🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1990Oct23.194330.19331@ccu.umanitoba.ca> umhudso7@ccu.umanitoba.ca (Wayne Hudson) writes:
>I've got a Wells-American 80286 tower (adaptable/replacable bus, cpu, etc.)
>and I want to upgrade.  UNFORTUNATELY, Wells is no longer arouund
>(chapter 11, bankrupt, kaput...) and I'm STUCK!  I want to move up to
>a '386, but the architecture is proprietary (the replceable cpu card is
>seprate from the motherboard, and about the size of a full-length card).
>I can't just buy Hauppapuge (or whoever) motherboard for it because of
>this proprietary architecture.  WHAT AM I GONNA DO?!?!?  Anyone have any
>ideas?  I'd appreciate 'em.
>-- 

As one orphaned Wells American owner to another you have my sympathies
:^)   I'm not in such a bad position as you as I own the older AT
style machines, but still stuck in the same boat.


As I see it you have several options:

1) Dump it and cut your losses.

2) Keep it as a 'backup' machine (wife/kids/so would use it, start a
   BBS, etc...)

3) Play detective. Wells American was a fairly large corporation,
   they must have cranked out quite a number of 386 boards for
   your machine. SOMEONE, either a wholesaler, liquidator or
   what's left of Wells management must still have some around.
   If so, maybe you can pick up the 386 upgrade quite cheap.
   InfoWorld ran an article about Wells awhile back and claimed
   that some service company was taking Wells' calls. I tried
   (needed a BIOS upgrade to support 1.44M) but never got through
   (answering machine, left messages, never a return call).


Good luck in your quest. Keep me posted as to what you find out
about Wells if you choose #3.


				- Jeff

Moral: Never buy a 'non-standard' system. I'll take a standard
style motherboard/case/pwr supply/video/kyboard every time.
You can always find replacements/upgrades  :^)




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