How to disassemble a Tandy 1000EX

How to disassemble a Tandy 1000EX

A Tandy 1000EX is harder to disassemble than a typical 1980s PC clone. And for as popular as this machine is, I couldn’t find any thorough explanation of how to do it. Even the 1980s service manuals for the machine gloss over or omit disassembly. So here’s how to disassemble a Tandy 1000EX, such as to give the case a thorough cleaning.

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MS-DOS 3.31: The DOS you couldn’t have

MS-DOS 3.31: The DOS you couldn’t have

When it comes to the best operating system to use for a vintage PC, if it has a 286 or better processor, there is little reason to use anything older than MS-DOS 5 or PC-DOS 5. But with an XT, it’s a little different. The best MS-DOS version to use is one you may have never heard of. MS-DOS 3.31 was an upgrade you couldn’t buy.

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Fixing my IBM 5170 motherboard

Fixing my IBM 5170 motherboard

After years of searching, I was able to locate an untested IBM 5170 motherboard about 2 hours away. Being untested, of course I was taking my chances. But I was able to get it working. Here’s how I fixed my IBM 5170 motherboard so I could restore my IBM 5170 with a true-blue IBM board to replace the clone board in it.

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Connect a Tandy 1000 to a television

Connect a Tandy 1000 to a television

The Tandy 1000 is easy to connect to a television. That was part of its original design. It worked better from a marketing perspective than a technical perspective, but that’s one reason it was successful. It can work better today than it did in the ’80s. Here’s how.

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Logitech C7 mouse: So bad it’s good

Logitech C7 mouse: So bad it’s good

I picked up a Logitech C7 mouse to go with my IBM 5170. It’s so bad it’s good. There is no way I would use it all the time, but in so many ways it’s perfect for the mid-eighties PC.

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Exit full screen in WinUAE

I always struggle to remember how to exit fullscreen mode in WinUAE, and it seems like everyone else wants to explain everything about the software. So here’s how to exit full screen mode in WinUAE, the Amiga emulator for Windows. It takes about three steps.

I often enter fullscreen in WinUAE accidentally and then can’t remember how to get out. You need to hit F12, then navigate the display menu.

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Windows XP retro gaming PC

Windows XP retro gaming PC

If you want a Windows XP retro gaming PC, you have a lot of options. The dizzying number of options may make it more confusing. But it’s also part of the appeal. Let’s talk about how to select components and build one.

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IBM 5170 battery

IBM 5170 battery

Long ago, if you needed an IBM 5170 battery, you could drive 5 minutes to Radio Shack and they would have one. It might cost $10, but the time you saved was probably worth it. But those batteries disappeared sometime around Y2K, and of course Radio Shack has been gone nearly a decade now too. Here’s how I cobbled together a suitable IBM 5170 battery for around $6.

This battery was something of a standard, so a lot of motherboards, even into the 486 era, had a connector for this type of battery. So it’s useful for more than just an IBM 5170. If you have a 4-pin battery connector on your board, chances are this solution will work on it too.

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What batteries don’t leak?

What batteries don’t leak?

Anytime you are dealing with a battery, there is danger of having to deal with leaking. And the more expensive the devices that you put the battery in, the bigger the problem that is. That raises the question: what batteries don’t leak?

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When DOS was removed from Windows

When DOS was removed from Windows

When DOS was removed from Windows depends on your perspective. For early adopters of Windows NT, it happened as early as July 1993. But for mainstream Windows use, the final removal of DOS from Windows came with the release of Windows XP.

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