https://www.jamesfmackenzie.com/
I fix (and break) old computers on the internet! This is where I share all the behind-the-scenes bits — project files, fixes, quirks, and technical notes. Take whatever helps, and enjoy your own retro adventures!
https://www.jamesfmackenzie.com/2026/10/26/why-pci-sound-cards-dont-work-in-dos-on-modern-pcs/
I have a mission: play original DOS games at super high resolutions and frame rates. Graphics turned out to be easy. But sound is the real challenge. Here’s why a late-90s PCI sound card won’t just work in a modern PC.
https://www.jamesfmackenzie.com/sitemap/
... browser at jamesfmackenzie.com/chocolatekeen/. Then take a look at the source on GitHub. Enjoy ...
https://www.jamesfmackenzie.com/2026/10/13/i-love-software-rendering/
Sharp pixels, gritty colour banding, and DOS games running at resolutions their own era couldn’t manage. Why I still prefer the software renderer, and why it needs a fast PC.
https://www.jamesfmackenzie.com/2026/10/03/disassembly-vs-decomp-vs-recomp-vs-port/
Four words that get used almost interchangeably for the projects bringing old games back to life — what each one actually means, where they overlap, and how to tell them apart.
https://www.jamesfmackenzie.com/2026/09/30/rescuing-files-from-a-dying-amstrad-pc1640-hard-drive/
When my Amstrad PC1640’s original hard drive started throwing file allocation table errors, I needed its files off fast — over a null-modem cable, with Procomm’s Kermit mode on the Amstrad side and TeraTerm on the PC.
https://www.jamesfmackenzie.com/2026/09/26/im-building-my-own-native-pc-port-of-star-fox/
Some programming news! I’m working on a PC port of SNES classic Star Fox, using the asm code from the ultrastarfox project as a base. Progress is great so far — and I even have a video to prove it! See below.
https://www.jamesfmackenzie.com/2026/09/25/how-to-play-gran-turismo-5-across-three-screens-with-three-ps3s/
Gran Turismo 5’s Multi Monitor mode links three PlayStation 3s into one continuous view across three screens — no special hub, and it works in full GT career mode instead of just Arcade.
https://www.jamesfmackenzie.com/2026/09/21/my-xbox-series-x-keeps-shutting-down-part-2-the-fix/
Back inside the Xbox Series X that kept shutting itself off — this time going all the way to the die itself to find out if the theory from Part 1 was actually right.
https://www.jamesfmackenzie.com/2026/09/20/my-xbox-series-x-keeps-shutting-down-part-1-chasing-the-fault/
My Xbox Series X started powering itself off mid-game, but only in some games. Working out why turned into a proper electrical diagnosis, and it ended up somewhere I didn’t expect.