Author Topic: Old computers?  (Read 54362 times)
TheUniversalDave1
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Re: Old computers? « Reply #30 on: August 18, 2014, 08:02:33 PM » Author: TheUniversalDave1
The guy that gave me the computer said that he wanted it back. I have no idea behind his reasoning. Oh well. So much for getting a hard drive and stuff.
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themaritimegirl
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Re: Old computers? « Reply #31 on: August 18, 2014, 08:37:11 PM » Author: themaritimegirl
Wow, that's weird.  ??? Who knows.
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Re: Old computers? « Reply #32 on: August 19, 2014, 01:14:31 AM » Author: mrboojay
That is a shame, oh well then.
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icefoglights
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Re: Old computers? « Reply #33 on: April 07, 2015, 02:04:07 PM » Author: icefoglights
I just started cleaning out an old storage shed that I had filled with various old computers.  Nothing special.  Mostly off-brand economy models ranging from late P5 Pentium to early P6 Celeron machines.  There's water damage, but I'm pulling hard drives and seeing what's on them.  Mostly clean installs of either Windows 95 or Windows 98 original release.  They are going to the e-cycler on the next public drop-off day.

For reading the hard drives, I have an old Maxtor external USB 2.0/Firewire hard drive that I've removed the drive from and can plug drives into, than view them on my Windows 10 machine.
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Re: Old computers? « Reply #34 on: April 07, 2015, 07:01:49 PM » Author: themaritimegirl
Nice. Any in one of those generic cases with the LED display that shows the CPU speed?
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Re: Old computers? « Reply #35 on: April 07, 2015, 11:10:07 PM » Author: icefoglights
None of these.  Mostly baby AT or mini-ATX.  Somewhere I had a 486 server machine that had a full tower case with wheels, that had the frequency display.  Those didn't really measure the frequency though.  It was essentially a glorified power/turbo light.  Jumpers on the back were used to set what frequency was displayed when the power was on, and another set of jumpers set the frequency shown when the turbo wire was live.
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Re: Old computers? « Reply #36 on: April 07, 2015, 11:26:47 PM » Author: themaritimegirl
Indeed. I remember when I got my 486 machine, which is a 133 MHz AMD Am-5x86; the display was set to show 80 MHz when Turbo was on and 60 MHz when off. Not only were both of those numbers wrong, but the Turbo switch wasn't connected to the motherboard at all! I hooked it up, and it works as it should. I set the display to 133 and 20 MHz. It's hard to gauge CPU speed with Turbo off because it works by introducing wait states (the CPU still runs at 133 MHz), but according to a benchmarking program, my machine is comparable to a 20 MHz 386 with Turbo off, so that's what I opted to set the display for.

Indeed the displays are (both literally and figuratively) dumb, but I always thought they were really cool. The Turbo feature is pointless too, as on a 486 it doesn't slow the processor enough to serve its purpose, which is to run speed-sensitive software written for the 8086/8088. Still a neat "toy," though.
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Re: Old computers? « Reply #37 on: April 07, 2015, 11:54:05 PM » Author: icefoglights
One of my old machines (not stored in this shed) has a socket 3 motherboard and originally had an Am-5x86 in it.  I accidently messed up the voltage settings on it's regulator card and burned it out, so now there's a Pentium OD chip in it.  I'd like to dig that old thing out and fire it up.
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ace100w120v
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Re: Old computers? « Reply #38 on: April 08, 2015, 12:04:01 AM » Author: ace100w120v
Anyone into old UPS units?
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Re: Old computers? « Reply #39 on: April 08, 2015, 04:13:25 AM » Author: Ash
I have a few

Most are not old, but stuff still being made today - that was trashed as the batteries went bad, and  i happened to be in the right time and place to save it. Few "enterprise" grade units from APC/Powercom in the 1500VA..3000VA range, few more Powercom and others "home user" grade units in the 600..1000VA range

One of them is an online unit

Only old one is a SAVIN unit from the 90s, online. That one has damage from leaked batteries - i removed the batteries and cleaned out the corrosive debris, but have not yet come around to test it

I fitted new batteries only into one unit that i use for emergency lighting (2x 7Ah can power a 15w CFL for a long time....). Others i dont have a use for right now - If i get batteries they will just slowly decay away without seeing any use. So in the meanwhile i dont buy batteries for all of them



As for computers.. I have some old hardware laying around from 386 and up (one 386 board, 486, and more of everythign Pentium-S and up)

I am collecting and stocking on computers/hardware that are being trashed out nowadays : Thats mostly Pentium 4 and the newer dual-core stuff (and parts for them). Got some servers/laptops too. I collect monitors/keyboards/network switches/various cables etc too for use with those computers

Hoping to get around one day to build me a workshop with computerised machines/tools, i will need fair quantity of basic PC's... Those aging P4's are perfect for that, and the few old Pentium-S and up boxes just in case something runs on DOS

It surprises what peeps throw out. Some computers are intact (just a bit of old) or have just minor failures like software problem, overheating due to stuck fan, or bad PSU... Some are the newer dual core stuff. Apparently it is "getting old" too..

I write this now on a P4 - assembled from cleaned and tested parts, and maxed out the RAM. Its working great

I do repairs like replacing capacitors/regreasing fans. In laptops i sometimes get replacement parts from Ebay. In LCD's i replace capacitors and backlight CCFLs and occasionally fix something else (always power supply or backlight ballast related)

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Re: Old computers? « Reply #40 on: April 08, 2015, 10:33:21 AM » Author: themaritimegirl
One of my old machines (not stored in this shed) has a socket 3 motherboard and originally had an Am-5x86 in it.  I accidently messed up the voltage settings on it's regulator card and burned it out, so now there's a Pentium OD chip in it.

I once took the CPU out of my 486 machine, and accidentally reinstalled it upside-down. The computer turned on, but wouldn't POST, and it ran like that for 30 seconds or so before I smelled something burning (a voltage regulator on the motherboard) and realized what I'd done. Luckily everything survived.
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Re: Old computers? « Reply #41 on: April 08, 2015, 11:44:18 AM » Author: icefoglights
I once took the CPU out of my 486 machine, and accidentally reinstalled it upside-down. The computer turned on, but wouldn't POST, and it ran like that for 30 seconds or so before I smelled something burning (a voltage regulator on the motherboard) and realized what I'd done. Luckily everything survived.
Yeah those 486 chips weren't keyed
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Re: Old computers? « Reply #42 on: April 08, 2015, 12:24:46 PM » Author: Ash
I had the same happen with a Cyrix 486 chip. That one did not survive it

Neighbors kid once smoked a Pentium MMX chip - Apparently the Pentium fits in socket 370 if 1 pin is broken. He tried to put that (using a socket/slot adapter) in place of his Celeron 300 CPU

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icefoglights
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Re: Old computers? « Reply #43 on: April 08, 2015, 02:14:25 PM » Author: icefoglights
Ever see the old Tom's Hardware video about what happens to an AMD CPU when the heatsink is removed?  I tried that once.  Had a Duron that had static discharge damage, and a board that suffered a slipped screwdriver cutting traces to the DIMM slots.  Brought it up to temperature, pulled the heatsink off and watched it go up in smoke!
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Re: Old computers? « Reply #44 on: April 08, 2015, 03:08:16 PM » Author: Ash
Had that happen to me by accident

When testing if a MB is good (power on for few seconds to see POST) i often only lay the heatsink on the cpu without actually locking it in place.  In a quick test the heatsink's thermal mass is what matters most, so in those tests i often dont bother to connect the fan, and a few times used a magnetic ballast in place of the heatsink... (our old Mini 40N ballasts have perfectly flat surface on top which makes good contact with the CPU)

One time i slightly knocked the heatsink off the AMD when i was testing it and didnt notice it till i smelled it

Since then i pay extra attention with CPUs that dont have the aluminum square heat spreader
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