On 1999-04-12 [EMAIL PROTECTED] said:
>Recently I was given an AST 486 with 2MB RAM, no
>hard disk and one 3-1/2" floppy. Since I've also got an
>Everex 286 and an XT lying around which contain useful
>bits, I would like very much to cobble things together but
>am a complete ignoramus when it comes to hardware
>standards, so:
Good idea
>- Can I simply remove the 5-1/4" high-density floppy
>drive from the 286 and add it to the 486 without frying
>anything? (That way, I could keep using some of my huge
>collection of shareware and "obsolete" programs.)
Yes, that shouldn't be a problem.
>- Does the 486 require a different kind of hard drive or
>can I just shove the XT's original hard drive into the "new"
>machine?
Normally a 486 would use an IDE or a SCSI controller and HD. The drive from
the XT is most likely an MFM HD. I am not sure if it would work in a 486.
If it did it would be small and slow.
>- Would it make more sense to install one of the 2 Seagate
>40MB hard drives I have lying around for the 286 and, if
>so, does anybody know what the proper drive definition is
>(number of heads, cylinders, etc.) since I seem to have
>lost the paper I once had and the 286's set-up has lost
>the definition too?
That depends on what type of drives they are. If they are only 40megs they
might be MFM drives. If they are MFM drives re-read my answer to the last
paragraph :-)
>-Would it make more sense to leave the XT intact and try
>to set it up as a file server, and how could I do this cheaply
>so as to access the files from both the 486 and my Mac
>Powerbook 100?
You could use Interlink and Intersvr to access the XT from the 486. I don't
think a connection can be made with the Powerbook, However, unless maybe it
has Ethernet capabilites. A Mac group might be better able to answer that,
Though.
>-Is it likely that the extra 1MB RAM chip from the 286
>would be a useful addition to the 486, or should I pass the
>286 on to somebody else and try to scare up additional 486
>RAM free or cheap?
The 286 has only 1 sinlge meg simm? I have never had a 286 that uses simms,
but I think they need at least 2 at a time. The 486 will need 4 at a time,
but might also use the 72-pin variety. I don't think the memory from the 286
is going to do much for your 486.
>- What kind and speed of CD-ROM could I add cheaply to
>the 486 which would be functional enough to use for
>running a bilingual dictionary or installing CD-based
>software? (i.e., I don't really need games, music, etc. but
>would need to look up terms while translating, probably
>using WordPerfect 5.1 or a text editor.)
I have an old 1x, but I only use it as a cdplayer. I haven't ever used it
for data, so I don't really know how to advise you on a minimum speed. I
will say, that I would go with the same interface as whatever HD you decide
to go with, IDE or SCSI. That way you will need only one card, instead of
2.
>-Does anyone know where I could find a Y2k compliant
>BIOS upgrade for the AST and what I'd need to do to
>accomplish it? or should I not attempt it myself?
I think software will work. I run DR-DOS 7.02 that is Y2K aware.
>Then, on the software end:
>-Is there any form of Linux which is small and relatively
>easy for a newbie without a lot of RAM? (I gather that the
>version which fits on a floppy still needs 4MB to run, and
>I would like to run some applications as well as the OS!)
I'll let one of our resident Linux people answer this.
>- Given that I need to work rather than play, would it
>make more sense to stick to some flavour of DOS? (I'm
>proficient with 3.30 but would love to switch to another,
>preferably more recent open-source version if it does not
>involve a lot of bugs and crashes.)
I would try DR-DOS from Caldera, but others exist too. Caldera is marketing
DR-DOS for the desktop on a secondary basis. The main target is embedded
applications, so they fix some things slowly that only pertain to the
desktop systems.
>- Which would you recommend, given that the programs I
>use mostly work nicely with 3.30 and 640k? (On the
>other machines, I've used Stacker and kept things running
>with an old version of Norton Utilities, and I gather that the
>latter does not work well with DR-DOS in its 1991 version,
>so any tips and warnings will be very much appreciated.
I would upgrade your DOS to a newer version MSDOS, DRDOS, PCDOS, or
whatever. A newer version should give you a bit more memory available, and
will provide cd-rom support. Maybe bigger HD capabilities too, but am not
sure. I haven't used older versions of DOS enough to have run into
problems. I know 5.0 is a good version, but I don't recall it having and
kind of CD-rom support.
>Is there a book you would recommend particularly for
>somebody like myself (fairly good at mechanical changes but a
>complete dunce with electronics) who wants to upgrade an
>old 486? I've got a couple of volumes already but they seem
>not to explain which parts are compatible with what and don't
>tackle software issues intelligibly.
How to Upgrade and Repair PC's by Scott Mueller, or Meuller...something liek
that. I don't know if it gets into software, as I haven't looked, but he
really gets into the hardware. The book is in a 10th (?) edition and is
being sold in hardcover (really expensive!!) Maybe you can find it used in
a bit older edition, However.
>Thank you for all of your suggestions.
Your Welcome :-)
Chad A. Fernandez
Battle Creek, MI
Net-Tamer V 1.11.2X - Test Drive
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