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Re: Someone gave me a 486
Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2023 10:06 am
by AArdvark
Now we're having fun!
Re: Someone gave me a 486
Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2023 5:30 pm
by AArdvark
Playing a graphical text adventure, but using Dosbox because it's easier than the real hardware. I'm too dumb to figure out how to install multi floppy games anymore. The last time I did it was in 1998 when I installed... Windows98
Re: Someone gave me a 486
Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2023 6:37 am
by AArdvark
Anybody want the monitor that came with the 486? It's your basic 14 inch crt, free to good home, otherwise It's just going to get smashed up and going into the landfill
Post updated:

Re: Someone gave me a 486
Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2023 6:52 am
by Flack
I'd love to have it, but won't pay to ship it. You should check your local FB Marketplace or Craigslist; you would be surprised how much those are worth today.
Re: Someone gave me a 486
Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2023 6:57 am
by AArdvark
Eh, the space it's taking up is worth more to me than the monitor itself. It does weigh quite a lot, shipping would go into triple digits.
I could do the private sale thing, which will be a pain in the process, as we all know, or I could spend 30 seconds with a sledgehammer and not have to deal with the great unwashed
Update: nevermind
Re: Someone gave me a 486
Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2023 10:48 am
by Ice Cream Jonsey
Please don't smash it up.
I know you could have not said anything and avoided us trying to tell you what to do with your stuff, but if you were able to put it on Freecycle or something, we the JC community will owe you one (1) favor in return that you can ask for at any time. You'll have it in your back pocket. If it were 17" or greater I would try to have my brother come over and get it, the 14" VGA ones are just in this weird spot.
Re: Someone gave me a 486
Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2023 10:52 am
by AArdvark
I just don't want to deal with it. After realizing that shipping would be so expensive I kind of regret mentioning anything.
Let's pretend that the machine did not come with a monitor and the guy that gave me the pc told me the screen broke long ago
Re: Someone gave me a 486
Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2023 1:38 pm
by Flack
Yeah, I get it. Worst case scenario, you could put it out on the curb for free pickup. It'll be gone in the morning. Or, smash it.
Re: Someone gave me a 486
Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2023 5:36 pm
by Ice Cream Jonsey
AArdvark wrote: Mon Sep 04, 2023 10:52 am
I just don't want to deal with it. After realizing that shipping would be so expensive I kind of regret mentioning anything.
Let's pretend that the machine did not come with a monitor and the guy that gave me the pc told me the screen broke long ago
I understand regretting mentioning it. I have felt that way about many interactions since the pandemic started. So we shall FORGET as a community the monitor. Let's heal as a community.
Re: Someone gave me a 486
Posted: Mon Sep 04, 2023 8:21 pm
by Ice Cream Jonsey
Re: Someone gave me a 486
Posted: Tue Sep 05, 2023 9:47 am
by Casual Observer
What's the harm in someone breaching a free site, one that doesn't ask for even a credit card? This mentality is what brings us goddamn 2FA on sites that should never have to give a shit. It's already common knowledge that we shouldn't use passwords across multiple sites or click shit in unknown emails (yes of course people fail at that every day, fucking morons all of them) so why do I have to deal with guardrails put in place for the lowest common denominator. Why can't we just take an IQ test or something to opt out of 2FA?
Re: Someone gave me a 486
Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2023 1:27 am
by Jizaboz
Yeah that model monitor isn't really useful for a hell of a lot of other stuff. I've still got my parents 1990 Zenith 17 inch TV in my storage shed. One winter (maybe this one) I'll pull it out and rob the tube from it as those tubes make great tubes to build a common arcade monitor from scratch with the right parts (Wells Gardner k7000) or to perform a tube-swap operation.
Most of these old computer monitors however due to the OHM ratings off the yoke and such ain't good for shit except being a computer monitor.
Re: Someone gave me a 486
Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2023 5:59 pm
by AArdvark
Look! After 50+ years, it's my first legitimate DOS game!
Whoo-Hoo!
Re: Someone gave me a 486
Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2023 8:33 pm
by Ice Cream Jonsey
Wait, what do you mean? You had it back in the day and you are showing it, or you pirated all your DOS games back then?
I must know!
Re: Someone gave me a 486
Posted: Sun Sep 24, 2023 5:43 am
by AArdvark
I never had any DOS games per se, everything was Windows. The first PC game I ever got was Diablo but that was a copy.
This is my first original DOS only game.
The previous owner wants to play it on DosBox so I will be figuring out how to do that.
Re: Someone gave me a 486
Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2023 5:24 pm
by AArdvark
Before I go down into the hell that is command line typing, I'm moving all the files via floppy from the 486 and putting them together in my win7 machine.
I am also discovering floppies are not always reliable. Actually I knew that, this is reaffirming.
I'm using Windows 3.1 to format my blank floppies then drag a bunch of the game files onto them. The go upstairs and put the files into their proper folders. Repeat.
This is because I'm a dumb guy and can't figure out how to install the game from their floppies inside DosBox. Installed perfectly on the old hardware, go figure.
Re: Someone gave me a 486
Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2023 5:41 pm
by Jizaboz
Oh you are not the only one. I’ve used dosbox for a looong time but if I download a game not ready to be launched from the virtual C drive I give up and look for something else.
Re: Someone gave me a 486
Posted: Tue Sep 26, 2023 5:14 pm
by AArdvark
I think I've got it. I just needed to download the proper version of the game. It seems to be installing ok. What I did not know was that you can just drag an .exe file to the DosBox icon and it will do the rest for you.
update: the guy I'm doing all this for doesn't know how to unzip a folder on a Macbook, nor does he grasp the concept of drag-and-drop. Talking him through the steps over the phone was not successful
Re: Someone gave me a 486
Posted: Thu Sep 28, 2023 2:45 pm
by AArdvark
What good is a 5-1/4 drive without floppies, right?
Re: Someone gave me a 486
Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2023 1:58 pm
by AArdvark
I feel so 1983 right now!