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Low Level Format routine

...I rigged a power strip with a relay that plugged into the monitor power socket on the PC. Did anyone ever make a commercial product like that--that would switch a heavy load using the PC BRS?
No idea on commercial product, but I built something very similar with a 12v triggered (off PSU 4pin molex), 120v 10amp relay which turns on a power strip, powering 21" CRT, florescent light, and speaker amp for my home made MAME arcade machine.
 
No idea on commercial product, but I built something very similar with a 12v triggered (off PSU 4pin molex), 120v 10amp relay which turns on a power strip, powering 21" CRT, florescent light, and speaker amp for my home made MAME arcade machine.

I suspect that something very similar exists for rackmount power strips. Some of the rack PDUs can be very sophisticated indeed. There's a 54 inch power strip in one of my racks (has a cord that looks like it should screw onto a sillcock) with a jumpered socket connected to an internal relay. The interesting thing is that it has a built-in 1 second delay before the (female IEC) outlets come on.
 
Can someone point me to where I can either legally download Superpak 5.1 or greater please?

I've been working with Ed most of the day via email and phone. So far so good. I actually found the PDF file that contains the rest of the info I need to set the clock and calenday, and create the autoexec entries. I did notice that modem7s web site has PDF docs for the AST series, but there doesn't appear to be much more than clock software on his site for the same cards. Any way, now that we have the hard disks properly configured, we have started working on a few other things and want to get as much done as possible tomorrow before Ed has to button up the entire system. Alice will be brought back home Saturday Morning where we will try to fully test all of the hardware for proper functionality. In the meantime though, I still need a copy of the AST Superpak software. I will even accept a floppy disk image, as long as I can use it to set up my AST card properly.

Please feel free to send me a private message too. I'll be more than happy to provide an email address for further conversation.

Thanks again.

~ BB ~
 
Can someone point me to where I can either legally download Superpak 5.1 or greater please?
I did notice that modem7s web site has PDF docs for the AST series, but there doesn't appear to be much more than clock software on his site for the same cards.
In the meantime though, I still need a copy of the AST Superpak software.
Superpak is on my web site (provided by Lorne), including the manual for Superpak.
I don't know what version the software is though. The links are on the 'manuals' page.
"AST SixPakPlus - Long version - SuperPak"
"AST SixPakPlus - Long version - SuperPak User's Manual - July '83"
 
Sweet. I was finally able to get the software I needed, but it wasn't actually on modem7's site. For some reason I still can't find the actual software for it there. However, I did locate it here:

http://ibm-pc.org/drivers/memory/memory.htm

This site has been referenced previously for other AST related wuestions, so I thought I'd pass it on. I'll try it out tomorrow and let y'all know how it works.
Thanks modem, Knowing me, I probably saw it ans somehow skimmed right over it.
 
I was finally able to get the Superpak software version I needed, but it wasn't actually on modem7's site.
Update:
Thanks again everyone. I finally found the software. I guess my Alzheimer’s is getting Alzheimer’s! I got the software downloaded and stored on my Windows 7 computer. Alice is finally home again, but Ed only got the WD controller and Control Data disk drive installed.
That means that even though the system useable, I still do not have any way to get the software onto floppy disk so I can begin loading some stuff onto Alice’s “C” drive. My old Compaq is destroyed, and was taken apart in order to use the 5 ¼” floppy in another Tweener systems rebuild! This time we are using one of two Gateway towers that were given to me a short time ago especially for that purpose. The computer is running using an Intel P4 processor, 128 Megs of RAM, with 2 hard disks. The boot disk is a 10 Gig Western Digital, and the other is a 40 Gig Seagate drive. We will have plenty of storage for my entire collection of DOS software. Not only do we have enough storage capacity, but there is a lot of space inside the towers to move around a bit.
One thing we found about both of the Gateway computers I have is that neither will accept more than one floppy disk through the BIOS. We were going to simply add the 360Kb 5 ¼” DSDD floppy to one of them and continue rebuilding around that, but since there is no real choice but to have either the 3.5” floppy drive, or the 360K; that choice was made by the system.
As of right now too, none of my computers have a 9 pin serial port either, so I’m stuck with no way to bring anything over to the 5150 for installation onto its new hard disks.
My next project is to check out a few things. First, I want to verify that all of the hardware is installed and configured properly. From what Ed has told me, we are going to need to take one day a week to work on one item. Since the most important aspect of this restoration is to enable Alice to access data on other computers on my network, I want to start with the Intel 8/16 LAN adapter, then the modem.
For now, I am just happy to have my 5150 and 5161 system back home and on its own desk, where she belongs. And, the new power center is already making it easier to boot the system. I do not have to pretend that I’m some sort of contortionist just to flip a switch. Not a bad $10.00 investment.

As I stated before, if it were not for the expansion unit, my 5150 would have been complete, but NOOOoo; I had to have ambition to make it the best possible 5150 system out there, which means that I have to have the expansion unit installed. So I accept that challenge and make it my own. Its just going to take a bit more work.

I'll keep you all updated as more progress is made.
 
As of right now too, none of my computers have a 9 pin serial port either, so I’m stuck with no way to bring anything over to the 5150 for installation onto its new hard disks.
A 25 pin serial port will do just fine as there are adapters/cables around to convert one to the other.
 
A 25 pin serial port will do just fine as there are adapters/cables around to convert one to the other.

I don't have ANY serial ports on any of the computers I currently have at home. The nearest is over at Ed's place. If I had a serial port, then connecting the PC to my Windows 7 computer would be simple. The only thing I have is being worked on as we speak. That's one of the two Gateway computers I was given last week. We'll be using the P4 and swapping out the original 3.5" floppy drive with my 360 Kb DSDD drive. We'll also be installing Windows 98SE with the Win98 Plus pack. This computer will be much more useful to me simply cecause there is room in the case to expand. Hell, there is enough room to add another 4 HDDs. It will already have a CD burner, a DVD burner the forementioned DDSD floppy drive, and 2 internal HDDs with a combined total og 80 Gigs of storage space.

When complete, I'll be able to use it as both a fintage gaming machine and as a Tweener so I can write more floppy diskettes for use with my IBM. Eventually, I'll have to spend the money and buy an XTIDE for my 5150 system. Then I'll be able to bring over more programs a lot easier, and more quickly that I can by using floppy disks.

I'll keep y'all informed on that little project too.

Wish me luck, cause here I go.
 
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I I had a serial port, then connecting the PC to my Windows 7 computer would be simple.
I have a cable that is USB on one end and parallel on the other. That's how I use my dot matrix printer with my Vista machine. I don't remember for sure but there's probably a USB to serial cable as well.
 
That's all well and good, but will that particular cable allow me to connect my 5150 to my Windows 7 computer? I was under the impression that I needed the Null Modem cable. I have one I purchased from modem7, but again, I didn't think I could simply use an adapter cable.

If that will work, I'll buy one on Monday. If not, well I guess I'll have to buy a serial port card for my Windows 7 computer.

 
Null modem is just a wiring convention. One of my favorite ways to attack that is to use a 4-head Laplink serial cable. That way you can hook DE9-to-DE9, DB25-to-DB25 or DB25-to-DE9. There were also 6-head Laplink cables that included a parallel-port-crossover as well.
 
If you get a usb-serial adapter, make sure you get one with windows 7 drivers. I got a cheap one off ebay and found it wasn't supported in W7.
 
That's all well and good, but will that particular cable allow me to connect my 5150 to my Windows 7 computer? I was under the impression that I needed the Null Modem cable. I have one I purchased from modem7, but again, I didn't think I could simply use an adapter cable.

If that will work, I'll buy one on Monday. If not, well I guess I'll have to buy a serial port card for my Windows 7 computer.
As Chuck wrote, "null modem cable" is a class of cable. It covers many different wiring configurations.
What you received from me is a specific type of cable - a Laplink serial cable (which can also be used for certain other software).

What is being implied is the use of two joined cables:
[USB]---[Serial][Serial]---serial_laplink_cable-----[serial]

Using the procedure at http://www.minuszerodegrees.net/transfer/laplink3.htm , I have not been able to get the procedure to work when a 'USB to Serial' cable is employed as above.
Using the Laplink serial cable alone to connect to a 'proper' serial port on my Windows 7 computer works.
 
Actually, no it doesn't. My Windows 7 PC has 6 USB ports in back, 2 on very top of the case up front, and one behind the "door" panel, on the front of the case that hides both optical drives, my card reader and 2 120 mm intake fans. Sorry, but there are no parallel ports, no serial ports. Only the USB and 2 Firewire connections that I have never touched. I'll actually have to contact Gigabyte to see if they have the parallel and serial port cards.

But, to be more realistic, I think the best option would be to get a 9 pin serial port PCIE express card. I doubt that I would find the ports through Gigabyte since they haven't made this particular board since I purchased it in 2010.

I don't know why you are stuck on serial ports when parallel port connections are many times faster and I know your PC has a parallel port.
 
FWIW, a PC is a... 5150. That's the machine I said has a parallel port.

And, any PCI parallel or serial port will work in the WIN 7 box.
 
Well okay--one of the issues with a serial-USB cable that confuses older software is that there is a considerable amount of buffering in the process (can be several hundred characters). If you're using software that expects the link to turn around on a dime, you're going to have problems.

When I'm sending data from a slow device, such as a PC XT, I simply set up a terminal session on my newer computer and grab everything that comes over. There's more than enough speed to do this even at the fastest rates.

When going the other way, I do the same, but slow things way down to allow the PC to collect the data.

Someone (not me) should perhaps throw some BASIC together on both ends to formalize the process. There's really no reason that this won't work.
 
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