IBM 5162 PC/XT 286: The AT in XT clothing

IBM 5162 PC/XT 286: The AT in XT clothing

The IBM PC/XT-286, also known as the IBM 5162 or IBM model 5162, was a short-lived computer from IBM announced in 1986 and released in 1987. It was a difficult computer to understand at the time, and had a mixed reception when it was new, although it has a cult following today. In this blog post, I’ll explain what was wrong with this PC at the time, and what makes it appealing to hobbyists now.

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Motherboard plastic standoff removal tool

Motherboard plastic standoff removal tool

YouTuber Adrian Black was repairing a dilapidated AT motherboard with battery damage and mentioned how tedious it is to remove motherboard plastic standoffs with needle nose pliers and other tools. I have an unconventional but cheap and effective motherboard plastic standoff removal tool. I’ve been using it since the early ’90s.

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Plantronics Colorplus: Forgotten PC graphics

Plantronics Colorplus: Forgotten PC graphics

Plantronics color was a superset of CGA, introduced in 1982, similar to but not compatible with the extended color modes in the IBM PCjr and Tandy 1000.

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Atari 2600 emulator for the VIC-20

Atari 2600 emulator for the VIC-20

Rumored to exist! I first heard the rumor in 1996, and more than a quarter century later, it’s never turned up. But let’s talk about the Cardapter 1 and the Game Loader, a pair of vaporware Atari 2600 emulators for the VIC-20. The Cardapter 1 was  demonstrated in January 1983 under much secrecy, advertised a bit over the spring of 1983, but never appeared. The Game Loader is a bit more mysterious.

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Protecto Enterprizes: What is was and wasn’t

Protecto Enterprizes: What is was and wasn’t

Protecto Enterprizes (not Protecto Enterprises), and Computer Direct, one of its divisions, are names that come up occasionally in retro circles. They were a company that advertised heavily in computer magazines in the mid-1980s, and their inventory is frequently interesting to retro computer collectors. But sometimes it’s a little unclear what this company was, and I think that was by design.

Protecto Enterprizes/Computer Direct was a computer mail order discounter based out of the Chicago area from 1979 to about 1995. They were not a manufacturer nor were they strictly a liquidator, though they did sell a lot of closeout inventory and private label products that made them look like they may have been more than just a distributor.

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VCR won’t accept date? Here’s the fix

VCR won’t accept date? Here’s the fix

Some VCRs won’t accept dates after the year 2000. Some old computers won’t either. But there is a creative solution so your old device knows what day of the week it is on a given date, even if it can’t handle a year after 2000.

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DOS memory management on a 286

DOS memory management on a 286

This month, YouTuber Casual Retro Gamer rebuilt a 286 clone from the late 1980s. After his restoration work was done, he did what any of us would have done. He started upgrading it, because a handsomely restored retro PC is less fun than a souped up handsomely restored retro PC. And that’s where he ran into the oddities of 286 memory optimization. When he was done, he had 585 kilobytes of conventional memory available, and he speculated that might not be quite enough. Here’s how to get more.

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Can you use Windows 95 in 2022?

Can you use Windows 95 in 2022?

When troubleshooting a Windows 95 build, I came across an interesting question: can you use Windows 95 in 2022? And a related question: is Windows 95 safe to use? As a retro computer enthusiast and a computer security professional, and one who specializes in software life cycle management at that, I take a special interest in questions like this.

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Dell E1912HF and the Amiga

Dell E1912HF and the Amiga

Amiga monitors have never been especially easy to find, but as time moves on, they get even harder. In a pinch you can use a television, but that has some drawbacks. Fortunately there are some other modern alternatives. The Dell E1912HF is a good example, though not the only one.

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3Com 3c509 in an 8088-based PC/XT

3Com 3c509 in an 8088-based PC/XT

Officially, the old reliable–and super common–3Com 3c509 Ethernet card requires a 286 or better processor. Unofficially, you can get one to work in an 8088-or 8086-based based XT-class system. Here’s the trick to using a 3com 3c509 in an 8088 PC/XT.

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