Hi Louis -
I am very familiar with the Dell 9020 system. In my last job before I
retired, I provided tech support to about 250 of them. Currently I own
one which is running AlmaLinux and handling my surveillance cameras.
Yep, I could get a 9020 from eBay for maybe $100 to $150. Finding one
without memory (I have spare sticks), without hard drive (I have spares)
and without Windows is a trick. And at that - it would be more
expensive than what I already own. On the other hand - A 7010 with an
i3 processor and no hard drive might be under $50. That is tempting ...
Any kind of AGP display adapter with a DVI port is going to run $30-ish.
Just to verify, I connected my cheesy VGA-to-HDMI adapter to the 9020.
It displayed nothing until the system went into graphics mode. No POST,
no boot sequence, just a black screen.
===============
Bill Gee
On 1/26/24 16:01, Louis Santillan via Freedos-user wrote:
The quality of the VGA to HDMI adapter isn't great but it works. In
particular, on an HB8088 with an NEC v20 CPU & Chips 451 VGA there's
large banding and the signal seems to ripple on dark black. On a Dell
Optiplex 9020 with a Core i7-4790 the banding and ripple are reduced
(probably a better signal coming out of the Intel HD's VGA port). Even
better, the Optiplex has USB for Legacy Support, Legacy BIOS boot
option, will boot DOS off a FAT32 USB drive, has a really clean video
signal if you use a DisplayPort to HDMI adapter (last video). Didn't
have a chance to do something like run PhilsComputerLab DOSBench suite
but that could be next. The DP to HDMI adapter happens to be a variant
of this
(https://www.amazon.com/DisplayPort-Gold-Plated-Avacon-Display-Adapter/dp/B01FX3K7T2/ <https://www.amazon.com/DisplayPort-Gold-Plated-Avacon-Display-Adapter/dp/B01FX3K7T2/>). A USB keyboard, mouse, DP-to-HDMI, USB drive, and 4GB or less RAM (9020 can use 1GB & 2GB DDR3 DIMMs), you have a legacy free DOS machine (retro rocket) for very little money. You could even add a USB Floppy to the mix.
Videos on Google Drive
(https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1JKjjNO2t7bu8rJYmbxRFRRhD3BEyUr7x?usp=sharing <https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1JKjjNO2t7bu8rJYmbxRFRRhD3BEyUr7x?usp=sharing>). Apologies in advance for the poor narration, background noise, and lack of video editing. I rushed this out before leaving the house for the weekend. I had planned to edit out the audio but ran out of time. Video is still "processing" by Google at the time of this writing.
On Fri, Jan 26, 2024 at 11:25 AM Felix Miata via Freedos-user
<freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net
<mailto:freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net>> wrote:
Bill Gee composed on 2024-01-26 12:59 (UTC-0600):
> Go back to the original set of questions that started this ... My
> FreeDOS machine is plugged into a KVM switch which supports only
VGA and
> PS2. In the near future - 6 months or so - that KVM must be
upgraded to
> support HDMI displays and USB keyboard/mouse. In order to continue
> using the FreeDOS machine, it also must support HDMI display and USB
> keyboard/mouse.
New day after long sleep. I forgot. :)
> I could put it on a dedicated display, but there is no place in the
> house to set it up that way. The FreeDOS system has to live on my
> computer rack.
> I was leery when I bought the adapter, but I figured for $10 it
was hard
> to go far wrong. It was worth a try.
It still is worth trying, but with more skill applied, and almost
certainly more
money spent. :p Surely you're not the only one with similar
configuration.
I am able to avoid KVM issues with big physical desktop, 6 displays,
3 full-time
keyboards, 2 trackballs, one mouse, and a *lot* of cable switching,
for 40+ PCs,
normally with at most 3 up at once, occasionally a 4th, along with
cable switching
multiple times most days.
--
Evolution as taught in public schools is, like religion,
based on faith, not based on science.
Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 ** a11y rocks!
Felix Miata
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