world and I'm pretty excited about it! I've read about them and used them in school (though not this particular model), but never had one to take apart/rebuild and really get neck deep into. I am a very visual person, so here are some pics (click them for a larger version)!





Here are the specs (as far as I understand it):


  • 386DX 20 MHz CPU, no co-processor
  • 4 MB onboard RAM (two 2 MB cards)
  • 4 MB RAM via an Enhanced 80386 Memory Expansion card (one stick @ 4 MB)
  • IBM PS/2 SCSI Adapter
  • Two Type 0661 50-pin SCSI hard drives. One 320 MB and one 400 MB.
  • IBM PC Network Baseband card

As you can see, the foam on the side panel is in the process of decomposing. It's very sticky/gooey. Not fun when it gets on my hands and/or clothes. That is something I will address when I am able to. My main goal is to get the thing reliably functioning. It powers up and will boot from floppy without issue. The 400 MB hard drive seems to be bad. It repeatedly clicks when the SCSI adapter tries to ready the drive, and the system detects that drive as a 25 MB drive. The 320 MB drive seems OK, but if I leave the machine off for an extended period of time (like overnight) it will not boot from it without a bit of poking/prodding. So, I think my first order of business is to buy a new CMOS battery. Hoping to pick one up today or tomorrow. Then I'll go from there...

My goals with this machine after I've got it working somewhat reliably as is are:


  1. Max out the CPU and add the appropriate co-processor.
  2. Max out the RAM on the expansion card to 16 MB.
  3. Add an Ethernet based NIC of some sort.
  4. Add the largest capacity hard drive the controller will support.
  5. Add a sound card, maybe? I don't know what options are out there for MCA.

Any advise/information fellow PS/2ers are willing to share I am all ears (or eyes, I guess :D).

Definitely more to come...
 
You may not be thanking me in a few months when you've spent your kids college fund on MCA cards that you "just gotta have"

Still that's a great looking machine, and welcome the joy that is IBM PS/2!
 
T-R-A said:
You may want to check this page out concerning the above:

http://www.mcamafia.de/mcapage0/scsi1gb1.htm
Click to expand...

Thanks! If I'm identifying the SCSI controller correctly, I have the "IBM SCSI adapter with cache /A old".

It looks like I have SCSI BIOS EPROMs 64F4376 & 64F4377. So I'd need to replace these with 92F2244 & 92F2245 respectively.

What are the chances of finding these? Should I just plan on buying a couple of 1 GB drives? :D
 
trmg said:
Thanks! If I'm identifying the SCSI controller correctly, I have the "IBM SCSI adapter with cache /A old".

It looks like I have SCSI BIOS EPROMs 64F4376 & 64F4377. So I'd need to replace these with 92F2244 & 92F2245 respectively.

What are the chances of finding these? Should I just plan on buying a couple of 1 GB drives? :D
Click to expand...

I've got a way to burn EEPROMs, so if you can work out what type you need and we can find the BIOS in question we can make you a set. Check out minuszerodegrees.com, neat the end of the page is list of the ROM images he has, perhaps the needed ones are there.
 
I have 3 of those Model 80 towers, quite nice once you clean off the black sludge. Mine came with a boatload of cards and even a CPU upgrade plus an IBM WORM drive. I do wish I had some bezels to use an internal CDROM in my third unit. Floppy drive working?
 
Unknown_K said:
I have 3 of those Model 80 towers, quite nice once you clean off the black sludge. Mine came with a boatload of cards and even a CPU upgrade plus an IBM WORM drive. I do wish I had some bezels to use an internal CDROM in my third unit. Floppy drive working?
Click to expand...

Today I discovered a benefit of the black sludge...a security feature. One of my kids had black sticky fingertips. Knew exactly where he had been. :D
 
Unknown_K said:
I have 3 of those Model 80 towers, quite nice once you clean off the black sludge. Mine came with a boatload of cards and even a CPU upgrade plus an IBM WORM drive. I do wish I had some bezels to use an internal CDROM in my third unit. Floppy drive working?
Click to expand...

Yes, amazingly the floppy drive works without any intervention on my part! I managed to get the 320 MB hard drive formatted and installed MS-DOS 6.22 & Windows 3.11. That hard drive is on its way out though. The system won't boot from it until it's "warmed up". It's very weird. If I turn on the system cold, the drive will make some not-so-good clicks and I'll get a nasty error code on the display. If I walk away from it for a few minutes and power-cycle the system, drive works beautifully.
 
trmg said:
If I turn on the system cold, the drive will make some not-so-good clicks and I'll get a nasty error code on the display. If I walk away from it for a few minutes and power-cycle the system, drive works beautifully.
Click to expand...

I would guess that the bearing lubricant has decomposed into a sticky mess and won't let the motor spin until it gets warm. You can verify this by using a heat gun on the motor on the bottom of the drive to warm it up a bit and then turn the drive on. If the drive starts working then you know the lubricant is expired.

Another possibility is the lubricant settled at the bottom of the bearing, you can try running the drive upside down and see if that allows it to start the first time. I have a couple of quantum drives with this problem, they run fine all day upside down but won't budge if upright.

In either case, it's not really possible to replace the lubricant unless you want to sacrifice the drive for science. You can try drilling a small hole in the center of the motor very slowly and see if you can find the spindle shaft. If you do find it, you can drill another hole close to it and then force new lubricant into it to flush the old stuff out. I'd recommend 3-n-1 oil and not use something like WD-40.
 
I had a couple of these a few years back. The goo plus lack of HDDs/FDDs and general frustration were too much to handle. :)

Enjoy! Having a working specimen is rare nowadays!
 
Max out the CPU and add the appropriate co-processor.
Click to expand...
You will neeed to do a crystal swap. You can't do a simple chip swap to get a speed boost. No issues with adding a co-processor though.

Max out the RAM on the expansion card to 16 MB.
Click to expand...
If you can find an MCA memory board that supports 16mb that is great, else you will need two boards maxed at 8mb (or was that one at 8mb and the other 4mb?)
Anyways, 16mb is a hard limit and the SLC memory boards are unobtanium.

Add an Ethernet based NIC of some sort.
Click to expand...
If you are not picky I believe The Hackery has boards for sale. Drop them an email. ;)

Add the largest capacity hard drive the controller will support.
Click to expand...
If you won't want to open a can of worms, don't go bigger than 2gb which will already be overkill for a 386.

Add a sound card, maybe? I don't know what options are out there for MCA.
Click to expand...
Everyone who grabs an MCA PS/2 wants to do it for gaming. It's a really bad choice, primarily because sound cards are uncommon and fetch high ($150+) prices.

Deal with the decaying foam now. It will save you a mess later. Grab a putty knife and scrape it off.
Also if your floppy drive works now, don't expect it for much longer. There's several SMD capacitors on the back of the drive that once they leak the drive will start throwing weird read/write errors and eventually start failing at POST.

Those IBM SCSI drives are always hit an miss. I've had good luck with the 500mb+ capacity drives but below that I've always come across them either stone dead or just plain unreliable. I replaced the one in mine for a 600mb Maxtor.


Say, would you trade a blanking plate for your QIC drive? My model 80 runs AIX 1.3 which it had support under. The QIC option in my model 70 isn't compatible.
 
ardent-blue said:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2834/33941570270_390005c2a4_z.jpg

If you look directly under the PSU fan, and to the left of the floppies, you will see that the floppy controller is positively FEELTHY!!! Go at it with a Q-tip and isopropyl alcohol.

That grime is conductive...
Click to expand...

Yeah...I need to do a deep cleaning. One of these weekends I'll disassemble it and clean it best I can. I did blow it out with an air compressor. It was much worse before then. :D
 
NeXT said:
You will neeed to do a crystal swap. You can't do a simple chip swap to get a speed boost. No issues with adding a co-processor though.
Click to expand...

Oh, that's good to know. Maybe I'll just get a co-processor then. Do I need to specifically use the 20 MHz co-processor, or can I use one of them 16-33 co-processors?

If you can find an MCA memory board that supports 16mb that is great, else you will need two boards maxed at 8mb (or was that one at 8mb and the other 4mb?)
Anyways, 16mb is a hard limit and the SLC memory boards are unobtanium.
Click to expand...

The machine came with an Enhanced 80386 Memory Expansion (87F9819) that I think will do 16MB (4x4MB sticks). It currently has one 4MB stick installed. If I can find the right memory and it's not crazy expensive, I might try it.

IMAG1629.jpg

If you are not picky I believe The Hackery has boards for sale. Drop them an email. ;)
Click to expand...

I may have a NIC coming my way. If not, I'll definitely check them out! I may hit them up when I'm ready to source other MCA cards, too.

If you won't want to open a can of worms, don't go bigger than 2gb which will already be overkill for a 386.
Click to expand...

Yeah. I don't think I'll want to go beyond 2GB anyway since this machine will likely continue to run MS-DOS 6.22. Like you said, that's more than PLENTY for a 386 class system!

Everyone who grabs an MCA PS/2 wants to do it for gaming. It's a really bad choice, primarily because sound cards are uncommon and fetch high ($150+) prices.
Click to expand...

It's one of those "would like to have" things that will probably never happen. Definitely very last on my list! Unless I happen to stumble across one at a "cannot pass up" price. Something tells me that will likely not happen. :D

Deal with the decaying foam now. It will save you a mess later. Grab a putty knife and scrape it off.
Click to expand...

Is there any need to replace it? What purpose(s) does it serve?

Also if your floppy drive works now, don't expect it for much longer. There's several SMD capacitors on the back of the drive that once they leak the drive will start throwing weird read/write errors and eventually start failing at POST.
Click to expand...

Good to know. Can the capacitors be replaced? I actually have a spare floppy drive. I haven't tested it yet though. I should do that...

Those IBM SCSI drives are always hit an miss. I've had good luck with the 500mb+ capacity drives but below that I've always come across them either stone dead or just plain unreliable. I replaced the one in mine for a 600mb Maxtor.
Click to expand...

Yeah. The 400MB disk that it came with is definitely dead. The 320MB disk works great once it's warmed up! :D

Say, would you trade a blanking plate for your QIC drive? My model 80 runs AIX 1.3 which it had support under. The QIC option in my model 70 isn't compatible.
Click to expand...

Hmm. Let me think about this one. I may shoot you a PM.
 
GiGaBiTe said:
I would guess that the bearing lubricant has decomposed into a sticky mess and won't let the motor spin until it gets warm. You can verify this by using a heat gun on the motor on the bottom of the drive to warm it up a bit and then turn the drive on. If the drive starts working then you know the lubricant is expired.

Another possibility is the lubricant settled at the bottom of the bearing, you can try running the drive upside down and see if that allows it to start the first time. I have a couple of quantum drives with this problem, they run fine all day upside down but won't budge if upright.

In either case, it's not really possible to replace the lubricant unless you want to sacrifice the drive for science. You can try drilling a small hole in the center of the motor very slowly and see if you can find the spindle shaft. If you do find it, you can drill another hole close to it and then force new lubricant into it to flush the old stuff out. I'd recommend 3-n-1 oil and not use something like WD-40.
Click to expand...

Hmm. The system did come with two drives. One of the drives I cannot get to work for the life of me. Maybe I'll sacrifice it to give this a (long) shot. Though, I wonder what these drives go for as "parts" drives. Maybe I'd be better off listing it on eBay? I dunno...
 
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