Desktop computer (Fobopeep)

Fobopeep

This refurbished desktop computer is compatible with ArcaOS or eComStation. It features a Pentium G860 dual-core processor, 4 GB RAM and a 500 GB hard drive. An upgrade to a 2 TB Solid State Hybrid Drive (SSHD) is available.

Build Notes

This section documents what I did to get this computer to work under ArcaOS. It is intended to show what goes into this computer, and also as a guide to the user who wants to build it himself.

I ordered the computer from e-Bay, the SSHD from NewEgg and a mounting bracket for the SSHD from Fry's Electronics.

eComStation

When it all arrived, I opened the computer, removed and discarded the 500 GB Windows 10 hard disk. I installed the new hard drive and restored Zobopeep's last good backup onto it. I changed the hostname to fobopeep, synced the data drive with the server, and I'm up and running.

After a few days testing, the DVD-RW failed, and I replaced that with a new Asus unit from Fry's.

Installed all of Arca Noae's Drivers and Software except UniAud and USB 11.14. Using USB 11.14 works, but USBCALLS in 11.14 does not work with mAPCups, so I use Lars Erdmans usb stack version 10.213. The network driver is MultiMac32-MMRE.

eComStation Installation

I installed two bootable volumes, H: and N:. The H: drive has my server-H installation with SAMBA server included. The N: installation has the traditional IBM NETBIOS and NetBIOS over TCP/IP networking from the IBM File and Print Client.

On each eComStation installation, I replace the ndpsmb.dll to prevent damage to my SAMBA server files. Then I save the installations in the eCS22 directory. If you want the bare eCS installation, this is what you get.

The external monitor works after this:
PanoUtil -d 1 n:
PanoUtil -c 1920 1200

ArcaOS

I was able to boot and install from the ArcaOS 5.02 installation DVD.

Driver Notes

The sound initializes with the internal speaker on, so I have added a batch file that uses unimix to silence the internal speaker.

unimix -id3 -cnt0 -val0
unimix -id3 -cnt1 -val0

DOS Full Screen sessions work after this:
add /int10textgrfxsafe to vsvga.sys device driver in config.sys
add mode co80; cls to autoexec.bat

DOS Window session does not work. However, pressing Alt-Home in a DOS Full Sreen session results in a working DOS Window.

The eShutdown setting to delay before power off is enabled. Without this setting, the file systems come up dirty after power off, and sometimes the INI files are not saved. No errors were found after enabling the delay, which is actually on by default. I only disabled it to quiet the little beeps on shutdown.

Using Suntan Special, I define an installation sequence that includes QSINIT to set up the loader. The suite of Arca Noae drivers is installed, except for USB. After that, I run Suntan Special sequences eCS22, apps, games and cleanup. This is saved as the Factory image. This is normally what would be supplied on the computer.

Capabilities

The computer is set up to connect via ethernet cable. The network interface has been set up to configure automatically.

The USB 2.0 ports support keyboards, mice, scanners, thumb drives, cameras, MP3 players, external hard drives, floppies and CD Writers.

The DVD drive can read and write DVD and CD media.

Software

Suntan Special

I use Suntan Special to install the software on all Blonde Guy computers. Suntan Special software can be used to install all updates to the system and its applications and to install additional applications. When newer versions of software are released, Suntan Special can keep your Blonde Guy computer up to date.

Suntan Special was used to bring the system up to date on August 8, 2016.

Recovery DVD

The recovery DVD supplied is a bootable eComStation DVD with a backup of the hard drive as delivered. You can boot the machine from DVD, and perform maintenance functions. The maintenance folder is available on the recovery DVD. The factory backup is stored in the \image\Factory directory. The backups are simple zip files. You can use unzip to extract some or all of the files in a backup.

DFSee

DFSee is a generic disk, partition and filesystem utility for maintenance and data-recovery. It supports partition tables (FDISK, LVM), FAT, FAT32, HPFS, NTFS, and partly JFS, EXT2/3 or REISER filesystems. DFSee is commercial software which requires a license key for continued use.

Specifications

Physical Dimensions

Height: 4.0 inches
Width: 14.1 inches
Depth: 14.5 inches
Weight: 12.5 lbs

Power Consumption

Power consumption is 31 Watts, measured with the computer is booted to the desktop. With all 2 cores at 100% load, the computer consumes 53 Watts. This computer consumes less than 0.5 Watt if it's plugged in, but switched off.

Photos

Front

Fobopeep Front

Back

Fobopeep Rear

Internal

Fobopeep Internal

Disk Layout

The disk is partitioned to provide two bootable partitions, one for use as a server and including SAMBA server, and the other is set up for as a tradtional NetBIOS networking using the IBM File and Print client. User data is stored on a separate volume.

This is the layout for the 1 TB SSHD. The Air-Boot boot manager is installed to select the volume to be started.

Volume NameDisk FormatDrive LetterVolume SizeDisk Name
eCS-N JFS N:10,009 MB[ D1 ]
server-HJFS H:10,009 MB[ D1 ]
eCS-J JFS J:10,009 MB[ D1 ]
Data JFS D:900,009 MB[ D1 ]

eComStation version

eComStation 2.2 beta 2 (Dec 30) is the version used for this installation. This is the output of the version command.

For the server-H volume:

Installed Component Name                          Version  Service Level  Drive
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Serenity Systems eComStation                      2.2      XR0C007        H:
 . Base Operating System                          4.52     XR0C007        H:
 . Base Device Drivers                            4.52     XR0D003        H:
 . Base Networking (MPTS)                         6.01     WR08708        H:
 . Internet Applications (TCP/IP)                 4.32     UN02334        H:

For the eCS-N volume:

Installed Component Name                          Version  Service Level  Drive
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Serenity Systems eComStation                      2.2      XR0C007        N:
 . Base Operating System                          4.52     XR0C007        N:
 . Base Device Drivers                            4.52     XR0D003        N:
 . Base Networking (MPTS)                         6.01     WR08708        N:
 . Internet Applications (TCP/IP)                 4.32     UN02334        N:
 . File and Printer Sharing (Peer)                5.2      IP08608        N:
    . LAN Requester                               5.2      IP08608        N:
    . User Profile Management                     5.2      WR08608        N:

Performance Benchmarks

This table reports the SysBench 0.9.5 benchmarks for this computer. You can download SysBench 0.9.5 here: http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/

CategoryMeasurement
PM-Graphics-marks 183
CPU integer-marks 5602
CPU floating point-marks 488
DIVE-marks 7191
File I/O-marks 410303
Memory-marks 15679
Simultaneous I/O-marks 44
Disk I/O-marks 484

Ordering

To buy this computer, use the order button below. Be prepared to enter any special notes about your needs or customization for the computer. Blonde Guy will review your order and send you an invoice, payable using PayPal or any major credit card. If you prefer to pay by check, note that in the notes field of the order form, and I will e-mail you an invoice payable by check.

If you have questions, you may enter them in the notes portion of the order form.

The final price of the computer depends on tax, shipping and options. Shipping outside the USA is available, but it is costly.

Last Modified: 20 Jan 2019
Graphics by Colorful Language
Copyright 2019 by Blonde Guy