Welcome to Retro PCs & DOS. This board is for IBM-compatible PCs from the DOS era through to Windows XP: period-correct builds, sound cards, graphics cards, configuring DOS games and keeping old hardware running.
What belongs here
• DOS, Windows 3.x, Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000 and XP machines
• Sound cards and MIDI: Sound Blaster, AdLib, Gravis Ultrasound, Roland and General MIDI modules
• Graphics cards from the VGA era to early 3D accelerators such as 3dfx Voodoo cards
• Period-correct builds, benchmarks and showcases
• Storage: IDE, SCSI, CF and SD card adapters, floppy and CD drives
• DOS configuration: memory managers, CONFIG.SYS, AUTOEXEC.BAT and boot menus
What doesn't
• Emulating DOS or old Windows in DOSBox, 86Box or PCem on a modern PC: PC emulation, unless it is about matching real hardware
• Commodore, Amiga, Spectrum and other home computers: Vintage computers
• Old Macs: Vintage Apple
• Retrobriting cases and cleaning: Restoration & retrobrite
How to ask so people can help
1. Motherboard, CPU, RAM and graphics card
2. Sound card and how it is configured (port, IRQ and DMA settings)
3. Operating system and version, and any drivers you have installed
4. The game or program and the exact error message
5. What you have already tried
Starter knowledge
• Many DOS games need conventional memory free. Learning to use memory managers and boot menus solves a lot of 'not enough memory' errors.
• Sound cards in the DOS era relied on settings such as IRQ and DMA. If a game is silent, check it is set up for the same values as your card.
• Very fast CPUs can make some older games run too quickly. Turbo buttons, cache settings and slowdown utilities help.
• CF and SD card adapters are a popular way to replace failing hard drives.
Safety and preservation
• Some motherboards have barrel batteries or clock modules with built-in batteries. Barrel batteries leak and can destroy traces, so remove them.
• Boards and power supplies from around the early 2000s are known for failing capacitors. Look for bulging or leaking tops.
• Some older ISA cards need a -5V rail that many modern power supplies lack. Check before using a modern supply.
• Never open a power supply or CRT monitor unless you know how to work with high voltages safely.
The rules
No piracy, and that includes so-called abandonware. Do not link, share or request copyrighted games, operating systems, drivers from unofficial sources, disk images or product keys. Software that rights holders have released freely is fine to discuss. No malware, no selling and no paid services.
The general house rules apply: be kind, English only (posts in other languages are translated automatically), no spam, no keyboard mashing and no self-promotion spam. Report anything that breaks the rules. This thread is locked, so please start your own thread here for questions or build logs.
Dexter
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