This is floppy.museum:

Obsolete hardware running obsolete software documenting obsolete media

See the BBS section for more information. It is not running on the same machine as the rest (boo! hiss!), but it is running on vintage software and hardware: OS/2 Warp 3.0 on a Cyrix Cx486Drx2-25/50 machine.

See below for the juicy bits!

About this project

Some time in 2019, I started assembling what has become a sizable collection of retro PC hardware, mostly of the late 1980s to mid-90s vintage. As 2020 hit, with pandemic and lockdowns and whatnot, this collection continued to grow.

Fast-forward to September of 2022, when I stumbled across the Museum of Obsolete Media, more specifically the Floppy Disk Museum on a floppy. Having spent some time recently obsessing about squeezing as much usefulness (yes, I know, liberal use of the term) as possible onto a floppy, the idea of making the museum run entirely from a floppy was born.

After a bit of fiddling, and some help from Jason at The Museum of Obsolete Media to reduce the museum size ever so slightly, I had a 1.44MB bootable 90mm (~3.5") floppy image containing:

• MS-DOS 6.22 boot loader, IO.SYS and MSDOS.SYS,
• Norton DOS (a scaled-down version of 4DOS, because COMMAND.COM is torture),
• The excellent HTTPSERV from mTCP,
• Network packet drivers for a few common ISA network cards, and finally
• This website.

It has developed quite a bit since then, but the core remains the same.

I decided early on to target 16-bit CPUs, which in my case means the Intel 286 and compatibles. Save for the DesqVIEW multitasker, it should run on anything from an IBM XT upwards. I would not recommend running it without enough RAM to copy the site itself to a RAM disk, though - if for no other reason than to save your precious floppy drive from wear and tear.

I'll try to detail the project as best I can here - but be aware that the below may (will) be an approximation at any given time. The hardware is old, largely untested over longer periods of time or under any kind of load (but see this nugget), and components will be replaced as need arises. This page is unlikely to keep pace, but I'll try to update it whenever I've made significant changes.

Note: The below is accurate as of June 4, 2023. For a better chance of knowing the current state of affairs, read the event log.

The configuration

To recreate this floppy disk, you will need:

• The latest distribution of the "Floppy Disk Museum on a Floppy"
• The software listed in The software table below
• My local config files:
  • config.sys - for this hardware, probably needs modifications
  • autoexec.bat - uses my "init" system for DOS, see below
  • ndos.com - the Norton command.com replacement
  • httpd.bat - startup "script" for DESQview and HTTPServ, copies files to RAM disk
  • system.zip - the system directory, containing the "init" system
  • net.zip - the net directory, containing network drivers, IRC server, and mTCP
  • uttl.zip - various utilities used during boot, including those listed below
  • dv.zip - a stripped-down DESQView w/startup script
• Patience
• Beer (or equivalent beverage)
• A pillow to cry into when you realise what you're spending your precious time on..

The httpd.bat file attempts to allow for the absence of DESQview. The ZIP files require sufficient space on the RAM drive, about 3MB should do. IFF your RAM drive is large enough you can simply have it copy/create the files there; otherwise simply edit httpd.bat have it skip the whole copying/ZIPping entirely. Either way, modify autoexec.bat to make the RAM drive as large as you can, but be sure to leave a couple hundre KB for NDOS and DV to thrive.

The config.sys should present a menu on boot, offering to go straight to DESQview/HTTPServ, or boot to DOS (with or without copying files to RAM disk). DESQview only really makes sense if you have a 386 or better CPU, or a 286 with hardware EMS like the C&T SCAT chipset. The NEAT chipset, and others, may also work - but will require significant fiddling and drivers for the respective chipsets. And the EMS driver needs to support "backfilling", i.e. the software (DESQview) must be able to map EMS memory into conventional memory, otherwise it cannot "multitask".

Most executables and .SYS files (drivers) on the disk are compressed using UPX, which compresses and adds a small self-extract header to the files. In the interest of saving disk space, though, I'm UPXing everything I can - with the notable exception of XCOPY.EXE which breaks with any compression applied to it.

The configuration for HTTPServ is in httpd.bat and in the configuration file referenced by the MTCPCFG environment variable. Additionally, a HTACCESS.--- file is copied to the root of the HTML directory, which enables the status and clients pages.

Bootup takes a long time, since all files are copied to RAM disk prior to running anything. This is partially to reduce the wear and tear on the actual floppy drive and the floppy, and partially to make visiting the site a bearable experience. Once running, however, it should be stable for weeks on end. :)

Maintenance

In an attempt to make the site maintainable in other ways than 1) removing the floppy, 2) making changes and 3) rebooting, I've been trying to get DESQView to multitask the IRCd and the mTCP HTTPServ and FTPSRV programs. Unfortunately, this cunning plan was foiled by the fact that packet drivers have no concept of multiple applications using them at the same time. Luckily I raised this to the mTCP author, who pointed me to PKTMUX: A packet driver multiplexer!

Originally written to allow the use of TCP/IP applications alongside IBM 3270 terminal emulator TSRs, this software takes over the software interrupt handler from the packet driver itself, attempts to peek into the ethernet packets to find the IP header, and forwards the packet to the correct application via a "virtual" packet driver of which there is one copy running for each application.

Using PKTMUX and DESQView I now (as of 2023-03-01) have a remotely-maintainable site! The updated floppy is still fully self-contained, and boots into DESQView with IRCd, HTTPServ and FTPSRV running. And there's still enough memory to run IRCjr from the same machine! (Yes, I've done this.)

IRC - Internet Relay Chat

Since 2023-06-04 there's been an IRC server running on the machine!

That's right: On the same 286 and floppy that already contains and runs an operating system and multi-tasker, a web server, an FTP server, and this whole website -- there is now a fully operational IRC server too!

Given memory constraints (and other limitations), it's currently configured to accept a maximum of 28 simultaneous users. To compensate, as of 2023-06-21 the server is now clustered (see the event log) with another 286 of equal configuration, and together they can handle 56 clients! So .. Don't hesitate, join now!

How to connect

Point any bog-standard IRC client at this server, on port 6667: floppy.museum:6667. Note that there is no fancy TLS or other protections here, so please do not rely on it for any kind of privacy.

You can find me on the #FloppyMuseum channel as Ltning, e-Ltning, or some variation thereof.

BBS - Bulletin Board System

On 2024-03-19 I opened up my BBS to the world!

Having spent a significant amount of (my dads') money on BBS access, and significant amounts of time in various discussions and flame wars, I felt it was only natural to spin up a BBS of my own. I did so back then, and I think I had about 10 visitors in total (not saying how many individuals..). I'll be happy if the BBS I spun up in 2024 will exceed that number.

You can find more information about the system(s) running the BBS here!

How to connect

Find yourself a decent terminal emulator which supports ANSI, IBM PC character sets (CP437, CP850, etc.) and can connect via Telnet. Alternatively, you can use a WiModem232 or other similar serial-to-wifi adapter - Tindie and other places have several to choose from. Some OSes even have drivers and software that provide virtual serial ports and software-emulated modems.

Once you have the necessary tools, connect to floppy.museum or bbs.anduin.net (same thing, same wrapping) on the standard Telnet port (23). After an easy math quiz (designed to keep port-scanning script kiddies away from the poor old 386-class machine), you'll be passed on to the BBS itself. Welcome!

The hardware

Motherboard	JC Information Systems Corporation JCS286/SCAT
Chipset:	Chips&Technologies 82C235 "SCAT" (single-chip successor of NEAT)
BIOS:	AMI/C&T
CPU:	Intel 80286-16MHz
FPU:	Intel 80287-8MHz ("military grade")
RAM:	8MB 70ns FPM DRAM (1x 72pin SIMM)
Expansion	Just making Netscape 2.02 for OS/2 happy..
Graphics+FDD controller:	Viglen HDD+FDD+VGA+I/O combo card, WDC90C30-LR VGA chip and C&T F82C712 Super I/O
Network:	RealTek RSET8019-based 8-bit Ethernet controller
Storage	Just making Netscape 2.02 for OS/2 happy..
Floppy drive A:	Sony 90mm (~3.5") HD
Floppy drive B:	None
Hard Disk drive C:	None
Power	Just making Netscape 2.02 for OS/2 happy..
Power supply	Mini-Box PicoPSU-120 12v, 120W DC-DC
Power safety	Milk Factory Computing Programmable AT Fuse

The software

Event log
(Newest entry first)

• 2025-04-02: More HTML fixes! Turns out there were a number of issues with the HTML files: UTF-8 characters, unnecessary use of "modern" stuff like CSS and <div> tags, etc.
  Also re-processed all the .jpg files, simply to remove unnecessary metadata which was confusing certain browsers. As an added bonus, this saved about 100KB of space, which I now need to find content for :D
  Finally, removed my Twitter contact details, as I left that vile platform some time ago.
  
  
• 2024-10-20: Fixed the broken HTML! Quite embarrassing; after being so proud of having written my own tool to do the HTML patching, it turns out it's chopping off long lines. So after finding a bug in Turbo Pascal that foiled my plans to fix it, I found a DOS port of SED, which after UPXing shrunk to 12kb!
  Also cleaned up a bit in the above and below sections.
  
  
• 2024-08-11: Yes, it also (kinda) fits a BBS node! After mulling the idea for a while, and finally getting a Novell NetWare server up and running, I have managed to wedge a Novell client onto the floppy! So now, alongside HTTPSERV, FTPSRV and IRCD there's now an SBBS (Synchronet BBS) process running! It shares files and data with the other nodes. For now it's mostly for testing, but if it proves stable and functional, I'll add it to the BBS node pool.
  
  
• 2024-03-20: The Bulletin Board System is open! On a separate piece of hardware (a 386..), the Synchronet BBS software is now serving up bbs.anduin.net on port 23 (telnet). There are vague plans to add an LTE modem to allow actual phone calls; we'll see if and when that materialises. See the BBS section and the BBS page for details.
  
  
• 2023-07-10: The Floppy Museum Cluster! I built a new twin open frame* and mounted two brand-new 286-servers on it!
  The frame was assembled from a couple of open frame-kits from Ali Express. The kits were opened, parts spread out on a desk, and instructions tossed. After a couple of days of fiddling, and getting some help to add a 72-pin SIMM slot on the new JCS286/SCAT boards, the Floppy Museum is now fully redundant! Two identical machines, mounted on the same open frame chassis, are happily serving up the web site and the IRC service.
  * Sorry about the externally-hosted image; it just won't fit on that floppy while being a useful size. For the curious, a (much) larger image can be found here.
  
  
• 2023-06-21: Old hardware! Back on the old machine, let's hope it's stable! Also:
  • After recompiling ngIRCd (using one of my OS/2 machines) with a new and shiny mTCP and an upstream patch for auto-join-on-connect, it now seems I have a reasonably stable configuration.
  • The IRC server is now clustered!
    The primary server and my test-bench machine is now part of an IRC "network", and connections are load balanced between the instances. If one goes down, your client should automatically connect to the other. And since the instances are linked, it doesn't matter which one you land on :)
  
  
• 2023-06-07: New hardware! That IRCd turned out a bigger challenge than expected: The poor machine had trouble reliably starting the services in a way that had them accept connections; theory is that the combination of multiple packet drivers, lots of inbound traffic during driver loading and service startup, and extreme memory pressure combined to a "perfect storm".
  Turns out a different motherboard (don't worry; same chipset and CPU!) with a slightly less stupid BIOS allowed *just* enough additional memory headroom for things to stabilise.
  Note: I'll be tuning the site a bit more over the next days/weeks, and I need to transplant the new motherboard onto the acrylic "open frame" that the old hardware was installed on. I'll keep a second machine (same build!) running to keep the site up :-)
  
  
• 2023-06-04: Rather major update, bringing new content from Jason, and:
  • Removed Volkov Commander and some minor utilities to save space, because..
  • ..There is now an IRC server running on the machine!
    See irc section for details.
  It's really getting cramped on the floppy now: less than 25KB free.
  
  
• 2023-03-28: Upgraded HTTPServ! Now with built-in NTP client, and a fix for the crashing bug!
  PS: For anyone interested, the upgrade was done almost entirely remotely: FTP to update the executable, config and this file, then a walk to the "retro cave" to hit the reset button.
  PPS: For anyone still reading, *c0in m1n3rz were spewing bad traffic on the Interwebs that made HTTPServ crash from time to time. Found and fixed by Mr. Brutman of mTCP fame! Thank you!
  
  
• 2023-03-06:
  • There's now a favicon!
  • Finally managed to use the second floppy drive for scratch storage, so I'm now offering *all* the tools and scripts used for download from /files!
    The problem was an obscure BIOS setting - "DMA Extended XMEMR" - which needs to be disabled, otherwise this particular machine (and some others based on the same chipset) will eat floppies for .. well, any meal, really.
  • In a feeble attempt at self-defense, I've added a robots.txt to keep search engines away from these files..
  
  
• 2023-03-01: Updated floppy with PKTMUX, now running HTTPD+FTPD for maintenance! See maintenance section for details.
  
  
• 2023-02-20: Museum went down, as it tends to every few weeks. Of course on my first day of vacation, so it remained down until 2023-02-26.
  Still trying to figure out why. Current theory is that some kind of broken HTTP requests brings down HTTPServ and the packet driver, since the machine itself remains fine: Loading a new packet driver instance and restarting HTTPServ is enough to restore service.
  To anyone who may have attempted to access the site during that period: Sorry!
  
  
• 2023-01-24:
  • Replaced NIC; hopefully packet driver is more stable
  • Updated the museum pages with some corrections and a couple of new entries
  • Minor HTML tweaks, added this event log
  • Added contact info and simple page navigation
  
  
• 2023-01-12: Mentioned on Hacker News. >80.000 hits in a few hours! (Hint: read the comments)
  
  
• 2022-11-29: Acquired 'floppy.museum' domain
  
  
• 2022-10-22: First revision

Contact

My name is Eirik Øverby, I'm of 1977 vintage, and we (this server and myself) are located in Oslo, Norway. You can (usually) find me on IRC (this server, Libera, EFNet) as Ltning, or in the fediverse as @ltning@anduin.net.

If you want to contact me via email, I'm sure you can deduce my email address from the above.

Note: This page is optimized for Netscape Navigator 2.02 for OS/2. Also viewable in IBM WebExplorer 1.1h. May be compatible with newer user agents.