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Questions tagged [boot]

Bootstrapping (booting) process, utilities and customisation.

40 votes
1 answer
5k views

Is it possible to know which lines in the Gameboy Color cartridge connection is missing by looking at the glitched Nintendo logo?

Context: I'm building a gameboy color flash cartridge based on the rp2040 mcu, I have came to the point where it displays an almost complete nintendo bootlogo at the startup. However, a few pixels(...
Ömer Gezer's user avatar
0 votes
3 answers
588 views

XW8000 workstation boot from USB

I have an old XW8000 machine that I’ve been trying and failing boot from USB for the last week. I’ve tried burning Ubuntu 6.0, 8.0, 14.0, 22.04 on USB media using PowerIso and BalenaEtcher and the usb ...
Marcus 's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
444 views

How to use dd command to write a PC booter floppy image to a USB flash drive?

I have some PC booter images from new homebrew games by this Japanese developer: http://inufuto.web.fc2.com/8bit/ As I know, those images have a 360k size, and are self-bootable by the old IBM PC (...
Igor Peruchi's user avatar
9 votes
5 answers
3k views

Can Linux boot beyond 1023 cylinders on old BIOS?

I have a 386 with 4GB drive (7769/16/63). It's a Compaq from 1992 so it does not have any translation options in BIOS. DOS is installed on the first 1023 cylinders (essentially the maximum size it can ...
eesz34's user avatar
  • 925
13 votes
4 answers
4k views

What actions, besides a hard power-off, did a blank screen with a blinking cursor allow?

I remember that, in the old days, a serious boot error could manifest in a screen like the above. (I have no idea if this may still happen. I haven't seen it for years, so I assume it is legacy as of ...
gaazkam's user avatar
  • 239
11 votes
2 answers
1k views

Where to obtain 3c509b empty boot ROM chip?

I'm planning to write iPXE to boot ROM of my 3c509b to enable HTTP booting on my old computer. What is the type of the ROM chip and where would you obtain it? It's 28 pin connector, please see picture ...
Zouppen's user avatar
  • 213
9 votes
2 answers
1k views

How to change what program Apple ProDOS 'starts' when booting

I finally have my Apple //e booting from my SCSI2SD but I'm missing something regarding how ProDOS knows what program to start when it boots. As I understand it, ProDOS will look for the first .SYSTEM ...
Geo...'s user avatar
  • 10.2k
11 votes
9 answers
3k views

What is the best way to set up multiple operating systems on a retro PC?

I have an old Pentium II computer, and I would like to set it up as a retro gaming machine, but I would also like to play around with old distributions of Linux, OS/2 and other operating systems. What ...
Tibi's user avatar
  • 346
8 votes
2 answers
467 views

Reviving a Mac Mini (PowerPc) - Not booting correctly: video is out of sync, blinking, usb boot not enabled

I come from superuser.com where I asked this, but was told to post here for further help https://superuser.com/questions/1772907/mac-mini-g4-powerpc-wont-boot-how-can-i-reset-it-to-factory-defaults?...
Mauricio Gracia Gutierrez's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
761 views

How do I diagnose a "system board error" on IBM Thinkpad 600E?

I have an IBM Thinkpad 600E that won't boot up. I used ctrl + alt + ins to boot into a screen with some diagnostic tools. Memory test passes HD test passes SystemBoard test FAILS with Dev = 1 ERR = ...
Cool Pontiac's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
510 views

Old IBM ThinkPad laptop gets stuck booting Windows on a weird screen. How to proceed?

I’m trying to breathe life into an old IBM ThinkPad Pentium II. I think it runs Windows NT or Windows 98 or whatever came after that It turns on fine and asks me to enter the year and date which I do. ...
Cool Pontiac's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
388 views

Need help restoring the OS of an "AST Premium Exec 386SX/20" laptop

I have an AST Premium Exec 386SX/20 Model 63V laptop minus a floppy drive and hard disk. Otherwise the 1991 vintage machine is fully functional (and in excellent condition, so it's definitely worth ...
Wossname's user avatar
  • 169
6 votes
1 answer
299 views

Boot and run OS/2 1.x from floppy to run a few command-line tools

How (by doing which steps) can I boot and run OS/2 1.x from a boot floppy, without installing it to a hard drive? As a way to do this, is it possible to go to the command prompt from within the ...
pts's user avatar
  • 2,033
3 votes
0 answers
955 views

FreeDOS and USB support

I have an old Fujitsu LifeBook that I want to install Windows 98 on. I burned a Windows 98 CD and verified it works, but the LifeBook's CD drive cant seem to read it. I do know the CD drive works, as ...
Keltari's user avatar
  • 513
27 votes
2 answers
8k views

Why did the Nintendo GameBoy Color make the name of any game to have a specific checksum?

Inside of the GBCs Cartridge header there is the metadata for the game and the Nintendo logo. The program that runs on boot (the BIOS or Boot ROM) checks the checksum of the Nintendo logo, and always ...
Missing User's user avatar

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