Re: Installing GOG games on Windows98SE with KernelEx

Posted on 2024-05-07, 14:43

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by songoffall

in Milliways

in Milliways

Gothic 2 SUCCESS You need to remove all the wrappers like draw.dll in the game folder, or else the game won't work on Windows 98SE Return to Castle Wolfenstein SUCCESS Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines SUCCESS Both Commandos and its expansion freeze your system on hardware level if you have K-Lite …

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Re: Installing GOG games on Windows98SE with KernelEx

Posted on 2024-05-07, 10:24

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by songoffall

in Milliways

in Milliways

Another update: the "Unofficial SP" does introduce a lot of weird stuff, so I eventually ended up ditching it. I actually ditched the Windows 98SE CD I was using too, it seems to have degraded over the years and the installation program failed to notice file corruption. Fresh Windows 98 SE, with the …

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Re: Installing GOG games on Windows98SE with KernelEx

Posted on 2024-05-07, 09:02

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by songoffall

in Milliways

in Milliways

Medal of Honor Allied Assault Battlechest SUCCESS Anachronox SUCCESS Serious Sam The First Encounter SUCCESS Serious Sam The Second Encounter SUCCESS Giants Citizen Kabuto FAILURE SUCCESS Might be fixable. The included gg_dx7r.dll might be the likely culprit, looking into the file it definitely is …

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Re: Installing GOG games on Windows98SE with KernelEx

Posted on 2024-05-06, 19:52

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by songoffall

in Milliways

in Milliways

Hitman: Agent 47 SUCCESS Hitman 2: Silent Assassin SUCCESS Warlords Battlecry 3 SUCCESS SiN Gold FAILURE

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Re: Things I learned about fans

Posted on 2024-04-04, 18:04

by

by songoffall

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

You meant WD-40, I guess. Anyways it's a common misunderstanding that WD-40 is a lubricant. While it's not. It's rather a lubricant/old grease remover as it contains kerosene. It may have a short term lubrication effect right after applying, but that's it. My bad, I did mean WD-40. I'm pretty sure …

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Re: Things I learned about fans

Posted on 2024-04-03, 09:49

by

by songoffall

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I've read that WD-40 was actually a different product initially, and then the formula was changed. The company making it claims WD-40 does contain oils with lubricating properties. The question is how much is there and what viscosity it has, and does it evaporate or not. All that being said the …

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Re: Things I learned about fans

Posted on 2024-04-03, 09:46

by

by songoffall

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

...lubricating it with WD-70 or lithium grease might return the noise levels to stock, but you've got to be realistic - these fans weren't very silent to start with. You meant WD-40, I guess. Anyways it's a common misunderstanding that WD-40 is a lubricant. While it's not. It's rather a lubricant/ …

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Re: Things I learned about fans

Posted on 2024-04-02, 11:55

by

by songoffall

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

WD-40 is well suited for getting seized fans to spin again and detaching any unwanted junk from the whole bearing/shaft/etc. assembly. For the actual lubrication part you'll want something like sewing machine or bike chain oil. Thanks. I'm surprised you have bike chain oil; back in the day I used …

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Re: Things I learned about fans

Posted on 2024-04-01, 17:01

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by songoffall

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

WD-40 and fans: it helps, somewhat, but if you expect to make an old noisy fan silent, forget about it. The PSU fan in one of my systems was barely moving, so it went from clicking to humming. Better than nothing, I guess.

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Re: Things I learned about fans

Posted on 2024-03-29, 15:15

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by songoffall

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I put an experiment today. I have a relatively modern MATX system (Core i7 2600K, 16Gb DDR3, GeForce GTX 1650, Samsung EVO 870 500Gb), with no fans on the case itself and the SFX PSU working as an exhaust. In a desktop configuration, because the side panel is perforated, I would assume this system …

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Re: Things I learned about fans

Posted on 2024-03-27, 18:25

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by songoffall

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

And one more thing, which comes more to me messing up :)) One wouldn't expect me to read the manual for PC fans, but I really should. Turns out my Noctua fans didn't come with long and short extension cables - only the long ones were actual extension cables, and the short ones were so called "low- …

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Re: Things I learned about fans

Posted on 2024-03-26, 22:32

by

by songoffall

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

2. Air turbulence, especially when a high CFM fan pushes against an obstruction, bad cable management, fans against components without enough clearance. This can be fixed by removing airflow obstructions like the poorly perforated exhaust ports on older PCs and replacing them with wire-based …

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Re: Things I learned about fans

Posted on 2024-03-26, 08:08

by

by songoffall

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I know "completely silent" would mean using passive cooling and solid state components, either not viable or not worth it in most cases. But then, when we talk about silent we mean silent compared to the ambient noise level or speakers, silent enough that it doesn't distract you. At this point, I've …

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Re: Things I learned about fans

Posted on 2024-03-15, 23:07

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by songoffall

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

At this point, I think my cable management is as good as it gets with a configuration like this. But then, I'll let you be the judge: Cable management looks good, but you may want to replace those ancient PSUs. I have a similar one from Mercury (not actively used) and it's a noise/dust blaster, not …

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Re: Things I learned about fans

Posted on 2024-03-15, 08:28

by

by songoffall

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Another thing people overlook is cable management. The better the cable management, the better the airflow, the better the airflow the less volume of air you need so you can run lower RPM fans to achieve the same temperature. At this point, I think my cable management is as good as it gets with a …

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Re: Things I learned about fans

Posted on 2024-03-15, 08:25

by

by songoffall

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Whenever I can't hear my HDD over the fan noise, that's unacceptable, I think. I think it may also depend on what type of house your ears are more sensitive to, and that can be subjective. To me, the noise of ancient IDE hard drive platters spinning at 7200 RPM is far more annoying than any noise …

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Things I learned about fans

Posted on 2024-03-15, 07:59

by

by songoffall

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

It's no secret that retro rigs are often noisy. There's a lot of moving parts making some kind of a sound. Silent running wasn't a big consideration until in 2000s PC thermals went up and the PC fans ended up sounding like a jet engine. Even before that, there were manual fan controllers and you …

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Re: Capacitors and their failure modes

Posted on 2024-03-03, 12:59

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by songoffall

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Basically, you got most of the concepts correct, but I have a few nit-picks: Filtering capacitors, for example, will absorb charge when the current goes up and give up charge when the current goes down, thus filtering out changes or noise in currents. It's the voltage that causes a capacitor to …

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Re: Capacitors and their failure modes

Posted on 2024-03-03, 12:50

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by songoffall

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

In addition, failure of caps can cause adjacent components to go out of spec too, which - particularly in power regulation circuits - can lead to fireworks. I've seen a failed electrolytic cap in a motherboard power regulator cause the MOSFET next to it to overheat so badly it melted through the …

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Re: On PSUs for retro rigs

Posted on 2024-03-03, 09:54

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by songoffall

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Ah OK, yes that picture from reddit clearly shows what a leaking cap looks like. (And for anyone that cares to know more, those caps are UCC TMV series, which are notorious for doing this. They don't have a vent on the top, so they always leak at the bottom. Luckily, their aqueous-based electrolyte …

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