Socket3 wrote on 2021-01-16, 19:15:

Pierre32 wrote on 2021-01-11, 01:06:

This made me happy 😁 And more data for UH19 as a bonus.

Same here. I'm glad OP managed to find exactly what he was looking for. Had a shot at trying to rebuild my first PC as well, but a crucial component is out of reach so I gave up.

What's the component?

@smokeycockatiel
Maybe you'll scan the manual (including covers), and also the CD, & share it pls?!
(and also an ISO of the CD of course)
😁
pls?

Awww!! Happy to see you found it!! These guys are great aren’t they?

We (you and I) are actually concurrently embarking on similar projects. Rebuilding our childhood socket 7 computers! Like you, my first step was finding the motherboard. I got lucky and found my old specs in a post I made 15-16 years ago around the same time as you haha.

Byw, If you need a k6 400 I may know where one is.

Btw, do whatever you have to to win that auction cause one with the box won’t come again.

B24Fox wrote on 2021-01-16, 19:35:

Socket3 wrote on 2021-01-16, 19:15:

Pierre32 wrote on 2021-01-11, 01:06:

This made me happy 😁 And more data for UH19 as a bonus.

Same here. I'm glad OP managed to find exactly what he was looking for. Had a shot at trying to rebuild my first PC as well, but a crucial component is out of reach so I gave up.

What's the component?

The cpu (cyrix 5x86-133gp), case and motherboard. The case was a non standard form factor, slim horizontal case. The motherboard was a proprietary form factor board with a UMC chipset. 2 PCI slots, 2 ISA slots, two SIMM slots. The expansion slots sat on a riser card that provided 2 expansion slots on each side. One slot was populated by the video card. The I/O consisted of two PS2 ports for keayboard and mouse soldered on the motherboard, as well as two com ports and a parallel port. Can't remember what the video card was exactly, but I think it used an ARK video chip. I do know it came with 2MB of vram. The system was intended to be used as a point of sales machine. It came with a 14" color CRT, a dot matrix printer and a barcode scanner that connected to one of the serial ports.

The computer was purchased to use in a new location, but for some reason the new store never opened, so the computert sat unused (and un-needed) at my dad's workplace. One day, he decided to bring it home (this was late summer 1996 if I remember correctly) and let me mess around with it since I'd been bugging him about getting a computer for years. The computer had to be taken back to the company when my dad changed jobs, and that's the last I saw of it.

Cool Story, nice you found it at last.
I am pretty sure that I had this very model in my collection at some point, but I am not sure whether I still have it. I'll dig through my box of motherboards and find out...

Edit: Unfortunately I don't have it any more. Sold it as part of a complete system some 2 years ago or so. Sorry mate, I would have let you have it... Hope you succeed in finding one!

@Sphere478
Yes! They Are! Maybe one of the best communities here on the internet.. *raises glass!*
The auction ended. It was a bit over my budget (at least £45 + shipping). But a user here by the name of "smokeycockatiel" got it, and he seems very nice, and I didn't really want to bid against him. At least it's in good hands 😀 (*ahem*.. maybe we'll get the manual and CD Scans 😁)
In any case, just seeing "my baby" after all these years, brought me a lot of joy.. I'm sure somehow, someway, i'll eventually find one 😀

Thanks for the tip/offer, but I've gathered a few K6 CPUs this past year. Again, thank you!
Parts form the junk-yard are what enabled the very low prices that made this hobby/passion possible for me (otherwise I would have just remained staring at LGR's and PHILL's videos) . Some (parts) look like they've been chewed by dogs. But with a little bit of luck, I've managed to find some great stuff that was either working or reparable 😀

@gex85
Thank you! I really appreciate the thought!

@Socket3
I saw at my friend that works in recycling, a case that has the exact form factor you described. Tall (about 2ft [60cm]), abnormally thin (dirty white color).. that looked to be from the socket5 - late socket3 era. Seemed to be a full computer. I'll ask him to take a picture of the front and back, and post them here.

@Socket3
Here are the pictures.:

And here´s another one for sale:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Boxed-DCS-Commate- … AT/293963285039?

Unless they have more of them, that looks like the same one! - maybe the last winning bidder punked out?

Must be a relist as they're the very same photos, including the same pen & coffee stains on the manual.

Pierre32 wrote on 2021-01-20, 09:12:

Must be a relist as they're the very same photos, including the same pen & coffee stains on the manual.

it’s a sign!!! Buy it!!!

Someone in this thread said they bid £45 and it sold for less than that so they should know what happened.. 😉

I think they meant that the max bid they put in the auto-bidding app that they were using, was £45.

Sphere478 wrote on 2021-01-20, 15:39:

Pierre32 wrote on 2021-01-20, 09:12:

Must be a relist as they're the very same photos, including the same pen & coffee stains on the manual.

it’s a sign!!! Buy it!!!

I sure hope so!! If the price is gonna remain low, i'm gonna ask my cousin that lives in the UK, to bid on it, and bring it to me the next time he visits. Should significantly cut down on shipping fees.

GOOD NEWS, EVERYONE!
I've won the auction for £27 !
And has been shipped to my cousin in the UK for @ only 4£ (compared to almost £30 that would have cost to be delivered to me)
Next time he visits, he will bring it with him 😁 😁
(I'll be sure to make a scan of the manual, and upload it here!)

Thank you to everyone that helped make this possible for me!! Truly THANK YOU!!

Hell yes, congrats!

Oh wow, what a great tale and with a happy end. Congrats! 😊

BTW: If someone has a manual for my DCS/Commate board... DCS/Commate/Tcommate P3-370A/370A-VP - some documentation - missing manual

Haha. I had followed this thread when it started and was really curious to know the answer and hoping someone would find out what the mystery box was.

Little did I know, I had it sitting in my cupboard the whole time oblivious to the fact I had it.

Even when I got it out, the butterfly didn’t occur to me

Just stumbled across this thread again and the eureka moment when I saw the ebay photos here

Yes I was the seller of this item and I am glad you found what you were looking for in the end 😀

Generally I find it frustrating selling low value items and all the aggro that is involved for little return on money, but it makes it all worth it when you find out your helping people recreate memories!

@Xplo
OMG! Thanks!
Yeah, I was the one who asked you on eBay about the contents of the box & CD 😊

BTW, were you the original owner? Did it ever had a CD or any other accessories?

@Pierre32 @subnet_zero
Thank you! 😁

Haha. No problem.

No I wasnt the original owner. I got it from a joblot a few years ago, all it had with it was the manual

Horun wrote on 2020-09-27, 23:56:

B24Fox wrote on 2020-09-27, 21:13:

I've been desperately trying to find some details about my childhood motherboard (in the effort to recreate my 1st PC), but to no avail....

Also there was one other thing about this motherboard... : it was sooo shit, that the first year or so of me owning a PC, I was plagued with daily crashes, freezez, and reboots... even after upgrading to a Voodoo3 in the first year. I remember taking the computer back almost every 1-2 months, and the firm saying they fixed it, and then it would happen again as soon as i got home... until they replaced the motherboard with another model (without actually telling us)

And you want to recreate that experience ? Now you have me laughing 😀

Hello again guys 😀
So... I know a few years have passed. But I finally got everything I need to rebuild my first PC... and also the time and space to start testing this (identical)MotherBoard from my childhood, that was plagued with crashes (DCS S7AX)

I am ATM testing it with a K6-2 /500 , running MEMtest86 v4.10 from a bootable floppy.. and indeed, this a$$hole of a board, does NOT pass memtest with the FSB jumpers set to 100Mhz.. but DOES at 95Mhz; or at 100 with the L2 cache disabled ... L O L
This is regardless of CPU speed (FSB x multi), RAM size and timings, or any other ram related bios settings.

I'm gonna keep testing. And may also try a BIOS upgrade (from the current v2.4)
But... this pretty much solved the mystery of why my very first PC was crapping out!
Finally getting closure after so many years, is kind of unbelievable! 😌

P.S.
Some other "nasties" I found with this board, include (but may not be limited to) :

The white silkscreen table/markings on the board for the CPU voltages, are opposite to the manual 🫨 (jumpered where it should be open; and open where it should be jumpered).
I tested the CPU voltages with a multimeter, and indeed the manual is the one that's corect.

And, in the case of the SDRAM slot numbering; the silkscreen is corect, and the manual is wrong 🤦🏻

L.E.
Upon further inspection, there is a hidden legend/info printed on the motherboard (if you look hard enough), that states that [1=open & 0=closed]... which is in opposition of what anyone would expect 0 & 1 to signify.
Needless to say, if it weren't for the manual that clearly uses ON & OFF expressions; I would have fried my CPU.