Acer 286 PC with Dallas RTC issues

This video is about my Acer 915P (II), featuring an intel 286 12mhz, 1MB of RAM and a 85MB hard drive, manufactured towards the end of 1991.
A fairly "modern" 286 from Acer, probably one of the last 286 produced since its introduction in 1982.
It came with the dreaded Dallas DS1287 "all in one" Real Time Clock that was completely dead and prevented me from entering the BIOS to setup the PC.
We'll go over fixing the Dallas issue, go over the PC's external and internal features, do some upgrades (memory and sound) and play some games.
All in all a nice little machine with some modern features, albeit with an "old" and "slow" CPU. But a nice gaming machine when choosing the time-period correct games for it.
At the end, enjoy a collection of 1990-1991 games like Secret of Monkey Island, Lemmings, MIG-29, Tetris, Stunts, Supaplex, Another World, Police Quest 3 and Speedball2.

[@Edman_79]

As unbelievable as it sounds, it never occurred to me to place the RTC chip in a socket. Always soldered the damn thing directly, God knows why :D Thank you for the idea!

[@RetroSpector78]

Edman hehe ... great to hear and glad to help !

[@msthalamus2172]

Oh that's funny! My first thought watching this was "if I were him, I'd install one of those replacement units designed by Necroware so I could just swap out a small coin cell battery next time", followed by "Oh I hope he at least puts in a socket," finally followed by "he removed the key (by not blocking socket holes) but didn't mark the socket!" None of it really matters, though. The battery might well last 20-30 years! :D (FYI-- I edited this to give proper attribution to Necroware for the Dallas replacement mod-- sorry Necroware!)

[@therealjammit]

I remember those old Dallas clock chips. I got pretty good at using a Dremel to get to the internal power pins and solder in wires for an external "aa" battery holder.

[@RetroSpector78]

I only did it a couple of times and always found it a real hassle... I am also not very handy with a dremel :) You can get new ones for a couple of euro’s and then it’s just a matter of replacing them.

[@mustafagundogar9900]

I live in Turkey, we bought it in 1997. I was eight years old at that time, we have good memories, I think I will buy it if I can find it. I had the games you played. Stunt car play and Golden Ax were my favourites.

[@BlackAdder4Ever]

Still it is much easier to replace dead Dallas/Odin RTC chip than to repair damage caused by leakage from those dreaded NiCd 3.6V accumulators.

[@VK2FVAX]

@3:07 "..vga hooked upto the mainboard with this connector..." It's a "Eurocard connector". They were used in many systems ..especially old Mac's with NuBus and lots of VME BUS connectors also. Usually they are 2-rows which are Type-B and 3-row Type-C ..etc. It's a whole family of connectors and usually used for industrial applications.

[@RetroSpector78]

Did not know that ... thx for pointing that out !

[@alexanderalfonsson5874]

Nice video as always. I also have one of these "modern" 286 computers. It's a Philips P2230 from 1990 which runs a Siemens 12,5mhz 286 and get this, it has onboard CGA graphics, I thought that was quite interesting on a PC from 1990.

[@alexanderalfonsson5874]

Mine also had a soldered on Dallas that needed to be replaced.

[@overdriver99]

thanks for tip to adds MORE soldering before removal. I will try this on my incoming Pentium motherboard with dead Dallas chip from Russia(I know.. but I didn't have choice). I will add socket as you show me here - it is great idea!

[@RetroSpector78]

Good luck with it !

[@nullrazor267]

Very nice machine, amazing sound quality too.

[@RetroSpector78]

Speakers deserve more credit than anything else :) soundblaster 16 would have sounded slightly better, but wanted to see if a newer pnp card like this vibra16 would also work with this 286z

[@s8wc3]

That big bay is for a 5.25" drive but you have to use a special adapter and blanking plate for the part that would be left open. I don't know why they did it this way, but they did.

[@RetroSpector78]

Indeed strange... woud that adapter / blanking plate be something acer specific ? Or some kind of “industry” standard ?

[@s8wc3]

I don't know for sure but i think it's just something acer made up :/ Maybe there was some crazy option that needed a lot of space... but I have no idea what it would be. Anyway it looks like you're supposed to screw in the drive from the bottom, so maybe you don't need an adapter and it will just screw right in, but you will have a blank space on the front. I think it looks better with just the single 3.5" drive anyway :^ )

[@booboo699254]

@@RetroSpector78 Yes, Acer specific.

[@vwestlife]

I think the idea was that you could also use the large bottom drive bay for two 3.5" drives, side by side, or one 5.25" drive. Either way it would require a special faceplate.

[@dLLund]

maybe it's for an am/fm push button radio. or a mini pizza oven. take care n stay safe.

[@BottIsNotABot]

Love a bit of Speedball II. Remember being so jealous of my friend playing this on his Amiga 500. A VGA card and Adlib clone later in my PC and the jealousy was no more!

[@matt9852]

I have one of these, identical but branded Alcatel. I should send you some pics as I've restored it.

[@BobM925]

Wow, talk about a memory jogger! We had a very similar Acer machine, with a 386SX/25 in it, around 1992. As soon as I saw the case the memories flooded back! I don't recall that odd wide bay though, ours eventually had a CD-ROM drive installed in that bay and it was a standard 5 1/4 drive.

[@drp457]

Superplex was one of my old time favorites.

[@toddstewart9070]

Very nice quality machine for a 286.

[@stevec00ps]

@6:58 the AcuMos 320 video card is 8 spots above the Cirrus Logic in that table :)

[@firatyuksek]

For Speedball 2 in match controls are as follows -> "Q" "A" up down , "O" "P" left right, and Space

[@abes.4040]

This was my first MS DOS computer. My sister bought it for me when I was in my second semester in IT in college. I did played games of it, Space Quest, Ultravox, Kirandia, King's Quest and others. Remeber coding in Basic and COBOL in it. I was able to install Windows in it, it ran poorly but it did run.

[@darak2]

Congratulations for such an excellent computer and repair work! Your SB16 may actually be a better fit for the machine, as a Vibra16 card is probably too late for its period (and it also has its own issues). In any case, this would have been such a dream machine to play late 80's EGA games (all the good early Sierra stuff!)... I'd suggest looking for a MPU401 MIDI ISA clone card, as an MT-32 would have been the dream option for sound at the time (they are expensive nowadays, but you can easily use a Raspberry Pi or a small computer in its place).

[@ddewaele]

darak2 yeah but I specifically wanted to show that you can use more modern (and thus cheaper / more accesible) soundblaster cards to work. Because not everyone has the luxury of owning a real sb16 or sb pro. The machine does pretty well with early nineties vga games.

[@darak2]

@@ddewaele Well, at the end of the day the Vibra16 cards are not that different, and even the CM chip has its own charm, so it's all good. I also wonder if many 286 machines (especially late ones like yours) were still in use during the 90's, since 386's and up were pretty expensive for a long time, so who knows.

[@RetroSpector78]

Read somewhere that NASA was still buying new 286 machines in the early nineties, despite 386 being mainstreams and 486 already available (albeit expensive). I think the 286 had a very long run.

[@darak2]

@@RetroSpector78 I'm sure there were a few around. I remember playing Indiana Jones and Loom (1990) on my XT clone, using a software CGA emulator for Hercules (black & white display, no greyscale) and beeper sound. The computer was slow, but still serviceable, as late 80's games usually supported XTs and CGA (not to mention, PCs were not really considered decent game machines until the VGA/386 era: their main purpose was running text mode productivity apps such as Lotus 1-2-3, WordPerfect, dBase...). I moved to a 386 one or two years after that, and it was still an expensive purchase. Crazy times.

[@RandomlyDrumming]

I have a very similar Siemens/Nixdorf 486 machine and had the exact same problem with the damn RTC (although mine was Benchmarq). Eventually, I was able to replace the chip for a Dallas one.

[@Inject0r]

I just love the look of that machine! My dad once brought back a similar looking AT housing, which had 2x 3,5" internal bay's, 1x 3,5" external and 3x external 5,25" bay's. Still looking for that case! I got that housing for my first PC, which started as a 75MHz Pentium 1 with 24MB of memory, an S3 Trio with 2 Meg of video memory, an on board soundblaster 16 compatible clone, an Adaptec SCSI2 card with double height 3,5" HP SCSI2 harddrives of 1GB (5400rpm) and a SCSI Toshiba 2x speed SCSI2 CD-ROM drive. Eventually I upgraded the cpu to a 90MHz, 120MHz, and ultimately to a 166MHz Pentium CPU, the memory eventually was doubled, graphics card was upgraded to a Voodoo Rush (by Helios 3D), paying it with my own saved pocket money (fl 120,00 back in the days) as a 9 year old boy. My dad's "old" Awe64 Value and a HUGE full length ISA TV card (Philips branded). I had lots of fun with that PC and I still have loads of memories of that time! Loved it! 😁👍🏼

[@AngelaTheSephira]

Holy fuck, i *used* that have that case! (I think) Was it Acer, and tower format rather than desktop?

[@Inject0r]

@@AngelaTheSephira probably, yeah. Currently still searching for one.

[@AngelaTheSephira]

@@Inject0r Ah hell, I threw mine out not 6 months ago!

[@douro20]

I never had a 286 from Acer but I did have a 386 which was sold by Smith Corona and came with word-processing software in ROM.

[@lucius1976]

Had almost the same config back then. But just 42 mb hard disk. And Monkey Island too. Fond memories. Even played wing commander on it.

[@bronxxxbass]

speedball.. still got this on amiga 500

[@MegaManNeo]

That's a nice machine, I'm certain it makes a great early DOS gaming PC! Also that IBM monitor... we had those still in use in school in the mid 2000's believe it or not! Really screams retro.

[@doktor6495]

Very nice channel! As you said in your trailer ... sit back and enjoy! :-) SUBSCRIBED! Greetings, Doc64!

[@RetroSpector78]

Thx a lot ! Appreciate every sub ... lots more cool stuff heading your way !

[@johneygd]

Great restoration,, but i assume that RTC chip in wich that battery was melted inside was probably an idea from the devil,why they decided to do this is beyond me,the philips CDI suffered from the same problem,haha.

[@RetroSpector78]

yeah .... luckily you can still get them new. They normally last about 10 - 15 years I think.

[@only257]

Agreed

[@brandonupchurch7628]

I believe there are PCBs you can buy to set on top of a DS12885 with a spot for a coin cell holder and the clock crystal needed to run the RTC, all you have to do is stick the PCB on to the DS12885 bend the 2 battery pins up and solder them to the PCB and you'll have a nice clean DS12887 replacement with a replaceable battery

[@ComputersAndRetro]

Mi primer PC fue un ACER ACROS i486SX.

[@FlyingDutchman19801]

The monitor is fairly period correct, from around 1990 I suspect.

[@altbeetle1998]

mega 286!

[@logger589]

aaaaaaaa childhood!! Monkey island!!

[@jaybrooks1098]

A lot of machines won’t work without a clock source

[@ackman3981]

The keyboard and mouse connector on the side is not good. Cannot put anything next to it. Very easy to bump them and possibly break the connectors.

[@fgm1197]

Lemmings!!!!!!!!

[@winMANhun]

It's so cute that they literally put a "Mouse" symbol next to the PS/2 port. Never seen that before

[@thelovertunisia]

how can a 286 have ps2 connectors? My 386 still had the big keyboard connector and a serial mouse (com1)

[@RetroSpector78]

Yes. Some 286’s were made and sold very late into their lifecycle. Think at some point you could buy a 286 new at the same time you could buy a 486 new. Ps/2 itself was introduced in 1987 by IBM.

[@thelovertunisia]

@@RetroSpector78 Amazing. I had a 386 with 33 mhz and 3.2mb of ram. I learned all I know with that thing even programming on DOS with Pascal. Good old days.

[@RetroSpector78]

Bouslama Karim I never got to experience dos programming. I jumped from c64 BASIC to MS Visual Basic :) Had some Turbo Pascal in school but hardly remember anything about that :) But that flying space shuttle I programmed in BASIC from the Philips MSX manual I still remember.

[@thelovertunisia]

@@RetroSpector78 Vb is so easy I dont know why no pro uses it today.

[@only257]

@@RetroSpector78 🧐interesting

[@jaybrooks1098]

On SGI machines the mac address will null out

[@komepollass]

whats the name of the game just b4 police quest III?

[@GuybrushThriftweed]

The 8" Bay is probably for an 8" floppy drive. Never seen one though

[@booboo699254]

There's absolutely no way an 8" floppy would have been offered, particularly by this time. We where well into the 5.25 -> 3.5 floppy transition. Not one PC maker by this time offered such an option. Remember, IBM PCs and Compaq's already years out never had such an option either.

[@AngelaTheSephira]

@@booboo699254 It may be for certaint people who need backwards compatibility. But why Acer of all companies would is beyond me.

[@booboo699254]

@@AngelaTheSephira You cannot attach an 8" drive to a PC 5 .25 floppy controller though.

[@AngelaTheSephira]

@@booboo699254 Custom controller. That's why I said the reason Acer is doing this is bizarre, but then again, if you're buying a "modern" 286 there *must* be a reason for it.

[@douro20]

How about a Bernoulli drive?

[@razorkill8522]

I have the same game Battle chess, but i cant playing because the game crashes just after entering the password, even if I put it right. yours is a version without a password. where can i find the file? Thanks

[@only257]

☺️

[@fnjesusfreak]

I put one of those Vibras in my Pentium. XD

[@RetroSpector78]

Can’t really go wrong with a creative soundblaster IMHO. Even the lower cost vibra’s are excellent for dos gaming.

[@fnjesusfreak]

@@RetroSpector78 I did want real Creative, and I got it. XD

[@bogdanbodo903]

Hi , I tray to find name of the game with cars ! Can you help me?? I think it was 286 or 386 computer

[@proxy1035]

this 286 Motherboard looked very similar to a 386 one i have. not identical, but similar... i.imgur.com/zSCDmKt.jpg?2

[@FrikinOSM]

3:14 subtitles/closed captions - isis slots! 😂

[@nasa.teacher]

I have the same machine working with its own Acer keyboard and monitor :-) I can sell it

[@henrikgustav2294]

Ah thats why I cannot enter anything in bios

[@JohnSmith-iu8cj]

i really dont like the vibra sound

[@JanghanHong]

There's just about nothing that pisses me off more than Dallas RTC chip on an otherwise good motherboard on ebay listings.

[@RetroSpector78]

Never seem to find good listings on ebay.... most of the stuff is just ridiculously expensive. Saw a nice looking 486 mainboard the other day but was 45 EUR + 25 EUR shipping :( I like finding complete systems like this and then taking my chances with it.

[@GuybrushThriftweed]

@@RetroSpector78 I would have chosen the Dallas mod TBH. A lot more work and fiddly (going to try it myself since I got 3 boards with soldered on chips) but at least no more Dallas chips since the 'new' ones aren't that new anymore.

[@Dxceor2486]

@@GuybrushThriftweed His dallas chip is from 2017 according to the datecode @Janghan Hong I'd take a board with a Dallas chip any day over a board with a leaky battery. It may take some skill to remove a DALLAS chip and mod it, but it's fairly easy to do in comparison to fix half a million of traces on a corroded motherboard without knowing if it will ever work angain and the ugly look it has after that.

[@GuybrushThriftweed]

For barrel batteries yes, but with coincells I am not so afraid :) But my next project is indeed socket a Dallas chip and order a 'new' ;) one

[@JanghanHong]

@@GuybrushThriftweed With barrel batteries, at least you can decide not to purchase if it's visibly leaked, with these RTC things, you can never know.

[@burntoutelectronics]

PS/2 on a 286.... weird

[@zoomosis]

In 1987 when IBM's PS/2 range was launched the only 80386 PC in their lineup was the Model 80. All the other PS/2 models used 8086 or 80286 CPUs.

[@futurepastnow]

That machine was designed for business and government legacy uses that, yes, still needed an 8" floppy into the 90s.

[@JarrodCoombes]

The DS12887 is not always a drop in replacement for the DS1287. There are some machines out there that freak out when you replace the 1287 with the 12887. This is why I'd suggest you mod the original Dallas chip in most cases. Glitch works has some nice looking replacement for the DS1287 that allows for a coin cell to be readily installed and replaced: www.tindie.com/products/glitchwrks/gw-1287-1-repair-board-for-ds1287-rtcs/

[@RetroSpector78]

Would need to check up on that, but did a mod once and thought it was really time-consuming, error prone, made a big mess on my desk, and didn’t really look good with the coin cell plastered on. I think a replacement chip was under 10 EUR so went with that. But will read up on the difference between the ds12887 and ds1287. Thx for the comment and the info.

[@nickwallette6201]

If the later chip works, it's just so much more elegant than a hacked-up old part. I wouldn't use an old module unless there was no other choice.

[@matt9852]

Check this for answers on that drive bay: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5W3pWODopholbc

[@fffUUUUUU]

What's the point to complain on SB16 rarity if you have one! Isn't it restoration video? I guessed you did it for yourself. So why not to opt for the best?..

[@RetroSpector78]

I wasn’t really complaining I think. Just wanted to show to people that you don’t need to buy or own these expensive real soundblaster cards when a cheaper or more common vibra will also get the job done. Enjoying retro computing has become expensive enough as it is.

[@fffUUUUUU]

@@RetroSpector78 expensive, that's true. I really enjoy your videos. But in this case your point of replacing SB16 with cheaper variant isn't so clear to me as you have both. If only you've shown the difference in sound of both cards - that would be really helpful for those you've targeted. Btw, SB16 on eBay could be easily found for $60, $50 if you're lucky. Don't think Vibra goes for that mach cheaper to justify the compromise in compatibility and FM music quality. All above just my 5 cents though. Good job! Thanks

[@hitman6647]

Hii could you sell it for me.

[@eddiehimself]

"1024 kB MEMORY GOOD." It's kind of ironic that for such high-tech machines, computers have a habit of talking like cavemen lol.

[@emanueldebresser3208]

...your english is very good... though: sometimes its pronounced _"THE"_ not _"THEE"_ ... The rule is, that before a consonant, the artikel "THE" should be used, and when a vocal follows, then you may use "THEE"... Otherwise it sounds strange ;-) e.g. of pronounciacion: _"THE MOTHERBOARD"_ and _"THEE AQUARIUM"_ , _"THE MOUSE"_ and _"THEE INTEGRATED VIDEO CARD"_ Your videos are very good though. Keep the good work going!

[@st.alexiev625]

jhaha one pin of the socket does not fit well and it is higher than it must be ... poor job