Solve : Installing FreeDOS on a Thin Client?

1.	Solve : Installing FreeDOS on a Thin Client?
Answer» Hi, I am trying to figure out how to use (or more preferrably, install) FreeDOS onto a Wyse WT1125SE thin client. I want to make it into a tiny compact DOS computer for playing some games on. I cracked mine open and noticed it had a 44-pin IDE port on the board, but with nothing attached to it. Should I spend more money and buy an SD to 44-pin IDE adapter, install FreeDOS on that, and try to boot from it? I don't know how to boot from USB or go into the BIOS to try installing FreeDOS that way. I'm not even sure this is possible at all. I'm really hoping it is being that I SPENT a lot of money to get mine and I don't want to go through the hassle of shipping it back. Thank youHow much did you spend ? ? I went to the spec site and couldn't find out if it'll even boot to USB which you would need to do what you wish... I would contact the manuf. before you go spending any money from here out...I personally would never use a thin client for such a DOS gaming rig. UNLESS you found others online who have done this as a guide, your completely on your own with this hardware as for people avoid thin clients for an application like this. It might work or it might not. But if you get it to work, your likely going to have issues with no sound etc. Its more work to try to bend this hardware to work with DOS than it is to avoid a thin client for a system that will easily run DOS or FreeDOS. Thin clients by design are meant to connect to servers OFFERING a thin client service in which there is a boot string on the thin client or PXE boot over ethernet. The thin client you have that is lacking a drive is likely a decommissioned PXE boot type. If you want a small DOS rig, I would go with a Intel Atom Netbook or ITX board desktop computer if going with somewhat modern hardware. With a somewhat modern system you could run the DOS games through DOSBOX. Or find an old computer that is rated as a match to the games you plan to play in which drivers for sound will be each to COME by etc.patio: I spent ~$50 on this, and I can phone the manufacturers tomorrow to ask them what they think. DaveLembke: I've gotten an HP T5000 thin client from someone on eBay in the past, which had MS-DOS 6.22 on it. I wiped it and put FreeDOS on that one, and now it's got FAT32 USB support, making it incredibly easy to download DOS games, copy them to the flash drive and play them straight off of there. The only fault with it is that it's only got PC Speaker sound. I feel that this might be possible, being that it's got an IDE port right on the board, but again, I'm not certain. Quote I've gotten an HP T5000 thin client from someone on eBay in the past, which had MS-DOS 6.22 on it. I wiped it and put FreeDOS on that one, and now it's got FAT32 USB support, making it incredibly easy to download DOS games, copy them to the flash drive and play them straight off of there. The only fault with it is that it's only got PC Speaker sound. So your making a second box like this then... but different manufacturer build... I personally would have stuck with the prior known working HP model for what your doing as for there is no guarantee that there are the needed USB DOS drivers for the Wyse. Additionally you can get an Intel Atom mini computer like the thin client but not a thin client and have better support for the kind of thing your doing. If it were me wanting to make a miniature DOS system, I'd go with something like this and then DOS BOX the DOS environment within Windows or Linux with WINE http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856205007&ignorebbr=1 A mini computer like this has so much more potential to play far more games and both DOS games and somewhat modern games that are not too heavy on graphics. You could lay games about as graphically intense as Diablo II on this mini computer linked above. I have run Diablo II on my Intel Atom Netbook with n280 1.66Ghz and while you can see the APU chugging on it and working to maintain the game, its not that bad of an occasional barely noticeable slow down, and this Atom in this mini computer is more powerful than the n280. I have a desktop with the D510 Atom and its able to play World of Warcraft on lowest video quality for example with 2 cores with hyper threading that act like 4. *I dont play wow on it, but did so to push the hardware and test its limits. I was getting 12-20 fps on the Atom D510 with World of Warcraft on lowest quality and 1024x768. World of Warcraft on netbook with Atom n280 is like 2-4 fps and pretty much unplayable with lowest settings as a comparison. With the Wyse since you already own it, give it a try and see if it works. Hopefully it wasnt money wasted.

Answer»

Hi,

I am trying to figure out how to use (or more preferrably, install) FreeDOS onto a Wyse WT1125SE thin client. I want to make it into a tiny compact DOS computer for playing some games on.

I cracked mine open and noticed it had a 44-pin IDE port on the board, but with nothing attached to it. Should I spend more money and buy an SD to 44-pin IDE adapter, install FreeDOS on that, and try to boot from it? I don't know how to boot from USB or go into the BIOS to try installing FreeDOS that way. I'm not even sure this is possible at all. I'm really hoping it is being that I SPENT a lot of money to get mine and I don't want to go through the hassle of shipping it back.

Thank youHow much did you spend ? ?
I went to the spec site and couldn't find out if it'll even boot to USB which you would need to do what you wish...
I would contact the manuf. before you go spending any money from here out...I personally would never use a thin client for such a DOS gaming rig. UNLESS you found others online who have done this as a guide, your completely on your own with this hardware as for people avoid thin clients for an application like this. It might work or it might not. But if you get it to work, your likely going to have issues with no sound etc. Its more work to try to bend this hardware to work with DOS than it is to avoid a thin client for a system that will easily run DOS or FreeDOS. Thin clients by design are meant to connect to servers OFFERING a thin client service in which there is a boot string on the thin client or PXE boot over ethernet. The thin client you have that is lacking a drive is likely a decommissioned PXE boot type.

If you want a small DOS rig, I would go with a Intel Atom Netbook or ITX board desktop computer if going with somewhat modern hardware. With a somewhat modern system you could run the DOS games through DOSBOX. Or find an old computer that is rated as a match to the games you plan to play in which drivers for sound will be each to COME by etc.patio: I spent ~$50 on this, and I can phone the manufacturers tomorrow to ask them what they think.

DaveLembke: I've gotten an HP T5000 thin client from someone on eBay in the past, which had MS-DOS 6.22 on it. I wiped it and put FreeDOS on that one, and now it's got FAT32 USB support, making it incredibly easy to download DOS games, copy them to the flash drive and play them straight off of there. The only fault with it is that it's only got PC Speaker sound.

I feel that this might be possible, being that it's got an IDE port right on the board, but again, I'm not certain. Quote

I've gotten an HP T5000 thin client from someone on eBay in the past, which had MS-DOS 6.22 on it. I wiped it and put FreeDOS on that one, and now it's got FAT32 USB support, making it incredibly easy to download DOS games, copy them to the flash drive and play them straight off of there. The only fault with it is that it's only got PC Speaker sound.

So your making a second box like this then... but different manufacturer build... I personally would have stuck with the prior known working HP model for what your doing as for there is no guarantee that there are the needed USB DOS drivers for the Wyse. Additionally you can get an Intel Atom mini computer like the thin client but not a thin client and have better support for the kind of thing your doing.

If it were me wanting to make a miniature DOS system, I'd go with something like this and then DOS BOX the DOS environment within Windows or Linux with WINE http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856205007&ignorebbr=1

A mini computer like this has so much more potential to play far more games and both DOS games and somewhat modern games that are not too heavy on graphics. You could lay games about as graphically intense as Diablo II on this mini computer linked above. I have run Diablo II on my Intel Atom Netbook with n280 1.66Ghz and while you can see the APU chugging on it and working to maintain the game, its not that bad of an occasional barely noticeable slow down, and this Atom in this mini computer is more powerful than the n280. I have a desktop with the D510 Atom and its able to play World of Warcraft on lowest video quality for example with 2 cores with hyper threading that act like 4. *I dont play wow on it, but did so to push the hardware and test its limits. I was getting 12-20 fps on the Atom D510 with World of Warcraft on lowest quality and 1024x768. World of Warcraft on netbook with Atom n280 is like 2-4 fps and pretty much unplayable with lowest settings as a comparison.

With the Wyse since you already own it, give it a try and see if it works. Hopefully it wasnt money wasted.

Solve : Installing FreeDOS on a Thin Client?

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