Re: [GTALUG] sigh, hardware resources?

[Kevin Cozens via talk]

On 2023-10-21 02:19, D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk wrote:

Someone may know how to break the WinXP password from a Linux system.
If Win XP mattered, I assume that it could be re-installed.  But I
don't think Karen cares about Windows.


There is an article in Wikipedia about breaking the password of a WinXP box. 
What would be easier would be to look at the information provided about how 
to set a new password.


--
Cheers!

Kevin.

https://www.patreon.com/KevinCozens | "Nerds make the shiny things that
| distract the mouth-breathers, and
Owner of Elecraft K2 #2172  | that's why we're powerful"
#include  | --Chris Hardwick

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Re: [GTALUG] sigh, hardware resources?

[William Park via talk]

Hi Karen,

Here is what I can give you:

- Newegg says it takes DDR400.  If it can take DDR2-667, then I got 
4 x 2GB sticks for you.


- IDE 3.5" floppy drive.


On 2023-10-21 01:04, Don Tai via talk wrote:

IBM Thinkcentre M50 8189
2xP4 3.2Ghz, serial port (not tested)
similar to 
https://www.newegg.com/ibm-thinkcentre-m50-business-desktops-workstations/p/N82E16883108249 

-OEM XP install dates this to maybe  2003, so 20 years old.

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Re: [GTALUG] sigh, hardware resources?

[D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk]

Don: thanks for offering a computer to Karen.

It has an AGP slot (empty) and 3 PCI slots (empty).  Not quite old
enough for ISA.

Someone may know how to break the WinXP password from a Linux system.
If Win XP mattered, I assume that it could be re-installed.  But I
don't think Karen cares about Windows.

If I remember correctly, Win XP doesn't have include a free-standing
DOS (it is based on Windows NT).  The last Microsoft OS which included
DOS was probably Windows ME.

I wonder if any drivers are an issue for MSDOS-7.x (what Karen seems
to run).

Video drivers for DOS itself are surely not needed.  But for programs
that try to do graphicy things, a driver might be needed.  I don't
know if Karen uses a program with such needs.

Sound drivers are more of an issue.  Karen seems to want sound.  There
wasn't really a standardized way of doing sound in DOS.

Disk drives should just work, I think.

Is the drive CD and DVD?  Can it burn?  The one at newegg only reads
and only CDs.

How much RAM?  The newegg model has 512MiB -- plenty for DOS, not so
much for Linux.

How much HDD?  The newegg model has 40GB of disk -- plenty for DOS.

Karen: does this look like a computer you can use?
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Re: [GTALUG] sigh, hardware resources?

[Don Tai via talk]

IBM Thinkcentre M50 8189
2xP4 3.2Ghz, serial port (not tested)
similar to
https://www.newegg.com/ibm-thinkcentre-m50-business-desktops-workstations/p/N82E16883108249
-OEM XP install dates this to maybe  2003, so 20 years old.

It came with Win XP but is currently locked with a password that I do not
know. It can boot and run Puppy Linux 32 bit from CD. I do recall it
running but have not started it from before the pandemic. It is clean and
still looks quite stylish in all black.

Origin unknown, probably curbside, but possibly from an Indian family with
2 kids from Scarborough. I think there was a Bollywood CD in the optical
drive (Is this a feature?)

If you are interested I will start it up and look at its innards in greater
detail.

Don

If interested I will boot it up and maybe do an additional vacuuming.

On Sat, 14 Oct 2023 at 15:41, D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk 
wrote:

> | From: Karen Lewellen via talk 
>
> | In fact, the P3 or greater aspect is far more important than the ISO
> slot, if
> | that makes sense.
>
> Why do you need the power of a P III?  Generally speaking, DOS software
> was built for much weaker processors (eg. 486 or older).
>
> | Although not installing freedos, it can manage more current hardware, so
> can
> | the DOS I run to some extent.
> | www.freedos.org
>
> FreeDOS looks like a good choice: it is still maintained.
> What DOS do you use?
>
> Here are some technical requirements that may make a recent machine
> unsuitable:
>
> DOS requires a BIOS as opposed to UEFI firmware.
> For about a decade, all machines came with UEFI firmware.
> But some UEFI firmware can emulate BIOS.
>
> FreeDOS requires that the disk be formated using MBR, not GPT.
> 
>
> DOS requires disks to have 512-byte sector.  That's less common these days
> -- most current drives 4096-byte sectors.  Sometimes they can emulate
> 512-byte sectors.
>
> MBR disks are limited to 2TB or less:
> 
>
> FAT32 partitions are limited to 2TB as well:
> 
> FreeDOS has supported FAT32 since 2002 (recent, in DOS terms).
> Does your DOS support FAT32?
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Re: [GTALUG] sigh, hardware resources?

[D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk]

| From: Karen Lewellen via talk 

| In fact, the P3 or greater aspect is far more important than the ISO slot, if
| that makes sense.

Why do you need the power of a P III?  Generally speaking, DOS software 
was built for much weaker processors (eg. 486 or older).

| Although not installing freedos, it can manage more current hardware, so can
| the DOS I run to some extent.
| www.freedos.org

FreeDOS looks like a good choice: it is still maintained.
What DOS do you use?

Here are some technical requirements that may make a recent machine 
unsuitable:

DOS requires a BIOS as opposed to UEFI firmware.
For about a decade, all machines came with UEFI firmware.
But some UEFI firmware can emulate BIOS.

FreeDOS requires that the disk be formated using MBR, not GPT.


DOS requires disks to have 512-byte sector.  That's less common these days 
-- most current drives 4096-byte sectors.  Sometimes they can emulate 
512-byte sectors.

MBR disks are limited to 2TB or less:


FAT32 partitions are limited to 2TB as well:

FreeDOS has supported FAT32 since 2002 (recent, in DOS terms).
Does your DOS support FAT32?
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Re: [GTALUG] sigh, hardware resources?

[Karen Lewellen via talk]

I need one that can burn as well as read.
Indeed about the dvdr able to manage cds, play them as well as manage the 
software.

i have an entire case of writable medium for work.



On Sat, 14 Oct 2023, D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk wrote:


| From: Karen Lewellen via talk 

| A dvdr or combination cd and dvdr would be appreciated, or at least room for
| both.

Do you need a drive with the ability to "burn" or is reading enough?

As far as I know, all drives that can handle DVDs also handle CDs.

There are a whole lot of different kinds of drives:

- CD, read-only
- CD, read / write
- CD & DVD, read-only
- CD read / write, DVD read-only
- CD read / write, DVD read-write

There was a war about the way writeable DVDs should work.  The two
standards were DVD-R and DVD+R.

I think DVD+R won.  Usually you don't have to worry about this.

Then there are some drives that can handle BluRay discs.
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Re: [GTALUG] sigh, hardware resources?

[D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk]

| From: Karen Lewellen via talk 

| A dvdr or combination cd and dvdr would be appreciated, or at least room for
| both.

Do you need a drive with the ability to "burn" or is reading enough?

As far as I know, all drives that can handle DVDs also handle CDs.

There are a whole lot of different kinds of drives:

- CD, read-only
- CD, read / write
- CD & DVD, read-only
- CD read / write, DVD read-only
- CD read / write, DVD read-write

There was a war about the way writeable DVDs should work.  The two
standards were DVD-R and DVD+R.

I think DVD+R won.  Usually you don't have to worry about this.

Then there are some drives that can handle BluRay discs.
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Re: [GTALUG] sigh, hardware resources?

[Karen Lewellen via talk]

yes..she just cannot spell because the machine says them the same smiles.



On Fri, 13 Oct 2023, Scott Allen via talk wrote:


On Fri, 13 Oct 2023 at 19:56, William Park via talk  wrote:

When you say "ISO slot"... do you mean


I'm pretty sure she means ISA slot.

--
Scott
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Re: [GTALUG] sigh, hardware resources?

[Karen Lewellen via talk]

Hi,
Isa slot in a motherboard..not that this is critical.
Kare


On Fri, 13 Oct 2023, William Park via talk wrote:


When you say "ISO slot"... do you mean
- 5.25" CD/floppy slot on the front of case?
- or, ISA slot on motherboard?
--


On 2023-10-13 16:56, Karen Lewellen via talk wrote:

 I will be thankful for the options.
 Personally I find folks choices and experiences interesting.
 The bandaged machine I am typing on right now is a Pentium 2 constructed
 for me in 2008 or 2009.
 Still there is enough USB support in the bios for me to use a full sized
 USB keyboard in DOS for the very first time.
 its amazing.



 On Fri, 13 Oct 2023, Don Tai wrote:

>  Old 'puters, are a little ornery. You get what you get, and then 
>  scrounge

>  for parts to upgrade. With luck it all works out in the end, or you die
>  trying. Serial and parallel ports are a major constraint, then adding in
>  USB will get interesting. Most of my old desktops came with almost no
>  memory. In fact I've used these old biddies with as low as 500k of RAM,
>  which will run Puppy Linux and an old browser, from a CD boot.
> 
>  You will need to see if you can combine new and old worlds of PC

>  components. Usually I cannot even do a Linux boot from a USB drive.
> 
>  Let me check my stash of old PC carcasses..
> 
>  Don
> 
>  On Fri, 13 Oct 2023 at 09:30, Karen Lewellen 

>  wrote:
> 
> >  Good morning sir. Don of the possible rescue!
> >  Let me be forthright. I have not bought a computer off the shelf since 
> >  my

> >  very  first one.
> >  Instead my machines have been built from scratch, or provided with
> >  alterations made to them.
> > 
> >  What that means is that my dictionary may not match yours perfectly, 
> >  but I

> >  will try...when I doubt ask.
> >  First at least a Pentium 3,  I can be flexible on processor speed as 
> >  I

> >  have utilities working around some of the DOS barriers.
> >  As much memory as possible, my previous machine had almost 800 meg of 
> >  ram,

> >  again managers made it work, even had onboard graphics memory although
> >  that is less important.
> >  A dvdr or combination cd and dvdr would be appreciated, or at least 
> >  room

> >  for  both.  a 3.5 floppy is a must.
> >  serial, USB, and parallel ports are also a must.
> >  Slots, PCI are a must, if there is a single ISO slot it would be 
> >  helpful,
> >  some of the alternative synthesizers are full size boards, but that 
> >  again

> >  is not mandatory.
> >  In case I messed up that term, think soundblaster pro live.  I have a
> >  dream-audio 2496 soundcard I still intend finding.  I have d-link
> >   ethernet cards, those sorts of things.
> >  Honestly?  what this entire situation has taught me is that I need 
> >  both a

> >  spare and a laptop smiles.
> >  Still, does that help?
> >  I have a combination of DOS programs and adaptive hardware, including
> >  sound
> >  Ethernet cards and so forth.
> >  Unless your items firmly have DOS drivers that is less of a concern.
> >  As for hard drive size, well I always have more than one drive,  so 
> >  room

> >  for  more than one.  20 gig or higher at least.
> >  thanks for even offering!
> >  Karen
> > 
> > 
> >  On Fri, 13 Oct 2023, Don Tai wrote:
> > 
> > >  What type of old computer do you seek? Please be very specific, as I

> >  have a
> > >  couple. Circa year, specs, etc
> > > 
> > >  On Fri, 13 Oct 2023 at 02:12, Karen Lewellen via talk 
> > >  

> > >  wrote:
> > > 
> > > >  Hi everyone,
> > > >  will ask the question simply, as it is not one I have needed to 
> > > >  ask for

> >  a
> > > >  good decade.
> > > >  Need a resource for older computer hardware, freecycle  was 
> > > >  terrific for

> > > >  this sort of thing, as was  the talent who would build mine.
> > > >  Unfortunately a visit by someone from renew computer technology 
> > > >  Ontario,

> > > >  www.rcto.org
> > > >  damaged my main computer, at least the  motherboard, possibly the 
> > > >  hard

> > > >  drive.
> > > >  I have a bandaged machine, does not boot to the c drive, using a 
> > > >  floppy,

> > > >  with the second drive from my main placed in this unit.
> > > >  Now  some of my critical synthesizer files are being damaged as 
> > > >  well.

> > > >  screen reader utilities..so far at least.
> > > >  While I do have talent, quality talent to help me with the 
> > > >  construction,

> > > >  finding say a p3 or p4  may be the challenge.
> > > >  Any ideas?
> > > >  Cheers,
> > > >  Karen
> > > > 
> > > > 
> > > >  ---

> > > >  Post to this mailing list talk@gtalug.org
> > > >  Unsubscribe from this mailing list
> > > >  https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
> > > > 
> > > 
> > 
>

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Re: [GTALUG] sigh, hardware resources?

[Scott Allen via talk]

On Fri, 13 Oct 2023 at 19:56, William Park via talk  wrote:
> When you say "ISO slot"... do you mean

I'm pretty sure she means ISA slot.

-- 
Scott
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Re: [GTALUG] sigh, hardware resources?

[William Park via talk]

When you say "ISO slot"... do you mean
- 5.25" CD/floppy slot on the front of case?
- or, ISA slot on motherboard?
--


On 2023-10-13 16:56, Karen Lewellen via talk wrote:

I will be thankful for the options.
Personally I find folks choices and experiences interesting.
The bandaged machine I am typing on right now is a Pentium 2 constructed 
for me in 2008 or 2009.
Still there is enough USB support in the bios for me to use a full sized 
USB keyboard in DOS for the very first time.

its amazing.



On Fri, 13 Oct 2023, Don Tai wrote:


Old 'puters, are a little ornery. You get what you get, and then scrounge
for parts to upgrade. With luck it all works out in the end, or you die
trying. Serial and parallel ports are a major constraint, then adding in
USB will get interesting. Most of my old desktops came with almost no
memory. In fact I've used these old biddies with as low as 500k of RAM,
which will run Puppy Linux and an old browser, from a CD boot.

You will need to see if you can combine new and old worlds of PC
components. Usually I cannot even do a Linux boot from a USB drive.

Let me check my stash of old PC carcasses..

Don

On Fri, 13 Oct 2023 at 09:30, Karen Lewellen 
wrote:


Good morning sir. Don of the possible rescue!
Let me be forthright. I have not bought a computer off the shelf 
since my

very  first one.
Instead my machines have been built from scratch, or provided with
alterations made to them.

What that means is that my dictionary may not match yours perfectly, 
but I

will try...when I doubt ask.
First at least a Pentium 3,  I can be flexible on processor speed as I
have utilities working around some of the DOS barriers.
As much memory as possible, my previous machine had almost 800 meg of 
ram,

again managers made it work, even had onboard graphics memory although
that is less important.
A dvdr or combination cd and dvdr would be appreciated, or at least room
for  both.  a 3.5 floppy is a must.
serial, USB, and parallel ports are also a must.
Slots, PCI are a must, if there is a single ISO slot it would be 
helpful,
some of the alternative synthesizers are full size boards, but that 
again

is not mandatory.
In case I messed up that term, think soundblaster pro live.  I have a
dream-audio 2496 soundcard I still intend finding.  I have d-link
 ethernet cards, those sorts of things.
Honestly?  what this entire situation has taught me is that I need 
both a

spare and a laptop smiles.
Still, does that help?
I have a combination of DOS programs and adaptive hardware, including
sound
Ethernet cards and so forth.
Unless your items firmly have DOS drivers that is less of a concern.
As for hard drive size, well I always have more than one drive,  so room
for  more than one.  20 gig or higher at least.
thanks for even offering!
Karen


On Fri, 13 Oct 2023, Don Tai wrote:


What type of old computer do you seek? Please be very specific, as I

have a

couple. Circa year, specs, etc

On Fri, 13 Oct 2023 at 02:12, Karen Lewellen via talk 
wrote:


Hi everyone,
will ask the question simply, as it is not one I have needed to ask 
for

a

good decade.
Need a resource for older computer hardware, freecycle  was 
terrific for

this sort of thing, as was  the talent who would build mine.
Unfortunately a visit by someone from renew computer technology 
Ontario,

www.rcto.org
damaged my main computer, at least the  motherboard, possibly the hard
drive.
I have a bandaged machine, does not boot to the c drive, using a 
floppy,

with the second drive from my main placed in this unit.
Now  some of my critical synthesizer files are being damaged as well.
screen reader utilities..so far at least.
While I do have talent, quality talent to help me with the 
construction,

finding say a p3 or p4  may be the challenge.
Any ideas?
Cheers,
Karen


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Re: [GTALUG] sigh, hardware resources?

[Karen Lewellen via talk]

I will be thankful for the options.
Personally I find folks choices and experiences interesting.
The bandaged machine I am typing on right now is a Pentium 2 constructed 
for me in 2008 or 2009.
Still there is enough USB support in the bios for me to use a full sized 
USB keyboard in DOS for the very first time.

its amazing.



On Fri, 13 Oct 2023, Don Tai wrote:


Old 'puters, are a little ornery. You get what you get, and then scrounge
for parts to upgrade. With luck it all works out in the end, or you die
trying. Serial and parallel ports are a major constraint, then adding in
USB will get interesting. Most of my old desktops came with almost no
memory. In fact I've used these old biddies with as low as 500k of RAM,
which will run Puppy Linux and an old browser, from a CD boot.

You will need to see if you can combine new and old worlds of PC
components. Usually I cannot even do a Linux boot from a USB drive.

Let me check my stash of old PC carcasses..

Don

On Fri, 13 Oct 2023 at 09:30, Karen Lewellen 
wrote:


Good morning sir. Don of the possible rescue!
Let me be forthright. I have not bought a computer off the shelf since my
very  first one.
Instead my machines have been built from scratch, or provided with
alterations made to them.

What that means is that my dictionary may not match yours perfectly, but I
will try...when I doubt ask.
First at least a Pentium 3,  I can be flexible on processor speed as I
have utilities working around some of the DOS barriers.
As much memory as possible, my previous machine had almost 800 meg of ram,
again managers made it work, even had onboard graphics memory although
that is less important.
A dvdr or combination cd and dvdr would be appreciated, or at least room
for  both.  a 3.5 floppy is a must.
serial, USB, and parallel ports are also a must.
Slots, PCI are a must, if there is a single ISO slot it would be helpful,
some of the alternative synthesizers are full size boards, but that again
is not mandatory.
In case I messed up that term, think soundblaster pro live.  I have a
dream-audio 2496 soundcard I still intend finding.  I have d-link
 ethernet cards, those sorts of things.
Honestly?  what this entire situation has taught me is that I need both a
spare and a laptop smiles.
Still, does that help?
I have a combination of DOS programs and adaptive hardware, including
sound
Ethernet cards and so forth.
Unless your items firmly have DOS drivers that is less of a concern.
As for hard drive size, well I always have more than one drive,  so room
for  more than one.  20 gig or higher at least.
thanks for even offering!
Karen


On Fri, 13 Oct 2023, Don Tai wrote:


What type of old computer do you seek? Please be very specific, as I

have a

couple. Circa year, specs, etc

On Fri, 13 Oct 2023 at 02:12, Karen Lewellen via talk 
wrote:


Hi everyone,
will ask the question simply, as it is not one I have needed to ask for

a

good decade.
Need a resource for older computer hardware, freecycle  was terrific for
this sort of thing, as was  the talent who would build mine.
Unfortunately a visit by someone from renew computer technology Ontario,
www.rcto.org
damaged my main computer, at least the  motherboard, possibly the hard
drive.
I have a bandaged machine, does not boot to the c drive, using a floppy,
with the second drive from my main placed in this unit.
Now  some of my critical synthesizer files are being damaged as well.
screen reader utilities..so far at least.
While I do have talent, quality talent to help me with the construction,
finding say a p3 or p4  may be the challenge.
Any ideas?
Cheers,
Karen


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Re: [GTALUG] sigh, hardware resources?

[Alex Kink via talk]

Since we are pedantic, should be milli bits since it's lowercase b :-D

Alex Kink (PGP Key )
+1 416 887 4795

> On Oct 13, 2023, at 14:56, James Knott via talk  wrote:
> 
> 500 milli byte?  That's 4 bits! 

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Re: [GTALUG] sigh, hardware resources?

[Don Tai via talk]

I can't remember if it was 500 MB or 250MB that can run Puppy Linux, an
outdated browser (Netscape Navigator) from a CD boot..

On Fri, 13 Oct 2023 at 14:56, James Knott via talk  wrote:

> On 2023-10-13 14:52, Don Tai via talk wrote:
> > or maybe 500mb ram..
> 500 milli byte?  That's 4 bits!  
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Re: [GTALUG] sigh, hardware resources?

[James Knott via talk]

On 2023-10-13 14:52, Don Tai via talk wrote:

or maybe 500mb ram..

500 milli byte?  That's 4 bits!  
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Re: [GTALUG] sigh, hardware resources?

[Don Tai via talk]

or maybe 500mb ram..sorry, I'm now used to G or ram..

On Fri, 13 Oct 2023 at 14:50, Don Tai  wrote:

> Old 'puters, are a little ornery. You get what you get, and then scrounge
> for parts to upgrade. With luck it all works out in the end, or you die
> trying. Serial and parallel ports are a major constraint, then adding in
> USB will get interesting. Most of my old desktops came with almost no
> memory. In fact I've used these old biddies with as low as 500k of RAM,
> which will run Puppy Linux and an old browser, from a CD boot.
>
> You will need to see if you can combine new and old worlds of PC
> components. Usually I cannot even do a Linux boot from a USB drive.
>
> Let me check my stash of old PC carcasses..
>
> Don
>
> On Fri, 13 Oct 2023 at 09:30, Karen Lewellen 
> wrote:
>
>> Good morning sir. Don of the possible rescue!
>> Let me be forthright. I have not bought a computer off the shelf since my
>> very  first one.
>> Instead my machines have been built from scratch, or provided with
>> alterations made to them.
>>
>> What that means is that my dictionary may not match yours perfectly, but
>> I
>> will try...when I doubt ask.
>> First at least a Pentium 3,  I can be flexible on processor speed as I
>> have utilities working around some of the DOS barriers.
>> As much memory as possible, my previous machine had almost 800 meg of
>> ram,
>> again managers made it work, even had onboard graphics memory although
>> that is less important.
>> A dvdr or combination cd and dvdr would be appreciated, or at least room
>> for  both.  a 3.5 floppy is a must.
>> serial, USB, and parallel ports are also a must.
>> Slots, PCI are a must, if there is a single ISO slot it would be helpful,
>> some of the alternative synthesizers are full size boards, but that again
>> is not mandatory.
>> In case I messed up that term, think soundblaster pro live.  I have a
>> dream-audio 2496 soundcard I still intend finding.  I have d-link
>>  ethernet cards, those sorts of things.
>> Honestly?  what this entire situation has taught me is that I need both a
>> spare and a laptop smiles.
>> Still, does that help?
>> I have a combination of DOS programs and adaptive hardware, including
>> sound
>> Ethernet cards and so forth.
>> Unless your items firmly have DOS drivers that is less of a concern.
>> As for hard drive size, well I always have more than one drive,  so room
>> for  more than one.  20 gig or higher at least.
>> thanks for even offering!
>> Karen
>>
>>
>> On Fri, 13 Oct 2023, Don Tai wrote:
>>
>> > What type of old computer do you seek? Please be very specific, as I
>> have a
>> > couple. Circa year, specs, etc
>> >
>> > On Fri, 13 Oct 2023 at 02:12, Karen Lewellen via talk 
>> > wrote:
>> >
>> >> Hi everyone,
>> >> will ask the question simply, as it is not one I have needed to ask
>> for a
>> >> good decade.
>> >> Need a resource for older computer hardware, freecycle  was terrific
>> for
>> >> this sort of thing, as was  the talent who would build mine.
>> >> Unfortunately a visit by someone from renew computer technology
>> Ontario,
>> >> www.rcto.org
>> >> damaged my main computer, at least the  motherboard, possibly the hard
>> >> drive.
>> >> I have a bandaged machine, does not boot to the c drive, using a
>> floppy,
>> >> with the second drive from my main placed in this unit.
>> >> Now  some of my critical synthesizer files are being damaged as well.
>> >> screen reader utilities..so far at least.
>> >> While I do have talent, quality talent to help me with the
>> construction,
>> >> finding say a p3 or p4  may be the challenge.
>> >> Any ideas?
>> >> Cheers,
>> >> Karen
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> ---
>> >> Post to this mailing list talk@gtalug.org
>> >> Unsubscribe from this mailing list
>> >> https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
>> >>
>> >
>>
>
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Re: [GTALUG] sigh, hardware resources?

[Don Tai via talk]

Old 'puters, are a little ornery. You get what you get, and then scrounge
for parts to upgrade. With luck it all works out in the end, or you die
trying. Serial and parallel ports are a major constraint, then adding in
USB will get interesting. Most of my old desktops came with almost no
memory. In fact I've used these old biddies with as low as 500k of RAM,
which will run Puppy Linux and an old browser, from a CD boot.

You will need to see if you can combine new and old worlds of PC
components. Usually I cannot even do a Linux boot from a USB drive.

Let me check my stash of old PC carcasses..

Don

On Fri, 13 Oct 2023 at 09:30, Karen Lewellen 
wrote:

> Good morning sir. Don of the possible rescue!
> Let me be forthright. I have not bought a computer off the shelf since my
> very  first one.
> Instead my machines have been built from scratch, or provided with
> alterations made to them.
>
> What that means is that my dictionary may not match yours perfectly, but I
> will try...when I doubt ask.
> First at least a Pentium 3,  I can be flexible on processor speed as I
> have utilities working around some of the DOS barriers.
> As much memory as possible, my previous machine had almost 800 meg of ram,
> again managers made it work, even had onboard graphics memory although
> that is less important.
> A dvdr or combination cd and dvdr would be appreciated, or at least room
> for  both.  a 3.5 floppy is a must.
> serial, USB, and parallel ports are also a must.
> Slots, PCI are a must, if there is a single ISO slot it would be helpful,
> some of the alternative synthesizers are full size boards, but that again
> is not mandatory.
> In case I messed up that term, think soundblaster pro live.  I have a
> dream-audio 2496 soundcard I still intend finding.  I have d-link
>  ethernet cards, those sorts of things.
> Honestly?  what this entire situation has taught me is that I need both a
> spare and a laptop smiles.
> Still, does that help?
> I have a combination of DOS programs and adaptive hardware, including
> sound
> Ethernet cards and so forth.
> Unless your items firmly have DOS drivers that is less of a concern.
> As for hard drive size, well I always have more than one drive,  so room
> for  more than one.  20 gig or higher at least.
> thanks for even offering!
> Karen
>
>
> On Fri, 13 Oct 2023, Don Tai wrote:
>
> > What type of old computer do you seek? Please be very specific, as I
> have a
> > couple. Circa year, specs, etc
> >
> > On Fri, 13 Oct 2023 at 02:12, Karen Lewellen via talk 
> > wrote:
> >
> >> Hi everyone,
> >> will ask the question simply, as it is not one I have needed to ask for
> a
> >> good decade.
> >> Need a resource for older computer hardware, freecycle  was terrific for
> >> this sort of thing, as was  the talent who would build mine.
> >> Unfortunately a visit by someone from renew computer technology Ontario,
> >> www.rcto.org
> >> damaged my main computer, at least the  motherboard, possibly the hard
> >> drive.
> >> I have a bandaged machine, does not boot to the c drive, using a floppy,
> >> with the second drive from my main placed in this unit.
> >> Now  some of my critical synthesizer files are being damaged as well.
> >> screen reader utilities..so far at least.
> >> While I do have talent, quality talent to help me with the construction,
> >> finding say a p3 or p4  may be the challenge.
> >> Any ideas?
> >> Cheers,
> >> Karen
> >>
> >>
> >> ---
> >> Post to this mailing list talk@gtalug.org
> >> Unsubscribe from this mailing list
> >> https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
> >>
> >
>
---
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Re: [GTALUG] sigh, hardware resources?

[Karen Lewellen via talk]

In fact, the P3 or greater aspect is far more important than the ISO slot, 
if that makes sense.
Although not installing freedos, it can manage more current hardware, so 
can  the DOS I run to some extent.

www.freedos.org
Kare



On Fri, 13 Oct 2023, Karen Lewellen via talk wrote:


Hi,
I appreciate your respecting that my choices are tied to what my body, in 
this moment, allows.
The speech resources for more current hardware, and or other operating 
systems can trigger epileptic like reactions brain wise...there are some 
exceptions certainly.
Finding a particular older macbook pro is on my agenda, but that cannot be my 
main system just now even once located.
 The ISO slit is nice, not fully needful though, not like the cereal and 
USB and parallel ports for example.
and yes, on the set up.  One positive from all this is discovering a 
colleague at the centre for Social Innovation able to help with the 
configuration and setup.
In fact he located a brand new mechanical USB keyboard I am typing on in DOS 
right now..built like the IBM ones in fact.




On Fri, 13 Oct 2023, D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk wrote:


 Distilling your toughest requirements:
 - You need DOS
 - perhaps you would get no value from any additional OS
 - you would like an ISA slot.

That means the the computer has to be more than at least a decade old.
 Perhaps two decades (I don't remember all transitions).

 I'm pretty sure we can come up with hardware that matches those
 requirements.  But it will only become harder as time goes on.

 It would be great if you could figure out how to live with current
 hardware.  I understand that isn't easy for a variety of good reasons.

 If you get such hardware, are you able to set it up?

|  From: Karen Lewellen via talk 

|  First at least a Pentium 3,  I can be flexible on processor speed as I 
|  have

|  utilities working around some of the DOS barriers.
|  As much memory as possible, my previous machine had almost 800 meg of 
|  ram,
|  again managers made it work, even had onboard graphics memory although 
|  that is

|  less important.

 Those DOS memory managers are quite arcane.  I imagine that configuring
 them is mostly a lost art.  DOS kind of deals with 640K of RAM, with these
 memory managers fudging access up to perhaps 4M of RAM.

 I don't see how 800M of RAM can fit into a DOS world.

 Perhaps you meant 800M of Hard Drive (but you said 20G of HDD later).

 All current machines have gigabytes of RAM.  Quite a different scale.
 ---
 Post to this mailing list talk@gtalug.org
 Unsubscribe from this mailing list
 https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk


---
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Re: [GTALUG] sigh, hardware resources?

[Karen Lewellen via talk]

Hi,
I appreciate your respecting that my choices are tied to what my body, in 
this moment, allows.
The speech resources for more current hardware, and or other operating 
systems can trigger epileptic like reactions brain wise...there are some 
exceptions certainly.
Finding a particular older macbook pro is on my agenda, but that cannot be 
my main system just now even once located.
 The ISO slit is nice, not fully needful though, not like the cereal and 
USB and parallel ports for example.
and yes, on the set up.  One positive from all this is discovering a 
colleague at the centre for Social Innovation able to help with the 
configuration and setup.
In fact he located a brand new mechanical USB keyboard I am typing on in 
DOS  right now..built like the IBM ones in fact.




On Fri, 13 Oct 2023, D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk wrote:


Distilling your toughest requirements:
- You need DOS
- perhaps you would get no value from any additional OS
- you would like an ISA slot.

That means the the computer has to be more than at least a decade old.
Perhaps two decades (I don't remember all transitions).

I'm pretty sure we can come up with hardware that matches those
requirements.  But it will only become harder as time goes on.

It would be great if you could figure out how to live with current
hardware.  I understand that isn't easy for a variety of good reasons.

If you get such hardware, are you able to set it up?

| From: Karen Lewellen via talk 

| First at least a Pentium 3,  I can be flexible on processor speed as I have
| utilities working around some of the DOS barriers.
| As much memory as possible, my previous machine had almost 800 meg of ram,
| again managers made it work, even had onboard graphics memory although that is
| less important.

Those DOS memory managers are quite arcane.  I imagine that configuring
them is mostly a lost art.  DOS kind of deals with 640K of RAM, with these
memory managers fudging access up to perhaps 4M of RAM.

I don't see how 800M of RAM can fit into a DOS world.

Perhaps you meant 800M of Hard Drive (but you said 20G of HDD later).

All current machines have gigabytes of RAM.  Quite a different scale.
---
Post to this mailing list talk@gtalug.org
Unsubscribe from this mailing list https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk


---
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Re: [GTALUG] sigh, hardware resources?

[D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk]

Distilling your toughest requirements:
- You need DOS
- perhaps you would get no value from any additional OS
- you would like an ISA slot.

That means the the computer has to be more than at least a decade old.  
Perhaps two decades (I don't remember all transitions).

I'm pretty sure we can come up with hardware that matches those 
requirements.  But it will only become harder as time goes on.

It would be great if you could figure out how to live with current 
hardware.  I understand that isn't easy for a variety of good reasons.

If you get such hardware, are you able to set it up?

| From: Karen Lewellen via talk 

| First at least a Pentium 3,  I can be flexible on processor speed as I have
| utilities working around some of the DOS barriers.
| As much memory as possible, my previous machine had almost 800 meg of ram,
| again managers made it work, even had onboard graphics memory although that is
| less important.

Those DOS memory managers are quite arcane.  I imagine that configuring 
them is mostly a lost art.  DOS kind of deals with 640K of RAM, with these 
memory managers fudging access up to perhaps 4M of RAM.

I don't see how 800M of RAM can fit into a DOS world.

Perhaps you meant 800M of Hard Drive (but you said 20G of HDD later).

All current machines have gigabytes of RAM.  Quite a different scale.
---
Post to this mailing list talk@gtalug.org
Unsubscribe from this mailing list https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk

Re: [GTALUG] sigh, hardware resources?

[Karen Lewellen via talk]

Good morning sir. Don of the possible rescue!
Let me be forthright. I have not bought a computer off the shelf since my 
very  first one.
Instead my machines have been built from scratch, or provided with 
alterations made to them.


What that means is that my dictionary may not match yours perfectly, but I 
will try...when I doubt ask.
First at least a Pentium 3,  I can be flexible on processor speed as I 
have utilities working around some of the DOS barriers.
As much memory as possible, my previous machine had almost 800 meg of ram, 
again managers made it work, even had onboard graphics memory although 
that is less important.
A dvdr or combination cd and dvdr would be appreciated, or at least room 
for  both.  a 3.5 floppy is a must.

serial, USB, and parallel ports are also a must.
Slots, PCI are a must, if there is a single ISO slot it would be helpful, 
some of the alternative synthesizers are full size boards, but that again 
is not mandatory.
In case I messed up that term, think soundblaster pro live.  I have a 
dream-audio 2496 soundcard I still intend finding.  I have d-link 
 ethernet cards, those sorts of things.
Honestly?  what this entire situation has taught me is that I need both a 
spare and a laptop smiles.

Still, does that help?
I have a combination of DOS programs and adaptive hardware, including sound 
Ethernet cards and so forth.

Unless your items firmly have DOS drivers that is less of a concern.
As for hard drive size, well I always have more than one drive,  so room 
for  more than one.  20 gig or higher at least.

thanks for even offering!
Karen


On Fri, 13 Oct 2023, Don Tai wrote:


What type of old computer do you seek? Please be very specific, as I have a
couple. Circa year, specs, etc

On Fri, 13 Oct 2023 at 02:12, Karen Lewellen via talk 
wrote:


Hi everyone,
will ask the question simply, as it is not one I have needed to ask for a
good decade.
Need a resource for older computer hardware, freecycle  was terrific for
this sort of thing, as was  the talent who would build mine.
Unfortunately a visit by someone from renew computer technology Ontario,
www.rcto.org
damaged my main computer, at least the  motherboard, possibly the hard
drive.
I have a bandaged machine, does not boot to the c drive, using a floppy,
with the second drive from my main placed in this unit.
Now  some of my critical synthesizer files are being damaged as well.
screen reader utilities..so far at least.
While I do have talent, quality talent to help me with the construction,
finding say a p3 or p4  may be the challenge.
Any ideas?
Cheers,
Karen


---
Post to this mailing list talk@gtalug.org
Unsubscribe from this mailing list
https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk




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Re: [GTALUG] sigh, hardware resources?

[Don Tai via talk]

What type of old computer do you seek? Please be very specific, as I have a
couple. Circa year, specs, etc

On Fri, 13 Oct 2023 at 02:12, Karen Lewellen via talk 
wrote:

> Hi everyone,
> will ask the question simply, as it is not one I have needed to ask for a
> good decade.
> Need a resource for older computer hardware, freecycle  was terrific for
> this sort of thing, as was  the talent who would build mine.
> Unfortunately a visit by someone from renew computer technology Ontario,
> www.rcto.org
> damaged my main computer, at least the  motherboard, possibly the hard
> drive.
> I have a bandaged machine, does not boot to the c drive, using a floppy,
> with the second drive from my main placed in this unit.
> Now  some of my critical synthesizer files are being damaged as well.
> screen reader utilities..so far at least.
> While I do have talent, quality talent to help me with the construction,
> finding say a p3 or p4  may be the challenge.
> Any ideas?
> Cheers,
> Karen
>
>
> ---
> Post to this mailing list talk@gtalug.org
> Unsubscribe from this mailing list
> https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
>
---
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[GTALUG] sigh, hardware resources?

[Karen Lewellen via talk]

Hi everyone,
will ask the question simply, as it is not one I have needed to ask for a 
good decade.
Need a resource for older computer hardware, freecycle  was terrific for 
this sort of thing, as was  the talent who would build mine.

Unfortunately a visit by someone from renew computer technology Ontario,
www.rcto.org
damaged my main computer, at least the  motherboard, possibly the hard 
drive.
I have a bandaged machine, does not boot to the c drive, using a floppy, 
with the second drive from my main placed in this unit.

Now  some of my critical synthesizer files are being damaged as well.
screen reader utilities..so far at least.
While I do have talent, quality talent to help me with the construction, 
finding say a p3 or p4  may be the challenge.

Any ideas?
Cheers,
Karen


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