The Brother GeoBook NB60 from 1998 was the last monochrome laptop I remember seeing. It has an AMD 386 CPU and runs GEOS, but can also run DOS software.
In the mid 90s, dual scan color screens were terrible. If the choice is between active matrix monochrome and dual scan or "passive" color, I'd go with the active monochrome every single time.
I'm pretty sure Apple had monochrome LCDs past this time frame in the duo line. Frankly, I would take a good monochrome screen over a low end color one any day of the week. Early-mid 90s Dual Scan color screens are horrible. Even at the perfect viewing angle, they absolutely suck. Though, to be fair, this is not a good monochrome screen.
Good video! Most people just go straight for the nearest CompactFlash / SD adapter rather than even try to deal with spinning rust hard drives anymore. I do like that yours has a more era-appropriate amount of space on it! Most usually have a few GB's.
Yes I don't quite get it, the whole experience is part of it for me, the sound, vibration, even the smell of the old machines! Perhaps if you use them more often, potential data loss is more of a concern. Compact Flash cards seem to be getting pretty rare these days, I have two from old cameras but that's it, another good reason to just use the old drives!
It would be awesome to see how a period correct Linux distribution would have run on this. I didn’t get into Linux until 1997, when Pentiums were current, but I’m pretty certain a few people would have run Linux on machines like this. My first laptop was a Tecra, Pentium 75 IIRC. It was ex business stock and obsolete in 2000, when I got it. Bloody hated it and was so much happier when I switched to a, again ex business, Thinkpad. It’s the build quality on those Toshes which let(s) them down. Thanks for making this video and I hope you are doing well!
Yes same for me, a second hand Pentium 75. I still have it, it's the TI one falling to bits in this video! Doing ok but it's been a busy year. Any idea what a period correct Linux would be?
@@mattsqwrl Search for Slackware 2.1.0. It was released in 1994. You’ll need a cdrom drive, though there may be floppy downloads of that or earlier versions. I doubt you’ll be able to run X on that machine but it should run text mode Linux reasonably well. If you get it running, let us know how long it takes to compile hello world. Busy is not the worst state of affairs. :)
@@mattsqwrlSoftlanding Linux System or Slackware would be your only chance back then but both would be finicky about the hardware I'm betting as laptops tended to use less standardized components than desktops of the era did. And early versions of Linux tend to support only very limited hardware.
Ah yes that's giving me flashbacks to the first two times I tried to install Linux. Once I booted it from CD, and it told me I had no CD drive. The other time it claimed I had no hard disk.
@@mattsqwrl this is the case where the boot handles the boot but the kernel, whatever that kernel is, won’t be able to access the peripheral without a driver. It’s confusing but perfectly logical. Very early Slackware should be useable on that machine. I couldn’t find floppy images when i went looking, but only spent a few mins looking.
In those days there were many Toshiba laptops extremely cheap from second hand due locked BIOS, password not stored in CMOS on RTC battery like classic AT board. Doing shortcut in some LPT pins BIOS was restored to factory setup - profit 💰
Some nice Compaq's on your channel! I have a Portable III and 386, but the 386 has no RAM in it and it's a weird type of RAM. I wonder if new ones could be made if an existing one was stripped and copied!
by '95, the only place people were still willing to tolerate a mono screen was on a Pocket PC. The question for a notebook was Dual Scan or TFT? I have a couple of Toshibas from the Pentium era and they both have TFT screens. For those who don't know, all modern displays use TFT (Thin Film Transistor) technology, whether they are VA, TN or IPS. Some major nostalgia here; I lived in the UK at the time. These days, a basic laptop might be desirable for a writer. Could use the floppy to transfer files to a modern PC via USB, although most of the external floppy drives are so old, they won't work with Windows 10 or up. Linux might support them. A better choice would be pretty much any slightly newer laptop with a USB port. There are modern Linux distros that are made to work on 20+ year old machines. I think an e-ink display would look and perform better, lol.
It's certainly hunting for a use. I got a cheap brand new pcmcia usb card which I use in a Pentium with Windows ME but I suspect that would be more difficult with Win 3.1!
In 1995, Apple introduced the PowerBook 5300 - latest-and-greatest PowerPC processor roughly the equivalent of a Pentium - with greyscale display. 5300cs (DSTN), 5300c (TFT) and 5300ce (800x600 TFT) colour versions were also available, but I suspect the 5300 was the last grayscale PowerBook (along with the 190 sibling; same form factor, with LC040 processor). It might have been on the market for longer than that Toshiba?
Intresting video, I found a T2100 in a skip a few years back and it did turn on but I just put it in a draw and forgot about it until today when I tried it today was dead.I took it apart and it started to work again. The battery is dead but works from mains. I do see 6 files when I type dir windows,office ext. The laptop only seems to boot to commandline should it boot straight to windows or do I need to type a command. I'd like to see it working although I have no real use for it.
@@angusmacgyver1847 It depends, I think all the ones I could find had a pretty square profile. That drives the floppy just fine, but it did give it clearance issues. This is the first one I've done so it's trial and error, I bet they'd be just fine on most drive, especially desktop ones that have more space.
@@mattsqwrl I'm asking you because the original belts in the FDD drive of the Toshiba 2130CT laptop are flat and thin - flattened, while these are square and thicker. Does it have a significant impact on operation?
Well, it seems like stretched drive belts on these Toshiba drives is a common issue. I have my Satellite T2110 in parts on my workbench (your previous video was very helpful here. Thanks) and I have the drive out. The belt is very loose just like yours. Can you perhaps tell me what size belt you used so I don't necessarily have to order all of them? Also, where did you order them from?...finally, did you consider trimming the belt down so it wasn't so wide? Cheers
I am not sure where I ordered from, but I just searched 'tape belt' on Amazon and there are plenty of options. I wasn't sure how to measure it well since it was stretched, so that's why I bought a variety. The reason mine had fitment problems is that the belt was 'square', so it's not that it's too wide, it's too deep / thick. I see some of the variety packs have both square and flat belts, I bet flat is what's needed. Maybe I should try again! Good luck.
The Brother GeoBook NB60 from 1998 was the last monochrome laptop I remember seeing. It has an AMD 386 CPU and runs GEOS, but can also run DOS software.
That is a very strange computer, I kind of want one.
I remember you covering that notebook, was a great video
In the mid 90s, dual scan color screens were terrible. If the choice is between active matrix monochrome and dual scan or "passive" color, I'd go with the active monochrome every single time.
If netbooks had come 10 years earlier, they likely would’ve been monochrome 386’s… in 1997
I played Wolfenstein 3D on a mono screen in the 90s.
Hah nice, I remember playing Flight Simulator 5.1 on a mono 486 laptop! I wish I still had that manual, all the airport charts and stuff.
I looked at your subscriber count and audibly gasped! You need more! This is awesome!
Thanks that's very kind, I tried to give this one a bit more research and narrative!
Such an interesting computer! I’m actually jealous, never seen such a laptop in such good condition 💫
I hadn't noticed just how good it was until recently. The left mouse button is grubby so it was definitely used at least a bit.
I'm pretty sure Apple had monochrome LCDs past this time frame in the duo line. Frankly, I would take a good monochrome screen over a low end color one any day of the week. Early-mid 90s Dual Scan color screens are horrible. Even at the perfect viewing angle, they absolutely suck. Though, to be fair, this is not a good monochrome screen.
No I think it's actually dual scan too!
Good video! Most people just go straight for the nearest CompactFlash / SD adapter rather than even try to deal with spinning rust hard drives anymore. I do like that yours has a more era-appropriate amount of space on it! Most usually have a few GB's.
Yes I don't quite get it, the whole experience is part of it for me, the sound, vibration, even the smell of the old machines! Perhaps if you use them more often, potential data loss is more of a concern. Compact Flash cards seem to be getting pretty rare these days, I have two from old cameras but that's it, another good reason to just use the old drives!
It would be awesome to see how a period correct Linux distribution would have run on this. I didn’t get into Linux until
1997, when Pentiums were current, but I’m pretty certain a few people would have run Linux on machines like this.
My first laptop was a Tecra, Pentium 75 IIRC. It was ex business stock and obsolete in 2000, when I got it. Bloody hated it and was so much happier when I switched to a, again ex business, Thinkpad. It’s the build quality on those Toshes which let(s) them down.
Thanks for making this video and I hope you are doing well!
Yes same for me, a second hand Pentium 75. I still have it, it's the TI one falling to bits in this video! Doing ok but it's been a busy year. Any idea what a period correct Linux would be?
@@mattsqwrl Search for Slackware 2.1.0. It was released in 1994. You’ll need a cdrom drive, though there may be floppy downloads of that or earlier versions. I doubt you’ll be able to run X on that machine but it should run text mode Linux reasonably well. If you get it running, let us know how long it takes to compile hello world.
Busy is not the worst state of affairs. :)
@@mattsqwrlSoftlanding Linux System or Slackware would be your only chance back then but both would be finicky about the hardware I'm betting as laptops tended to use less standardized components than desktops of the era did. And early versions of Linux tend to support only very limited hardware.
Ah yes that's giving me flashbacks to the first two times I tried to install Linux. Once I booted it from CD, and it told me I had no CD drive. The other time it claimed I had no hard disk.
@@mattsqwrl this is the case where the boot handles the boot but the kernel, whatever that kernel is, won’t be able to access the peripheral without a driver. It’s confusing but perfectly logical.
Very early Slackware should be useable on that machine. I couldn’t find floppy images when i went looking, but only spent a few mins looking.
I think my mom had that thing as a 486 sx 25
In those days there were many Toshiba laptops extremely cheap from second hand due locked BIOS, password not stored in CMOS on RTC battery like classic AT board. Doing shortcut in some LPT pins BIOS was restored to factory setup - profit 💰
I have Compaq’s last laptop with a monochrome (it’s a TFT) display, the LTE Elite 4/50E. It’s as rare as this Toshiba.
Some nice Compaq's on your channel! I have a Portable III and 386, but the 386 has no RAM in it and it's a weird type of RAM. I wonder if new ones could be made if an existing one was stripped and copied!
by '95, the only place people were still willing to tolerate a mono screen was on a Pocket PC. The question for a notebook was Dual Scan or TFT? I have a couple of Toshibas from the Pentium era and they both have TFT screens. For those who don't know, all modern displays use TFT (Thin Film Transistor) technology, whether they are VA, TN or IPS.
Some major nostalgia here; I lived in the UK at the time.
These days, a basic laptop might be desirable for a writer. Could use the floppy to transfer files to a modern PC via USB, although most of the external floppy drives are so old, they won't work with Windows 10 or up. Linux might support them. A better choice would be pretty much any slightly newer laptop with a USB port. There are modern Linux distros that are made to work on 20+ year old machines. I think an e-ink display would look and perform better, lol.
It's certainly hunting for a use. I got a cheap brand new pcmcia usb card which I use in a Pentium with Windows ME but I suspect that would be more difficult with Win 3.1!
In 1995, Apple introduced the PowerBook 5300 - latest-and-greatest PowerPC processor roughly the equivalent of a Pentium - with greyscale display.
5300cs (DSTN), 5300c (TFT) and 5300ce (800x600 TFT) colour versions were also available, but I suspect the 5300 was the last grayscale PowerBook (along with the 190 sibling; same form factor, with LC040 processor). It might have been on the market for longer than that Toshiba?
You could try one of the pre-dos operating systems like CP/M-86 on it.
im my opinion, i would never replace a HDD if that is not Broken. Keet the Hardware as Original as Possible.
Same, this is actually the first retro machine I've had to do it. Old disks are more reliable than I would have guessed.
Intresting video, I found a T2100 in a skip a few years back and it did turn on but I just put it in a draw and forgot about it until today when I tried it today was dead.I took it apart and it started to work again. The battery is dead but works from mains.
I do see 6 files when I type dir windows,office ext. The laptop only seems to boot to commandline should it boot straight to windows or do I need to type a command.
I'd like to see it working although I have no real use for it.
It's the Thanatron!
This looks to be grayscale to me, not monochrome (1-bit).
Yeah it might be 8 bit grey or something like that, I went with what the adverts called it in the mag.
Installing a simple PC speaker sound driver for Windows 3.1 would be better than nothing. 😉
Yeah I should find one of those, I remember using them back in the day.
Hello and welcome. Please provide a link to purchase these spare rubber bands.
It was a couple of years ago on eBay, if you search for 'tape drive belts' you'll see a bunch of options.
@@mattsqwrl Could you send something similar ;(
Otherwise. Are tape recorder belts suitable?
@@angusmacgyver1847 It depends, I think all the ones I could find had a pretty square profile. That drives the floppy just fine, but it did give it clearance issues. This is the first one I've done so it's trial and error, I bet they'd be just fine on most drive, especially desktop ones that have more space.
@@mattsqwrl I'm asking you because the original belts in the FDD drive of the Toshiba 2130CT laptop are flat and thin - flattened, while these are square and thicker. Does it have a significant impact on operation?
Well, it seems like stretched drive belts on these Toshiba drives is a common issue. I have my Satellite T2110 in parts on my workbench (your previous video was very helpful here. Thanks) and I have the drive out. The belt is very loose just like yours. Can you perhaps tell me what size belt you used so I don't necessarily have to order all of them? Also, where did you order them from?...finally, did you consider trimming the belt down so it wasn't so wide? Cheers
I am not sure where I ordered from, but I just searched 'tape belt' on Amazon and there are plenty of options. I wasn't sure how to measure it well since it was stretched, so that's why I bought a variety. The reason mine had fitment problems is that the belt was 'square', so it's not that it's too wide, it's too deep / thick. I see some of the variety packs have both square and flat belts, I bet flat is what's needed. Maybe I should try again! Good luck.
Where did you buy those spare rubber belts?
It was a couple of years ago on eBay, if you search for 'tape drive belts' you'll see a bunch of options.
new subscriber :3
Are you a furry :(