Lorne
Veteran Member
I've come across a younger member (I'm not singling anyone out) who came across some IBM 5150s, 5160s, 5150s and 5153s.
The member just plugged a 5151 into a CGA card in a 5150.
I can't remember which way the toasting goes, monochrome to a CGA card, or color to a monochrome card, but one of them isn't good. (and I've got to check my mono monitor soon because I made the same damn mistake the other day).
What the younger members need to know is that this vintage stuff is not plug and play like today's stuff is.
When you get yourself a new vintage computer, there are some things you need to do before just hooking it up, and switching it on.
I'm going to start the list, and I'm sure others will add stuff.
I think we could "bump" this thread every six months or so, so that everyone sees it. (I could even use reminding once in a while.
TO DO LIST:
- If you have the equipment (a voltmeter) you should check the voltages from the power supply preferably with the board disconnected.
- For IBM 5150s and 5160s, you should inventory the cards that are installled, and check the switch settings on SW1 and SW2 to make sure they match what is installed (type of video card, amount of RAM, # of disk drives, etc) in the unit.
- If you have a hard disk drive (HDD) in the unit, don't be moving it around, until you are sure that the heads have been parked.
That's my bit.
I'm sure there's a ton of other things that should be done before flicking the power switch from off to on, so add your knowledge here, and maybe we'll save someone some grief, and some vintage computers/monitors/accesories from their death.
The member just plugged a 5151 into a CGA card in a 5150.
I can't remember which way the toasting goes, monochrome to a CGA card, or color to a monochrome card, but one of them isn't good. (and I've got to check my mono monitor soon because I made the same damn mistake the other day).
What the younger members need to know is that this vintage stuff is not plug and play like today's stuff is.
When you get yourself a new vintage computer, there are some things you need to do before just hooking it up, and switching it on.
I'm going to start the list, and I'm sure others will add stuff.
I think we could "bump" this thread every six months or so, so that everyone sees it. (I could even use reminding once in a while.
TO DO LIST:
- If you have the equipment (a voltmeter) you should check the voltages from the power supply preferably with the board disconnected.
- For IBM 5150s and 5160s, you should inventory the cards that are installled, and check the switch settings on SW1 and SW2 to make sure they match what is installed (type of video card, amount of RAM, # of disk drives, etc) in the unit.
- If you have a hard disk drive (HDD) in the unit, don't be moving it around, until you are sure that the heads have been parked.
That's my bit.
I'm sure there's a ton of other things that should be done before flicking the power switch from off to on, so add your knowledge here, and maybe we'll save someone some grief, and some vintage computers/monitors/accesories from their death.