Let’s build the world’s smallest XT ‘desktop’ machine running Windows 3.0!
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- čas přidán 22. 08. 2024
- In this video, I will show you how to connect a Citizen PN60 portable printer and a serial mouse to an HP 200LX Palmtop computer. The HP 200LX is a classic portable computer released in 1994 and is famous for its DOS operating system and built-in applications. The Citizen PN60 is a compact printer that can produce high-quality prints on the go.
We will go through the steps required to connect the printer and the mouse to the HP 200LX, which involves using the serial ports on the Palmtop. We will show you how to configure the printer and mouse settings on the HP 200LX, and how to install the necessary drivers for the printer.
Once we have everything set up, we will demonstrate how to print a document from the HP 200LX using the Citizen PN60 printer, as well as how to use the serial mouse to navigate around the computer, running Windows 3.0.
Whether you're a fan of vintage technology or simply looking for a way to use your old devices, this video is a must-watch for anyone interested in connecting a portable printer and mouse to the HP 200LX Palmtop. Join us on this trip down memory lane as we explore the world of retro computing!
If my friend who used an HP200LX had known how to do this 20 years ago, he would have been madly in love with it.
Im sure he would! I am still madly in love with it 30 years later hahahaha!
Amazing video! I've never seen a device like this running Windows 3.0, it's so cool!
Thanks for watching and for supporting my channel :D
@@electrohoard You're welcome! nice channel!!😊
@@luis-ranma 😃🤗
Underrated video. I wanted to see windows running on this thing, and I found your video about that!
Thanks! You gave me an idea: make a video about all the pocket size Windows 3.0 capable palmtops that I have! My plan is not to focus only on retro computers on this channel, but retro things mechanical and electronics, so I’ll probably post some videos about other subjects before that , but I’ll sure make a video about windows on palmtops in the following weeks.
agreed...liked, subscribed and commented
@@CATech1138 Thank you so much!
I'm definitely too young to even know what windows ce is, born in 2000, but I just find this tech so appealing. I love the look, simplicity, and the functionality they could pack in a passport sized pc in the 1990s. Although I think I would go crazy with that keyboard if I had to rely on it. Thanks for showing!
Hey, I agree with you! Its amazing that you could have a complete PC in your pocket in the early 90s. The keyboard is obviously not even close to a normal sized one, but believe it or not, for what it is, its surprisingly good! I do have another pocket sized computer with a better keyboard that I plan on making a video in the coming weeks. Thank you so much for your comment!
As an older millennial (born in the late 80s), I find it so amazing to see the same curiosity, passion, and interest from the next generation of hardware/software enthusiasts. Seeing continued interest in "the hobby" is reassuring because it proves that vintage computing isn't going away when my generation does. Thank you and keep on rockin'!
@@stephensalex retro computing is not going away! Quite the opposite, I do believe its so ‘intriguing’ for the new generation that males them wanna learn more where it all started.
Thank you for the kind comments.
@@electrohoard Totally agreed! Thank you for being a part of our amazing community, I love your work!
@@stephensalex Thank you for supoorting us content creators!
incredibly interested in these early pocket-sized, "full-featured" computers. they've been an obsession of mine for decades now. love this! great content
Thank you very much! Im also obsessed with these and have a few others I plan to make a video about!
Same. I eventually bought a Libretto and massaged FreeBSD 4.3 on it. When I'd use it in public, it was a literal "chick magnet". Every time I'd be using it, people would come up to me to ask what it is. The reply was always the same. "A laptop? No way! It's so tiny!".
@@GamingHelp its incredible how most of this tech never reached the general public and today seem like a brand new thing for most people.
Amazing. I had this machine back in the '90s but I never tried Windows in it.
Running Windows on it somehow makes it feel much cooler, I guess because ir brings back good old memories from back then.
Honestly I didnt even know palmtops were even a thing until I watched this video but now i want one so bad
Haha I know how you feel. I already knew about them cause I did manage to buy a 200LX one year after it was launched, and year after year I just got more and more interested in them.
I pretty much had most of the palmtops from HP, but the 200LX is my favorite.
Me too!
@@rsc9520 now you know and I’ll post more neat DOS palmtops in the future, along with other interesting stuff.
Underrated video. I was born in the 2000s so I only know a little about old computers like this, thank u so much, subscribed!
Thank you so much for watching and for the kind comments :)
I really like seeing these older devices being used today. Brings me back to the days when I was just learning about computers. Back then, I couldn't afford one of those mini pocket pdas or computers...but now...I hope to be able to bring one I got back to life soon.
Which onde did you get? These are wonderful little devices to play with.
@@electrohoard A client gave me their HP IPAQ Pocket PC. It runs Windows Mobile. I just need to get a battery for it
@@techc760 I have a few iPaqs too. They are great and I may showcase one in a video in the future…
@@electrohoard That would be great!!!I really like them...as well as the Psion series
@@techc760 I dont have any Psion (yet) haha.
This is an item that was used in Korea once (Letters written avove keyboard is Korean)
I didn't even know this existed. It's interesting even if everything (software,window, etc...) is English
Hey you noticed that! I didnt mention in the video, but yes, this is not the English version, but it did came with English ROM (luckily, cause I cant reas Korean!). I believe its quite unusual since I havent seen many of these…
Nice video. I've always found these little palmtops to be pretty cool. Maybe I'll get one to mess around with one day.
Thank you for watching! Yes, these little devices are very cool considering the size and what they can do :)
Your 178th subscribeer here, don't forget us when you reach millions, which im sure you will.
Thank you my 178th subscriber! Haha I promise I wont, but thats a dream too far away. What I most want is to feel somehow useful by sharing my knowledge and stuff I’ve been hoarding for many years. If you have any suggestion feel always free to post, and thank you once again!
It's great you made that serial connector with the DB9 because it opens the possibility of all kinds of serial devices. Maybe even something like an eprom programmer or something. Perhaps you could use it to add wi-fi so it can have internet like they do on the Commodore 64 with the little ESP thing.
I think it is possible. Originally the connector I took from the HDD was much bigger so I cut it to make several smaller ones that fit the 200LX. I have spares to try to make other serial devices work.
Once you have a serial port on a machine like that, it beeing a real PC with DOS and windows, yes you could use text based apps, or basic COM networking, tranfering files or use it as a terminal in an old server room
How badass is that ?
Plus, PCMCIA ethernet was a thing.
@@flaksoft8003 yeah, true! I havent tried any of my pcmcia ethernet cards with it yet, but they should work just fine.
I bought a HP 48G in 1990 and is such a great calculator for its time. My senior year of HS in 1990,
the school had a Apple Macintosh SE/30 with Mac OS 6 and we used it for drafting class.
A few years later I bought a Packard Bell computer with Win 3.11
and realized how Win 3 sucked compared to Mac OS 6 after using it.
I think Microsoft tried to make it not look like Mac OS so as to not get sued.
I upgraded my Packard Bell to Win 95, I thought it was finally usable when I did it.
The 200LX upgraded to 95 would be awesome, but that it only has the 80186 would make that not possible.
Wow that is so cool that an old Palmptop PC can even print directly to a printer... I was obsessed with Palmtop PCs and PDAs back in the days when I was a kid/teen. Sad I never got to own one :( Though I've owned many different PDAs with different OSes. Haha
I guess we have a lot in common! I was also obsessed with Palmtops, Palm size PCs and PDAs when I was a teen, and luckly I managed to own a few that I still have and plan to show here on the channel along with other stuff! Thanks for watching!
I was also obsessed with Palmtops too. But now with make a computer great/nice with TTGO VGA32....
@@canalRetro269 I’ll have to google about that TTGO VGA32zzz
@@electrohoard A board with a Esp32 microcontroler and you can make retro computers with that.
(e eu estou fazendo um computador para o fim do mundo com ela (modular, baixo consumo de energia, baixo custo por unidade e pode funcionar mesmo sem parte dos acessórios disponíveis com o sistema q estou criando)).
@@canalRetro269 thats really interesting. I had never heard of it before and I’ll probably get one to play with it! Obrigado pelas informações!
Great video!!! Thank You for this detailed review.
Im glad you enjoyed! Thanks for watching!
Super cool! Would be great to see it with a “non-stretched” UI with more native resolutions. Also how it handles productivity apps like Word and Excel and Works.
Also be cool to see it with the ELKS Embedded Linux OS
your videos are awesome
Its such a joy to get this kind of feedback! Thank you!
Missing the times when mouse and computers had the same size.
Hahahahaha good one! LOL
@@POS-Website-User true!
As someone who has a windows XP machine since 2006(since I was 3) it’s been a big part of my life, even helping with school work, sadly I haven’t been able to afford a IDE to SATA ADAPTER, I had to sadly watch it die yesterday but I will always remember it, until I can afford IDE to SATA ADAPTER, I have to use a cheap laptop for the time being…
Better than writing it with your own hand
Certainly! And much more fun.
Никогда не думал, что Windows можно запускать на подобного класса компьютерах. Супер! Я тот чувак, который просил тебя поставить камеру на штатив :) спасибо! Теперь намного приятнее смотреть твои очень интересные и содержательные видео. Cheers from Georgia.
Здравствуй, друг! Я последовал твоему совету и купил себе штатив, большое спасибо за совет и за просмотр моих видео!
@@electrohoard ❤️
What I wouldn't give to find a VGA monochrome display like these older LCD's. I kind of miss those things.
Yeah, these are the real deal in terms of vintage experience!
I just want the panel for one of my projects! hehe! Which reminds me, I should stuff some batteries into my PC-3 and sharp pocket computers one of these days and play around. Both of them still work and I bought them in the 80's. :) Best of luck trying to use a modern lithium ion proprietary battery pack device in 40 years! :P
I like how those HP Palmtop PCs look like HP OmniBooks but tiny
Yes, they do bring back great memories from that HP era!
This is legendary.
Im glad you enjoyed!! Thanks for watching.
Coolest thing I’ve ever seen
Thank you :)
Glad you liked it!
For your knowledge that is a JST XH 2.54mm spacing header.
Great information, thanks for sharing!
Great video, brings back a lot of memories ;-) would it be possible for you to please share the .bat files and file tree of the files you copied to the CF card?
Cf card in the pcmcia port is much faster than an old laptop’s hdd, I tried it in a 386 thinkpad. 16 gb card is better, Doom runs on 25 mhz with its smallest screen resolution. It meeds ezdrive to make it work, or else it is just 32 mb. 256 mb card doesn’t need driver, but it won’t affect the overall speed.
Thats good to know. I have a few new and vintage thinkpads but never compared PCMCIA speeds os used ezdrive. I will certainly try it!
It's amazing!
Thank you Wilton for watching :D
Legendary!
Thank you so much!
If you're going to use it as a tiny "desktop" setup, why not plug in the power to it so as to not use up the batteries?
Yes, I do have the power pack and forgot about it 🤦🏻♂️. The battery does last a long time though, like 20 days with regular use (few hours a day).
woa. that's some gigantic mouse
Great video bro.
Do you know how to change the system language on 200 lx ?
You would have to replace the system board since that is coded in ROM…
@@electrohoard
Thank you so much 👍
@@virajdhananjayadinuviraj glad to help :)
I think you might be able to make a kind of expander for the serial devices. I mean the mouse is an input device and in theory the printer is an output device although there may be some handshaking (Tx/Rx) for the printer but maybe they could share the serial port if you had a couple of db9's and one of your special home made connectors. After all the mouse never gets any input. Not sure if it would work but if it did then they could both be connected at the same time.
Thats something I am willing to try and even did some research online about it! Thanks for the suggestion, thats definitely on my to-do list!
this was HP's attempt to have a text-based RPG steam deck.
But no kidding this really is a very small PC and powefull enough to run win 3
Again a very cool machine i would have love to have as a kid
Do some paint, word and Qbasic maybe some DOS games, use the serial to do plenty of stuff like network to a bigger PC
Yeah, this was pretty neat back in 1994. Man, its still neat now haha!
@@electrohoard Indeed,
Imagine showing up in a server room and using that thing as a terminal plugged in a server's serial.
A PC running on AA, medieval and badass.
@@flaksoft8003 haha I remember when these first came out, most of the time I saw them was with sales force people. Here in Brazil Coca-Cola Company used it extensively. I was too young to have any contact with IT guys, but Im sure this was THE THING to have back then.
technology has come so far that two modern day laptops wouldn't be as thick as that.
Thats true. The fact it uses AA batteries makes it as thick as the batteries. The positive side is that batteries can be easily replaced anytime anywhere.
Does the CF card need to be formatted as FAT16 to work in this computer? I have a 64 megabyte card I use with my Pocket PC (HP Jornada 680), and when I put it in the 200LX using the PCMCIA adapter it's not being recognized. My 200LX came with a 5 meg PCMCIA card and that shows up just fine, so I know it's not the PCMCIA port... very strange.
Yes, its needs FAT16. The HP itself can partition and format the card in DOS.
@@electrohoard Aha! That's gotta be what I was doing wrong. Thank you for your help and for this video, I can't wait to finally get some software on this little beauty and try out some of the things you've shown. :)
@@LeftoverBeefcake let me know if you need any extra help. Command for partioning is fdisk100 and for formating is format.
I know i own an original serial cable for my 200LX ... but i do not know where it is at the moment 😞
These are getting pretty rare and pricey…
@@electrohoard Even back in the days it was not cheap.
I used my 200LX with a Nokia PCMCIA GSM connectivity card together with my Nokia 2130 phone.
In the late 90s gsm and edge service started at the Berlin Subway/Underground ... Everybody In the subway cars reading newspaper and me reading email and USENET on my HP 200LX :-)
Build your own with a dual line connector with 2 mm pitch. Mini EIDE connectors for laptops can be used for that. An EIDE to mini EIDE adapter has the right connector to use if you cannot find one running loose somewhere
I've just noticed you are using windows in portuguese, are you a fellow brazilian? Se for parabéns, seu inglês é perfeito não teria notado se não fosse esse detalhe!
Thank you for the kind comments! Sim, brasileiro e mineiro uai! Grande abraço e obrigado por assistir!
🤔
@@SnakeBush 👀
3:29 laptop like mine
Thinkpads are just the best! Thanks for watching :)
How to automatically flip the screen color after entering Windows? I can only wait for Windows to start and press the keyboard manually
There are a few applications on the online 200LX software repository that can do this. I will make a step by step video about this, as I didnt go into much detail on this video to keep it from getting too long and boring. Basically I just used the app and created a batch file that will ‘prepare’ everything before windows starts.
@@electrohoard And I saw that there is a Windows icon in your HP UI is very cool, how did you make it?
@@smithlau The HP UI allows for the creation of custom shortcuts. What I did was creat a batch file that automagically increases free ram, inverts screen colors and calls for win.com . I plan on releasing a new video to satisfy most of the curiosity around the HP software and I will include in the video the ways to create custom shortcuts, is that something you would be interested?
@@electrohoard Yes, I'm very interested and a lot of people should be, because no one has made a video yet.
now we need to use it for game programming
Im not a great programmer but I do know lots of games have been designed specifically for this machine…
@@electrohoard I think a hackjob of wires could turn this thing into something that'll run quake via external gpu, might need to find the diagrams for this guy
or maybe use a raspberry pi to hijack this device
@@psychoticgiraffe i guess a raspberrypi could be the way to go. I’ve been trying to find schematics for this thing for ages and nothing.
You should dump Lair of Squid to a ROM I don't think anyone has it.
Yeah, another user commented just that. I really never thought this was such an obscure piece of software, especially because I have read online that people had dumped the 200LX ROM, but nothing specific about Lair of Squid. I will do that, just dont know if it will happily run on any PC without HP system manager software. We’ll see.
Awesome😮😮👏👏👏👍
Thank you!!
@@electrohoard 👍👍👏👏🥇🥇🥇👋
can it be upgraded to Windows 3.1?
I had this machine and a Jornada, unfortunately they are both dead a long time ago...
Unfortunately it wont run Windows 3.1 because it needs real mode to run Windows, so the latest version it can run is 3.0. Its still good enough for retrocomputing stuff and since its so portable, you can take it everywhere, even the whole setup with mouse and printer. I also have a Jornada 720 that I had to replaced the polarizer due to Vinegar Syndrome (I made a video about this), but its not as interesting because it runs Windows CE and to do any DOS playing you have to use a cumbersome emulator on it.
"All the mouses I found were..." lol Plural for mouse is mice. :-)
Haha sorry for that. English is not my native language :)
@@SolarLantern424 haha regards from Brazil to the UK!
Está exelente!!! muito bom! mereces os like e mereces a subscrição!
Muito obrigado Ralph! Agradeço muito pelos elogios e seja muito bem vindo!
its cute!
Haha yes it is! A cute little XT machine that runs 20 days on two AA batteries :)
and here i always was. thinking wintendo 3.0 requires a 286... turns out it never did :P but still the lx200 doesn't have an 8088/8086 core but an 80186 (basically a 286 without protected mode but with all the other nifty instructions for real mode) and as such -that- is not an 'xt' or even 'xt compatible'. it is better. :P
Thank you for watching :)
Great video, thanks a lot. Maybe you could edit your videos a bit more to make them a little shorter. EDIT: I just saw that your other videos *are* quite a bit shorter. So just disregard my former comment.
Yeah, this one ended up too long. I’ll keep the shorter, lesson learned haha.
I'd disagree, I like the longer formats.
I think that what would help (if not a lot of work)is breaking up this video into different chapters - so if folks want to skip to parts they're interested in, they can. Just blanket making all videos very short feels like a disservice.The audience that cares about these things is pretty niche and, at least me personally, I find having longer videos to be more informative. I don't need a 5mins surface review of something I can look up on wikipedia.I want a longer video that dives into stuff I didn't know/consider.
@@mm345-0 I havent learned how to mark chapters yet but I’ll do some research and start doing that! My plan is to keep videos just a little shorter than this one
THE VIDEO IS *JUST FINE* AS IT IS. I AM THANKFUL ELECTROHOARD DID ALL THIS HARD WORK TO *SHARE* WITH US.
@@mm345-0 I agree, you are right! These longer videos are very interesting - you can learn a lot about the palm pc.
Could you try if it runs FreeDOS? Thanks
It wont. Unfortunately you cant replace the internal DOS because its on Read Only Memory….
@@electrohoard put freedos or any other os on a bootable (formatted with /s argument from a DOS machine) compact flash card of 128 MB or less or selected bigger CF cards and it will boot from that CF card...
@@sjococo unfortunately it wont. The hard coded boot instructions will only look for the OS on the ROM address, but it does look for autoexec.bat on the compact flash, ate least allowing it to do the startup automation I did :)
keren unik
I smell a Pico W with BlueTooth support muhahahahaha
Maybe I could try that in the future? 🤔
SO! 😀
SO… cool? Haha
@@electrohoard so cool! 😀
@@ministervvardenfell 😍 thanks!
@@electrohoard you're welcome 😉
Run Doom?
There should be a version that could run on it, bur I havent had the time to try yet…. Its an XT machine so regular DOOM wont run, maybe a modded version.
@@electrohoard I see, anyway Great Work my friend!
@@elrincondellobezno6726 thank you so much 😃
Google doomtd3
Plz make a video on Naruto uzumaki
Could you please be more specific? Is there a Naruto DOS game that will run on this palmtop? Is that what you are asking? I will do my best to fulfill all requests :)
2MB Ram 😂
Super powerful! Hahahahah long time ago that was more than you’d ever need…
So 😆
Thank you for watching!
Sorry to ask this but, can it run DOOM?
Feel free to ask anything. The 200LX specs are not up to running the regular version of DOOM, but there are rumors that somebody got a stripped down version to run on it. Unfortunately theres no proof of this so the short answer is no, I dont think it can run DOOM since its an XT machine with a 80186 processor and only 640K of RAM…
In these regard the Windows CE palmtops would be superior and far more capable of running DOOM, either a recompiled version or simply running the original version over a DOS Emulator.
Google doomtd3
Can it run DOOM?
Sorry, XT computers wont run DOOM properly :(
@@electrohoard DOOM run on everything!!! There should be a MODDED DOOM for XT!!!
@@electrohoard watch?v=l_J5heRV4Yk
@@axellitoral1503 I agree!!! Im not aware of an XT compatible DOOM but if anyone reading this knows, I’ll definitely make a video of it running DOOM!
Google doomtd3
REVIEW DOES NOT MEAN TO TURN THE DEVICE IN YOUR HANDS!... dissslike
The title is clickbait! He's not BUILDING anything! This is simply about configuring an hp 200LX to run windows 3.0.
Well, usually when we say build refering to computers, it means we are putting together parts to make a working PC. No one is actually saying he will manufacture the motherboard, the printer, the mouse, or code all the software, OS, etc…
I suppose you also did not watch the full video, since I also show how to use a mouse and where to source a suitable adapter to make one work on the 200LX, and also configured, connected and tested a portable printer. Getting Windows 3.0 to run was actually the least important part of the video and I dont even go into much detail on that since its pretty straight forward. I guess you’ll like to watch these parts you missed, its pretty interesting the final outcome with everything connected! Thanks for watching!
No channel has ever used clickbait.
Also - technically, he "built" the mouse connector. And that counts in my book.
Have you considered using a 16-bit PCMCIA IBM MicroDrive with your Hewlett Packard 200LX? First edition came with 170MB and 340MB capacity.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microdrive
I also wonder if the old IBM 16-bit PCMCIA-SCSI adapter would work? With such an adapter you might be able to attach an SCSI-CDROM/CDWriter or a string of 7-15 SCSI devices.
Overkill perhaps, but the thought of it is tempting.
Yes I did, and I do have a few microdrives around, but they wont fit. These are Compact Flash Type II format unfortunately. Of course I could try to mod the inside of the 200LX to fit them but I dont think it would be worth the trouble since flash CF card consume less power and work just fine. But it sure would be really nice to know there was and actual hard disk spinning inside the 200LX if the microdrive could fit.
japan made nec,sharp
Yes, there are a few Japanese made ones. I have a Sharp Telios which I plan to make a video about.
japan made nec,sharp
Yes, theres a fee Japanese ones. I’ll make a video about the Sharp Telios soon. Thanks for watching!