From: wiegand@rtsg.mot.com (Robert Wiegand)
Subject: Re: Taken delivery of an old PC... now what?
Reply-To: motcid!wiegand@uunet.uu.net
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
Distribution: comp
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1992 20:11:22 GMT

asr@castle.ed.ac.uk (Angus "Fluffy" Rae) writes:

>Yesterday a friend, knowing that I collect computers from the early
>80's, dumped an old IBM PC on me. However, knowing nothing of PCs I
>don't know exactly what I've. After a quick shufty around under the case
>here's the info I have, and I wonder if someone out there can fill in
>the blanks. The badge on the back says IBM 5150, and it boots up into
>IBM Basic version C.01, which surprised me - I expected it to complain

Real IBM machines have Basic in ROM. If no disk is found they default
to ROM Basic.

>about not having a system disc. The processor is an 8088, with a blank
>socket next to it (coprocessor)? On the board are 4 rows of Ics marked
>Bank 0 to Bank 3, which I take it is memory. Bank 0 is soldered, the
>other banks are empty sockets. (Question here is - can I fit more memory

You should be able to add more memory of the same type. You would need to
change some DIP switches for the memory to be used.

>into the sockets, and what type?) Above this are two empty IC positions
>with solder dots, marked U100 and U101. There is also an empty socket
>marked U34. (Anyone know what should/can fit in them?)

>There are three boards in the slots - one is marked
>"Black&White/Parallel" and has a 9pin socket for the monitor and an
>unknown 25 pin socket, which I assume is a parallel printer port. The

Sounds correct.

>next card is marked "Addram Plus" and also has a 9pin and a 25pin
>socket. I assume that these are serial ports of some kind, but the card

Probibly serial (9 pin) and parallel (25 pin).

>also seems to be a memory expansion of some kind. It has a large number
>of what seem to be RAM chips and a NiCad battery marked "DataSecurity".

From the card name it should be a RAM card. I'm not sure what the
battery is for, unless the card also has a clock.

>The third card is a disc controller.

>The discs are 5.25 inch but I'm not sure how much they can hold, or
>whether they can access double sided or not. 

I would guess double sided single density (360K), but they could be
single sided. You should be able to tell by visual inspection of
the heads.

>The questions I have in specific are - are early versions of DOS (that
>would fit on one 5.25 disc) available PD? Can I replace the processor

No PD versions of DOS that I know of, but you should be able to
pick up a used one pretty cheap from someone who upgraded.

>with something a little more speedy? Or is there a coprocessor around

I think NEC made compatible processors that were a little faster.
For any real speed increase you would need a new motherboard.

>that will fit in that blank socket? Does the AddRam board need some sort
>of boot software, as the Basic startup said I had 62k which seems a
>little low...? And why the heck am I bothering to do this?

If only 62K show up than I don't think its seeing the RAM board. I'm not
sure what you need to make it work.

>(I can answer the last one - because I'm mad)
>Thanks in advance...

>-- 
>Angus G Rae, the Cuddly Vampire Teddy Bear [asr@castle.edinburgh.ac.uk]
>CATHY VoiceMail, Computer Science Dept., Edinburgh University
>"I'm on the run from the Facist Police with a murderer and
> a mass murderer and a man in a bri-nylon shirt."  Rimmer, Red Dwarf V

Generally - It sounds like you have a nifty antique which is almost
useless as a real computer. Fixing it up to something more powerfull
would cost about the same as just buying a new computer. So have fun
playing with it, but don't expect much.


-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robert Wiegand - Motorola Inc.
uunet!motcid!wiegand
Disclamer: I didn't do it - I was somewhere else at the time.
Newsgroups: comp.misc