i have this old computer i want to do something with...

BlurOfSerenity

BlurOfSerenity

New Member
so, i have this really dead, really old computer.
i dohn't know how old it is, actually,but my guess is early/mid 90's... just a guess, tho.
it used to be the old family computer.
now it is just a piece of junk metal and plastic that chills out near my computer.

i want to do something with it, tho!
i just have no idea what!
i know i can probably never get it up to being some super 1337 awesome-machine, but i was supposing maybe i could gut it and rebuild it to something half-decent by today's standards...

anyhow... i have no idea what it is. i don't know what kind of cpu it has, or hard drive or anything... i know the back is really old, tho. it has, like a monitor plug thing, a powersupply one, one i guess for a keyboard (but with a bigger round connector, not a smaller one....


ahhh! i don't know where i'm going with this! someone should help me, haha.

or if you know any websites, like, how to rebuild old computers without much prior knowledge... and stuff.
 
Do you know what OS it was running ,that'll help narrow down what approx. CPU is . i.e. if was running Win 3.1 its pre PII ,running win98 would mean at least a PII capability.
 
Is it that Cumulus WorkBox 386 your brother once said you guys had? I had one too... in 1992. The monitor actually plugged into the second socket on the power supply, and when the computer was shut off the monitor went off with it.

BTW, when a case originally had an AT power supply (like I'm guessing that one does), it's a real PITA to use it with an ATX power supply because there's no similarities at all between the power buttons. Plus, the ATX form factor on motherboards is completely different, meaning you'd have to rig up a new power switch and bust out the Dremel if you wanted to use that case for an ATX board. Plus, if I remember the layour of the Cumulus case right, you'd never be able to fit a modern board in it anyway because the processors on them now are located right under where the power supply is in that case. The best you'd be able to do is get one of those AT/ATX Socket 7 motherboards from the late '90s (I used to have an FIC VA-503+ that fit that description; it would support up to about 500MHz [I think] and I think that's probably standard for that kind of motherboard) and slap in a K6-2 or maybe a K6-3 processor and zip along at 400 or 500 MHz. Of course, when you'd shut the computer off you'd have to remember to push the power button when it gives the "it is now safe to shut off your computer" message.
 
Find a tall building. Sell tickets. Auction off the chance to throw it off. That's about the best way to make a few bucks off it. Outside of selling it at a gunclub.
 
Take the case cover off, and post a picture of the guts. In particular, try to make sure the main board is visible.

It may just be a lost cause, but let's have a peek.
 
dude! use it as a jukebox. get some fair speakers, load up it's media player and set that puppy on random. :headbang:
 
A.B.Normal said:
Do you know what OS it was running ,that'll help narrow down what approx. CPU is . i.e. if was running Win 3.1 its pre PII ,running win98 would mean at least a PII capability.
Click to expand...

I don't think so...I had a P133 running Win98 (not by default...but it was running it)
 
There are loads of companies out there that will refurbish it for schools, local community centers, libraries, daycares etc..etc..

It's also a good idea to recycle it rather than just pitching it. Some places will strip the metals and plastics apart fo recycling.

Beats the hell out of using it to fill another spot in a land-fill dump somewhere, eh?
 
tonksy said:
dude! use it as a jukebox. get some fair speakers, load up it's media player and set that puppy on random. :headbang:
Click to expand...
If it's what I think it is, then I don't think very many media players would run well on a 386SX/16.
 
Nixy said:
I don't think so...I had a P133 running Win98 (not by default...but it was running it)
Click to expand...
Yeah I realize that ,I had win95b running on a 486dx ,but I figured it would be a still give a general idea . :p
 
Sell it.

Paint it black.....find a dumb kid......tell him/her it's a ps2 and make a quick $100 ;)
 
Oz said:
Sell it.

Paint it black.....find a dumb kid......tell him/her it's a ps2 and make a quick $100 ;)
Click to expand...
...and when he says it doesn't work, kindly inform him that most PS2 systems that are more than a year or two old don't work either.
 
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