This is 1 of 3 dream Japanese computers that I must own. The others are the X68000 and similar Pc-98. This is a great find and troubleshooting it would be so much fun for me. Fixing things is 90% of this hobby for me 😅
I have the FM Towns PCI Card from the FMV Towns that can apparently be made to work in windows 95/98 with vtowns.com and some crazy wiring job to make it run parasitically off of the cpu or board depending on the chipset and board. I've not actually figured out how to use it just yet, but looking it up I found some unusual looking solutions to make it run on super socket 7 and socket A, and since its so obscure, I don't know many people with info on the card, so it'll be a challenge.
If you want to figure out a solution for something like a proprietary CD-ROM drive, why not ask Adrian Black? He can fix just about anything, or he knows who can. The FM Towns has a YM2612 - the same chip that is in the Sega Genesis, so it is bound to have some great sound.
Most of the hardware in the FM towns looks to be standard PC hardware except for maybe the bios? The fact that it runs dos shouldn't it be possible to run FM Towns games on a PC with the proper video/audio chipsets?
I haven't but I know the prior owner did before he traded it to me in an attempt to get it working. I may give it a try myself but I wouldn't know what I was doing.
@@AncientElectronics I'm hoping it's like most CD-ROMs and the laser power can be adjusted. Old lasers can simply weaken over time like that. I used this trick on 2 Sega Dreamcasts and it worked. Here's a random video showing the process on a dreamcast and hopefully yours has a similar potentiometer. ua-cam.com/video/CPAzOIPzg7M/v-deo.html
@@AncientElectronics check out this Rescue Bootloader project by Soji Yamakawa that I noticed recently, it will probably allow you to run some games from external SCSI hard disk or CD-ROM - ysflight.in.coocan.jp/FM/towns/bootloader/e.html
I would argue that seeing as it won't read any games for me it does deserve it. That said I really did try scrubbing the thing but it just does not want to come out.
Hey I have a bunch of extra ram for next time we meet up. The only thing with a FM Towns you have to solder a couple spots on the ram for it to detect it. There is a guide available I will have to dig for again.
Hiya! Not sure if you've heard but FD BOOT is a thing that has popped up and will revive your FM-Towns with an external cd-rom drive! nfggames.com/forum2/index.php?topic=6821.0
There is a SCSI HD image for the FM Towns with games on it. If you have a SD2SCSI device it's worth a try. assemblergames.com/threads/fm-towns-hdd-image-for-scsi-cd-rom-finally-done.68102/
It's so crazy to comprehend the fact that I'm watching this on a Fujitsu laptop... damn. I'm happy you own this in 2019! It looks so damn sick.
This is 1 of 3 dream Japanese computers that I must own. The others are the X68000 and similar Pc-98. This is a great find and troubleshooting it would be so much fun for me. Fixing things is 90% of this hobby for me 😅
Interesting you should say that as I may or may not have acquired or are planning to acquire very soon the two other computers you mentioned.
Damn! :O. Needs some TLC for sure, but thats awesome dude!
Is there any pin out for that video cable?
I have the FM Towns PCI Card from the FMV Towns that can apparently be made to work in windows 95/98 with vtowns.com and some crazy wiring job to make it run parasitically off of the cpu or board depending on the chipset and board.
I've not actually figured out how to use it just yet, but looking it up I found some unusual looking solutions to make it run on super socket 7 and socket A, and since its so obscure, I don't know many people with info on the card, so it'll be a challenge.
If you want to figure out a solution for something like a proprietary CD-ROM drive, why not ask Adrian Black? He can fix just about anything, or he knows who can. The FM Towns has a YM2612 - the same chip that is in the Sega Genesis, so it is bound to have some great sound.
Hi! I have a FM Towns 2 HR. When i switch it on, it switches off in a split second :( Would you know what could be wrong?
It sounds like a power supply issue but I honestly have no idea.
Most of the hardware in the FM towns looks to be standard PC hardware except for maybe the bios? The fact that it runs dos shouldn't it be possible to run FM Towns games on a PC with the proper video/audio chipsets?
Also have you tried opening the CD-ROM and adjusting any potentiometer that you see?
I haven't but I know the prior owner did before he traded it to me in an attempt to get it working. I may give it a try myself but I wouldn't know what I was doing.
@@AncientElectronics I'm hoping it's like most CD-ROMs and the laser power can be adjusted. Old lasers can simply weaken over time like that. I used this trick on 2 Sega Dreamcasts and it worked. Here's a random video showing the process on a dreamcast and hopefully yours has a similar potentiometer. ua-cam.com/video/CPAzOIPzg7M/v-deo.html
@@AshtonCoolman Im going to have to try this again as my main FM Towns just stopped working. I will have to check my UX all in one as well.
Would you be willing to part with the CPU upgrade board?
Not at the moment.
@@AncientElectronics Thanks for your reply :) If you find any more of these in the wild, I'd love to hear about it!
Were you able to solve the CD drive issue?
I have not. I'm fairly sure the CD drive itself is just dead but these proprietary drives are not common.
Ancient Electronics it’s unfortunate, I’m sure it will be a matter of time before a more affordable alternative is made available. Hang in there!
@@AncientElectronics check out this Rescue Bootloader project by Soji Yamakawa that I noticed recently, it will probably allow you to run some games from external SCSI hard disk or CD-ROM - ysflight.in.coocan.jp/FM/towns/bootloader/e.html
Please, clean the case. The FM Towns does not deserve this!!!!
I would argue that seeing as it won't read any games for me it does deserve it. That said I really did try scrubbing the thing but it just does not want to come out.
Hey I have a bunch of extra ram for next time we meet up. The only thing with a FM Towns you have to solder a couple spots on the ram for it to detect it. There is a guide available I will have to dig for again.
Oh, cool. I wonder if there are many games that require large amounts of RAM on the Towns.
@@AncientElectronics Pretty much fine with 2mb.
Hiya! Not sure if you've heard but FD BOOT is a thing that has popped up and will revive your FM-Towns with an external cd-rom drive! nfggames.com/forum2/index.php?topic=6821.0
i have a spare SCSI disk drive for sale.
There is a SCSI HD image for the FM Towns with games on it. If you have a SD2SCSI device it's worth a try. assemblergames.com/threads/fm-towns-hdd-image-for-scsi-cd-rom-finally-done.68102/