Mike's PCjr Page

I started into computers in the early 1960s. Have been tinkering with the subject (hardware and software) ever since.
Gave my kids a PCJr (128k w/ floppy and IBM monitor) in 1984. They have long since flown the coop and left the Jr at home (stored in the attic.)
I recently pulled it down and fired it up. Everything works except for the diskette drive.
One of my sons used the Jr with a PC Dos flight simulator program to learn how the fly and navigate. Latter went on to get aviation degree at Louisiana Tech University. He latter told me that the flight simulator really gave him a leg up when he started flying for real. He flew helicopters in military and now is commercial airline pilot.
I have a bunch of old PC parts around somewhere, and I'll dig them out to see if I can come up with a replacement for the floppy drive. Kind of fun to look at a piece of 30-year old electronics that still works.

Somewhere on this forum there are instructions on how to clean and lubricate the rails the heads move on. That is often the only problem. The other problems I have had were solved with closing disks. Try those things first. If you decide you need a drive, I have a spare that I know works. PM me with an offer if you want it.

Thanks for the reply. Did the oiling thing and replaced the drive belt. Voila, the darn thing responded. Haven't tried the write head yet, but it does read an old game floppy that I found.

Still looking for the DOS 2.1 diskettes.

I have diskettes for DOS 2.1, I think. And I have DOS 3.2. If you send a PM, I can send you a few diskettes to get you up and running.

Pump0816 wrote:One of my sons used the Jr with a PC Dos flight simulator program to learn how the fly and navigate. Latter went on to get aviation degree at Louisiana Tech University. He latter told me that the flight simulator really gave him a leg up when he started flying for real. He flew helicopters in military and now is commercial airline pilot.

These are the stories that resonate the most with me. The promise of home computers was met with mixed results, so it's nice to hear of a success story now and then. Thanks for sharing.

The promise of home computers was in stimulating the imagination and creativity in people. In that I believe it was a resounding success... For a brief moment in time, you were a space pilot, an adventurer, a general, and you escaped the constraints of the real world. For many, it was a liberating experience for the soul, and whether it later translated into an actual vocation is irrelevant.