On Sat, 6 Feb 2016 11:46:00 -0600, philo wrote:

On 02/06/2016 10:05 AM, wrote:
On Fri, 5 Feb 2016 22:19:47 -0600, philo wrote:

I thinned out my old computer collection quite a bit but don't see
myself as ever getting rid of my IBM ps/2 , that is one fine piece of
hardware.

The problem with PS/2 is you are either in or out. The hardware is so
proprietary you can't rely on having parts unless you have PS/2 parts.
That used to be pretty much all I had.
I could get all the parts I wanted but the cases had serial numbers on
them and were not able to be ordered so I built "woodies".
This was my PS/2 70 with the custom 5.25" bay for a CD or 5" diskette.
http://gfretwell.com/electrical/woody.jpg




Nice project there.


Components are not common and it took me a while before I could find an
MCA net card to replace the modem.

I did have a reference disk so I could get rid of the "configuration
changed" message but even without that corrected, the OS recognized and
worked fine with the change of components.


Years ago I could pick them up PS/2's at a used computer store , next to
nothing. I told a friend who wanted a machine that I'd set one up for
him at exactly my cost.


A few weeks later I supplied him with an entire machine and said good
news/ bad news:

Here is a computer, a monitor and a keyboard $5.00

Bad news is I had to buy a new mouse which will make the whole package
ten bucks.

There are still a few hard core PS/2 fans on the PS/2 newsgroup. That
is where I sent all of my old PS/2 stash.
I had a PS/2 mouse apart the other day (working on my BowFlex project)
I never knew it but the PS/2 mouse was not optical (slotted wheel). It
actually uses a printed circuit on the disk and a wiper to detect
motion.