Need Help Using CDR Drive With Zenith Supersport SX
Posted by GlitchExterminator@reddit | vintagecomputing | View on Reddit | 17 comments
Howdy! I just got my first vintage computers, a pair of Zenith Supersport SX laptops, at an estate sale over the weekend, and have been slowly trying to set one up for DOS Gaming.
After a few hiccups, I managed to install DOS 6.22 alongside supplemental disk programs and have gotten a handful of games running.
Unfortunately, I've been having trouble getting the CDR Drive that came with the devices to work, as none of the drivers I've installed have recognized it. The CDR Drive is branded as "The Gator" and doesn't seem to have any information online. Inside, it has an ESS Audiodrive chip and branding on the board, while the drive itself is labeled "8X Digital CD ROM DRIVE MODEL. No E2820", and plugs into the parallel port on the Zenith.
If anyone knows how I can get this CDR Drive (or a mouse, since the Zenith has no PS/2 port) working, that'd be a huge help!
Early_Macaroon_2407@reddit
Have you verified that your parallel port is working and the cable is intact?
GlitchExterminator@reddit (OP)
Yes, actually, I should have mentioned it in the post, but every time I turn the machine on, the CDR drive activates and starts trying to read a disc.
Early_Macaroon_2407@reddit
In that case, my best guess is that the machine and drive just aren't compatible, in some way, on the hardware level. Not uncommon for hardware in that era, particularly given that parallel ports predated 8x CD-ROM drives by quite some time. The advent of USB and plug-and-play was such a huge advance in computer usability.
GlitchExterminator@reddit (OP)
Do you think a CD Rom that plugs into the SCSI port, serial port, or DB-19 port might work?
Early_Macaroon_2407@reddit
Sorry, no idea. I'm not sure anyone ever made a serial port external CD-ROM drive, though. Given the little I know about this laptop, I suspect it might just not have the guts to handle a CD-ROM drive, even though there are drivers for MS-DOS. What CPU does yours have?
GlitchExterminator@reddit (OP)
16 MHz 80386SX processor, I believe, but it seemed like the previous owner also installed a 80387 SX coprocessor too.
GlitchExterminator@reddit (OP)
Double checked the coprocessor, it's actually an Intel i387 SX.
Early_Macaroon_2407@reddit
What about RAM? Wikipedia says it came with 1MB default, which I doubt is adequate for a CD-ROM drive.
GlitchExterminator@reddit (OP)
I'm not sure. Online, it lists 1 MB, but the manual lists that an expansion was at one point an option, and the previous owner seemed to trick this thing out (additional coprocessor, battery pack, and he owned the drivers for the expansion chassis, so probably that too).
When I run the machine, it tells me "Extended memory error, actual memory: 2048k.", Does that mean it's expecting less memory but actually has more?
Early_Macaroon_2407@reddit
I'm going to be honest with you: I'm 20 years past the last time I tried to wrangle a DOS machine (or, for that matter, figure out the associated hardware issues). Here's my best, non-expert, vague guesses, and if I'm wrong, someone will hopefully correct me: A 386SX and (probably) 2MB RAM is at best marginal for using a CD-ROM drive. The fact that it's an SX, the budget variant, suggests that it's probably not high-end hardware even for the time. In that era, just having port compatibility wasn't enough -- even having an OS-compatible driver wasn't enough. You also needed hardware in between that could handle the IO. My guess is that if all the hardware and the software are working right, then the parallel port IO hardware probably doesn't have the capacity to handle it. (USB seriously was a huge step forward.) If that's the case, then you might be able to get a SCSI drive working, but getting SCSI drives working was kinda a pain even when it was a current technology. You might just be SOL, though. A lot of flaky hardware and cut corners in that era of laptops.
GlitchExterminator@reddit (OP)
Ah, darn. Thank you anyway. According to Wikipedia, the RAM should be upgradeable up to 8 Mb, so I might look into replacing that when I recap it, and then try my luck with an SCSI drive if I can find one.
I called the estate sale up, and they said they would take a look if the expansion chassis was left behind, so fingers crossed that might help, too.
Early_Macaroon_2407@reddit
Don't take my word for any of it, though! That's just my best guesses. 35 year old hardware issues can be sorta hard to figure out.
GlitchExterminator@reddit (OP)
That's something I've become increasingly prescient of the last few days, lol.
Heavy_Peak659@reddit
Parallel interface CDROM drives require ECP/EPP, I'm not sure that beautiful machine is advanced/new enough.
GlitchExterminator@reddit (OP)
The instruction manual lists one of the ports as a floppy disk drive. I think it's a DB-19 port.
The computer also has an SCSI port and a serial port, would any of those potentially work?
No_Lynx_4470@reddit
17 pounds of DOS.
JCD_007@reddit
Genuine question - do those machines even have the capability to use a CD drive? They’re from well before the CD era.