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Please note also - THIS BLOG ENDS HERE WITH THE LAST ENTRY FROM NOVEMBER 9th 2021.

I have prepared a new blog with wordpress at https://vintagecomputing.info !!!

Thank you.

Many of you may know that there is an offline malware scanner from Microsoft existing, it's a portable app, so you don't need to install it (just extract it from an archive and start it) - the Microsoft Safety Scanner ... also known as MSERT.
I tested this tool a few times, but I found some points really annoying, beside the fact it also helped to find some WM97 Downloader variants not found by Symantec Endpoint Protection for example.

It is very slow, despite of the choice you're taking at the beginning of the scan process. It can take hours to be finished.

Also, it does not only find malware, but also network tools, and other useful tools e.g. found at Nirsoft's page. You can't choose what type of files you want to scan.

It cannot handle less established archive formats. It scans even ISO images, report findings, but let the ISO as is (this can be also an advantage, though).

At the end, it does not ask what to do with the findings. They/it will be moved into quarantine. There is no possibility to make a decision for each file, nor how to deal in general with findings.

You can't restore files from the quarantine (files are encrypted). So may be you need a backup before scanning with MSERT.

I would recommend (for unencrypted drives) to use ESET SysRescue Live instead for scanning "offline" for malware.

Not really bad for 1991, this notebook with a monochrome LCD VGA display has a 130MB hard disk drive and 8 MBytes RAM. The build in video graphics adapter is a Cirrus Logic GD610. It has 2 serial interface ports, 1 parallel port and one external keyboard socket/connector - but no PCMCIA or even USB (this wasn't up-to-date in 1991!). The power supply delivers 20 Volts.
It runs Windows 95, but it has not enough space on hard drive for Windows 98 or newer, and I guess it would be to slow for Windows 98, too.
But for a monochrome display, it's acceptable, there are other more worse displays existing.
It was sold also from the german computer distributor "Vobis" as "Highscreen 486DX Notebook".



Btw. - the often found "one EXE file version" of Johnny Castaway Screensaver (made by someone for Windows XP) is NOT compatible with Windows 95 (but with Windows 2000 and XP).
You need to look for the original setup disk content (e.g. at winworldpc.com) to be able to install it. See also "related link below".



This software "Mephisto Meisterschach" is really a rarely used software, but still very interesting, because it plays very well (compared to the similar old Chessmaster 4000, much better).

To figure out what Terminal (aka what Terminal control sequences) for an less known CP/M system is needed, I wrote a small terminal test program. It's useful because sometimes you have to configure WordStar or other full screen editors for systems without build-in terminal emulation, means if you have such a system like a S-100 bus system, or something like a Micromint SB180, which needs also an external Terminal to show their console (output) via a serial interface.

When started, it looks like this:


Just press a digit key with a (predefined) terminal definition, and you will see if you get a nice or an ugly screen output (depends if you choosed the right terminal or not).

This is the output if everything is ok:


The definitions are stored in a text file named "TESTTERM.COD", for syntax and structure see README.txt within the ZIP...

You can download it via "related link" below.

Westwood Associates created this real gem in 1991,based on "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" game series.
This game does not only offer beautiful VGA but also EGA graphics, I would say it is one of the best games for EGA PCs.
I was looking for more games for my Siemens PG750, which can display EGA graphics, and beside Star Trek 25th anniversary, it is my favorite in terms of graphics quality.
The story of the game isn't too complex, most of the time you're wandering through a dungeon with dwarfs and monsters, defeating them, looking for the Xanathar, the eponymous beholder.

Look at this master piece of game trailer:


For beginners, it could be tricky to get out the starting area, because almost every dwarf will block your way:

Just a small hint, spells will help to go on...

You can buy the game (as part of a trylogy) still at gog.com !

That's not vintage, but still interesting.
If you visit Geoff's site (see related link below), you will find infos about the ARM7-based Home Computer from Geoff Graham. It uses an SD-Card as a storage, and it needs a PC USB-keyboard and a VGA monitor. A nice case seems to be also existing:


A detailed description of the hardware features can be found at http://geoffg.net/CMM2_Description.html. At least it will run with a 480MHz CPU, that should be fast enough.

It uses MMBASIC, which is a modern BASIC interpreter also with some structured computer language elements (no need for line numbers).

Just take a look at it and judge for yourself if it's worth to be used.

P.S.: There are 2 articles existing in a Magazine named "Silicon Chip", see http://www.siliconchip.com.au/Issue/202 ... s=nonflash ...

P.P.S.: You can buy also kits >here<.