Finally, I could get to dismantle a few old (and not that old) PCs and I'm pretty satisfied with the yield. From an old AT case (unfortunately cases are almost always in bad shape) I pulled out a Shuttle HOT-419 with an AMD 486DX4/100 and a VLB S3 Trio64 - I've been looking for something like this for a good while. (I have to admit that I discarded the VLB I/O as they're basically useless to me, on top of already having a bunch of them).

I put some FPM RAM in the board and some cooling on the CPU and, lo and behold, both work perfectly and perform nice for the platform and clock. Oh, and they came with CT2810 sound that I still have to test (I watched demos with a GUS ACE yesterday) but it's another promising find being a Vibra 16 with a real OPL3 chip.

The downside is, I looked up in my m/b cupboard and I found that I've already had a Shuttle HOT-419. Perhaps I should sell the duplicate, as well as a few other things I'd really hate to just throw away and see being destroyed... I'm just not good at these things, let alone I have absolutely no idea how I could get reasonable shipping fees here in Hungary. Somehow I always see prices that are like double of anything I see at ebay when I buy something...

The Trio64 is definitely a keeper, though. It even worked in LFB mode with Univbe (it says LFB is at 32MiB, right after the system RAM) and Quake, something I've never seen from a VLB card. And it's faaaaaast!

alvaro84 wrote on 2020-08-29, 06:13:

The downside is, I looked up in my m/b cupboard and I found that I've already had a Shuttle HOT-419. Perhaps I should sell the duplicate, as well as a few other things I'd really hate to just throw away and see being destroyed... I'm just not good at these things, let alone I have absolutely no idea how I could get reasonable shipping fees here in Hungary. Somehow I always see prices that are like double of anything I see at ebay when I buy something...

Sell it in Hungary. 😉

You know, normally it would make perfect sense.

I found this in front of the ewaste place almost a year ago. 2007 iMac. It would begin to power on, then nothing. I took it apart, and the power supply board had some very obviously bad caps. I replaced them, and it began working. I powered it on, and had a look, but the accounts were (of course) password protected, so there wasn't much to see.

I decided to wipe and reinstall the OS. At first it seemed simple, but it turned out to be anything but. It had El Capitan, but it hadn't come with that originally. After much searching, I discovered that you have to install Snow Leopard, then upgrade to El Capitan. Once I did that, everything was working fine - then I was locked out of it! I guess my attempt at browsing the accounts that were on it triggered a kill switch? After much more searching, I found a way to clear the lock out (you have to remove one of the DIMMs, then hold certain keys while powering it on to reset the memory) then wiped it, and reinstalled and set up an Apple ID to make it mine and prevent it from being locked again.
I also did a CPU upgrade because it was inexpensive, and I wanted to see if it could play YouTube videos in 1080 without stuttering with a slightly better CPU (it did), and of course it's all around a bit quicker.

The plan has always been to sell it on Craigslist, but after repairing it and figuring to how to reinstall the OS, I lost interest. It's fine I guess, but it certainly didn't make me want to buy anything from Apple.

It's odd that a lot of vintage hardware still being thrown away in 2nd world countries. Or maybe it's just that in those places people were a lot slower to upgrade then other places, and there is still a lot of older hardware floating around. Yet I've read several times that vintage hardware is expensive and rare in some places. So which is it.

I just found a vintage, moulded plastic joystick to MIDI cable along with a DVI cable in a 1.75$ bag-o-crap at a local thrift store . I did not need one, but spares are always nice to have .

Warlord wrote on 2020-09-01, 03:36:

It's odd that a lot of vintage hardware still being thrown away in 2nd world countries. Or maybe it's just that in those places people were a lot slower to upgrade then other places, and there is still a lot of older hardware floating around. Yet I've read several times that vintage hardware is expensive and rare in some places. So which is it.

People hold onto stuff more.
Hungary was behind the iron curtain for 45 years. Comecon countries were in outstanding debt and the economy was slow.
Common food and household items were hard to get, they were often unavailable for months. I haven't eaten a banana until I was 4!
In that environment people developed expert hoarding skills and that remained after the Comecon was gone.
People still store their old electronics in the attic instead of recycling them because it became an instinct.
"Keep it because you might need it later! Keep it for parts because they are hard to get!"
It must be laughable for 1st world countries but for us it was a must.

Miphee wrote on 2020-09-01, 05:08:

People hold onto stuff more. Hungary was behind the iron curtain for 45 years. Comecon countries were in outstanding debt and th […]
Show full quote

People hold onto stuff more.
Hungary was behind the iron curtain for 45 years. Comecon countries were in outstanding debt and the economy was slow.
Common food and household items were hard to get, they were often unavailable for months. I haven't eaten a banana until I was 4!
In that environment people developed expert hoarding skills and that remained after the Comecon was gone.
People still store their old electronics in the attic instead of recycling them because it became an instinct.
"Keep it because you might need it later! Keep it for parts because they are hard to get!"
It must be laughable for 1st world countries but for us it was a must.

This takes me back. I remember we had some distant relatives who owned a mill company. We were invited to them in 91. They had two xt clones at home and banana on the kitchen table.

DAVE86 wrote on 2020-09-01, 07:58:

[...]

This takes me back. I remember we had some distant relatives who owned a mill company. We were invited to them in 91. They had two xt clones at home and banana on the kitchen table.

That's hardly unique to Central/Eastern Europe, in fact that early on I'd be impressed by any computer in a place like that. I was in Eastern Poland in 1993 and didn't see anything other than local Spectrum clones.

Back in 1991 XT clones were still in use all over the place (indeed, still being sold new even) - my aunt and uncle in the US, who were both hot-shot doctors and so more than affluent, were still happily working with an original IBM XT when I visited them around that time. Their son came home from med school with a Mac one day (IIRC a Classic but it could have been an SE) and there was much ooh-ing and aah-ing, particularly when he showed them what kind of medical imaging you could do with them (on 512x342 pure mono...).

Come to think of it, my South African uncle did the finances of his cement company on Lotus123 on an XT as well right up till the end of the 1990s.

Miphee wrote on 2020-09-01, 05:08:

People still store their old electronics in the attic instead of recycling them because it became an instinct.
"Keep it because you might need it later! Keep it for parts because they are hard to get!"
It must be laughable for 1st world countries but for us it was a must.

not at all, I've been like this since I can remember... unfortunately the people around me not so much, never really show much understanding and force you to throw out stuff you wanted to keep or just do it themselves without asking because "surely you didn't need that anymore, that's old"... story of my life.

darry wrote on 2020-09-01, 03:55:

I just found a vintage, moulded plastic joystick to MIDI cable along with a DVI cable in a 1.75$ bag-o-crap at a local thrift store . I did not need one, but spares are always nice to have .

At least you have thrift stores that are open. So much is still closed up in certain areas.

DAVE86 wrote on 2020-09-01, 07:58:

This takes me back. I remember we had some distant relatives who owned a mill company. We were invited to them in 91. They had two xt clones at home and banana on the kitchen table.

Oh yeah! People with relatives in East Germany were Kings, especially when they visited with goods from West Germany!
That's how I got my first NES in 1988.

dionb wrote on 2020-09-01, 08:37:

That's hardly unique to Central/Eastern Europe, in fact that early on I'd be impressed by any computer in a place like that.

Eastern/Central Europe certainly didn't have a monopoly on being poor, but compared to western countries the difference was huge even though most Comecon countries had their own IBM clones. No mortal soul could afford them though so personal computers only started appearing in Hungary from 1991.
For example an original IBM PC XT was 180.000 HUF + VAT in 1988, an unimaginable amount (equivalent of 3700 USD in 1989 and 7700 USD now), a PC AT with EGA monitor was 585.000 HUF + VAT (12.100 USD in 1988, 25.300 USD in 2020).
For comparison, you could buy a new car for 70.000 HUF.

Miphee wrote on 2020-09-01, 19:54:

Eastern/Central Europe certainly didn't have a monopoly on being poor, but compared to western countries the difference was huge […]
Show full quote

dionb wrote on 2020-09-01, 08:37:

That's hardly unique to Central/Eastern Europe, in fact that early on I'd be impressed by any computer in a place like that.

Eastern/Central Europe certainly didn't have a monopoly on being poor, but compared to western countries the difference was huge even though most Comecon countries had their own IBM clones. No mortal soul could afford them though so personal computers only started appearing in Hungary from 1991.
For example an original IBM PC XT was 180.000 HUF + VAT in 1988, an unimaginable amount (equivalent of 3700 USD in 1989 and 7700 USD now), a PC AT with EGA monitor was 585.000 HUF + VAT (12.100 USD in 1988, 25.300 USD in 2020).
For comparison, you could buy a new car for 70.000 HUF.

True, but again, you didn't need to be poor to be using an XT in 1991. IBM's XT was sold until 1987, later clones were still being sold in 1991, and most people bought a new computer every 5 years or more, so there were a lot of XTs still in use in the richest of countries in 1991, as the example of my US relatives shows.

liqmat wrote on 2020-09-01, 13:26:

darry wrote on 2020-09-01, 03:55:

I just found a vintage, moulded plastic joystick to MIDI cable along with a DVI cable in a 1.75$ bag-o-crap at a local thrift store . I did not need one, but spares are always nice to have .

At least you have thrift stores that are open. So much is still closed up in certain areas.

I agree that I am lucky on that front. I have additionally noticed that I actually find good stuff (not necessarily retro PC stuff, CDs, DVDs, camera lenses, etc) more often than I used to since the stores re-opened . My guess is that since fewer people go to the stores, the merchandise has been less picked through by the time I go to have a look .

darry wrote on 2020-09-02, 17:08:

liqmat wrote on 2020-09-01, 13:26:

darry wrote on 2020-09-01, 03:55:

I just found a vintage, moulded plastic joystick to MIDI cable along with a DVI cable in a 1.75$ bag-o-crap at a local thrift store . I did not need one, but spares are always nice to have .

At least you have thrift stores that are open. So much is still closed up in certain areas.

I agree that I am lucky on that front. I have additionally noticed that I actually find good stuff (not necessarily retro PC stuff, CDs, DVDs, camera lenses, etc) more often than I used to since the stores re-opened . My guess is that since fewer people go to the stores, the merchandise has been less picked through by the time I go to have a look .

Me too ! And Agree ! Have found more "interesting" small items in last few months than possibly for a full year before that. Computer related: Just stumbled on two hi-quality DVI-DL cables (the ones with ALL pins, 24AWG, not like cheap DVI-I cables missing pins and 28AWG) new in package, a ATX PSU tester and cheap but "new in box" 10 year old 400watt ATX supply all for less than $20 total yesterday. The cables would have cost me that much or more plus shipping. Just one example... Oh and that 27" UHD monitor with 3500 hours use on it for $30 last week (2nd Qtr 2018 price = $460 msrp), that was my "special of the month" find 😀
One thing I am seeing less of of is: full computers, saw lots back before March but only have a few days a week to check out local places now, so am probably getting beat by the Craiglisters/Ebayers on those items.

DAVE86 wrote on 2020-09-01, 07:58:

This takes me back. I remember we had some distant relatives who owned a mill company. We were invited to them in 91. They had two xt clones at home and banana on the kitchen table.

We had an Apricot at school and an Apple at home.
Oh you mean an actual it of fruit, I was still just talking about computers 😉

imi wrote on 2020-09-01, 11:54:

not at all, I've been like this since I can remember... unfortunately the people around me not so much, never really show much understanding and force you to throw out stuff you wanted to keep or just do it themselves without asking because "surely you didn't need that anymore, that's old"... story of my life.

Just throw their stuff away, and if they get pissy, just say "surely you didn't need that anymore, that's old". That should teach them. If they want to play shitty games like that, let them know that two can play that game... and none will win.

Nice story behind this one. In the UK we have household waste recycling centres, where people take their trash. When I was a kid it was all landfill and is still called the dump or tip informally. There are strict rules preventing people from removing items from the tip - I was shouted at for trying to save an Olivetti PC some years ago. The loophole is that if you can acquire something from someone before it leaves their car, it's fair. I'm always on alert, now.

So I walk past this guy's car and see a chunky yellowing case in the boot with the 'Tiny' logo clearly emblazoned on the plastic. I'm not a fan of big manufacturers' PCs normally, particularly when they are of PIII or P4 era (usually a bad Celeron). Passing the car again I was able to see two stickers: 'Intel Inside' with MMX and Windows 95! That's the kind of era that makes me happy. So I politely spoke to the guy and he was very happy for me to take it from him if I could use it.

Turns out he was in one of the biggest World of Warcraft guilds back in the day, had originally programmed on a ZX Spectrum in the '80s, and his first console was an Atari 2600. Everyone has a story of nostalgia, it seems. Haven't looked on the hard drive of this one yet but it's a proper time capsule.

Specs are unspectacular, but classic:

Motherboard: MSI MS-5158. apparently late era socket 7 Intel TX board, PnP BIOS, UDMA/33 ATA, 2x USB + header, 2x 72 pin SIMMs (EDO & FPM), 3x SDRAM up to 256MB, 4x ISA, 4x PCI, 512KB propelling burst cache, up to 83MHz FSB and multiplier from 1.5 to 4.5 and Vcore from 2.0V to 2.8V.

CPU: Intel Pentium MMX 166MHz

RAM: what looks like very early 32MB SDRAM.

Sound Card: generic ESS 1869F chipset, providing capable SB Pro compatibility and some OPL3 extensions used by a few games.

Video: S3 ViRGE/DX by Lung Hwa with 1MB on-board.

24x CD-ROM, 230W PSU, Rockwell modem, 3.5GB Fujitsu HDD completes the specs.

This is a perfect DOS gaming PC that would benefit from wavetable audio and 3Dfx graphics upgrades. Very clean and tidy inside, surprisingly.

That's a nice find it should make for a fine dos/ early win 95 system. It's always fun meeting people in places like that.