Old Tandy 2500

[wilder]

I just got a Tandy 2500
with SX/20 Harddrive.
I know nothing about it. I was told it has Wn3.1 installed. It will only start in MSDOS, verifying the date, time and then: C\>_
I have tried a list of commands, but I keep getting "bad command"
How can I get into Windows from here or find out just what is in this thing??
Only info I have is:
Phoenix 80386 ROM BIOS
Plus Version 1.10.01
640K Base Memory
04480K Extended
Starting MS-DOS......
(if any of that helps)
I probably wasted $40 bucks, but was just too curious to pass.

[jamesrpm]

Have you tried typing WIN at the C prompt?
Or maybe DIR will give you a list of programs on the computer

BTW you now know all of the DOS prompts I know

[wilder]

No, I haven't tried either, but I will right now. I typed "help" and was able to get into the help menu but all I got was a list of commands which really didn't help me, because I really don't know what most of them do!
Any suggestion is much appreciated! I'll post if anything happens, although I doubt that anyone else would need this info.

[GaryRouth]

. . . and if typing win at the C prompt doesn't start Windows, you can try:

cd \Windows
win

The DIR command that james mentions should show you the directories, folders, and files (there won't be too many, I imagine, since the drive is undoubtably very small)

Sounds like fun -
. . . Gary

[wilder]

WIN was bad command.
DIR gave way and listed I83 files.
examples:

SELPRACT LZ 29084 11-10-91 8:04p
BRAD GAM 818 11-10-91 2:33P
TITLE EXE 22547 12-17-92 12:47A
PLAYGOLF BAT 42 07-26-02 3:14p
GETB BAT 641 04-27-03 4:18p

5010650 bytes
82518016 bytes free

I would guess this was used primarily for gaming? I'm slowly inching ahead! Thanks for the suggestion!

[GaryRouth]

Here are some fun links for your museum piece

Photos of a couple Tandy 2500s (one fella's got a whopping 4mb of memory in his --- I think you've got 1mb or 2mb):
http://www.429bauhaus.no-ip.com/Tandy/tandy2500rsx.html
http://www.fortunecity.com/marina/reach/435/trs2500.htm

Tandy Files & Such:
http://support.tandy.com/support_computer/1100.htm

. . . and some fun facts:
The processor is an Intel 386 running at 20mhz.
Has a ps/2 mouse (pretty good for back then - most were still serial)
The video could do SVGA 1024x768 - Not bad for a 386.
Some models had a giant 85mb Western Digital Caviar hard drive.


. . . Gary

[wilder]

OK, I tried cd\windows\dir and got:
Volume in Drive C is MS-DOS_6
Volume serial number is 1A****2424
Directory of C:\windows
. 10-12-97 9:26p
.. 10-12-97 9:26p
system 10-12-97 9:26p
Temp 10-12-97 9:26p
4 file(s) 0 Bytes
82518016 bytes free
C:\Windows>_

Thanks so much, even if I never get this thing to load windows. I always get an intelligent responce from you, along with a little humor. At least you didn't suggest using it for target practice.
Will check out the links also, yes this will be fun, and a learning experience.

I'm in Step 1 in a 12 step program.

I prieviewed this post and it is just not showing up right,hope you can understand it, I can't in preview.

[GaryRouth]

Hi again

Now that you're at the Windows> prompt, you should be able to type the command win to start Windows 3.1

I'm not sure how well Windows is going to run on a 386 with 1mb of memory. My uncle ran Win 2.0 on a 386 with 4mb of memory = it was workable. I remember running Win3.11 ("Windows for WorkGroups") with 40mb on a 486/66 & I thought I was blazing along at lightspeed!

DOS should be fairly quick on a 386, though.
. . . Gary

[wilder]

Hi
Well I tried C\Windows\win and still get "bad command", and with dir I can only get the list of the same 81 files.

Thanks for the links, interesting! I had found the Tandy support pages the day I got this thing and copied all the
info that I could understand, but could not find how to get into windows anywhere.
Both the RSX and the SX is similar to my SX/20, the RSX has a Gateway monitor and the SX has an ITT monitor. Mine is a Tandy VGM-200.
They also each have one 1.44MB floppy drive and mine has that and another floppy drive the size of a cd. ( Mine came with a copy of "Lotus 1-2-3!!! 1989, and a DOT Matrix printer, with an enhanced keyboard, with about 10 lbs of "enhancements"!)
I have three other pc's besides this antique, (two working) so it's not like I need it. Along with the nostalgia of the
thing, I just want to get into it!

Any ideas on some kind of format or reboot software that might empty it out and put in a working OS? Or is that
possible even if it could be found? Thanks for your help and to anyone else out there that might have a suggestion.

(Can't use it for a planter!)

[sdkfz]

Assuming your goal is to make this work and not to keep any legacy software, just scrounge around and find a copy of dos and win 3.1. It sounds like the system is working fine just needs a good clean out and reinstall

DOs wil give you the fdsik you need to wipe and the base for win 3.1

on ebay I quickly found


windows
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ayphotohosting

dos 5

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=11685


dos 6

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ayphotohosting

[wilder]

I guess that's what I really would like to do now.. I'm not good at explaining things I don't understand myself. I wanted to get into the original OS, but since I failed at that, I'll try what I like to call "gutting" it out.
I just want to keep it around as a toy basically!
Thanks for the links, I will check them out!

Darlene

[flanzig1]

If you went through the steps from the previous posts and got a bad command with typing win, then Win 3.1 isn't installed just dos.

[GaryRouth]

I wonder if that computer might have had a teeny bit more memory at some point, since Windows 3.1 would be fairly hampered by only 1mb of system memory. http://support.microsoft.com/default...kb;en-us;58317 http://support.microsoft.com/default...kb;en-us;79749

When you type dir from the Windows> prompt, do you see any files that start with "win"? I wonder why you would have a \Windows directory unless Windows is/was installed. . . . and when you typed the "win" command, were you at the Windows> prompt? If you are at that prompt, try typing the command win (just "win" - no other strings or addresses necessary). See what happens then.

If it's still "bad command", you can still go back to your DOS 5 prompt [ type cd\ ] and type in the name of one of those DOS games, just to see if any of them run (I'd imagine at least a few should run OK). This way at least you get to play a little with your new toy, even while you decide whether or not you want to modify it later.
. . . Gary

[wilder]

YOU GUYS ARE GREAT!!!!

I read the posts and went straight to the ole Tandy.
In dir, none of the files were named Win, so I tried 'playgolf'....got color for the first time! And a message:

"Links requires at least 530 K bytes of memory and your machine only has 529K bytes free. disable some of your DSR's etc., etc., so I disconnected the mouse .Cool!

'Run Dos utility called CHKDSK...
Ran autoexec.bat....ok,

I have "Deskmate".
I never had computers in school, but I guess that's what is now known as the "Desktop". I couldn't imagine having to go back to the old deskmate: calendar, write a note, hangman, your files & AOL!
All I could find in that short of time was that windows (some version?) must be in there somewhere, because starting Links, the message was: "You must exit completely from windows to run Links. Do not exit by way of the DOS Prompt."
This is how much I did learn about it though and how dumb I am when it comes to windows..
On restart it says:
MS DOS (R) Version 6
(C) MS 1981-1993
Is MSDOS a version of windows? I guess what I mean is, was DOS what it was called before windows? I used computers long before windows came to be, but I never got into what the OS's were called. I used the Delta system on a network.
As you can see I'm no longer afraid to ask a stupid question.
I'm going to check out the links you included in the last post right now.
This is goiing to be fun!

[wilder]

Another question..
I checked out the link on ebay. Looks like a good deal on the windows 3.1 to me. Will 3.1 work on this Tandy?
And if I use it, will I still keep the Deskmate already on it? There's only about three hours to go on the auction, so if I don't find out soon, it's no big deal. I'm curious anyway.

[GaryRouth]

Hi again

It looks like "DeskMate" was a Tandy/RadioShack "shell" or "GUI" (Graphical User Interface = the early versions of Windows were GUIs that ran on top of DOS). I've never seen it in person, but it was supposed to run OK on computers with very little memory. Here's a hoot: a press blurb from Tandy's original release, comparing it's advantages to Windows (we know who won that battle) http://www.abo.fi/~adeheer/students/itdeskmt.htm

In the links from my last response, you can read the memory limitations you'll face trying to run Windows 3.1 with only 1mb of memory. DOS will run fine. I'm not sure how DeskMate starts, but if you see it in that dir list, heck, why not fire it up and see what happens. Might start just by typing in deskmate.

Since the drive is so small, you can try DeskMate, try seeing if Windows is really on there, and if they are awful or unworkable, remove them & just play with DOS. For Windows to really go on that Tandy, maybe someone has some ancient Simms that are compatible and free (remember you can only go up as far as 5mb) . . . and even then, Windows won't go anywhere fast.

You asked what MS-DOS stands for: MicroSoft- Disk Operating System. Originally written by an independent programmer (was it Paterson? and named "QDOS" for "Quick and Dirty Operating System"), then purchased by Microsoft in a shrewd manuever to then provide it to IBM for use with their first lines of personal computers. Windows stood on the foundations of DOS throughout the Win3x and Win9x operating systems. Only when NT/2000/XP came around did Microsoft have an operating system based on a different "core" technology it developed itself (well, OK, it started the development with IBM originally - that led to OS/2 = another operating system brought out by IBM).

Here's a fun (and short!) article about Paterson, Kildall, and the early days of Quick-and Dirty Operating Systems http://www.patersontech.com/Dos/Micr...on04_10_98.htm

I'm not sure how much you can load onto the 2500, I suppose space limitations as well as possible conflicts will answer that. Sounds like it's possible that you already have DOS, Deskmate, and Windows on there (. . . if we could only figure out how to start them . . . ) You'd only want to run one at a time as far as DeskMate or Windows goes. They wouldn't both run at the same time.

. . . Gary