Category Archives: 386

386 ZIF Socket?

I have a problem: Anyone familiar with 386 LIF (Low Insertion Force) sockets knows that the trouble isn’t installing the processors—that indeed doesn’t require much force and is easy to do. The real problem is getting the processor out without … Continue reading

Posted in 386 | 18 Comments

UNIX on the PC, 1989

For anyone interested in the history of UNIX on PCs, an article rather appropriately called UNIX Packages For The PC on page 40 of the Nov-Dec 1989 issue (#50) of Micro Cornucopia ought to be interesting. Now available in PDF on … Continue reading

Posted in 386, UNIX | 5 Comments

SCO UNIX 3.2v4.0 vs. IA-32 Semantics Changes

People noticed a long time ago that SCO UNIX 3.2v4.0 won’t boot on anything resembling modern hardware, and it won’t boot in a VM either. In a VM the results may be inconsistent across implementations, but on a physical machine … Continue reading

Posted in 386, Intel | 6 Comments

The XENIX 386 2.2.3 Mystery

On the Internets, one may find a package labeled as SCO XENIX 386 version 2.2.3 or similar, sometimes mislabeled as version 2.2.2. This is one of the very oldest operating systems designed for 386-based PC compatibles, released around June 1988 … Continue reading

Posted in 386, Xenix | 9 Comments

Windows NT BSOD Aclock Port

Do you remember the famous Windows NT Blue Screen Of Death? For years it was a source of jokes and bad reputation of Windows reliability. There even was a Blue Screen Saver! Today we fortunately see much less of it, but it … Continue reading

Posted in 386, Development, NT, VGA, Windows, x86 | 10 Comments

An old idea: x86 hardware virtualization

It is well known that virtualization of the x86 architecture is an old idea. The Intel 386 processor (1985) introduced the “Virtual 8086” (V86) mode, enabling users to run real-mode operating systems as a task within a 32-bit protected-mode operating systems. … Continue reading

Posted in 386, Intel, Virtualization | 14 Comments

Watcom Win386

When Windows 3.0 came out in 1990, the press loved it and users bought it in droves. Unfortunately, technically it was at best a step sideways, and Windows 3.0 was the cause of many sleepless nights for application developers. Even … Continue reading

Posted in 386, Development, Windows | 13 Comments