So those of you that may have seen some of my posts in the past know I have a good friend that is aware of my fondness of computers, especially older ones. He works in IT and from time to time has people at his job ask him "what should I do with this old computer or how should I get rid of it". He will let them know about me and I have received several old PC's this way - some work great, some not so much, but I enjoy it either way and all I have to do in return is periodically provide him with a bottle of Jack Daniels. 😊

Well recently I've been thinking of upgrading my main DOS system (the roots of which are a P2 setup I got from him last year) in order to possibly put a 98 install on there as that is one OS I do not currently use (I have about 5 DOS only systems, 2 Win2k, 2 XP, and 2 Win7).

The parts I was looking for specifically were as follows, and they have been on my watch list on ebay:
-P2 450
-White/beige ZIP drive
-PCI Banshee or preferably a Voodoo 3 of some sort

Well, he calls me yesterday to let me know he has another PC to give me. I go pick it up and it ends up being a late 90's Compaq P2 system. Despite the dust and LOTS of webs, it is in otherwise very good condition and basically has no yellowing at all. I would give the overall outside condition a 9/10 all things considered! Aside from that I get really excited as I see the ZIP drive it holds, and thinking it is probably a later-model P2, I'm hoping for a 450. That way, even if the system itself has issues I can at least scavenge some parts I've been looking for! Well that's when I open it up and nearly soil myself. THERES A PCI VOODOO 3 3000 IN THERE!!! 🤣 🤣

What are the chances?

Aside from finding all three parts I've been looking for, everything inside looks great and theres also a Quantum Bigfoot drive. I know they are apparently problem-prone, but I've never had one and think they're pretty cool!

So I plug her in and viola! Everything works! Boots up right into windows 98, CD drive works, ZIP works, hard drive has no issues, Voodoo 3 is perfect. Even the CMOS battery has the date correct and the time is barely off despite not being used for nearly 15 years. The power button is the only thing that is janky but I can probably sort that out with minimal effort.

If that wasn't good enough, there is also a decent cache of Irish drinking songs on there which is awesome. 🤣 😊 😎

To that I say, "CHEERS MATES!"