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New member, new 5150

SkydivinGirl said:
Welcome to the community!

Heather
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Thanks!

I was very happy to stumble across this forum, because there are things I can't remember, and even some things with which I am unfamiliar. I might even be able to help out here and there. I certainly hope I can contribute something worthwhile to the forum, or at least contribute an unique perspective on occasion.

The PC is in the back of a vehicle, and I'm about to take it back home, where I'll shortly receive the keyboard I need to explore it. I genuinely can't wait to see what's on that hard drive. Even if it's nothing, It'll be fun to learn.

I picked up one more that works; it's fully populated with RAM (the other isn't, but it will be soon :D ), and has a few perks, as well as some nice parts that could be helpful if I run into a problem.

The modem will be pulled, obviously, but I'm keeping it simply because it was dropped in all those years ago. I don't even have a land line anymore, so it's of no real use.

I'm not touching it until I wrap my brain around the entire setup, though, and see how everything is arranged. The same goes for the other unit I bought pretty much for the RAM.
 
Yea my 5150 that was originally bought and used in Vermont also came stock with a intel cpu. It looks slightly different from some of the others listed here but maybe it's because it was a later model. I removed it from my system when I replaced it with a NEC V20 10Mhz and added a Intel 8087 10Mhz. Still kept it around for that software that requires it...

IMG_0139.jpg
 
I have 4ea of IBM PC 5150 (2ea) + 5160 (2ea) motherboard.

CPU : Intel 8088 (78) --> Early IBM 5150 motheboard
CPU : Intel 8088 (78/81 or 83) --> Late IBM 5150 motherboard or early IBM 5160 motherboard
CPU : AMD 8088-2 --> Late IBM 5150 motherboard or early IBM 5160 motherboard

I didn't find IBM 8088 CPU or other.
 
I don't have any 5150s, but I'm pretty sure my PCjr came with an Intel 8088 before I replaced it with a V20.
 
The next 5150 should arrive soon, which includes a full deck of RAM. I'll swap it over. After that, I'll pick up an 8087 to drop in there. I do remember the first time I got a co-processor, and it was kind of fun. I was playing Links on a 386, and it increased the draw performance dramatically. Didn't help much in other programs, but I've always wanted to drop another in, just for fun.

The most exciting arrival, however, will be the keyboard. It's showing up this week, and I'll finally be able to see what's on that mysterious hard drive. It could be fairly empty, or it could be full of fun little programs. :D

The nice thing is, the Ebay seller of the keyboard is including some helpful diagnostic software with the sale to help me explore the thing, as well as an operating system, just in case something goes wrong.

It's been an outstanding experience with him.
 
The keyboard arrived today. I didn't have too much time to explore, but that HDD is certainly not empty. The games folder alone is well populated, and there are more where that came from. :)

When I've got more time, I'll try to jot down what I find on there, and I'll have to start making backups, because there's no telling how long that drive will last. Could go forever; could go tomorrow...

We'll see.
 
My parts computer showed up today, as well. This one is fully populated with RAM, including the card, which I mean to swap to the main 5150. For all its benefits, nobody ever upgraded the RAM.

This second one only has one floppy drive, so pulling the memory won't really hurt the value. It runs (well, it ran before shipping, anyway), so I can clean it up and sell it on to get the cash back after I do the swap. I believe I will come out without actually having lost any money on the extra memory, as a result.

One funny thing:

I found, on that old hard drive, a shockingly detailed, full screen, two-frame repeating animation of a male and female human engaging in "reproductive behavior"... Not sure what I'm allowed to say here, so I kept it generalized.

The file was created in the early '80s. Give a man a pencil, and what's the first thing he will draw? :D
 
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