Batboard

I'm trying to build a good RSS machine using existing hardware, and I wanted to get some input from everyone on whether or not this will be sufficient.
I am not asking for software, nor will I give it to anyone. Go buy it if you need it!

Ok here is what I can recall from the specs of the computer:
IBM APTIVA
233MHz Pentium II (might be Pentium I I only know its 233MHz for sure)
24Mb RAM (Might be 32Mb not sure)
500Mb HDD
CD-ROM Drive 2x (Box doesn't support booting off cd)
Floppy drive
No network card (Has an after market NIC but it's broken)
Windows 3.1 native OS (straight from Recovery CD)
1 or 2 serial ports (can't remember how many)

Ok here is the software I currently have: I will not share this, and asking will get you in trouble
Motorola MTS2000 CPS R02.00.01
Professional Radio CPS R06.04.00
Astro Portable RSS R09.05.00 (Sept. 6 2002)

I also own a valid licensed copy of Windows 98SE but I no longer have a bootable floppy disk (actually I no longer have any floppy disks)

Radios:
MTS2000 Model II
HT1250 Model II
Astro Saber Model III (still in the mail)

So will this be sufficient to program the radios, and what should I do to get everything working properly? I currently use a USB-to-RS232 adapter from Dynex (Best Buy's own Brand) for my RIB to program the MTS2000 and for a RIBless cable to program the HT1250 from my VAIO laptop (running XP Pro 1.5GB RAM 250GB HDD Core Duo Processor)
Any suggestions or configuration tips would help me out a lot. I've been very busy with my new job, and haven't had any time to figure this out. Thanks

CPS usually likes to see a 400MHz or faster CPU, though I have run Astro 25 ver 10 and MTS2000 2.02 on a P2/366 with 192MB of RAM running Windows XP Pro SP2 (yeah, it will run just fine on a P2...slow to boot!)

I would say what you have is a good DOS computer for NEWER radios such as MTSX, GP350, GTX, etc. Current CPS requires at least 128MB of RAM or more, and at least a P2 400 or faster CPU. I get scared of the thought of using Windows 98 and that USB dongle...though Windows 98SE is supported for CPS, the hardware you have just spells trouble.

What I have is an old DOS machine for old DOS programs, it's a Thinkpad 760 with 24MB of RAM and a 500MB hard drive. Runs older DOS RSS like HT600, MT1000, STX, Saber analog, etc perfectly.

My newer laptop is a 1GHz Dell and has Windows XP Pro SP2 with 512MB of RAM, and of course all iterations of CPS including Astro 25 12 run flawlessly. What I did do is create a small FAT32 partition of 100MB where RSS for MTSX, GP300, GTX/LCS are stored. I boot from a floppy and the RSS runs fine as it is listed as "Pentium capable" on the RSS compatibility matrix. Keep in mind my Dell has a real serial port, so DOS RSS runs fine on it, and all codeplugs are saved to that partition. It's nice because I can access the partition in XP, easy access to codeplugs if I need them without having to reboot under DOS.

So based on your reply, I'm thinking the IBM will be for my Astro RSS using real serial ports and my laptop will be for CPS using the dongle. Good idea?

yes, I your serial port machine should be used with RSS. I don't think any USB devices will work with DOS RSS.

I actually found another IBM in my house with XP Pro sitting on it. It has real serial ports, and it now dual boots XP Pro and FreeDOS. Everything works except my RIBless HT1250 programming cable, but that cable never worked right. Thanks for all the input.