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More 286 questions!

dongfeng

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Sorry for all of the questions lately! :oops:

Can anyone tell me what year(s?) the 286 computer was available from and until? And what Windows OS would have come on a 286 - Windows 286 I guess :lol:

I've seen what looks to be a complete 286 "insides" on eBay, and I know it will go cheap. There isn't a case though, but that's OK as I have a spare one.

What do you guys make of this:

Someone might want this. A real blast from the past 286-16Mhz mother board, with Maths coprocessor, 4MB ram, IDE card+ 2S,1P,1JS port, and a Hercules graphics card (you know green on black!). Also included are the system disk (5 1/4" floppy)**, board manual (not shown). Working when laast used, current operational status not checked. ** - if anyone does buy the board, I can convert the disk to 3.5" floppy.
e3_1.JPG
 
By the way, what "PC" system was there before the 286? The 286 is the oldest I can remember, I don't know the "name" of the one before that.. 186? 286 is the oldest I can find :)
 
The original IBM PC was an 8088 (an 8086 with an 8 bit data bus.) The PC/AT was the first 286 based machine. Compaq released the first 386 PC.

Windows 1 and 2 (286) would run on a 80286. Windows 3.0/3.1 was supposed to but really didn't work all that well on 286 machines, if at all.

Good luck!

Erik
 
Thanks Erik!

I think the 286 sounds like the best bet for running an early version of Windows (which is my plan ;))

With the parts listed and in the picture, are there any major parts missing? I can't see a processor on there (but then again, I've never opened up a PC older than my old Pentium 166!).

I have case, HDD, floppy, power pack...

It seems quite fun, building a "new" 286!
 
The motherboard looks all there including the processor and BIOS chips.

You'll need controllers for the floppies and hard drives as they aren't going to be built-in to a motherboard from that era.

If you want to run Windows you'll need an EGA or better video card and display. I think the Hercules supplied is a monochrome CGA card.

Good luck!

Erik
 
The Hercules card looks like a Hercules card (mono graphics) to me (including the parallel port)

I remember I had Windows 286 running on a hercules card too, if you can find the drivers.

But, well, buying a 286 i don't know- you'd might be able to pick up one for free on a recycling shop.
 
Ahh, disk controller... isn't that what the "IDE card+ 2S,1P,1JS port" is? :? Or is that just for the HDD? If it's not, are these disk cards easy to come by?

So the Hercules graphics card wouldn't work in Windows? I have another one I can use which should work from a 486! (but I might need to find drivers).

Jorg: I haven't seen any 286's here for sale for maybe 4 years, and I have looked! It seems most places that get them in just throw them away if it's not a Pentium... I wanna get one before they all vanish from the planet ;)

cheers!
 
The IDE card might (should) be a hard drive controller but you really want MFM or RLL for authenticity, don't you? :)

Erik
 
Re: More 286 questions!

dongfeng said:
What do you guys make of this:

Wow! 16 mHz...4Mb of RAM (with extra slots for expansion)...CP/M-86 ought to just *dance* on a machine like that. I'd grab it up if I were you, especially if ya cn get it fr just a few bucks. (Do you have any Vic-20 emulators that will run on the '286?)

--T
 
Erik said:
The original IBM PC was an 8088 (an 8086 with an 8 bit data bus.) The PC/AT was the first 286 based machine. Compaq released the first 386 PC.

Windows 1 and 2 (286) would run on a 80286. Windows 3.0/3.1 was supposed to but really didn't work all that well on 286 machines, if at all.

Good luck!

Erik

A few machines (IBM-PC compatable and otherwize) were made with 80186 processors, the most popular (probably) of which was the Tandy TRS-80 Model 2000.

Windoze 3.0 or 3.1 should run pretty well on a 16mHz '286 with 4 Mb of ram. Mostly, what made it so doggy was the hardware it was run on. (Not many of us were fortunate enough to have fast machines with lots of memory.) A "normal" 286 machine, in it's day was usually a 10mHz (or less) machine, with (if we were rich enough) 1-2Mb of RAM. Remember, it takes at least 2Mb of extended memory just to coax Win 3.1 out of real mode.

--T
 
dongfeng said:
Thanks Erik!

I think the 286 sounds like the best bet for running an early version of Windows (which is my plan ;))

With the parts listed and in the picture, are there any major parts missing? I can't see a processor on there (but then again, I've never opened up a PC older than my old Pentium 166!).

I have case, HDD, floppy, power pack...

It seems quite fun, building a "new" 286!

If you decide not to bid on it, let me know the item#, I might want to snatch it up for myself. <drool>

--T
 
dongfeng said:
So the Hercules graphics card wouldn't work in Windows?

cheers!

Yes, the Hercules card will work with Win 3.1, and the drivers for it are built-in to Windose, provided that it is an actual Hercules (brand name) card, and not a so-called "Hercules compatable" card, which will probably need a driver of it's own from it's manufacturer. The herc card is not a monochrome CGA card, but a standard all it's own, which IBM never directly supported. (Most software from the period would support Hercules modes tho.) It's (text-mode) resolution is actually the same as the VGA, which came along a few years later, and its graphics are also very good (720 x 348). See this link:

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/H/Hercules_graphics.html

--T
 
Windows 3.1(1) did not have built in hercules support, but I do have the driver on a separate diskette (if you need it, just say so).
 
Jorg said:
Windows 3.1(1) did not have built in hercules support, but I do have the driver on a separate diskette (if you need it, just say so).

Oh, sorry...my bad. (Is my memory really getting worse as I get older? I dunno, I can't remember!)

Anyways, after taking another look at the picture, my best guess is that it probably isn't a real Hercules card. It's probably a Hercules clone or even a monochrome CGA (or even EGA). The only Hercules cards I've seen were all full-length cards. (Of course, I haven't seen everything--anything's possible.) Anyways, ya might not want to run monochrome graphics on that mobo. You could go with VGA and still remain authentic. (By the time 16mHz '286s came out, the VGA standard was available as well.) Color graphics would make the best of the board's features, etc.

--T
 
Unlucky again, a minute before it was due to finish, the guy cancelled the auction :evil:

Me and eBay are always so unlucky :(
 
Re: More 286 questions!

Terry Yager said:
(Do you have any Vic-20 emulators that will run on the '286?)
I suppose VIC20.COM might, but maybe it was written with 386 or 486 assembly.

Regarding 80186 based machines, it seems to have been popular at schools - both the Unisys ICON used in Ontario and the Compis used here in Sweden run on 80186, although they internally seem to have been quite different.
 
dongfeng said:
Unlucky again, a minute before it was due to finish, the guy cancelled the auction :evil:

Me and eBay are always so unlucky :(

Dat really bytes! I hate when they do that. Must not have thought the price was good enough.

--T
 
Cancelled an auction!

Geez, do ebay sellers ever have way more rights than ebay buyers it seems.

And don't get me started about 'reserve price not yet met'

Chris
 
I could understand there was a reserve that wasn't met... at least it's fair to the buyer. But cancelling an auction is just wrong :(
 
You are right, cancelling is wrong.

I hope the seller gets a strike against them or soemthing.
The seller should be well aware what they are doing when they post something for auction.

The thing I don't like about the reserve price, is why not then put the starting bid at the reserve price then?

If the seller doesn't want to let the item go for less, then why have a lower starting bid? If the seller gets more than what they wanted they are happy, so why not start at the reserve price. just wasting people's time otherwise.

And i have heard lots of people trying to explain to me why there is a reserve price, but it never makes any sense to me.

Chris
 
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