I am still using my Zenith 148 Turbo-XT clone (upgraded from two floppy disks
by adding a 10 M hard disk).  What I use it for is mainly wordprocessing, with
Wordperfect 4.2, and sending files with Procomm, and more recently e-mail,
accessing websites, and chatting on the bbs.  We have a 386 around in pieces
(actually pieces of two 386s), which my roommate, who is in charge of the
hardware, insists I don't need for my purposes.  I also have a 2400 baud
modem, and this system is quite fast enough for all that I am doing, if I
don't mind reading a book while sending longer files (binary).  But the people
I am sending files to no longer accept Wordperfect 4.2, so I have to run a
convert program to 5.1.  I have tried running 5.1 on my Zenith, but there is
not enough RAM (640 K) to shell to Procomm, and I can't even shell from WP4.1
to a newer version of Procomm so also don't have Zmodem.  But I get along with
Kermit.  I would like to try WP5.1 on the 386 to save a little time
converting, without having to exit to use Procomm.  Are there any other major
advantages of a 386 for someone not interested in graphics or color or
computer games?  I can access the Internet as fast in text as someone else
could with a faster modem in color graphics, and I have noticed that most of
the Internet advertising is avoided this way.  (I use lynx altavista or yahoo).
I will not get the 386 (it has been a year already that I have been waiting)
unless I come up with some good use for it.  Any ideas?  Are there any really
useful programs that will not run on an XT?  I stopped trying to do bookkeeping
on the computer after my program crashed one year in December.

12 responses total.

  Speaking as one who did this, I would say go for it. Memory is cheap, as
well as harddrive space. 
  I use Word 4 for my word processing, and it runs nicely, even in a 512K or
640K environment (I have done both). I also use ProComm Plus, Crosstalk, and
another one that I cannot think of, but it works nicely.

  The main drawback of a 386 is the battery thing. You don't have one in an
XT but you do in a x86 box and when they go flat you need to either replace
them (with great gnashing of teeth) or find a way to wire a conventional
battery to the motherboard. It can be a pain in the ass. 
  Bottom line: I would advise you to build the 386, and play with it and see
what works for you. The greatest advantage is memory capacity. You can expand
out to 32Megs (if you have the money), and that is something you just can't
do with a XT.

  I put my old Mac memory into my 386. I plan on buying more memory when
I get the money, but for now, I am happy with the 1.5Megs I have. E-mail me
if you need sources for memory and hardware.

Since my battery in the Zenith went bad (we added one along with the
two-expansion-slot motherboard, it went with the clock), my roommate
programmed the computer to ask for the date when I boot up.  Do you think that
the battery could be similarly bypassed with a 'C-MOS configuration setup
program' (I quote from my roommate), who thinks he has one, and you can run
it to set the things the battery would have done for you, except the clock.
He says you lose your C-MOS without the battery, he thinks.
   Maybe this sort of challenge, how to run a setup program, is what is needed
to get him going on the 386.  If he gets something working, we will let you
know.  (An occasional inquiry might speed things up, some people need gentle
reminders).  A 40 M harddrive (which we have for the 386) would be real nice
too, I am always having to clean out extra files from my 10 M.
        A setup program might take an extra minute or two to boot up.
        Thanks for the encouragement.

  I keep my CMOS settings near my computer and I have also stored 
2 setup programs on Grex just in case the unthinkable happens, and 
it has. 
  I have a book which I can let you borrow that lays out how to 
assemble and disassemble your basic IBM computer which will help
as well. I have also got a database that gives the setup parameters
for nearly every hard drive made. All I need is the manufacturer
and the model number and from that I can give you the capacity, the
landing zone, number of cylinders, and other vital information.
  I'll give you a call soon.

The specific question is, can it be run automatically without a battery if
you have a setup program instead?  (All but the clock).  Can you access the
setup program from the hard disk without having a battery, or would the setup
program need to be run from a floppy disk.  
        My roommate has taken apart and put together XT clones but not a 386
yet.  We may ask you for more help.  Thanks very much.  What sorts of software
can you run on a 386 but not an 8088?  (No games needed).  Someone mentioned
that IBM made something which would take dictation and required a sound card
and 'any modern computer'.  Mine was modern in 1985.

  Mine is an Award Bios, and the setup program is already on a chip and is
usually accessed by a key sequence, usually holding delete down during the
memory test, or something similar to it. You would have to run the setup
program from a floppy because the computer needs to know what kind of hd it
has before it can start. But most manufacturers built the setup into the BIOS
and is accessed like I said above.
 I don't know much about software, but I am sure that the voice dictation
thing would require a Pentium or better. 

  to answer your question: The CMOS will hold without a battery as long as
the computer is on. Once you turn it off, your CMOS will most assured have
to be reset. There may be a little storage by way of capacitative storage but
that lasts for at the most, 8 or so hours.

  Give me a little warning and I'll visit your computer with my tools and my
disks. I have made some diagnostic disks so I can tell what the story is
without too much trouble. 

  I'm in the process of building a 486 and it looks like it will be a lot of
fun. Right now, I only have one piece, the main processor.

(The battery in a CMOS config PC needs changing every 5 years or less often,
so beyond getting old hardware set up properly, it isn't really an issue)

I will pass along this information.  Unfortunately, my roommate is not all
that interested in putting together the 386 unless it is difficult, so I may
end up with a program on a flooppy to make it more challenging.  This is the
sort of person who is not interested in equipement unless it is broken.  What
does it take to put the innards from a 386 that was upgraded to a 586 into
another 386 that stopped working?  I have been waiting since March, and the
origianl excuse was that first it was necessary to take all the old files off
the hard disk.  I will see what sort of gentle persuasion will work.  Thanks
to both of you for the information.  

  It probably depends on the case size. You could mount the Pentium on a board
and still have a viable computer. 

Shouldn't be a big deal to swap 386 boards or replace batteries if you 
have decent soldering and hacking skills.  A while back I put a
486DX33 into an XT box, CD ROM and all.  Sold it at a swap for $100.

Thanks to several kind offers of help, we are making progress.  (I played my
trump card.  "I'll ask someone else to put together the 386 if you don't want
to bother.")  So far we have solved the problem of "There's not enough room
to work on it" by completing a few other projects which were taking up the
'dining' table (we fixed a lamp, a clock, a radio and tape player), and now
the only obstacle is to finish making me a backup 8088 with all the same
software and see if there is some way to coax more RAM out of it so I can load
WP5.1 and Procomm Plus at the same time (shelling from WP to PC).  Does anyone
know for sure that this is possible or impossible?  Other than offering more
RAM and faster speed, what advantages does a 386 have?  Should we not bother
with it and wait for a dead 486 to come along?  

Well you can run windows 3.1 on a 386 if you have more than 2 megs of ram. 
This may not appeal as it's slow and takes up (10+ mb ?) quite a bit of
hard drive space and available ram.  What windows would allow you to do
however is run a modern word processor with various fonts (type styles)
and perhaps more formating options for printing. At this point you may be
able to get a slow 486 motherboard for about the same price as a 386
motherboard, keep your eyes open.

Thanks, but I do not use any fonts at all, I modem (e-mail) all my files to
people who do the printing.  (I work as a translator into English).  The only
things I ever print are quite acceptable in plain old courier NLQ.  We already
have, as of yesterday (thanks to another grexer) two working 386 motherboards.
We are still working on seeing if there is some way to load WP5.1, Procomm
Plus, and a file or two into RAM on my XT.

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