First post, by zstandig
My Dad has had this PC for a really long time. I remember it used to be in a desktop form but it somehow got converted into a tower and some other upgrades. I figured since full size AT towers are becoming something of a rarity I should post it.
Since, it isn't mine I can't check inside of it so I have to go by various anecdotes that I've heard over the years.
It's about 100MHz or so, either an older Pentium or a higher end 486.
No idea about the RAM
No idea about the video card other than that it's VGA and took to an older LCD just fine.
Since it has a "Creative" brand optical drive I'm guessing there's a Soundblaster in there somewhere since I believe they came in a bundle a long time ago. Dad doesn't care because this is a work computer not a play computer.
I heard my Dad mention that he has 3 hard drives in there. I have no clue how they've lasted this long. He doesn't care about getting new ones or backing up to newer media 😵 .
It has 5 1/4" Floppy, 3 1/2" Floppy, and some kind of Tape Back-up drive installed. None of those drives have probably been used in years.
It has or had a modem, I distinctly remember a large box that served as a modem, but I think it has a modem card too. It was online briefly in the late 1990s.
Because it's been under a desk for most of its life it hasn't been stained yellow... much.
Behind it somewhere there's a pair of speakers that although attached haven't been used in many years.
A well worn "Microsoft Mouse" is on the table above, it's never used due to being mostly a pure DOS machine now.
The keyboard is of a "Model M" style, yet it's AT and doesn't seem to be branded.
Windows 3.11 is installed on top of DOS 6.22 yet never used.
The RTC is probably bad because DOS demands to know the time every time when it's powered on.
The Laser Printer unfortunately broke down a while ago and either can't be repaired or whatever part it needs can't be identified. Surprisingly a 2005ish Laser Printer connected via Parallel prints just fine. Dad won't toss the old one.
Stories:
*Apparently when my Dad got it upgraded, the computer shop accidentally corrupted some important stuff. I still hear that story every now and then.
*I think Creative must have had a voice synthesis program that spoke what was typed. Let's just say a much younger version of me thought this was hilarious.
*Although it's a work PC it did play demo versions of Commander Keen, Doom, Ms. Pac-PC, and I seem to remember a side scrolling game involving a character with a magic wand that could make things vanish for a set time.
*Supposedly my Dad tried to install Windows 95 via an upgrade disk a long time ago, but according to him it was not a good experience, so he went back to Win 3.11 and ultimately DOS.
*It is still used for "Managing Your Money software, a DOS program that won't run on modern windows. I've managed to set it up in a virtual machine on a modern computer... but the prospect of transferring data, teaching my Dad to use the virtual machine, and getting it to work with the printer... proved too daunting to bother with.
*It has Whatever version of Microsoft Word that came out before Word 97 installed on it. I know this because I had a school assignment due, and the teacher demanded it be typed, right when my PC died. So I had to ask Dad if I could use this machine to type it all out. It was really nerve-racking going from XP to Win 3.1 and depending on what was to me; an alien system to do it on.
