keenmaster486 wrote:

(I really liked DOS for some reason, and still do... mostly because it's such a simple OS yet it can still do so much)

The best thing about DOS is that it doesn't do much of anything at all.

Right on! DOS doesn't get in the way, it just makes the hardware available for your software to use as it pleases. 😀

A deeply rooted fascination which transcends logic and reason.

For me the "old days" were the golden information age as the transition from small scale entrepreneur to "enterprise" happened. Like in music the best days are the ones where a big thing is still in some kind of niche but violently thriving... its tentacles slowly attaching to the mainstream. (music wise this was Slayer for me around 1989)

This, computer wise, embodies the 486/Pentium on the hardware side and software related it's id and the original Doom and Quake. There was a little "entertainment" revolution looming on the horizon but it yet hadn't been truly formalized to be totally usurped by big business(except for the processors and Co.).... which mostly takes the fun out of things.
Older 90'ies hardware for me is tightly fused to Watcom C, Assembler, 3D programming faqs, Michael Abrash's optimizations, OpenGL implementations on early accelerators, etc. charmingly inventive, mysterious and still somewhat tacky.

It's the total package of hardware, software, memories and actual funtime with the goods of yesterday that, in times of entertainment surplus, still proves that in some ways, less is more.

keropi wrote:

Re-living my youth days and finally have hardware that I couldn't afford back then or didn't even knew existed. There is a certain nice feeling when you replay a game that you also played when you were 10 😀

This.

I like working on systems I never had (Amiga , Atari ST, Mac, IBM PS/2, SUN, etc) back in the day and also getting the PC stuff I lusted after and could not afford. It also has to do with analog video editing gear I found interesting but never got into because of money and time.

Outside of saving drivers and software you can't find anymore so others can use their hardware I don't really worry about preserving common mass produced things for others.

It also keeps my mind busy keeping this gear working and I like the hunt for exotic hardware. I have always been the collecting type (coins, stamps, baseball cards).

For me retro collecting changed over the years.

I started out simply wanting to teach myself how to build computers and to actually use them and see what games would still run on them.
Another thing is that I kinda dislike a society that makes it a habit to throw away stuff that actually is not broken.
And it was also cheap and alien to me. The parts I found and got intrigued me. I actually remember dumpster diving and was looking for Pentiums (basically more modern AT systems) and at one point found a modern-looking AT system with an Intel Overdrive in it. It looked modern for a 486 and still was older and "more inferior" but it looked so cool that I brought it home (and then I had one part missing and I kept "needing" more spare parts and there ya go 🤣!).

I think I just like to tinker and to enjoy my creations. And I wanted to build systems that were well put together, parts carefully picked and thoughtfully assembled. Rigs that were perfect in a way.

Most retro rigs I build used mostly parts that were basically junk, but in the end very few of my rigs ended up getting defective or had other more minor issues (like a 12v fan on a 7v fan adapter, every time I turned that rig on I had to give the case fan a nudge or else it wouldn't even start rotating. First I used a screwdriver for the nudging but at one point I accidentally shorted something and the rig automatically switched off, but nothing got damaged).

Another thing is that the uncommon stuff was also always an interest for me, even the stuff that seemed to be globally disliked (like Windows ME and Cyrix) but I noticed the people who actually mentioned this to me usually had basically no idea what they were talking about anyway. But anyway I just made use of their ignorance and got the stuff I wanted and they thought was crap so I'm happy 🤣

But now things are starting to get more expensive, which is kinda ironic to me.

I had no idea there were more people building old rigs and actually wanting to play old games till I found sites like Vogons!

And another reason is that I had always liked the hunt! Trying to find out about all this weird stuff I only read about on wiki's and from magazines and from old memory (like the Overdrive chips) and as I started to learn more, I learned about stuff I never even knew about. And then trying to find the parts I wanted. Doing lots of trading and asking around a lot. Trying to optimize my hunting efforts 🤣
And I wanted to collect something that was actually of some use. Post stamps and teabag paper..thingies don't do anything except being in the way and getting looked at without them having any use whatsoever.

With computer parts I could actually build rigs and try out how my favorite games ran on these. Try out different sound cards.

Tetrium wrote:

And another reason is that I had always liked the hunt! Trying to find out about all this weird stuff I only read about on wiki's and from magazines and from old memory

All hail he, who brings home the biggest "kill"..... 😁

brostenen wrote:

Tetrium wrote:

And another reason is that I had always liked the hunt! Trying to find out about all this weird stuff I only read about on wiki's and from magazines and from old memory

All hail he, who brings home the biggest "kill"..... 😁

The-Hunt.jpg

Ah yes, those are great! 😁

One of mine once brought home a bat! Now how the heck did he do that 🤣!

And another one was actually a skilled wabbit hunter 😲 (wasn't my cat though).

But now I wonder...what would be the biggest kill? Something like NexGen Nx5x86 or Cyrix Joshua?

A problem

I collect classic computers because... I missed them in the past, when they were too expensive and unaffordable. Also I like all kind of vintage stuff - for me "home" was always in the past - 1920-30's cars, 1910's wooden planes and 1980-90 computers are the same attractive for me... as part of technological and generall history. Saddly I can afford now only computers - vintage cars and replicas of WWI planes are unreachable dream for me now(((

I'm definitely not one who got to experience the vintage computing aspect until a couple years after it became obsolete. My very first computer was a Compaq Presario (5020, I think?) with Windows 98, even though I used my grandmother's older Windows 98 PC more (of which was custom-built and thus I have no clue what components were used inside it, all I can remember is that it used a beige In-Win case with a ridge embedded in the front bezel that housed the power, reset, and strange LEDs that looked like lines). I used both of these computers a lot when I was young.

Eventually I moved on and got a new Compaq Presario with a "blazingly-fast" Pentium 4 running Windows XP sometime in 2004. This computer had a lot of history with me, as it marked the first time I tried to fix something with computers. I think the DVD drive was shot or something, and I tried fixing it at the age of 7. I only got as far as removing it from the computer, but it helped establish my interest of computers.

As I grew to age 8 or so, I grew a large obsession with old computers. I really wanted Windows 98 again. Since we got a new Optiplex as our family computer just months before, that left me with the chance to have a computer all to myself. I decided that I wanted to install Windows 98 on the Presario with Windows XP. My uncle worked for IT at the time and gave me a Windows 98 install disk and product key. Believe it or not, I actually did succeed in installing Windows 98. Even though I couldn't figure out how to get drivers, I was still really happy to have a Windows 98 PC. I eventually gave the computer away sometime around age 10.

I still kept a small interest in vintage computers over the years, but it was all about building "modern gaming PCs" up until I turned 14. One day, I noticed that an old building was throwing out tons of old computers, and I was very interested in them. I managed to get 6 or 7 computers with several monitors, keyboards, mice, and all that. I had so many computers piled up that I really didn't know what to do with them. Several of them were the old Windows 98 PCs that I obsessed over as a kid. I was interested in rebuilding them, having some nostalgia, and just learning about computer history in general. This is what really introduced me into the hobby.

I'm now 16 and I love really any kind of old computers, especially the 386/486 era or even older than that. Nowadays it's out of pure interest and respect for computer history.

Addictive...fun.

Ultris wrote:

I'm definitely not one who got to experience the vintage computing aspect until a couple years after it became obsolete. My very […]
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I'm definitely not one who got to experience the vintage computing aspect until a couple years after it became obsolete. My very first computer was a Compaq Presario (5020, I think?) with Windows 98, even though I used my grandmother's older Windows 98 PC more (of which was custom-built and thus I have no clue what components were used inside it, all I can remember is that it used a beige In-Win case with a ridge embedded in the front bezel that housed the power, reset, and strange LEDs that looked like lines). I used both of these computers a lot when I was young.

Eventually I moved on and got a new Compaq Presario with a "blazingly-fast" Pentium 4 running Windows XP sometime in 2004. This computer had a lot of history with me, as it marked the first time I tried to fix something with computers. I think the DVD drive was shot or something, and I tried fixing it at the age of 7. I only got as far as removing it from the computer, but it helped establish my interest of computers.

As I grew to age 8 or so, I grew a large obsession with old computers. I really wanted Windows 98 again. Since we got a new Optiplex as our family computer just months before, that left me with the chance to have a computer all to myself. I decided that I wanted to install Windows 98 on the Presario with Windows XP. My uncle worked for IT at the time and gave me a Windows 98 install disk and product key. Believe it or not, I actually did succeed in installing Windows 98. Even though I couldn't figure out how to get drivers, I was still really happy to have a Windows 98 PC. I eventually gave the computer away sometime around age 10.

I still kept a small interest in vintage computers over the years, but it was all about building "modern gaming PCs" up until I turned 14. One day, I noticed that an old building was throwing out tons of old computers, and I was very interested in them. I managed to get 6 or 7 computers with several monitors, keyboards, mice, and all that. I had so many computers piled up that I really didn't know what to do with them. Several of them were the old Windows 98 PCs that I obsessed over as a kid. I was interested in rebuilding them, having some nostalgia, and just learning about computer history in general. This is what really introduced me into the hobby.

I'm now 16 and I love really any kind of old computers, especially the 386/486 era or even older than that. Nowadays it's out of pure interest and respect for computer history.

I definitely enjoyed reading this! 😁

Jade Falcon wrote:

A problem

I hear you! It's a fine line between hoarding and collecting.

My story is - used 8-bit machines in the 80s (BBC/Apple II/IBM 5150 & 5140); got a 386SX PC in '91; in my mid-20s chucked away almost everything I feel nostalgic about now; used a P4 3.06 as my main comp until 2009(!), when I built a Phenom X4 ... then built an Athlon XP machine to tinker with ... then a PII from a dumpster ... and so on, until I now have two rooms full of stuff, across two locations. Still love the thrill of finding a bargain, or a rare item, and building machines that actually work is a joy.

Current addiction is less hardware and more games & software - I like big box, and I cannot lie.