hints & tricks in no particular order
10/10
I recently picked up an unknown-condition Sega Master System from a thrift shop. Since it was a French console, I naturally expected an ordinary European 50 Hz machine. Opening it up, however, revealed something rather more interesting. The motherboard is marked: SEGA 1986 MS POWER BASE/NTSC Strangely, there is no RF […]
08/10
Flameshot is my favorite Linux screenshot tool. It provides interactive region selection, annotations, and the ability to save screenshots or copy them to the clipboard. Unfortunately, getting it to work properly on Ubuntu 26.04 with GNOME Wayland wasn't straightforward. Depending on how I launched it, Flameshot either […]
02/10
I run RomM on Unraid to manage a fairly large MS-DOS games library. Pressing Play on a DOS title in the browser gave me a cryptic error, then an emulator with nothing in it. It took a few evenings to get to the bottom of it. This is the write-up I wish I'd found at the start. TL;DR: two separate problems. First, the […]
17/09
To make GRUB boot the last manually selected entry while still showing the countdown menu, edit /etc/default/grub: GRUB_DEFAULT=saved GRUB_SAVEDEFAULT=true GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=menu GRUB_TIMEOUT=30 Then regenerate the config: sudo update-grub Before updating, it can be useful to back up the current generated config: sudo […]
11/09
I noticed audible digital noise / whining when using a Turbo EverDrive Pro Model 22 Rev. B in my PC Engine. The noise was clearly related to the EverDrive rather than the console: Regular HuCards were quiet. The same Turbo EverDrive Pro produced the noise on two different PC Engine consoles. Removing the microSD card […]
06/09
The original 5.25" floppy drive in my Tandy 1000 EX is a TEAC FD-55BV-75-U. The drive itself was still usable, but one small plastic part in the front locking mechanism had broken. The damaged piece supports the metal lever shaft used by the front disk latch. Rather than replacing the complete drive, I decided to keep […]
24/08
This documents the network setup required for HEOS / Marantz devices on the Wi-Fi subnet to discover the MiniDLNA server on the wired LAN. The original symptom was: MiniDLNA no longer appeared under HEOS → Music Servers. Previously bookmarked tracks still played successfully. http://10.33.1.10:8200/rootDesc.xml was […]
10/08
I wanted a small, low-maintenance way to route selected devices at my home in France through a trusted residential internet connection in Japan. The use case is simple: streaming devices in France should appear to be on the Japanese home connection, while the rest of the home network should continue using the normal […]
25/07
This setup provides remote access to a home LAN and to Docker services published through an Unraid server. It uses split tunnelling: only home-network traffic goes through WireGuard; normal internet traffic continues to use the client’s current connection. Network layout Purpose Address Home LAN 10.33.1.0/24 OPNsense […]
25/07
My Sosh Internet connection uses a dynamic public IP address, so it can change periodically. To keep a stable hostname pointing to my home network, I configured OVH DynHost. I already had a custom domain managed by OVHcloud, and the Sosh Livebox supports OVH DynHost natively. This means I do not need to run a separate […]
20/07
Project status: research and parts gathering only. I have not yet opened, modified, diagnosed, programmed or electrically tested the computer. I have ordered MC68705U3S devices, the associated IC parts and prototype boards, but nothing has been assembled. This article records what I have found in the available […]
18/07
While using my 858D hot air rework station, I noticed the temperature display had changed from °C to °F unexpectedly. I tried following general instructions online, but the guidance I found (including a Reddit thread) didn’t match how my unit behaved. What I discovered On my particular 858D PCB, the °C/°F behavior is […]
11/07
I recently started using an ATAboy, an open-source IDE/PATA-to-USB bridge designed for older hard drives, including early CHS-only drives that many modern USB adapters struggle with. The ATAboy presents two USB interfaces to the host: a USB mass-storage device for the attached IDE drive a USB serial console used to […]
12/06
I'm keeping this as reference only. I changed the setup shortly after for a GLinet router instead. Goal Dedicated Netgear R6220 VPN router: Router → WAN (ISP) LAN/WiFi → NordVPN WireGuard VPN down → LAN/WiFi blocked (kill switch) 1. Reference configuration Setting Value WAN gateway 10.33.1.1 LAN IP 10.81.1.1 LAN subnet […]
25/05
Getting an old DYMO LabelManager PnP working on Ubuntu 26.04 is possible, but the usual CUPS drivers and gLabels aren't ideal. After some experimentation, I found a working solution using Labelle, a native Linux application that communicates directly with the printer over USB. Here's how to set it up, including a […]
18/05
I'm running Unraid OS on a UGREEN DXP6800 Pro, replacing the original UGOS operating system. My network uses OPNsense as the router and DHCP server, with unmanaged Ethernet switches connecting the devices. The switches randomly crashed, bringing down the whole LAN. The issue was eventually resolved, and the NAS has now […]
03/09
When an Android device has Family Link supervision enabled, the option to factory-reset the device is blocked with an “action not allowed” error. Log-out from the child’s account on the device When logged in to your child’s account in a browser, go to https://myaccount.google.com/. Security -> your devices -> pick the […]
09/03
I'll summarize what I learnt while working on 3 different T4400, 2 of them being T4400C and 1 being a T4400SX (with a "last gen" plasma screen no less!) Power supply The power supplies on all three of them needed a recap, as the laptops would not start otherwise (or sometimes start and stop suddenly). The caps are […]
09/03
I expected it would be as easy as removing the batteries -- which is a must anyway on those old laptops because battery leaks are just another name for time bombs. Surprisingly for tech that old, the password doesn't seem to be stored in volatile memory. Let's dig! In the maintenance manual, it is said: Deleting the […]
08/02
Stolen from https://superuser.com/a/1725506, just don't want to forget! GPEDIT in the same location as the first setting mentioned (Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Search). Enable as before: "Do not allow locations on removable drives to be added to libraries" Enable these two […]