I bought a Compaq Deskpro 386s/20 from eBay for parts salvage. I am in need of a few parts for an existing Deskpro 386s/20 - this is an earlier revision of the PCB and doesn't have 30 pin SIMM slots and no SVGA. It didn't start well, the seller low-balled the postage and I was left with a "ransom note" from the courier, as it's close to Xmas, I paid the ransom and got the package. Yeah, it was the Compaq and it was quite beaten up. I asked the seller for a refund of the postage and got nowhere, as it was so heavily damaged I asked for a return, silence... So I went through eBay and their customer service said that the seller must provide me with a returns label. No action for a week or so and then out of the blue eBay refunded me the auction and told me to dispose of the machine as I choose.

I hammered out the worst dents, thankfully the front panel was intact, the first spare part I am looking for (it will be going to the TNMoC) the second part was rattling around inside the case, the drive rails for the non-existent 3.5" floppy, I need those to put a CD-ROM into my Deskpro/M machine. I also need a spare PSU for the TNMoC exhibit. I completely dismantled the machine and cleaned it thoroughly, then went through the PSU and noticed the characteristic smell of blown tantalum and leaking electrolyte. I removed all the capacitors, checked and measured each one (except the blown tantalum he blew his head clean off) Once I had done all that, I went over the main board to check the three banks of DIP switches and noted that a graphics card had been removed as the onboard graphics were disabled, also the memory board had been removed as the DIP switches were set for another 4MB of RAM. I put the PSU back into the case and switched it on. Success, a booting machine with no floppy drive, hard drive or keyboard - I don't need the mainboard or the case, it's just there if someone wants a parts machine.

If you've got one of these machines, it will definitely be in need of a recap, I caught this one just as it started to digest the PCB traces next to the worst leaking capacitors (3 x Nichicon 1000uF/10V)