VOGONS


Practice PC # 2 - retro PC - Windows 98

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Reply 60 of 106, by Tetrium

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Dant wrote:
Tetrium wrote:

Personally I don't even believe this. For once, it's too early to actually know if this is the case at all. Is there any scientific basis for assuming this will happen? Or is it just theory?

And besides, for us 2075 isn't really relevant anyway, so I'm not too worried 😜

IIRC they said that the actual silicon the ICs are made out of degrade like that over time, but again who would know until the 2070's when the first silicon ICs DO turn 100...

But didn't they also say cdrom's would be able to hold their data for more then 10 years? And wasn't it common knowledge that floppies were so unreliable, being able to read data from a floppy that hadn't been used for 15 years was practically impossible?
Wasn't Intel going to get Netburst up to 10Ghz?
Weren't we all gonna be using VR glasses by the end of the century?
Wheres my flying car???

The thing is, all kinds of things may be said, but I'm always sceptical when I hear something like this. Usually it turns out not to be true anyway.

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Reply 63 of 106, by AlienBZ

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***Update***

Haven't been working on this PC/posting lately b/c these days (weeks actually) I'm taking a vacation from tinkering with the PC's in my office as since I'm going to school in the fall to begin learning how to become a tech, I'm trying to get out to the local coffee shops (Panera Bread/Barnes & Noble) with my laptops to game on the go before school starts as I won't be able to get out to these coffee shops during the autumn/winter/spring owing to the shorter daylight hours/weather changes/1.5 mile walk to/from the bus stop from our house, I now have to go way out of my way on the bus in order to get to either of these coffee shops (takes about a hour or more bus ride, longer if bus is late, with the result that if I did take the bus say, in Nov or Jan, I'd have to leave the coffee shop much earlier in order to get home before dark, which will drastically cut into my gaming on the go time, plus I'd have too much idle time on my hands once I did get home.

You see, the bus company eliminated the bus service that was practically in our back yard this past March of 2011; this is part of what made me decide to go back to school to become a tech - in short, I turned a negative into a positive!

Reply 64 of 106, by Tetrium

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School > old computers, always ;D

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Reply 65 of 106, by AlienBZ

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tried googling for a new faceplate to replace the current broken face plate from this computer, but my search was in vain. Does anyone know where I can get a new faceplate (with its rectangular insert) from?

The model of this computer is HP Pavilion 4530.

Reply 66 of 106, by Jorpho

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Actually, last time I looked into this a couple of years ago, HP is surprisingly good regarding parts for its systems. See if you can find a number written on the plastic somewhere, and then plug it in at http://partsurfer.hp.com/ .

Of course, you might be better off in the end just searching for another junked Pavilion 4530. 😜 I say, just get a standard brandless box from wherever and be done with it.

Reply 67 of 106, by dosquest

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I might add, why not just get an entire another one of the computer you have to you can have spare parts for it if like some ram goes out or the motherboard dies.

Reply 68 of 106, by AlienBZ

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Jorpho wrote:

I say, just get a standard brandless box from wherever and be done with it.

You mean, a new tower? This is what I was thinking of getting some time down the road, but my concern is the propriety PSU, mobo and 3.5-inch floppy drive with its eject button attached to the drive - I was toying with this idea.

Jorpho wrote:

Actually, last time I looked into this a couple of years ago, HP is surprisingly good regarding parts for its systems. See if you can find a number written on the plastic somewhere, and then plug it in at http://partsurfer.hp.com/ .

ok, will do.

Reply 69 of 106, by Tetrium

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AlienBZ wrote:

tried googling for a new faceplate to replace the current broken face plate from this computer, but my search was in vain. Does anyone know where I can get a new faceplate (with its rectangular insert) from?

The model of this computer is HP Pavilion 4530.

I've noticed the faceplates (the ones that "block" the CDROM drive openings etc) often have different mounting clips. I often end up having to use sticky tape to make the faceplate...stick

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Reply 70 of 106, by AlienBZ

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Tetrium wrote:
AlienBZ wrote:

tried googling for a new faceplate to replace the current broken face plate from this computer, but my search was in vain. Does anyone know where I can get a new faceplate (with its rectangular insert) from?

The model of this computer is HP Pavilion 4530.

I've noticed the faceplates (the ones that "block" the CDROM drive openings etc) often have different mounting clips. I often end up having to use sticky tape to make the faceplate...stick

Ok, What sort of sticky tape? Brand? I was thinking of this white double sided wall mounting tape that comes on a little roll like scotch tape but you cut off pieces the size you want with scissors, peel off the backing to use it - is this what you have in mind? Can you post some pictures on how to apply this sticky tape, please?

Using sticky tape was one of the thoughts I had on how to re-attach the broken faceplate (and thus give the computer a neat, like-new appearance) that I had originally, but I sort of forced myself to discard this idea b/c I thought it wouldn't work.

Reply 71 of 106, by Tetrium

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AlienBZ wrote:

Ok, What sort of sticky tape? Brand? I was thinking of this white double sided wall mounting tape that comes on a little roll like scotch tape but you cut off pieces the size you want with scissors, peel off the backing to use it - is this what you have in mind? Can you post some pictures on how to apply this sticky tape, please?

Using sticky tape was one of the thoughts I had on how to re-attach the broken faceplate (and thus give the computer a neat, like-new appearance) that I had originally, but I sort of forced myself to discard this idea b/c I thought it wouldn't work.

What I did was put the faceplate that had the best fit (I got a lot of different ones from all kinds of different systems) and then I somehow put the tape (I think I might have used masking tape or something) so the faceplate would remain in position while looking as nice as I reasonably could.
If you don't really care, you could actually just use masking tape on the front if having masking tape on the front bezel doesn't bother you too much.

I did do another trick actually! Sometimes if I for whatever reason didn't have a fitting faceplate, I'd put a dead CDROM drive in there to block the entrance without connecting the dead drive inside! ;D

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Reply 72 of 106, by SavantStrike

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AlienBZ wrote:
Tetrium wrote:
AlienBZ wrote:

tried googling for a new faceplate to replace the current broken face plate from this computer, but my search was in vain. Does anyone know where I can get a new faceplate (with its rectangular insert) from?

The model of this computer is HP Pavilion 4530.

I've noticed the faceplates (the ones that "block" the CDROM drive openings etc) often have different mounting clips. I often end up having to use sticky tape to make the faceplate...stick

Ok, What sort of sticky tape? Brand? I was thinking of this white double sided wall mounting tape that comes on a little roll like scotch tape but you cut off pieces the size you want with scissors, peel off the backing to use it - is this what you have in mind? Can you post some pictures on how to apply this sticky tape, please?

Using sticky tape was one of the thoughts I had on how to re-attach the broken faceplate (and thus give the computer a neat, like-new appearance) that I had originally, but I sort of forced myself to discard this idea b/c I thought it wouldn't work.

I've found double stick tape fixes a lot of problems, but the foam based stuff dries out and makes a mess over time.

I recommend you get the gummy type of tape. I like 3M's product, especially the grey outdoor one. It's very strong, but then again, it's similar to the tape used to hold body paneling on some cars, so it should be.

It's just called 3M outdoor mounting tape. When I don't have 50 tabs open I'll edit with a link to it.

Reply 73 of 106, by sliderider

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A completely new faceplate will probably end up costing more than it's worth, if you can even find one. The recyclers in the third world countries where most old computers end up grind the plastic parts of the cases up and sell the pellets to plastics makers. Double sided sticky tape or even velcro would be a much cheaper alternative.

Reply 75 of 106, by sliderider

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ratfink wrote:

this thread makes me want to cry for some reason

Fact of life. Computers and other electronics usually end up being shipped to places like India, China, and sometimes even Africa where they are stripped and recycled in the most un-green ways imaginable.

What makes it worse is we actually support these dirty and dangerous recycling practices when we order replacement parts from the sellers on ebay who are located in the countries where the recycling takes place because that's where the reusable parts end up.

Think of that the next time you are dropping an old computer off at the Goodwill or the city recycling center.

Reply 76 of 106, by Tetrium

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sliderider wrote:

Think of that the next time you are dropping an old computer off at the Goodwill or the city recycling center.

Yup, everyone will be better off if, instead of having it recycled, they just give all that old computer stuff to people like us 😁

Whats missing in your collections?
My retro rigs (old topic)
Interesting Vogons threads (links to Vogonswiki)
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Reply 77 of 106, by AlienBZ

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Tetrium wrote:
sliderider wrote:

Think of that the next time you are dropping an old computer off at the Goodwill or the city recycling center.

Yup, everyone will be better off if, instead of having it recycled, they just give all that old computer stuff to people like us 😁

I agree 1,000,000,0000 % with you, Tetrium, this is part of my computer tech dream - to be able to have (somehow - but does not involve winning the State lottery) my own private pilot who can take me and whichever computer tower(s) to my internet friends (the people here at VOGONS/GameBoomers/JustAdventure/MysteryManor.net/AdventurePoint.co.uk/PC Guide) so I can fly all over the planet to deliver the PC's to these people/and/ give it to them or help them fix their PC's/games.

Reply 78 of 106, by AlienBZ

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Found out at the hp site that this computer's mobo is an Asus, a P5s vm, am thinking about getting a new case for this computer sometime from Jewett and throwing away the old case since the original faceplate is broken - does anyone know what kind of a case would fit this mobo (as I understand it, cases at newegg come with power supplies), so since it's an old computer I'd like to get a case with a cheap power supply.

Does anyone have any ideas on what case I should buy for this mobo?

Last edited by AlienBZ on 2011-11-01, 12:02. Edited 1 time in total.