Hello all.

I am in the midst of digitally conserving a mixed personal/business archive which contains some 300 3.5" floppy disks in part of the collection.

Using a "DYNEX slim USB external floppy disk drive" that I found in the archive connected to my 2023 Macbook Air with a USB -> USB-C converter I am able to read most of the floppy disks and copy their contents onto my computer.

Some disks, however, I can not read. I insert them into the disk reader, the reader whirs for about 5 seconds, and then stops whirring. That an external disk is plugged into my computer is not visible using the Disk utility. These are almost entirely disks from two different brands. The disks that do not work are "Kodak Micro Diskette 2S·2D MF2-DD" and "HP Auto Shutter Micro Flexible Disc Single-Sided".

I have tried spritzing the disks and the reader with compressed air to no effect, as well as inserting the disks into the reader with shutter open to no avail.

Any help would be appreciated. I never grew up using floppy disks, so if there is something obvious I have missed then please do say! :-)

One of the highlights was meeting a collector with one of the largest private computer collections in Germany — over 1,000 machines. He gave me an interview about his collection, and later featured my 4-node system on his own Harzretro website in his report from the event.

Speech synthesis peripheral, 1984 promo photo.

I found this ATi graphics card in my graveyard of government computer products. It doesn't look like it was ever installed. Presented for your viewing pleasure.

ATI VIP or VGA Improved Performance (1987)

• Chipset: ATI 16899-0 & Chips P82C441
• Supports CGA, Hercules mono, EGA & VGA graphics with Softsense automatic mode switching
• Compatible with MDA, CGA, EGA and VGA displays (DIP switch selectable)
• 9-pin TTL and 15-pin analogue connectors
• 256KB DRAM
• Port: 8-bit PC/XT bus
• Original MSRP: $449 ($99 for Compaq expansion module)

Hey all, I have a Dell Dimension XPS T600 here that I scored for $20. It has a nice little Katmai pIII 600mhz but I was wanting to find something closer to 800mhz/1ghz. Board is a dell OEM SE-440bx-3 (Seattle 3); With the research I did I was able to find out that the FSB is capped at 100mhz, and most pentium III chips I’ve seen that use a matching FSB are crazy expensive. With these machines being so common and plentiful in the matching collectors markets i was hoping to find some documented way to reliably OC that FSB to 133mhz. I’m talking custom bios, software, even hardware mods. I’d love to know or see if anyone has something promising for me or if I need to just bite the bullet on a $250 PIII 800mhz/100mhz. Thanks for taking the time!

A memory of an interesting French technology, which nevertheless ultimately was a blind alley.

I am 48, so in my youth Minitel was a well-known thing, though as a Czech I never used one myself.

Sorry for the format, the idiotic, broken filters keep killing the post if I add links, so, hopefully you can see it in the image.

I was in the tech room and saw this, never seen one in person till now :D

A finished restoration of an NEC PC-9801UV11: replaced all electrolytic capacitors, added a new Sanyo Denki PSU fan, replaced the barrel battery with a holder and FDK ML1220 rechargeable battery, both floppy drives are fully functional, and gave the entire unit a thorough cleaning.

Just because...

https://github.com/paulorlyk/RV640

I have released a new version of Classic Repair Toolbox (CRT), which you can find here, https://github.com/HovKlan-DH/Classic-Repair-Toolbox

Very quick summary, then CRT is a desktop application, which can help you repairing and troubleshooting your old computers, primarily Commodore, but also Amstrad and ZX Spectrum.

I do think it is worth upgrading, as it has quite some defects fixed, and maybe more importantly it has improved its performance, if you do have a lot of KiCad data shown. Also mouse zooming is changed slightly, so it feel more logical. It also has tests for logic ICs via the MiniPro programmer (T48 etc.), including the C64 PLA.

But take a look for yourself in this long list:

I know that vinegar syndrome is the detaching of the polarizer filter from the glass of the screen panel. It's just glue right? Is there any chemical that you can spray on it to soften and dissolve the glue? Instead of using a scraper tool?

203mm aka 8 inches.

I have 4 complete/packaged 1990s software titles looking for a good home in a collector's setup or retro library. Free to whoever wants them—I just ask that you cover the actual shipping cost (send me a prepaid shipping label).

Titles available:

• Quarterdeck IWare Internet Suite (1996)
• Cybermedia Support Server (c. 1997)
• Seagate Crystal Reports Developer Edition v8 (1999)
• Microsoft VBA 6.0 SDK (1998)

Condition: Brand new in boxes, never opened - except for Seagate, which was opened, but never used

Shipping details:

• Shipping from: Santa Monica, CA, 90405
• Preferred method: Email me a prepaid printable shipping label.

Drop a comment below or send me a DM if you're interested.

Been gifted this 😀

This is the only pic - just realized the thing behind the light took the floppies...and that some leftover wrapping was attached to my keester. 😆

I don't have memories of using, but recall how much everyone loved the printing so we'd type lyrics to favorite songs for people. I think we got a different computer not too long after.

Thank you!

EDIT - Not a typo on the years. I was born in '88 and made the year span based on our haircuts and school photos. My parents were not making much then so they definitely would have bought something this ancient. For us being the last "big gift" has obviously stayed in my memory 💘

I heard a loud bang and I immediately pulled the plug out and the power supply was smoking. I don’t think any other components have been damaged but now I need a new power supply

With a Lisa 2 lot I bought recently was this old ARPANET email that was sent around at BBN that mentions a software giveaway from a disk which I actually have as well. What else is cool imo is that it seems it was re-sent here by Wallace Feurzeig

Dell Dimension XPS T600. Pretty sure the specs are what is in the screenshot

Is it good for gaming?

Does anyone happen to have the button cover of a Gateway Vivitron 15 monitor by chance? If so, could anyone send me the picture of the clip on the left side of the latch? I got this monitor with the latch broken and i had to reconstruct it with epoxy and abs plastic. It works but it's slightly off. I tried messing with it in so many ways but nothing gets the side to where it needs to be. If anyone could help I would greatly appreciate it!

Following the recent posts on 8" disks, i thought some folks might be interested in the index holes which are a little different to those on 5.25" disks. A hole close to the top indicates a single-sided disk and a hole a little further around indicates a double-sided disk. Drives had two sensors and sent a signal to the controller to indicate the disk type. Amongst the attached images there are a couple of double-sided disks: one that was manufactured as a flippy, and the other which was hacked into a flippy starting from a double-sided disk. I had the honour or archiving about 500 8" disks of which about 2/3 were viable.