386 Frankenstein

frankie_2016_bannerA cobbled together mishmash of x86 hardware. It’s slow. It’s old. It works.

Narrative »

  • This old thing. I tell ya, it’s a true Frankenstein’s monster. Tons of crappy 386 ISA hardware running Windows For Workgroups 3.11 just for the sake of saying I could do it. This can serve files to my Windows computers, and fetch files from my Windows 2012 R2 file server. It’s primary function is internet access to old floppy disk images for writing to media for my even older machines.
  • The motherboard had a TCR Computers sticker on it, so I presume that company built the donor machine from which the motherboard came.

Vital Stats »

  • Model Number: Nope
  • Serial Number: Nope

Acquisition Data »

  • Acquisition Date: 2005?
  • Acquisition Method: Scavenge
  • Acquired From: Work, et al.

Physical Condition »

  • Condition: An outright freaking mess, but it boots and is Y2K Compliant, mostly.
    • 9 October 2016: Removed bad solder-on CMOS battery and cleaned up corrosion. Fully disassembled, cleaned out interior, rebuilt machine. Otherwise same disposition as before.
    • 15 March 2015: Boots, runs Windows, connects to network, can ping Internet sites. It’s a little slow, but it works.
  • Other: Ha. HA HA!

Accessories And Specifications »

  • Motherboard: TK83305P9-4N-D-02 with Am386SX/SXL-33 Processor at 33Mhz
  • RAM: 4MB 30 Pin SIMM
  • I/O Controller: SIIG SC-JKA052 ISA 16-bit SuperIO Multifunction Card IDE/Floppy/Parallel/Serial
  • Video: Trident TVGA8900D Graphics Card / ISA 16-Bit, 1MB RAM
  • Audio: Labway ESS ES1688 AudioDrive ISA 16-bit
  • Network: KTI Networks KTI ET16/P Plug and Play Ethernet Adapter (10BaseTX)
  • Hard Drive: 108 MB IDE
  • 5.25″ Floppy: Teac FD-55GFR 7149-U5
  • 3.5″ Floppy: Mitsumi D359M3
  • IDE CD-ROM: Mitsumi CRMC-FX4820T
  • Mouse: Logitech M-M34 2 Button Serial Mouse [811420-0001]
  • Keyboard: BTC Model 5121 AT Keyboard

Photographs »

Windows for Workgroups 3.11 sharing files to a Windows 2008 R2 server.
Frankie’s file shares on a Windows 2008 R2 box.
Picture of Frankenstein 386 PC.
Frankie’s a hot mess.