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Mega ST 4 High: The Workstation

Received for free in 2026, this Mega ST 4 was fully rebuilt and is today my primary workstation. It's the most capable machine in the fleet, running Geneva as a real multitasking environment.

Work Performed

Blitter patch, removed an existing patch and carefully bridged the severed trace with wire, verifying it with a continuity test. The installed blitter (marked S9012 / MM9092V, a National variant from week 12/1990) belongs to an unproblematic batch where the classic Mega ST blitter patch is generally no longer needed.
CPU socket, soldered in a 68000 socket and checked all connections to the board with a multimeter.
TOS, removed the onboard TOS from its sockets to avoid conflicts with the external flash TOS on the MonSTerBoard.
Power supply, replaced with a modern STPSU for clean, stable power, which matters especially for the ET4000.

MonSTerBoard

The MonSTerBoard is plugged onto the 68000 socket, with jumpers set so TOS 2.06 is used from its flash. It provides up to 8 MB of AltRAM (TT-compatible range, activated via m_altram.prg), an IDE interface for CF/IDE storage, and a flash ROM holding multiple TOS images. I boot from a 1 GB CompactFlash card over IDE, which is noticeably faster than an ACSI drive.

Peripherals in Use

ET4000 graphics card in the MegaBus, providing higher resolutions and better display quality with Geneva/NVDI, driving a dedicated monitor.
NetUSBee on the ROM port, giving real internet via STinG and a USB port for FAT16 data exchange with Windows.
Eiffel interface for a PS/2 keyboard and mouse, a much better typing feel than the original hardware.
Self-built VGA adapter, a short cable to a small box with the VGA connector and mono/color switch, since a standard adapter would block the ET4000's VGA output.

Role

Workstation machine with multitasking (Geneva), AltRAM, IDE/CF boot, USB and network connectivity, and high-resolution display. My primary system for programming and productive work.