This is a very small computer, but very powerful for its age, and it was really fun to play with.

Due to the twisted configuration of the D-Link DE-650 on Windows for Workgroups 3.11, I cleared the system and installed Windows 95. I used OSR1 because of its smaller size, about 40MB.

The great challenge (and fun part) was to find a floppy version of Windows 95 OSR, and add the kit on 21 Floppy disks. Of course, I could have done this many different ways, but decided to install Windows the old classic way.

After a few hours of writing floppies, printing labels (because I’m never writing 21 floppies in a row ever again) I’ve installed Windows without any issues. Photos of the floppies and installation progress are in the gallery.

I’ve also installed some software on it, but the most interesting part was the ability to install the cygwin linux subsystem, which allowed me to install a web server and an irc server, which were up 24/7 for several months.

However, due to its age and the prolonged uptime of the computer, the battery got a bit swollen and died. Because of the design of the power circuit, the computer cannot be started without the battery (the AC jack plugs in directly to the battery), so I need to get the battery cells replaced in order to start the computer again and write a bit more about the software part of it (which is on my to-do list for over 2 years)

Processor: 486SX @ 25Mhz

RAM: 8MB (4MB on-board + 4 MB extra)

HDD: 120MB

Peripherals

• Gateway 2000 External FDD Drive
• D-Link DE-650 PCMCIA Network Card with Ethernet Adapter

Operating Systems: MS-DOS 6.22, Windows for Workgroups 3.11, Windows 95 OSR1

Installed Software: WordPerfect 6.0, Microsoft Excel 4, SPSS, Internet Explorer 5 (Windows 95), mIRC (Win 95)

More about the Gateway Handbook 486: Jeff Blum | Poul-Henning Kamp | Atari Magazines | Classic Bits | Wikipedia |

PS: Thanks Ana for telling me about this great gizmo!

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