Overview / Usage

Picked up this Compaq Portable III last year that needed a little work and cleaned it up to occasionally play with and use as a background prop. The keyboard cable was brittle and pieces kept coming off of it every time you'd touch it, it was a base model with 640KB RAM, Intel 286 processor, gas plasma display.

Methodology / Approach

A coiled AT keyboard extension cable was purchased and soldered onto the original keyboard and looks stock. I found a RAM expansion module and got it to boot with 6.6MB of RAM. An Intel 80287XL FPU was installed to round things out. Would love to find the ISA expansion box to add a sound card at some point. A Gotek USB floppy emulator was installed to make transferring files to the system a lot easier.

It runs Windows 3.1, but Solitaire is a challenge when the display only supports two colors.

Technologies Used

Intel 286 12 MHz, Intel 80287XL FPU, Windows 3.1, Gotek USB Floppy emulator