ClassicConnect

europa · Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2026 4:53 pm Post subject:

Wow you really are getting the full DOS PC experience, aren't you? In all reality though, I hope you can find a configuration without compatibility issues or anything sooner rather than later.

CompactFlash would be a decent option, although you might be afflicted by the fact that some CompactFlash cards work in Removable Disk mode rather than Fixed Disk mode. You might also want to keep in mind that the Windows Pagefile will probably eat through the CF's write cycles way quicker than anticipated.

If you do decide to go ahead and get something to replace the hard drive instead of waiting for the PicoIDE, I'd recommend also looking at something like a Disk-On-Module. They're pretty slow in terms of access speed, relative to something like a CF card anyway, but they're designed more for running computers on them. I have a couple and can send you one if you're interested, but I'll need to see if I have all the right parts to make it work.
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Your System ate a SPARC! Gah!

parasquared · Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2026 8:27 pm Post subject:

europa · Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2026 8:51 pm Post subject:

parasquared · Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2026 10:40 pm Post subject:

update: the AWE64 finally came in last night, and i can say it's soooo much better than the old Jazz16 card. the mixer doesn't crap out over higher bitrate sounds (or just randomly crackle and pop which i did witness in certain software like Microsoft Bob), it actually supports 16bit stereo in every application (the Jazz16 supported it in basically nothing; despite the mixer ostensibly supporting it, it only exposed itself as a SoundBlaster Pro compatible card) and the AWE synthesis sounds awesome as hell for MIDIs.

there was a slight hiccup though; at some point it stopped working entirely, with an error of something to the effect of `Bad Resource Data Checksum (Expected=f1 Actual=64)`. after some googling though, i found a Bits und Bolts post saying their SoundBlaster 32 had bit rotted in the EEPROM. so i tried flashing it with the linked utility (with `aweflash ct4520.bin`) and it's working once again.
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- parasquared

"In space there is no center, we're always off to the side"
- Ballad of Reverend War Character, Silver Jews

europa · Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2026 1:11 am Post subject:

Glad you got actually got the card this time around! Very Happy

From the recordings you sent me, it sounds so much better. It was awesome hearing it play "A Cruel Angel's Thesis" and not mess up the pitch bends in the MIDI file, as that is where a lot of synths run into issues in my experience.

Enjoy your new sound card! Smile

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Your System ate a SPARC! Gah!

europa · Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2026 2:19 am Post subject:

Not to hijack this thread, but LGR just released a video on the PicoIDE and the ZuluIDE and I thought you might be interested in it, given you were looking at the former a bit ago. Smile

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Your System ate a SPARC! Gah!

parasquared · Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2026 8:06 am Post subject:

not hijacking if you're telling me something! Razz

i saw that, and i'm still somewhat interested, however i did get a CF adapter anyways since i wasn't sure when it would properly release.
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- parasquared

"In space there is no center, we're always off to the side"
- Ballad of Reverend War Character, Silver Jews

europa · Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2026 5:05 pm Post subject:

Yeah for sure. I'm personally quite curious about if they'd work on my Ultra 5s. The CMD640 series IDE controllers are very picky and I've had personal experience where plugging in a random optical drive will just kill the entire IDE chain before. It would be nice to have the ability to use (emulated) optical media on my Ultra 5 that has a completely dead optical drive, but I'm not holding my breath. It'd be something to try if I get one for a different machine, though.
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Your System ate a SPARC! Gah!

parasquared · Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2026 2:44 am Post subject:

speaking of said adapter; i ordered some cards (18 bucks for two 4GB cards is absolutely insane, but at least it's two i guess? oh well.. i know CFs are just really expensive but i don't know why)

i was originally gonna use my CF to SD adapter but i can't find that anymore and i have a feeling it may not work anyways (might need the non removable flag set or something)
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- parasquared

"In space there is no center, we're always off to the side"
- Ballad of Reverend War Character, Silver Jews

europa · Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2026 5:27 pm Post subject:

Yeah that's what I've found too. I guess it may be that the demand is lower or something. Hope you don't run into the fixed/removable disk mode issues that other people have run into.
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Your System ate a SPARC! Gah!