IBM PC 5150 with no drives?

From: Lawrence Walker <lwalker_at_mail.interlog.com>
Date: Sun Mar 14 14:42:15 1999

On 14 Mar 99 at 15:24, ss_at_allegro.com wrote:

> I remember buying my 5150 with 16 K, no drives, and *both*
> the CGA and MDA adapters. So how many people know the answer
> to the trivia question: if you had *both* adapters (and, presumably,
> two monitors), which one did you have to tell system to default to?
> (Via a switch/jumper? on the motherboard) :)
>
 I'd think the MDA. ISTR that the SIMCA had a software switch to prevent
damage to your monitor when using a Hercules card.

> I financed the PC with IBM, buying the rock bottom miminum system,
> and the IBM Assembler. Picked it up, drove straight to a garage in
> south San Jose, and bought a couple of floppies, a controller, RAM
> chips for the motherboard (48KB, to take it to 64 KB), and a Sigma
> Designs (?) RAM board (I think) to add more memory. I remember
> that I had waited until DOS 1.1 came out, because I wasn't
> comfortable with the patch some people were doing to make DOS 1.0
> handle double sided drives. Good thing...when 1.1 came out, it
> handled the drives in a manner incompatible with the patched
> version, IIRC.
>
> Sadly, the 5150 disappeared when we we burglarized some years
> ago.
>
>
 I've got 2 5150s (as well as the other 51xx's and monitors) in my
collection. One is heavily modified with an Intel 386 Onboard card
(TMK Allison also has one on her Leading Edge), memory to 640,
 a 20 Meg Plus Hardcard and 2 360 fdds. I just acquired a couple of
old VGA cards that I'm hoping will work, one has dual 9 and 15
monitor sockets and an external switchblock.
 Like Allison I'm also looking for the daughter card for the Onboard to
bring memory up to 2 meg. BTW Allison, there's a guy in the PS2 mafia
who has one. It might be possible to get pin-outs from him.

ciao larry
lwalker_at_interlog.com
Received on Sun Mar 14 1999 - 14:42:15 GMT