ACRPC.NET

My Vintage Computer Virtual Museum and blog page.

Compaq Portable II

My Compaq Portable II (added to my collection in 1997)

  • 80286 – 6/8mhz
  • 1.5MB RAM (640k onboard, 896k on AST SixPak ISA card)
  • 20GB HD (Ontrack BIOS overlay)
  • WD Chipset 8-bit (PC/XT) ISA 10Base-T NIC
  • 3.5″ 1.44MB Floppy (1/3 height from Pentium II era Compaq-Deskpro)
  • MS-DOS 6.22, MS-NET 3, Windows 3.1, and MS-Word 2
  • 9″ dual-mode MDA/CGA monochrome CRT

 

 



6 Comments

  1. I am one of the owners of a fairly new web site called Allthingsdos.com. Our site is built around vintage computing, and the computers that comprise all of the 1st editions of vintage computers, including IBM 5150 PC with IBM expansion unit, an IBM 5160 PC/XT, Compaq Portable 1, 2, TRS-80 Color Computer, and a TRS-80 Series 4, then rounding out our collection of several Apple and Mac computers including an Apple IIe, and several versions of Mac computers. We would love to get any information we can get on the Portable 2, as in which hard disc we need. If you have information regarding the disc configurations, please respond.

    • Ryan says:

      Hi Tom, I have seen your site before linked from your signature over at the Vintage-Computer forum (I am RWallmow over there). The Portable II (and III for that matter) uses IDE drive interfaces, the Portable II came stock with an MFM hard drive on an IDE bridge (attached to the bottom of the drive). You can install ANY IDE drive in them if you use either some kind of BIOS overlay program such as ONTRACK, OR if you run a secondary BIOS such as the XT-IDE Bios.

  2. al friederich says:

    i have a 1986 compaq 2 portable is it wort anything al

    • Ryan says:

      While I didn’t pay anything for mine, I am sure someone out there would pay for one. As to the exact value, I never give quotes, market changes and item condition will always vary by a lot.

  3. Mike says:

    Hi, Would you happen to know the pinout of that 6 pin keyboard connector? I was given a couple of these machines and one didn’t have a keyboard. I was hoping to add a socket to use an AT keyboard

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