How to set up an old PC to run LAPDOS: Difference between revisions

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(New page: == Creating a PC for use with LAPDOS and PDD.EXE == Hello! From time to time I have needed to put together a PC capable of running both LAPDOS and PDD.EXE, for accessing data on a TPD...)
 
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== Creating a PC for use with LAPDOS and PDD.EXE ==
== Creating a PC for use with LAPDOS and PDD.EXE ==


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From time to time I have needed to put together a PC capable of running both LAPDOS and PDD.EXE, for accessing data on a TPDD.
From time to time I have needed to put together a PC capable of running both LAPDOS and PDD.EXE, for accessing data on a TPDD.


Typically, I have some Pentium class computer lying around, so that is what I have used. I cannot confirm that anything newer that this will work, but I would bet that a Pentium III would still work.  My standard needs are 1-2 serial ports, a small hard drive, and a floppy, and I typically use DOS 6.22.
Typically, I have some Pentium class computer lying around, so that is what I have used. I cannot confirm that anything newer that this will work, but I would bet that a Pentium II would still work.  My standard needs are 1-2 serial ports, a small hard drive, and a floppy, and I typically use DOS 6.22, but DOS 5 seems good also.
 
My current system for this is a K6-3 400 on a Super 7 PCB (100MHz clock rate).  Ridiculous overkill.  I have it slowed down to run the CPU at 166MHz with a bus of 66MHz.
 
The key thing to do, is to slow down the CPU so that it runs at a similar pace to a PC from 1987 ish.
 
Hardware setup
--------------
* Slow down clock rates on the motherboard.  Sometimes you can select slower than max clock rates.  Running 66M MHz is a good starting point.
* Minimize the CPU multiplier.  I have my K6-3 running at 166 MHz.
* I disable the on-chip cache on the CPU.  This is done from the bios of the PC.
* Sometimes I must also disable level 2 cache.  Again, a bios switch.
* Hard disk - using an old hard disk may be required, but I find that setting up a small (<20MB) partition, and formatting in FAT16 works best.


My current system for this is a K6-3 400 on a Super 7 PCB (100MHz clock rate)Ridiculous overkill.
I notice two things that tell me LAPDOS is not working right-
1)  starting the software fails at "determining system timings..." - if this happens things are running too fast
2)  LAPDOS cannot recognize the available space on the hard diskThis means you need to run it on a smaller partition.


The key thing to do, is to slow down the CPU so that it runs at a similar pace to a PC from 1987 ish.  There are 2 things I do.


1) I disable the on-chip cache on the CPU.  This is done from the bios of the PC.
SLOWDOWN Utility
2) I run SLOWDOWN V 3.10 from Bret Johnson.  See the link below.
----------------
If need be, I also run SLOWDOWN V 3.10 from Bret Johnson.  See the link below.


http://bretjohnson.us/
http://bretjohnson.us/

Revision as of 08:26, 26 March 2009

Creating a PC for use with LAPDOS and PDD.EXE

Hello!

From time to time I have needed to put together a PC capable of running both LAPDOS and PDD.EXE, for accessing data on a TPDD.

Typically, I have some Pentium class computer lying around, so that is what I have used. I cannot confirm that anything newer that this will work, but I would bet that a Pentium II would still work. My standard needs are 1-2 serial ports, a small hard drive, and a floppy, and I typically use DOS 6.22, but DOS 5 seems good also.

My current system for this is a K6-3 400 on a Super 7 PCB (100MHz clock rate). Ridiculous overkill. I have it slowed down to run the CPU at 166MHz with a bus of 66MHz.

The key thing to do, is to slow down the CPU so that it runs at a similar pace to a PC from 1987 ish.

Hardware setup


  • Slow down clock rates on the motherboard. Sometimes you can select slower than max clock rates. Running 66M MHz is a good starting point.
  • Minimize the CPU multiplier. I have my K6-3 running at 166 MHz.
  • I disable the on-chip cache on the CPU. This is done from the bios of the PC.
  • Sometimes I must also disable level 2 cache. Again, a bios switch.
  • Hard disk - using an old hard disk may be required, but I find that setting up a small (<20MB) partition, and formatting in FAT16 works best.

I notice two things that tell me LAPDOS is not working right- 1) starting the software fails at "determining system timings..." - if this happens things are running too fast 2) LAPDOS cannot recognize the available space on the hard disk. This means you need to run it on a smaller partition.


SLOWDOWN Utility


If need be, I also run SLOWDOWN V 3.10 from Bret Johnson. See the link below.

http://bretjohnson.us/

For settings, I use the following command in autoexec.bat-

slowdown /c:no /s:100


That is about it. If when running either LAP.EXE or PDD.EXE, you have timeout problems when accessing the TPDD, or the TPDD cannot be found, try slowing down the system further with a smaller number than 100.

Give it a try.

cheers, Steve Adolph.