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   CLASSIC_COMPUTER      Classic Computers      1,530 messages   

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   Message 399 of 1,530   
   andrew clarke to Christopher Simms   
   IBM PS/2 Model 25 questions   
   12 Feb 16 20:03:58   
   
   11 Feb 16 22:57, you wrote to all:   
      
    CS> Hi folks, I have a few questions regarding a 1987 IBM PS/2 Model 25   
    CS> I've been tinkering with:   
      
    CS> 1) Is the Model 25 capable of color? If so, how do I enable it in DOS   
    CS> 5.0?   
      
   There are several different Model 25s but only some are colour. It's possible   
   yours is VGA but only has a greyscale monitor.   
      
   An quick way to test whether you've got VGA with MS-DOS 5.0 would be to run   
   this in QBASIC:   
      
   SCREEN 12   
   CIRCLE (200, 200), 50, 4   
   CIRCLE (200, 200), 100, 2   
   CIRCLE (200, 200), 150, 1   
      
   This switches to 640x480 graphics mode (16 colors) and displays red, green and   
   blue circles on the screen.   
      
   If you get an error or a blank screen you probably have a monochrome graphics   
   card.   
      
   If you get grey circles on the screen, you have a greyscale monitor.   
      
    CS> 2) What telnet clients are available for DOS 5.0?   
      
   mTCP Telnet should work. You'll just need to find the correct driver for the   
   PS/2's network card, though.   
      
   http://www.brutman.com/mTCP/mTCP_Telnet.html   
      
    CS> 3) Would it be possible to install and run Linux via dual-boot on one   
    CS> of these computers?   
      
   Linux requires at least a 80386 CPU, however most PS/2 Model 25s have either   
   8086 or 80286 CPUs.   
      
   Even if your PS/2 is a 386SX model, you're unlikely to have enough RAM onboard   
   to boot the Linux kernel, nor sufficient disk space to install the base OS.   
      
   Something like Xenix might boot on your PS/2, but it'll be painful to use. For   
   that machine I'd stick with mTCP on top of MS-DOS.   
      
    CS> I've been getting into vintage computing as a hobby lately, but there   
    CS> are some things I need help with from time to time. Thanks all and I   
    CS> look forward to hearing from you!   
      
   I wish I'd kept some of my older PCs, but they can be a real pain to keep   
   going.   
      
   Currently my oldest PC is from 1995, unusually with a Cyrix 6x86 CPU. To my   
   surprise the onboard battery is still working, keeping the clock ticking over   
   and BIOS settings intact.   
      
   I also have a working Pentium 90 motherboard, but no case to put it into yet.   
      
   Have you looked at emulators? Running DOSBox, VirtualBox or PCem-X on a modern   
   PC can be useful. Obviously it's not the same experience as using the real   
   thing, but it can be very handy for experimenting with software before running   
   it on real hardware.   
      
   There's also the http://www.pcjs.org/ web site, where you can emulate early   
   PCs entirely in a modern PC's web browser (using JavaScript).   
      
   Regards   
   Andrew   
      
   --- GoldED+/BSD 1.1.5-b20160201   
    * Origin: X (3:633/267.7)   

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