MS-DOS / Windows 98 / Linux Notebook

[granz]

Everyone who knows me (at least my tech friends) know that I like retro computing, specifically MS-DOS. So, I have been wanting a nice notebook on which I can run DOS, or maybe Windows 9x. The other need was for a really good keyboard, such as the keyboard on my Zenith SupersPort 8088 - which could not run any Windows higher than Windows 3.0.



The issues that I have had, until now, are that the only one that worked for Windows is my Zenith Z-Star EX, which has a nice-ish 486 (which can run Windows, up to 98,) but has a pretty crappy keyboard.



Well, now I found an older Dell (Latitude D520) that I recovered from my e-waste site a few months ago. I plugged it in (I have several miscellaneous power supplies, and my main laptop is a Dell with the same power connector,) and it booted. Running through the BIOS, everything looks great, and all of the on-board diagnostic tests passed with flying colors - except the battery. Oh well, not a big deal - I can run it on mains power for now.


Nice keyboard - not quite as good as the SupersPort, but nice none-the-less. I can probably get used to typing on this. Unfortunately, when I took this picture, I saw that it does NOT have a printer port - the BIOS say otherwise. Oh well...

Unfortunately, it boots to a Windows XP password-protected account. No trouble, I just booted to a live Linux Mint image on my Ventoy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ventoy) USB drive. The system came up with no troubles, and Linux Mint seemed to be smooth. As I mentioned, I don't want to run Linux (at least not primarily) on this thing - it is for MS-DOS (or something compatible) and maybe Windows (3.11 For Workgroups, or 9x.)

Well, about the battery - sometimes a battery just needs to sit on a charger for a long time, and it can then hold a charge. Not this baby! The notebook sat on my charger over night, and still showed 0% charge level. That can be fixed quickly, though - one simple click over to Amazon, and I have a new battery on its way here. It should arrive on Tuesday.

Next up, install MS-DOS, and play around a bit.

[JKnightandKARR]

Everyone who knows me (at least my tech friends) know that I like retro computing, specifically MS-DOS. So, I have been wanting a nice notebook on which I can run DOS, or maybe Windows 9x. The other need was for a really good keyboard, such as the keyboard on my Zenith SupersPort 8088 - which could not run any Windows higher than Windows 3.0.



The issues that I have had, until now, are that the only one that worked for Windows is my Zenith Z-Star EX, which has a nice-ish 486 (which can run Windows, up to 98,) but has a pretty crappy keyboard.



Well, now I found an older Dell (Latitude D520) that I recovered from my e-waste site a few months ago. I plugged it in (I have several miscellaneous power supplies, and my main laptop is a Dell with the same power connector,) and it booted. Running through the BIOS, everything looks great, and all of the on-board diagnostic tests passed with flying colors - except the battery. Oh well, not a big deal - I can run it on mains power for now.


Nice keyboard - not quite as good as the SupersPort, but nice none-the-less. I can probably get used to typing on this. Unfortunately, when I took this picture, I saw that it does NOT have a printer port - the BIOS say otherwise. Oh well...

Unfortunately, it boots to a Windows XP password-protected account. No trouble, I just booted to a live Linux Mint image on my Ventoy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ventoy) USB drive. The system came up with no troubles, and Linux Mint seemed to be smooth. As I mentioned, I don't want to run Linux (at least not primarily) on this thing - it is for MS-DOS (or something compatible) and maybe Windows (3.11 For Workgroups, or 9x.)

Well, about the battery - sometimes a battery just needs to sit on a charger for a long time, and it can then hold a charge. Not this baby! The notebook sat on my charger over night, and still showed 0% charge level. That can be fixed quickly, though - one simple click over to Amazon, and I have a new battery on its way here. It should arrive on Tuesday.

Next up, install MS-DOS, and play around a bit.

Just an offer, if you send me the Z-Star's keyboard, I'll try n clean it up good inside n see if I can get it back n working as needed.

[granz]

Just an offer, if you send me the Z-Star's keyboard, I'll try n clean it up good inside n see if I can get it back n working as needed.

Hey Joe, I appreciate the offer, but the keyboard is clean and works just fine and as advertised. What I don't like is the flimsy way it was designed. It really needs more support underneath the thing. It just feels mushy, and it tends to bend while I'm typing - not good for touch typing.

I had thought about taking the keyboard off the system and trying to firm it up, but I figured that if it bent so much, the keyboard PCB must be really thin. So, I'll just leave Star as she is, and use a better designed notebook for my daily-ish MS-DOS system.

Thanks anyway.

[JKnightandKARR]

Just an offer, if you send me the Z-Star's keyboard, I'll try n clean it up good inside n see if I can get it back n working as needed.

Hey Joe, I appreciate the offer, but the keyboard is clean and works just fine and as advertised. What I don't like is the flimsy way it was designed. It really needs more support underneath the thing. It just feels mushy, and it tends to bend while I'm typing - not good for touch typing.

I had thought about taking the keyboard off the system and trying to firm it up, but I figured that if it bent so much, the keyboard PCB must be really thin. So, I'll just leave Star as she is, and use a better designed notebook for my daily-ish MS-DOS system.

Thanks anyway.

Got ya. Sounded like it was acting up n partially working. Maybe some thin foam under it, or even thick paper? I'll play with mine n see if i can find a solution.