Project 386

Chronicling a (spoiler alert!) successful attempt at restoring a late-80s portable 386 computer.

Project 386 #1: The acquisition and some personal computing history

Last week, via my local Dorkbot mailing list, I acquired a pretty cool-looking late-80s portable computer.

Project 386 #2: Beeps and RAM and manuals—oh my!

I’m still trying to get the 386 to boot or even show anything on the screen. All it does is beep loudly and continuously no matter what I do (save one thing, but that still doesn’t produce a picture and I doubt the CPU is even coming up in that instance—more below).

Project 386 #3: First signs of life

On Day 22, finally, I got a hint that I may be able to get this project running in its original incarnation. But first, I’ll take a step back as well as, at the end, address the all-important question of: why?

Project 386 #4: Against all odds, success

This is post is long overdue, since as I leaked a few weeks ago, I got the dang computer to work! I’m still completely amazed. I’m not totally out of the woods, as any other part of this could die on me at any moment, but things seem pretty solid for now. I wanted to write a bit about the technical side, but also to write more about what I’ve learned by going back in time.