Great story but... NO PHOTOS?!

Photos speak for themselves, also found a once living scorpion shocked to death under a xbox power supply

leonk wrote:

- the entire unit had dozens and dozens of DEAD cockroaches!!

You sound like you would have preferred that they were alive. 😀

A Sega Master System cartridge full of ants and eggs, pictured is after they felt the wrath of my bug spray...

GoblinUpTheRoad wrote:

A Sega Master System cartridge full of ants and eggs, pictured is after they felt the wrath of my bug spray...

sega.ants.JPG

-gag-

old post

Dead beetles and spiders.

The worst thing is the dreaded black goo inside IBM PS/2 Model 80 cases.

my sisters computer, she asked me to see why it wouldn't turn on anymore (she hadnt used it in close to 4 years at this point)

I opened it up to be greeted by a god awful stench (i smelled something funny before opening but didn't expect this)

What I found was a mouse nest, it was everywhere in the computer, just everywhere. I got most of it out to be greeted by my next suprise. A dead mouse ontop of the 20 pin plug, I'm guessing she tried to turn it on while it was gnawing at it or something, it was dead.

I ended up tossing the system and told her to buy a new one 🤣.

Granted I didn't buy this but still i thought yall would enjoy

My worst is the combination of dead roaches, cigarette tar, and dust all cacked into a carpet like material underneath every fan /projectile vomit. Gotten dead mice and spiders a few times. Dell clam shells are the worst and HP usually means London fog when it comes time for dusting (customer machines).

Edit: A employee at Goodwill once told me the worst thing that he had found inside a used case that had come in was a used condom eeeeew.

A live wasp inside of a trashpicked Dell OptiPlex GX110 I got several years ago. That was back when I had an insane fear of wasps and other stinging insects, and I just so happened to open that system inside my workshop...

I then proceeded to run at the speed of light as far away from that room as possible until I was absolutely sure that it was dead.

Only ever really found spiders and they usually leave of their own accord once they've been disturbed anyway. I did have a false widow living at the back corner inside my workstation once though, it stayed there for a few months.

I've found blackberries in an AST system years ago, the guy it came from used to eat them non-stop. No harm was done, but they stained everything pretty badly.

I once had a computer from a local shop which kept failing PSUs, my parents insisted (and most people still do) that I didn't know anything about computers and wasn't allowed to repair it so every few months he'd get it back to fit a new one. I opened it up in the end (breaking the rivets he put in the screw holes) to find the AT cables had been cut so a plastic box could be installed in-line. Inside was what I can only describe as a dummy load acting like a time bomb, literally just junk parts loading the PSU to death so it would fail again. I removed it and fitted a new cable... Apparently I still know nothing about computers and break them all the time, but it's funny how I still have that PSU and I am in fact using it right now because it ended up powering my P66, the system I have just mentioned in the other thread. What's that? A lifespan gain of about 16-17 years versus the two months max they lasted with his interference. He better hope I never meet him again, though last I heard he still slanders me to anyone that will listen. I've always been tempted to go and start shit in his shop because he probably wouldn't recognize me anyway and I don't give a damn if I get banned from there. Creep used to tell my parents bullshit stories like I'd been accessing porn at 3AM and stuff, it backfired when I'd actually stayed a weekend at my Grandma's only to come home and find the computer wouldn't turn on any more, because he gave a specific date and time - a time when I was at my grandparent's house and therefore could not have accessed a machine five miles away that wasn't even turned on... Fucking peckerhead.

leonk wrote:

With over 1100 positive feedback on eBay (been there for >17 years .. all personal purchases) today I've got the shock of my lif […]
Show full quote

With over 1100 positive feedback on eBay (been there for >17 years .. all personal purchases) today I've got the shock of my life. I purchased a Roland SC-55. Paid the king's ransom for eBay's global priority shipping (what a con!). But at least I think I did well. Item was described as "gently used" and "in very good condition".

Well.. it was FAAAR from that! Some of the buttons didn't work (like power button) so I decided to open it up and investigate. I got the shock of my life!

- lots of rust spots all over the metal frame
- the entire unit had dozens and dozens of DEAD cockroaches!!

Luckily my side hobby is restoring retro consoles for many people around the world, so I proceeded to restore this poor SC-55.

- I stripped the unit
- I removed all dead bodies
- I washed down the chassis and removed all the surface rust (using sand paper)
- I cleaned the PCB with 99% alcohol
- I removed the BIOS from the socket, and removed the dead roaches from under there!
- I took apart the entire front panel (3 pieces) and cleaned all of that up
- I discovered that all the SPST 6x6x5mm push buttons had rust to some degree. 4 of them no longer registered when pushed (including the power button)
- I used my desolder station / soldering station to remove the dead buttons and moved less used buttons to the more used positions
- put it all together and turned it on

Power button works, demo works, unit cycles the 2 songs just fine. Poor SC-55. Now time to order a bunch of replacement switches from DIGIKEY.

3 hours of my life I ain't getting back! ARGGG!!

I hope you documented with photos and called out the seller on it. I'd send a pic of the inside with all the roaches showing along with the caption "You call this gently used??" If they were half-way decent, they'd give you a partial refund (maybe equivalent to the shipping cost).

FaSMaN--is that lizard dead? It looks so, but not 100% sure. 😀

What nforce4max said. So funny story: system came in for service like that (roaches, roach parts, cigarette tar, enormous dust bunnies). We blasted it out, vacuumed it out, sprayed cleaner on it, set it on the back stoop to dry and air out. While we waited, in broad daylight, computer ended up STOLEN off the back stoop. I wish I remembered more of that story. I do remember the owner was like 450 pounds or something insane. Man, what a classy area that shop was in 😁 The area's largest shopping mall, and butting up against it (separated by a creek and some woods) several large low-income housing units.

clueless1 wrote:

I hope you documented with photos and called out the seller on it. I'd send a pic of the inside with all the roaches showing along with the caption "You call this gently used??" If they were half-way decent, they'd give you a partial refund (maybe equivalent to the shipping cost).

I'd be tempted to send him the roaches as well.

gdjacobs wrote:

clueless1 wrote:

I hope you documented with photos and called out the seller on it. I'd send a pic of the inside with all the roaches showing along with the caption "You call this gently used??" If they were half-way decent, they'd give you a partial refund (maybe equivalent to the shipping cost).

I'd be tempted to send him the roaches as well.

I would send them back with a little note "here is your pets back have a nice day" 😈

clueless1 wrote:

leonk wrote:

With over 1100 positive feedback on eBay (been there for >17 years .. all personal purchases) today I've got the shock of my lif […]
Show full quote

With over 1100 positive feedback on eBay (been there for >17 years .. all personal purchases) today I've got the shock of my life. I purchased a Roland SC-55. Paid the king's ransom for eBay's global priority shipping (what a con!). But at least I think I did well. Item was described as "gently used" and "in very good condition".

Well.. it was FAAAR from that! Some of the buttons didn't work (like power button) so I decided to open it up and investigate. I got the shock of my life!

- lots of rust spots all over the metal frame
- the entire unit had dozens and dozens of DEAD cockroaches!!

Luckily my side hobby is restoring retro consoles for many people around the world, so I proceeded to restore this poor SC-55.

- I stripped the unit
- I removed all dead bodies
- I washed down the chassis and removed all the surface rust (using sand paper)
- I cleaned the PCB with 99% alcohol
- I removed the BIOS from the socket, and removed the dead roaches from under there!
- I took apart the entire front panel (3 pieces) and cleaned all of that up
- I discovered that all the SPST 6x6x5mm push buttons had rust to some degree. 4 of them no longer registered when pushed (including the power button)
- I used my desolder station / soldering station to remove the dead buttons and moved less used buttons to the more used positions
- put it all together and turned it on

Power button works, demo works, unit cycles the 2 songs just fine. Poor SC-55. Now time to order a bunch of replacement switches from DIGIKEY.

3 hours of my life I ain't getting back! ARGGG!!

I hope you documented with photos and called out the seller on it. I'd send a pic of the inside with all the roaches showing along with the caption "You call this gently used??" If they were half-way decent, they'd give you a partial refund (maybe equivalent to the shipping cost).

Well I have seen that P66 on youtube and it rocks, would be a privilege to have you build a system for me.

HighTreason wrote:

Only ever really found spiders and they usually leave of their own accord once they've been disturbed anyway. I did have a false widow living at the back corner inside my workstation once though, it stayed there for a few months.

I've found blackberries in an AST system years ago, the guy it came from used to eat them non-stop. No harm was done, but they stained everything pretty badly.

I once had a computer from a local shop which kept failing PSUs, my parents insisted (and most people still do) that I didn't know anything about computers and wasn't allowed to repair it so every few months he'd get it back to fit a new one. I opened it up in the end (breaking the rivets he put in the screw holes) to find the AT cables had been cut so a plastic box could be installed in-line. Inside was what I can only describe as a dummy load acting like a time bomb, literally just junk parts loading the PSU to death so it would fail again. I removed it and fitted a new cable... Apparently I still know nothing about computers and break them all the time, but it's funny how I still have that PSU and I am in fact using it right now because it ended up powering my P66, the system I have just mentioned in the other thread. What's that? A lifespan gain of about 16-17 years versus the two months max they lasted with his interference. He better hope I never meet him again, though last I heard he still slanders me to anyone that will listen. I've always been tempted to go and start shit in his shop because he probably wouldn't recognize me anyway and I don't give a damn if I get banned from there. Creep used to tell my parents bullshit stories like I'd been accessing porn at 3AM and stuff, it backfired when I'd actually stayed a weekend at my Grandma's only to come home and find the computer wouldn't turn on any more, because he gave a specific date and time - a time when I was at my grandparent's house and therefore could not have accessed a machine five miles away that wasn't even turned on... Fucking peckerhead.

Well it would be a privilege to have you build a machine I reckon, i saw your P66 on youtube and was very impressed.
Best,
Chris

That? Meh, it looks like trash right now, it will be more presentable when it's done. At the moment it has its lid off, has a precariously placed fan, a twisted section of case metal and a few loose wires that don't go anywhere. It needs a case change and I might start on that soon, given I have the case anyway and have another board that needs putting in this one.

It doesn't bother me very much, the people who don't trust me, I actually find it funny because it's less work for me and I just sit in the corner and observe when things break, Work I would do for free if they only asked ends up costing them a months wages and I simply say nothing. In short, not my problem.

-----

One thing I have seen inside machines that might seem strange to people today are I/O and IRQ information penciled or post-it noted to the innards. Usually for the modem or sound card, also the WIndows serial key was sometimes written by someone this way. I don't do it so much now and instead tape a sheet to the bottom of the case with a full spec list and all used resources among other important info.