VOGONS


Reply 40 of 64, by McBierle

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When my brother bought himself some 486 i got his old 386. Before that i had his old CPC464.

386DX-33
4mb ram
tseng et4000 512kb
14" CRT
Logitech series 9 mouse (still searching it)

greetings

Reply 41 of 64, by PTherapist

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My first personally owned PCs were former family PCs that were replaced.

So my first would have been an XT era clone, with the branding "Jataan". Never heard of that name before or since and as this system was originally given to us from a local business' cast off, I have no idea where it originally came from.

It's internals were:

Jaton JXM-JET 88-V2 Motherboard
Siemens SAB8088-1-P 10MHz CPU
640KB RAM
20MB MFM Hard Drive
Hercules Monochrome ISA Graphics Card
5.25" Floppy Drive

OS: MS-DOS 3.21 (later upgraded to MS-DOS 5, and finally MS-DOS 6.20) & GEM/3 Desktop 3.13

I still have the motherboard & CPU (motherboard is broken with at least 1 fried but socketed chip, 1x broken SIPP slot & missing all it's SIPP chips). I also still have the MFM Hard Drive which I'm currently using in a 4.77MHz XT build.

Prior to this PC, I did have a non-IBM Compatible 8088 - an Apricot Sirius 1 (aka Victor 9000) with no HDD that ran MS-DOS 1.something from 5.25" floppy. That thing literally only ever had 4 programs - WordStar, SuperCalc, & 2 BASIC interpreters.

All non-standard connections for keyboard, monitor etc. (keyboard connector resembled a phone/modem plug). I stupidly ended up binning that system when it's monitor connector literally fell apart inside. I should have kept it and tried to repair it. For reference it was this: http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=210

Reply 42 of 64, by eisapc

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My first personal PC was a 386 DX33 with Copro and 8MB RAM and an ET4000 VGA. Added a used 80 MB HDD and another 8MB (possible due to 16 30pin sockets). PC was a Vobis build and motherboard is still owned, while case was swapped later on. First family computer was a Ti99/4A followed by a 286/16 with 1 MB RAM, Hercules graphics and 20 MB MFM HDD (later reformated to 30 MB RLL). This PC ist still owned and the HDD was still working last time I tried it.
eisapc

Reply 44 of 64, by Scali

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Had to think about that for a while...
The first computer I bought myself was my Amiga 600, but that's not a PC compatible of course.
My first PCs were family computers or hand-me-downs.
The first hand-me-down that was really my own machine exclusively was my 486DX2-80 I suppose.
Then my Pentium 133.
But the first PC I ever actually bought myself, I think that is my Athlon 1400. And even that was built with some parts I bought second-hand from my brother.
The first PC I built entirely new is my Core2 Duo E6600, I think. That would have been in 2006 or 2007 I guess. Funny, considering the first computer I ever had was a ZX81, back in 1981 or 1982.

http://scalibq.wordpress.com/just-keeping-it- … ro-programming/

Reply 45 of 64, by Fimbulvetr

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A used luggable XT. It was black, had an amber screen, dual 3.5" floppies, and no hard drive. I think it was an IBM. Probably still sitting somewhere in my parent's basement. I got it around 1986 or '87 when I was in high school.

Reply 46 of 64, by Ozzuneoj

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Mine was a Gateway G6-400 in February of 1999.

I'll just copy this from another thread where I wrote up my "first PC" story:

We had one computer in 1998, and it was my brother's, which had been through several rebuilds at that point (it was a custom Pentium 200MMX, 96MB EDO, Scream'n 3D Verite 1000). We all wanted to use it for various things and it was hard to get time to do so. I started 8th grade in 1999 and my Mom thought it'd be good for me to get more hands on time with computers, so in spring of 1999 we bought a Gateway G6-400 mid tower. I remember that the Pentium III 450 (and maybe the 500?) had just been released around that time, so the Pentium II 400Mhz we chose was a really high end chip at the time (hard to call it a chip since it looked like a video game cartridge). The system had a 440BX board (no AGP slot), 64MB of SDRAM, integrated 8MB Velocity 128 (Riva 128), integrated Ensoniq\Creative "Audio PCI" of some sort, LS-120, 6.4GB Quantum hard drive, 15" CRT... it was a beast at the time, and it was like $1700 if I remember correctly (we were dirt poor so it was huge deal to make this kind of investment). I still have it, and it still works great with all the original parts. I learned a LOT using this computer. I just wish I hadn't thrown away some of the random internal bits from it over the years, like the metal bracket\cage that was used to mount a hard drive. If I ever find another similar system I'm going to steal the parts for my old one... 🤣

Now for some blitting from the back buffer.

Reply 47 of 64, by AlaricD

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First MS-DOS computer was a Tandy 2000. It had MS-DOS 2.11.13, but wasn't IBM PC Compatible. Quite a bit of stuff DID work, though-- I was on BBSes a lot with Telix.

First PC-compatible was one of the Tandy 1000 series, maybe an SL. I remember it had DeskMate in ROM and a single floppy. To download things I'd boot from the diskette, creating a small RAM drive and copying COMMAND.COM and Telix to it, then setting the COMSPEC to that copy of COMMAND.COM. Then I could change my working directory to the RAM drive, launch telix, and put in a different floppy to download things.

Sure wish I still had either one of them or both. 🙁

Reply 48 of 64, by BeginnerGuy

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Interesting question. We had shared computers for years. My first bedroom solo PC was a K6 300mhz. Sadly I can't recall all of the specs but believe it was upgraded to 64mb sdram and a single early voodoo card. I used that sucker all the way up to and including vanilla diablo 2, which ran like a total joke but I enjoyed it.

edit: It wasn't a brand name pc, it was a large AT tower my dad bought his 486 33mhz in from a company called keydata that was later gutted and replaced with the socket 7 system.

Last edited by BeginnerGuy on 2018-10-26, 20:27. Edited 1 time in total.

Sup. I like computers. Are you a computer?

Reply 50 of 64, by JayCeeBee64

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First PC I called my own was a Pentium 100 I built from parts in late September 1994. Generic SIS Socket 5 motherboard, 8mb ram (two 4mb 72 pin SIMMS), WD 500mb HDD, Trident TGUI 9440 2mb video card, Aztec Sound Galaxy sound card (can't exactly remember which model anymore), Panasonic CR-562-B 2x CD-ROM, Teac 5.25/3.5 floppy drives, generic 14.4k internal modem, generic beige mid-tower AT case, 14 inch Samsung monitor, Brother inkjet printer, DOS 6.2/Windows 3.11, and of course the CPU. Back then many PC store employees told me getting a P100 was next to impossible, but I knew otherwise - just had to know where to go and who to talk to (and make sure I didn't get an overclocked P90). Overall price was insane but I could handle it (I was 30 and had a good paying job at the local county hospital 😁 ).

I enjoyed this PC for a little over 2 years, learned quite a bit during that time - in particular how to get the most out of DOS conventional memory (I still use the same basic Autoexec.bat/Config.sys setup I figured out back then in my retro builds) and how to use image editors, audio editors and MIDI sequencers. Gaming, of course, was the primary reason I built this computer - Doom, Wolf3D, X-COM, Warcraft, Descent, Blake Stone, Duke Nukem 2, Jill of the Jungle, Whiplash, and many other PC games. Those were probably the best years of my life 😊

When I upgraded to a P166MMX in late 1996 with mostly new hardware, I placed the P100 in storage; I had every intention to keep it and never sell it or get rid of it. Unfortunately, I lost it in a freak accident in 2005 during a rainstorm. I'll quote from an earlier post.

I used to have all of my old computer hardware and software until early January 2005, when an unfortunate act of nature took most of it away - an old pine tree lost its footing and fell right on top of the storage shed where I kept my stuff. The shed was flattened like a pancake, and everything inside was broken, mangled or badly damaged. On top of that it was raining very hard, and it didn't stop for another 3 days. By the time I could go outside and look, it was too late; nothing was salvageable. I had no choice but to throw everything away to the local dumpster.

As much as I would like to, I'm never going to recreate my first PC. It just wouldn't feel the same to me.

Last edited by JayCeeBee64 on 2019-07-07, 16:01. Edited 2 times in total.

Ooohh, the pain......

Reply 51 of 64, by Hamby

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My very first computer was a Vic-20 I bought myself (actually using back-pay I'd acquired) back in 1982.

My very first PC as in DOS compatible was a Toshiba T1100 Plus laptop.... brand new, although it had been out a year or two by then.
A new computer store had opened in town, and I entered the drawing they had for the laptop as an grand opening prize... I was surprised to see my mother (who had no interest in or knowledge of computers) fill out an entry.
"What will you do if you win?" I asked her, joking.
Smiling she replied, "Give it to you."

She won.

Fool that I've always been, I was into the Amiga at the time; a year or two later I traded the laptop in for a new 75mb HD for my Amiga 2000 (still my favorite Amiga). If I had it to do over again, I'd have traded all my Amiga stuff for PC stuff, especially dev tools, and kept the laptop. Or possibly traded the brand new laptop and all my Amiga stuff for an actual AT clone or possibly a 386 system. But, for me hindsight is always 20-40.

My next, and really first PC I used, was built from discarded parts at the computer store where I was working in the early 1990s (when I left, I was charged for the parts... ) It was a custom 286 built into an AT clone case that had been scratched, worn and even rusted in places. I cleaned it up, repainted it black, and gave it the most impressive fascia of any computer case I've had since; first, I painted the bezel black. Then I painted over it with Fleckstone faux granite paint. Not liking the greyish look, I sprayed a very light coat of black on top of that, then sealed it with silicon sealer. The granite effect was made less "bumpy" by this, and shinier, and gave it a beautiful, unique look.
Later I put a 386 and, iirc, a 486 motherboard in it. There's not a computer case I've liked as much since.

Reply 52 of 64, by jxalex

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athlon-power wrote:

I'm just curious to see the first PC compatible machine you guys ever owned, as in a non-shared personal PC, etc. I make this distinction because a huge majority of people's first PC experience were with family computers. I'm not asking for huge amounts of detail, but any extra detail is fully welcomed.

I was the only one in family who had the contact with computers on that time. In fact I was 10 years earlier with my contact before even my sister had anything to do with it.
Also all is not about the *owning* of a computer what counts. All about computers can begin a FAR BEFORE.
Man can learn 1001 things without having computer at home, but just having enough regular access to it and or to its hardware. I had contact with ZX Spectrum, Krista-2, Tartu, but I sticked with PC becouse of .MOD file players and the hardware was more accessible to me and reliable becouse I just had the chance to get a privilege for my own key in school for a computer class among other fellows. Then it seemed like a different reality to me, but there is also sense of community in it.

See this is my computers learning curve:
* 1992 I learned BASIC on ZX Spectrum, thats the whole idea. The main idea -- with THIS I start making electronics schematics! How naive it was. only game which interests me is TETRIS. I never like 3d.
My generation knew the BASIC -- the first language what every boy knew who was interested about computers, while not even having a computer at home. We wrote programs to papers. I had it at home and still I was alone with that becouse during troubles there was just me who was able to repair it. It was more broken than working.
Actually I would be really happy to get that working with that most beautiful green color ray Olivetti monochrome monitor!

* 1993 -- PC 286 on my mutual fellow workplace -- there I learned BASIC, but also learned DOS, Norton Commander, Works, becouse I just got the access to a 286 computer with CGA monitor and 1.44MB and 5.25" 1.2MB FDDs. The most hilarious thing on those days was to learn the programs (hey, anyone remembers DOS "MS Works" tutorial? so far none of those who were into games were interested about that). I was not into games.
Actually this moment I can point as the first contact with PC.

*1994 ... I was IN LOVE, becouse in high school at the 486SX-33 I saw first the FISHTRO, and also .MOD players
I noticed first time SoundClub (estonian software package of music making on PCs), and ModPlay software!
That is the reason why I sticked with PC and not with ZX Spectrum.
Also I did not owned the computer at home, yet I made the COVOX myself already for the computer at school. So,
peripheral device making without even owning own computer. All my personal things what I had were just 20..50 floppy discs and a covox with its amplifier (which were for others to enjoy too). The module listening were just there in the computer class back then. we, nerds were carrying floppy discs with software while it was 2..3 years before we got our own first PC-computer at home. But during that time we used to access others machines around here and there. The floppys were enough to just store the info of own what we wanted and still happy with it. 😀
And I got my first e-mail adress.
Also, while in the school there were some 386DX33 and 486SX-33 computers with SVGA cards and 210MB HDD, those who had computers at home and made something, were just with XT, and I had nothing.
So, in this situation it made sense to be at computer class instead of at home and dreaming of computer. But I already had own data and the need to store it. So I had the floppys.

Also these were the times when all we thought that all programs we can make ourself and there is never ever really happening that some big american corporation could control both the hardware and software industry or dictate what is trend or not. Some of us programmed database programs under DOS for several companies and ditched that M$ windows (all that with 486 machines!). The widespread thought was that "the best way how to program under the windows is not to program for windows at all".

1995-1997... the same computerclass but with LAN.
The access to PCs were generous at school computer class while nerds had extra time as they needed (during nights and weekends too). We had then in the computer class almost entire row with 486DX-2 66Mhz expensive machines and big HDDs, but no soundcard, (well my covox was there). At home some boys had 286, but with soundblaster! Thus the best of both was combined when visiting comptuer class at the evening, by coming with own HDD and soundcard which were inserted every evening and removed next day from computer before the regular computer classes began... 😀 just like gathering of the computer nerds.
I had on those years all the time I wanted to be with those computers in the computer class so I had the separate key as the computer class was the separate institution from school to our nerds. 😉 Always we restored the main hardware configuration after messing up. Lucky enough, no harm was done. Thats the way how it was learned without even owning a computer.
Also, if just being at home for time to sleep and that computer class is just one mile away, then there is really a thought like living in a computer class, or what? Those were the times like some sort of unofficial LANpartys or computer gatherings without LAN at that time then.
So, also here it does not make sense to *own* everything, but the best was possible by using the other possibilities around in order to combine together.

MY OWN FIRST PC-COMPATIBLE COMPUTER... still after all that it was not the point when it all began as I knew a lot already.
1996 december. 386 DX33. It was with the EGA card, 4MB RAM. The first things after the mouse was the Covox and of course Gravis Ultrasound ACE as I was more into music and not games. Mostly that computer was acquired from my friend from different sources and components to get together, but only the Gravis Ultrasound was brand new in it and floppy drive.
...and thus the rest is as it is now and I still have that first case.

So, perhaps there are other factors which can influence about computers and their choice?
When it become important to have the PC compatible was after I had the first contact with Amiga modules... Amiga A500D was not accessible to me, thus I got enough pleased with 386SX-25 at 1996 with Gravis ultrasound ACE, becouse of modules and MIDI. Later that got upgraded through several 486 motherboards to 486DX-4 which I STILL have it and celebrate that it is still here.

Also I never had any contact with branded computers, all those were these modularized built ones in which we choosed whatever components we wanted. Also this way it was the best way to buy computer in a society where a brand new computer costs a whole year salary for a normal person!
INstead of taking a loan, it was as bought and assembled just piece by piece when just getting enough money saved for next item, Also by beginning with the components which were cheaper and with fix price, and leaving the CPU and HDD as the final pieces to buy becouse those prices dropped very fast. (that way I bougt with all brand new components the AMD K6-300MHz, 16MB RAM, 5.1GB HDD, Plexwriter 4220Ti, adaptec SCSI, ATI MACH64VT , ASUS SP97-V motherboard). It was then spring 1998.
After all these ASCII video compatibility troubles in soundclub and cubic player I was convinced enough to just keep that both 486 while still using the Pentium machine. All that is for DOS and win3.x still now.

With Pentium IV machine as the next build from components then it was with win98se. Which is since then and still now. Which is also the first machine built with all components at the same day together, just with exception of the UltraSCSI 36GB HDD which was moved from the older machine.

All could have been different if my friends PC at work started with Windows 1.0 instead of Norton Commander. It had scared away me just like the Apple computers while it is expensive and nothing to do at the same time as those who wants to learn and to do something more than games.

From the first contact to the moment of owning the computer at home with similar possibilities took in this case 4 years still, before I could do the similar things without need to leave home. But with that there was actually one phenomena which I admired -- the sense of community!
Well, just this way of being at a computer class with others whom you know and developing something is a much better feeling than each of us just being separated by internet. The LANpartys cant really replace this feeling.
It was the community while it worked and not so much individualism or envy. Well, just like on this time when class was full of nerds, it was the most pleasant time when there were not yet those SVGA run-and-kill games. Well, not everyone liked demoscene but at the same time I am bad with people or somehow not skilled to communicate before about the wishes. 🙁 But hey, just imagine a 7x12 meter big room full of demosceners instead.... that would be something.

Current project: DOS ISA soundcard with 24bit/96Khz digital I/O, SB16 compatible switchable.
newly made SB-clone ...with 24bit and AES/EBU... join in development!

Reply 53 of 64, by Stiletto

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This one: Stiletto's GhettoPC (TM)
which originally shipped with a Number Nine Imagine 128 Series II, 64MB EDO, only one HDD (the smaller one), a CD-ROM drive, no MPEG2 decoder, and onboard sound, etc.
Yes, that thread is from 2002. From 1997-2004 (approximately) this was my only system, though I still occasionally shared my father's system(s).
I made upgrades for it to remain a gaming beast for a few years.
It was purchased as a senior year of high school birthday gift in 1997, I contributed half (approx. $1600) and my parents contributed the other half.

"I see a little silhouette-o of a man, Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you
do the Fandango!" - Queen

Stiletto

Reply 54 of 64, by Predator99

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This one from 1988:

at286.jpg
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at286b.jpg
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- AT 286/12 with a Suntac ST-62 Mainboard
- Thomson 4570 EGA/PGC Monitor
- IT-EGA
- Seagate ST-251 MFM HD 42 MB

As I cannot find this thing anymore I have no other explanation than that I have trashed this machine about 10 years ago when I was in a very bad mood 😢 😢 😢 Together with a GUS PnP Pro, a SyQuest and several other valuable things that were installed inside 😢 😢 😢

But I still own the Keyboard, the 5,25" floppy drive and the Monitor:
EGA Monitor repair

Found a very similar Mainboard:
Re: Suntac 80286 Mainboards

!!! So, if somebody owns such case I would be very very happy about a notification...!!!

Reply 55 of 64, by weldum

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there are two possible answers to that question in my case

>the first (standard usage) computer that i bought/built was the basis of what, after a lot of upgrades would become my current main rig, but i bought this in 2010
Pentium Dual Core E2140
2GB DDR3
ASUS P5G41T-M LX V2
standard sentey case and psu
for such a basic computer, i had excellent moments with it

>the first (experimental usage) computer that i bought was something that i wanted just to learn about older systems
Compaq Presario (i don't remember the model)
K6-2 500
64MB SDR 100MHz
ESS integrated sound
Trident Cyberblade I7 gpu
VIA MVP4 (probably)

i love that computer, sadly the motherboard burnt and i never was able to find something at least similar to that machine
i do have a "replacement" but is not the same thing, is slower, a C3 Samuel 2 800 with VIA PLE133 chipset and the same gpu

DT: R7-5800X3D/R5-3600/R3-1200/P-G5400/FX-6100/i3-3225/P-8400/D-900/K6-2_550
LT: C-N2840/A64-TK57/N2600/N455/N270/C-ULV353/PM-1.7/P4-2.6/P133
TC: Esther-1000/Esther-400/Vortex86-366
Others: Drean C64c/Czerweny Spectrum 48k/Talent MSX DPC200/M512K/MP475

Reply 56 of 64, by Anaxagoras

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The first computer that I bought with my own money was a 486DX4 in 1995, and I still using it. 😊
I recently repaired with your help the case display and turbo button.

My computers

qp92nk-6.png

Reply 57 of 64, by brostenen

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Hamby wrote:

Fool that I've always been, I was into the Amiga at the time

Depends on what your poison is. To me, the ultimate kind of vintage machines are: C64, all Amiga's and all X86 (AMD/Intel/Cyrix) from 286 to Pentium3. Especially the years of 1983 to 1995, as I grew up on all types of hardware from those years. A C64, and Amiga500 or an 486dx2-80 is equally cool and gives me equally fun or nostalgic warm feelings. Yeah... Sex was something positive, though what really got my juices flowing, was eighter Dynablaster/Syndicate on a 386dx-40 or Gianasisters/BubbleBobble on an Amiga500. Rick Dangerous on a C64 was even better than girls. Kind of the ultimate "No sex before..." sort of thing, back then.

Don't eat stuff off a 15 year old never cleaned cpu cooler.
Those cakes make you sick....

My blog: http://to9xct.blogspot.dk
My YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/brostenen

001100 010010 011110 100001 101101 110011

Reply 58 of 64, by dr.ido

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Predator99 wrote:

This one from 1988:

at286b.jpg

- Thomson 4570 EGA/PGC Monitor

Heh... that was my first better-than-CGA monitor back in the day. I don't remember all the details anymore, but I found it dead or with some kind of problem. I fixed it, well sort of. It now worked, but only in 15kHz mode, so neither EGA text mode nor 640x350 ega hires would work. I had to set the DIP switches on my EGA card so it defaulted to CGA text mode. It didn't matter though - I could finally play my games in 16 COLOR EGA instead of CGA! I played through the first Duke Nukem and anything else that ran fast enough on the a 286-12 on that monitor until I eventually upgraded to VGA.

It wasn't first PC though, that would either be a Tandy 1000 with 256KB RAM and a green screen monitor that was given to me or a 10MHz XT that I built from mostly scavenged parts. A local computer dealer did take pity on me and gave me the motherboard (which was already obsolete by then) after he saw me going through his bins.

Reply 59 of 64, by Predator99

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dr.ido wrote:
Predator99 wrote:

This one from 1988:

at286b.jpg

- Thomson 4570 EGA/PGC Monitor

Heh... that was my first better-than-CGA monitor back in the day. I don't remember all the details anymore, but I found it dead or with some kind of problem. I fixed it, well sort of. It now worked, but only in 15kHz mode, so neither EGA text mode nor 640x350 ega hires would work. I had to set the DIP switches on my EGA card so it defaulted to CGA text mode. It didn't matter though - I could finally play my games in 16 COLOR EGA instead of CGA! I played through the first Duke Nukem and anything else that ran fast enough on the a 286-12 on that monitor until I eventually upgraded to VGA.

It wasn't first PC though, that would either be a Tandy 1000 with 256KB RAM and a green screen monitor that was given to me or a 10MHz XT that I built from mostly scavenged parts. A local computer dealer did take pity on me and gave me the motherboard (which was already obsolete by then) after he saw me going through his bins.

Do you still have this monitor? I own the full documentation incl. circuit diagrams, let me know if you need it.