mrau wrote:

its very nice, but imo its just too perfect, theres gotta be some small flaws, so its not as artificial

Or you know, it could just be in brand new condition and never used. There's some of those for old computers too.

ugh. ordered a new AT psu, since my backplane chassis has a atx/at psu. it has half the at connector, but its misleading since its gnd + 5v, does not have the -5v, which I need, and an ATX to AT converter cable doesnt supply -5 and I dont want to mess with a regulator to make -12 into -5... so new psu on its way...

Finally found and restored a computer to go with this cool Compaq monitor. So now I'm the happy owner of a complete (keyboard and mouse not correct) 1997 Compaq Presario 4505 setup. 😁

It's a pretty decent computer despite it's weird design choices, ugly looks and small form factor. It's specs are:

CPU: Pentium 166 MMX
RAM: 32MB PC-66 (was originally 16MB but it was stripped out when I first found it)
HDD: 10GB (was originally a 2GB but my computer was stripped of RAM and HDD when I found it)
Sound: Ensoniq ESS 1887 Plug and Play sound (SB16 compatible)
GFX: S3 Trio 64 V.2

and that's basically it... the only other really interesting thing is the easy access volume knob on the front of the computer monitor, which is weird but really cool at the same time. 😁

(It's not yellow it's just my desklamp)

Updated a few things on my website. Had to extend my Weebly subscription, decided to go for the Pro version this time as it lets me upload 250 MB files instead of just 100 MB.

Played around with the Savage4 and the Driver CD that comes with the card, it's an A-Trend Savage4 Pro with 32 MB has LOTS of other drivers from the year 1999. I'm uploading it to my site and share the link so others can host it / share it further: http://www.philscomputerlab.com/savage4.html

King_Corduroy wrote:

Finally found and restored a computer to go with this cool Compaq monitor.

I really like this setup, nice work!

King_Corduroy wrote:

Finally found and restored a computer to go with this cool Compaq monitor. So now I'm the happy owner of a complete (keyboard an […]
Show full quote

Finally found and restored a computer to go with this cool Compaq monitor. So now I'm the happy owner of a complete (keyboard and mouse not correct) 1997 Compaq Presario 4505 setup. 😁

(It's not yellow it's just my desklamp)

You did great job with cleaning & restoring, have you shared your methods somewhere else? This is a museum piece, well done! (Even the sticker is still on, gives you the "computer show/expo" feel...)

And btw, It's not "ugly" at all, it's just Compaq Presario _classic_ I tell ya! 😁

I haven't really shown what I do but it's all standard stuff, clean up with a wet rag and a toothbrush for dust and dirt, use magic eraser to remove scuffs and try to replace broken parts with working similar parts. 🤣 Also with the CRT's I usually blow the dust out with an air compressor and adjust the colour knobs and convergence inside if necessary.

I just get lucky sometimes though and find machines like this where all I had to do was get some speakers for the monitor and replace the HDD, CD-ROM, RAM and CMOS (since they were stripped out). This barely even needed any cleaning and like you pointed out still has the sticker on the front. 🤣

I had picked up the monitor almost a year prior and have been holding onto it hoping I could find a matching computer, it recently grabbed my attention again and I happened to go drop some stuff off the next day and BAM there was this Compaq 4505 in pristine condition as well as a Packard Bell monitor in Pristine condition and a Magnavox RGB 80 monitor from 1986! Amazing luck. 🤣

Noticed how how easier it is to repair a Houston Tech RTC compared to the Dallas RTC. Cap pops right off, they way it should be.

kithylin wrote:

mrau wrote:

its very nice, but imo its just too perfect, theres gotta be some small flaws, so its not as artificial

Or you know, it could just be in brand new condition and never used. There's some of those for old computers too.

I agree, it is a little too... clean. Truth is, that machine has a few things that are a little wonky, like the floppy drive housing being mounted a little bit on an angle, the power switch is less centred and so on.

Truth is, adding in a little bit of imperfection is relatively easy once the model is 'done' since it would just involve rotating a few things a few degrees here and there, and maybe adding a few scuff mark textures.

The colouring on it is as close as I can get without some more professional means. The front casing has yellowed, so thats why it is slightly different to the painted chassis lid.

It is a work in progress 😀 It's hard not to suddenly start modelling another machine too haha

Thanks for the kind comments!

Inventoried my CPUs and found out I have 60, and that's not including the ones hidden under heatsinks because they're in use. Could be time to cull a bit, especially the Merom core mobile chips. Really don't need any of them, aside from acting as possible troubleshooting replacements.

Played Warcraft 2 (DOS version) on my K6-3+ box. Awesome awesome game, I never played it before.
Music thru SC-55 is great and sounds the same as the CD audio.

This game runs in 640x480x256, 60Hz by default so I set up UNIREFRESH. Works great with my GF2 MX400 PCI running at 85Hz.

Got my 486 machine up and running http://imgur.com/a/WLfPj

I made a modem thing using my RPI and tcpser so I could use my 486 to play some old modem games with someone else.

oeuvre wrote:

Got my 486 machine up and running http://imgur.com/a/WLfPj

That's a cool case! 😀

BTW, I have those same Harmon/Kardon speakers on my 486. I bought them for a few bucks at a thrift store and they sound great compared to most computer speakers now days.

King_Corduroy wrote:

Finally found and restored a computer to go with this cool Compaq monitor. So now I'm the happy owner of a complete (keyboard an […]
Show full quote

Finally found and restored a computer to go with this cool Compaq monitor. So now I'm the happy owner of a complete (keyboard and mouse not correct) 1997 Compaq Presario 4505 setup. 😁

It's a pretty decent computer despite it's weird design choices, ugly looks and small form factor. It's specs are:

CPU: Pentium 166 MMX
RAM: 32MB PC-66 (was originally 16MB but it was stripped out when I first found it)
HDD: 10GB (was originally a 2GB but my computer was stripped of RAM and HDD when I found it)
Sound: Ensoniq ESS 1887 Plug and Play sound (SB16 compatible)
GFX: S3 Trio 64 V.2

and that's basically it... the only other really interesting thing is the easy access volume knob on the front of the computer monitor, which is weird but really cool at the same time. 😁

(It's not yellow it's just my desklamp)

Your picture inspired me to clean up my Compaq keybaord. I wasn't going to, because I had already cleaned up 4 in the last 2 months, but I'm glad I did. It's the nicest membrane keyboard I have, I just wish its keys were different shades of beige. 😀

Sadly my Compaq monitor is completely yellow, brittle, and won't turn on. I'd use it if it looked as nice as yours, well powered on. :\

Did some memory management on the 486 and got it to this. http://i.imgur.com/nR8oqcV.jpg

oeuvre wrote:

Did some memory management on the 486 and got it to this. http://i.imgur.com/nR8oqcV.jpg

have you tried memmaker?

oeuvre wrote:

Got my 486 machine up and running http://imgur.com/a/WLfPj

Look's good. Congrats. 😀

Thanks! I did use memmaker

King_Corduroy wrote:

Finally found and restored a computer to go with this cool Compaq monitor. So now I'm the happy owner of a complete (keyboard an […]
Show full quote

Finally found and restored a computer to go with this cool Compaq monitor. So now I'm the happy owner of a complete (keyboard and mouse not correct) 1997 Compaq Presario 4505 setup. 😁

It's a pretty decent computer despite it's weird design choices, ugly looks and small form factor. It's specs are:

CPU: Pentium 166 MMX
RAM: 32MB PC-66 (was originally 16MB but it was stripped out when I first found it)
HDD: 10GB (was originally a 2GB but my computer was stripped of RAM and HDD when I found it)
Sound: Ensoniq ESS 1887 Plug and Play sound (SB16 compatible)
GFX: S3 Trio 64 V.2

and that's basically it... the only other really interesting thing is the easy access volume knob on the front of the computer monitor, which is weird but really cool at the same time. 😁

(It's not yellow it's just my desklamp)

I really like what you did there and what a nice looking setup, very very clean 😀