{"id":287,"date":"2026-04-28T16:01:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T21:01:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aixmuseum.com\/blog\/?p=287"},"modified":"2026-04-28T16:05:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T21:05:51","slug":"tandy-1000-ex-hx-3-in-1-compact-flash-card","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aixmuseum.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/28\/tandy-1000-ex-hx-3-in-1-compact-flash-card\/","title":{"rendered":"Tandy 1000 EX\/HX 3-in-1 Compact Flash Card"},"content":{"rendered":"

Authors Note – For the last few years, I have been building and selling on eBay the Tandy 1000 EX\/HX 3-in-1 adapter and the 3-in-1 v2 adapter.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

The 3-in-1 adapter was not my idea, it is the brainchild of Rob K:<\/em><\/p>\n

https:\/\/github.com\/rkrenicki\/Tandy-EX-HX-3in1\/<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

I originally built my own 3-in-1 for my Tandy 1000 HX.\u00a0 It’s a pretty slick piece of equipment.\u00a0 It adds an XTIDE interface, 1MB of RAM, and a serial port to the Tandy 1000<\/a> EX or HX<\/a>.\u00a0 The version 2 adapter adds two serial ports and a parallel port.<\/em><\/p>\n

https:\/\/github.com\/leadacid44\/Tandy-1000-EX-HX-3-in-1<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

https:\/\/github.com\/leadacid44\/Tandy-EX-HX-3in1-V2<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

I ended up building a few of them when I built my first, and had great luck selling them on eBay.\u00a0 I ended up building a few more.\u00a0 Now I’ve sold over 50 such boards.\u00a0 My major contribution to the project is the documentation.\u00a0 I’ve written a users’s guide, as well as this CF guide, which I include in my sale on eBay – my small way to try selling a ‘complete’ product.<\/em><\/p>\n

Part of my eBay sale is a small 64MB compact flash card loaded with FreeDOS that provides the new owner with a fully-bootable system, and a known good CF card.\u00a0 Both of which were hurdles when I built my very first adapter for personal use.<\/em><\/p>\n

Unfortunately I can’t include MS-DOS v5.00 on the card due to license restrictions, even though that would be my preferred solution.<\/em><\/p>\n

One of the things that has come up, is how to ‘reimage’ the compact flash card if it becomes corrupted – which can happen if the card is taken from the Tandy and written to on a more modern PC.\u00a0 MBRs can be overwritten on accident, filesystem corruption, file deletions, etc.<\/em><\/p>\n

Below I have included instructions on the ‘reimage’ process.\u00a0\u00a0There isn’t a ‘reimage’ process as such, more a DOS re-installation.\u00a0 As you will see, there are many paths and choices in the process.<\/em><\/p>\n

So, without further ado, here is the “Re-Imaging the Compact Flash (CF) Card” procedure.<\/em><\/p>\n

Overview<\/h1>\n

This document will cover the re-image \/ rebuild process for the Compact Flash (CF) card as used in the Tandy 1000 EX\/HX 3-in-1 Adapter.\u00a0 These instructions could be used for any similar system but are specifically tailored for the features that the 3-in-1 adapter gives to the Tandy 1000 EX\/HX.<\/p>\n

There is no true “disk image” restore process in the modern sense, like with SD cards or USB drives. \u00a0Instead, rebuilding the CF card is effectively the same as installing DOS onto a new hard drive.\u00a0 As the 3-in-1 adapter implements an XTIDE interface for the Tandy 1000 EX\/HX, the CF card should be thought of as a solid-state hard disk. \u00a0The “re-imaging” process simply uses contemporary DOS tools and behaves exactly like a real hard drive install.<\/p>\n

Choosing a DOS Version<\/h1>\n

Legal Notice<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am not a lawyer. \u00a0This is not legal advice. \u00a0Only use MS-DOS if you own a legitimate copy. \u00a0Do not distribute copyrighted software.\u00a0 I include instructions here for MS-DOS because it is my personal recommendation.\u00a0 I also include FreeDOS instructions as it can be freely used without purchase.<\/p>\n

MS-DOS v5.00<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the Tandy 1000 EX\/HX, I strongly recommend\u00a0MS-DOS v5.00<\/a><\/span>. \u00a0So much so, that I don’t really recommend anything else. \u00a0Version 5.00 is a good blend between modernity and light resources. \u00a0Version 3 and version 6 will both work, but with some caveats.\u00a0\u00a0Generally, there’s no reason to get branded (e.g. Tandy) versions of the OS.<\/p>\n