/vr/ - Retro Games

>>6282510
dos pc's from those different eras have all kind of issues playing software from each other, just use dosbox, or buy like 3 different dos machines

Can't you get an IDE controller card to circumvent the BIOS? like a Sil680 card.

>>6282510
are you still there OP, i can help you

>>6282510
what motherboard? it's possible there's a BIOS update for it that opens up the HDD size limit; i've seen that a couple times. sometimes mobokive'll have it, sometimes wayback machine. sometimes nobody!

>>6282698
>>6282635
the main issue is the BIOS only accepts 2GB hdds, but there is a newer bios out there...
I found the update A06, however when i try to flash the bios, i get an error saying incorrect system ID, so i wont be able to flash the bios

Even with a 20GB Hdd formatted at a 2GB FAT partition it didnt read the drive, is there a way to "fake" the drive so it reads as 2GB?

>>6282589
if you got PCI slots then a SATA controller + a $10 refurbished HDD made this century might actually be the best option. search for "syba sata raid" on ebay; i've had good results with that one. you MIGHT need to be able to set your boot device to "scsi" or "other" for it to be bootable though; if it won't give you options besides FDD / IDE0 / IDE1 then you might be outta luck.

>>6282718
>>6282589
I do have some PCI slots free..this may be worth looking into..

>>6282510
>i'm retarded
Then why did you fall for the meme and choose to use hardware that's complicated to deal with even for people knowledgeable about it? Especially when you don't even understand basic stuff like what BIIOS is/isn't. You should have just used dosbox like everyone told you.

>>6282589
Any "Windows 3.1/95 era computer" has IDE. Why is nu-/v/ always the blind leading the blind?

>>6282635
>i have the cure for downs

>>6282829
kek

>>6282829
>Any "Windows 3.1/95 era computer" has IDE. Why is nu-/v/ always the blind leading the blind?

Onboard IDE has the 2GB limit, dipshit. A newer IDE controller card will fix this.

>>6282829
Consider suicide

>>6282829
>>i have the cure for downs
kek'd

>>6282829
>typical nu-vr poster

>>6282725
I do not miss fucking with IDE cables. Pain in my ass. Neck hurts just looking at that shit.

>>6282829

Idiot

>>6282510
https://taris111.blogspot.com/2011/11/windows-me-maximum-memory.html

>>6283317
>neck hurts from IDE
>not from the 9000lb force of a stuck molex connector

>>6282875
So you're even more retarded than I thought. Impressive. The limit here is the intelligence of tards like you an OP. It's so entertaining to watch know-nothing zoomers sperg out when confronted with simple easily solvable obstacles.

>>6283420
>haha i know the answer but im not telling you
spotted the retard

>>6283390
Robogrips, or whatever your brand of choice regarding hand tools may be. You're welcome.

>>6282510
you could put it a SDCard to IDE adapter. then install different OSes (and games) on each 2GB MicroSD. although 2GB MicroSDs are probably hard to find now...

https://vswitchzero.com/2017/11/07/building-a-retro-gaming-rig-part-5/
https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?t=50012

>>6283489
yeah i could also get an CF to IDE adaptor too. the thing is have about 10 old hard drives that I dont know what else to do with. they are all 20gb though which is useless for retro machines. I tried formatting it to a 2GB partition but i guess i did it wrong because the computer still doesnt recognize it

>>6283489
>you could put IN a SD Card to IDE Adapter

>>6283494
>they are all 20gb though which is useless for retro machines.

those should work with WinXP SP3 rigs... And Win XP can play "most" Win95/98 games with no extra tinkering.

>>6283489
>SDCard to IDE adapter.
That shit works differently on every motherboard. Better to use a Compact Flash adapter as it's native IDE and is more likely to work.

>>6283431
There are several simple "answers", depending on what the actual problem is. Aside from retardation it's not clear what that is. A tard saying "the BIOS only supports 2GB hard drives" doesn't mean anything. That's obviously not true. Now you can b-b-but and muh autism as much as you want but it really illustrates the point. OP doesn't have a clue. About what he's dealing with, what the problem is, or how to diagnose it. There's a reason the first questions tech support asks tards is if it's turned on/pluged in/etc/.

>>6283813
>hurr the bios is wrong
https://www.dell.com/community/Storage-Drives-Media/Dimension-XPS-PC100C/td-p/2821216

multiple people have said the bios cannot support larger than 2GB drives idiot

>>6283494

That's what I did, put in an IDE controller card and port 1 goes to a CF adapter that is mounted in a back bracket, so i can switch OS by just plugging in a different CF card.
2nd port goes to a 120gb IDE HDD.

I do recall there being a limit to how much every HD could be though, 138gb per HDD I think? (per HDD, not per partition)

>>6282707
Can't you just create a dozen or at max 26 partitions of 2gb?
What happens when drives run out of alphabet characters?

>>6283967

He could, but its annoying in the long run. just getting an IDE controller card is much easier.

Of course one could also see if there's a fan fixed version of your bios, that's what I tried to go with first. but the guys on that bios forum never got back to me despite saying they would. (and yes I was polite)

>>6283502
a 20GB drive works fine on win98 too

>>6282510
2GB is still plenty of space

>muh huge library wont fit on this retro machine

cmon just install on it what youre gonna play at the moment

>>6282510
forgot to tell you maybe you should look up EZ-DRIVE you can install a 20 GB with that probably even more.

>>6283836
>another tard who guesses about something he's never done is people
Top kek kid. Like I said, there are many solutions to most problems but unfortunately no cure for retardation. This is just the sort of shit you had to know back then. It's not rocket science but it's pre-reddit so you're completely lost.

If you can burn a CD and the machine has a CD-ROM drive congratulations, you just surpassed the limit.

>but I don't have a CD burner in my tablet!

Zoom zoom.

>>6283967
>What happens when drives run out of alphabet characters?
I think 32-bit Windows then goes to AA:, AB:, etc. DOS probably craps out after Z:, but I couldn't say for sure.

>>6283967
Also, you can have no more than 4 DOS style partitions.

>>6284774
im still waiting for that genius intellect you claim to possess

>>6282725
OP here, came across something rather interesing, while trying out EZDRIVE from >>6284471

i have two IDE connectors on the mobo, one says PCI IDE, one says ISA IDE, I dont know if that means much but the pci one is considered IDE0 and the ISA one is IDE1,when i put the 20GB drive in the ide0 it is not even read by exdrive, but when i put in the ide1 connector (where the CD rom usually goes) exdrive DOES read it, but wont format it because its "drive2" and is looking for drive1

>>6284969
The IDE cable should have 3 dinguses on it. Use one of the other dinguses. I'm no expert, that's just a sensible thing to try, because if it can detect two drives it's probably not a pass through system

>>6284971
>use THE OTHER dingus
Sorry, I could have been more clear. I'm the dingus.

>>6284818
You're going to be waiting for a long time. It's unlikely you'll ever achieve a classification above moron.

>>6284774
This reminds me of when I used to post egotistical nonsense shit like this as a teen. Eventually you get called out and outed as a retard who doesn't actually know anything. At this stage, it's just kind of sad to watch. Hopefully you'll develop more emotionally when you get older, buddy.

>>6285172
This reminds me of when you used to post sanctimonious drivel as a child a few years past his teens. Eventually you got called out on it when you pulled that shit outside your safe spaces. It's always sad to watch. Hopefully you'll develop more emotionally when you get older, kiddo.

Kiddies like >>6284774 is why i prefer to hang out at /diy/. When you ask a question people try to answer it, while on /g/ someone inevitably turns the topic around to how big their e-penis is

>>6285296

Wait a minute, this is /vr/ lol

>>6282510
>>6282707
>>6284969
>got into retro computing without knowing it's a total pain in the ass

>>6285341
yeah seriously, i hope OP didn't pay more than $10 for this stuff. i picked up a lot of 10 Dells april last year and spent months learning the kinks of the locked down BIOS and horrible IRQ management on the things for fun. the guy was just trying to get rid of them, you know the complete opposite of these assholes who charge $100 and more for stuff that doesn't have a purpose anymore

i cannot stress enough how important it is to do the research on an item before buying online /meeting up IRL to buy something. hopefully he learned a lesson

Honestly I'm happy with emulation because every time I think about working in old computer cases I remember how they used to be unfinished stamped metal inside with razor sharp edges everywhere and iron grip connectors
I actually ruined a SB16 card once by getting blood on it and not noticing before turning it on

>>6283390
>>not from the 9000lb force of a stuck molex connector
>not from unsticking a stuck connector only for your hand to then fly back and rake along a wall of razor-sharp huge 8088-era soldered connections like a fucking bed of nails that strips the skin from all your knuckles and the entire back of your hand

>>6285351
Nah I got it for free, and it had a 2GB ancient hard drive in it, which is read by the motherboard already. I can install DOS/Win3.1 on it, which I did.
The whole point of this thread really was that i had a collection of 20gb drives I wanted to format somehow to make use of them. I'm not going to buy a Win98 machine, but there some games that just dont work well without native Win98, even VMs have issues.
I've found that when I set the 20GB hdd to master on the jumpers the computer hang at bios forever, but setting it CS lets it load as normal but does not detect (i dont even think CS works on a machine this old)

>>6285415
After doing some digging, it seems the motherboard is some sort of hybrid Premier/PCI and Premiere/PCI II
as in , it has the 100mhz support of the PCI II board, but all the connector labels and jumpers match the PCI I board.
https://stason.org/TULARC/pc/motherboards/I/INTEL-CORPORATION-Pentium-PREMIERE-PCI-P5-PCI-BATM.html
https://stason.org/TULARC/pc/motherboards/I/INTEL-CORPORATION-Pentium-PREMIERE-PCI-II-BABY-AT.html

however neither gets me closer to finding a BIOS upgrade which is what I need. I did notice one of the capacitors is crusty on my board, might do a quick replace just in case.

>>6285415
It’s good it was free. Exchange the existing HDD with a CF card. Buy a PCI to SD adaptor and have fun anon.

>>6282589

This works great in my DOS and WIN95 computers.

>>6282510
Use disk overlay software

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_drive_overlay

thats a sexy setup you got there OP congrats on the freebie

>>6282510
DOSBox and PCEm.
Problem solved. Fuck maintaining rotting hardware.

>>6286804
acutally PCEm works out great,and I can pick my favorite BIOS from what I remember from my different machines. Thanks man. Beats having to deal with a virtual machine too

>>6282510

I can understand not wanting to emulate a console... but choosing old PC hardware over emulation is full retard. There is no argument for the original.

>>6287345
Sure there are.
Most of us wouldn't bother despite that, for good reasons, as the thread has pointed out before your redundant-ass white noise contribution.
But there's certainly a few borderline cases and marginal reasons someone might want to do so.

>>6287474
>>6287345
i got about 70 floppies and 40 CDs, real hardware is easier for me until the day when i have to sit down and spend a whole day making ISOs and floppy IMGs for every single one

>>6284471
lmao speaking of EZ-drive, I went through my dad's old floppies from the early 90s and found a disk he made of that, but called it ez-disk for some reason. not that it matters, but the floppy had bad sectors of course.