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First post, by Muz

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My room has no more space to store these old PCs, what should I do?

Reply 1 of 14, by Repo Man11

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Get one of these beds:

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"I'd rather be rich than stupid" - Jack Handey

Reply 2 of 14, by BitWrangler

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Double your floorspace with a steel ceiling and magnetic boots.

Unicorn herding operations are proceeding, but all the totes of hens teeth and barrels of rocking horse poop give them plenty of hiding spots.

Reply 3 of 14, by Errius

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Old style pizza box cases (like the original PC) were very strongly built. (They were designed to hold monitors that were often heavier than the computer itself.) This means you can stack them without fear of damage. (Put a cloth between them to avoid scratches.)

Tower type cases are tricker. Even if the sides are perfectly flat (they're usually not) it's not clear they can take that kind of lateral stress. I stack them upright, up to three high. So far no problems.

Is this too much voodoo?

Reply 4 of 14, by mR_Slug

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Second about the towers. Some have flimsy sides, some are pretty strong though.

19" racks can be good for stacking, though the shelving is expensive, really depends on if you can get them (and the shelves) for free. Failing that steel/wood shelving.

There is also attics and basements, wish i had a basement. Damp is an issue, attics can have a problem with damp and heat. Probably want it insulate it. I won't put precious items in my attic, but hope to insulate it soon, so more space for me. Garage?

Spare bedroom already taken up? You can store computers under most beds.

If you have got the the point where you are floor to ceiling, well most rooms have a window, you can stack in front of that. If that's not enough then full towers make nice couch side tables. In fact dump the couch, get a futon, you can store computers under it.....and behind it....and on it, or just make a couch out of computers. Just turn the den into a computer room.

Some people have a separate dining room and breakfast room, you don't need both, one can be used for computers. It also comes with a nice table to put them on. Only have one, or I have already done this I hear you say? Well you can eat of the futon, or scrap that an eat out of a office chair.

Also, do you have a home office? well now that's for computers. Floor to ceiling.

So that's the spare bedroom, lounge, dining room, breakfast room, garage, attic and basement taken care of. Garden? cover in sheds, fill with computers. Now kitchens. You don't NEED a kitchen. All that counter spaces is wasted. Throw away those appliances, and there is plenty of room for computers. That stove, you don't need that. Live of Chinese takeaway, pizza and ramen. All you need is a microwave, that you can store computers on top of. Those cupboards are just crying out to be used for computers. You only need one plate one spoon, knife and a fork. Throw away that useless cutlery and you have more space for computers. Also sink, you have one in your bathroom, computers.

Hallways, are an underutilized place. You CAN shuffle sideways down hallways, and landings too. Stairs are often quite wide. There is plenty of room for computers, In all these places. Some doors like the back door are unnecessary, computer in front of that too.

Have a wife? get rid of her, she's taking up space for computers.

So you've done all this? Well the bathroom. How often is it that you actually use the bath/shower? once a year maybe? Using it more often is not GREEN! You can store computers in it. Now the toilet. You do need a toilet but you CAN store computers on it when your not using it. And you can multi-task. You can do the washing-up while sitting on the bog.

Bedroom? You don't need to sleep. Take up a crystal-meth habit, stay awake all night, playing Doom.

Post an image of your situation, I can probably guide you, in how to cram in more computers.

I hope this is helpful.

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Reply 5 of 14, by BitWrangler

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On the stacking of towers and the bowing of the sides, the risk of this is greatly reduced if the covers are fully secured, both by engaging the front tabs/latch and by actually using screws to secure them at the rear. I know a lot of guys like to leave them loose for quick access, but structural solidity is improved if it's all fastened together properly. I believe you can buy a bag of a hundred "thumb screws" for a reasonable price if you hunt around a bit, if you want reasonably rapid toolfree access.

Unicorn herding operations are proceeding, but all the totes of hens teeth and barrels of rocking horse poop give them plenty of hiding spots.

Reply 6 of 14, by Errius

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mR_Slug wrote on 2021-12-08, 03:12:

You don't NEED a kitchen. All that counter spaces is wasted. Throw away those appliances, and there is plenty of room for computers. That stove, you don't need that. Live of Chinese takeaway, pizza and ramen. All you need is a microwave, that you can store computers on top of.

haha, my kitchen is actually my workshop. Due to the orientation of the building and size of the windows it gets the best light of any room. Of course, as you note this makes cooking complicated...

Is this too much voodoo?

Reply 7 of 14, by Miphee

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Time to say goodbye to a few of them! I made a promise to myself that I won't store hardware in the living area. Let's be honest, it's not nice when you have to navigate around "e-waste" in your living room or hallways. Stacking them up also makes them harder to reach when you need them. Use a wall-to-wall metal shelf system for maximum storage & easy access. Doesn't matter how much space you have, you'll have to start selling something eventually.

Reply 8 of 14, by Hezus

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mR_Slug wrote on 2021-12-08, 03:12:
Second about the towers. Some have flimsy sides, some are pretty strong though. […]
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Second about the towers. Some have flimsy sides, some are pretty strong though.

19" racks can be good for stacking, though the shelving is expensive, really depends on if you can get them (and the shelves) for free. Failing that steel/wood shelving.

There is also attics and basements, wish i had a basement. Damp is an issue, attics can have a problem with damp and heat. Probably want it insulate it. I won't put precious items in my attic, but hope to insulate it soon, so more space for me. Garage?

Spare bedroom already taken up? You can store computers under most beds.

If you have got the the point where you are floor to ceiling, well most rooms have a window, you can stack in front of that. If that's not enough then full towers make nice couch side tables. In fact dump the couch, get a futon, you can store computers under it.....and behind it....and on it, or just make a couch out of computers. Just turn the den into a computer room.

Some people have a separate dining room and breakfast room, you don't need both, one can be used for computers. It also comes with a nice table to put them on. Only have one, or I have already done this I hear you say? Well you can eat of the futon, or scrap that an eat out of a office chair.

Also, do you have a home office? well now that's for computers. Floor to ceiling.

So that's the spare bedroom, lounge, dining room, breakfast room, garage, attic and basement taken care of. Garden? cover in sheds, fill with computers. Now kitchens. You don't NEED a kitchen. All that counter spaces is wasted. Throw away those appliances, and there is plenty of room for computers. That stove, you don't need that. Live of Chinese takeaway, pizza and ramen. All you need is a microwave, that you can store computers on top of. Those cupboards are just crying out to be used for computers. You only need one plate one spoon, knife and a fork. Throw away that useless cutlery and you have more space for computers. Also sink, you have one in your bathroom, computers.

Hallways, are an underutilized place. You CAN shuffle sideways down hallways, and landings too. Stairs are often quite wide. There is plenty of room for computers, In all these places. Some doors like the back door are unnecessary, computer in front of that too.

Have a wife? get rid of her, she's taking up space for computers.

So you've done all this? Well the bathroom. How often is it that you actually use the bath/shower? once a year maybe? Using it more often is not GREEN! You can store computers in it. Now the toilet. You do need a toilet but you CAN store computers on it when your not using it. And you can multi-task. You can do the washing-up while sitting on the bog.

Bedroom? You don't need to sleep. Take up a crystal-meth habit, stay awake all night, playing Doom.

Post an image of your situation, I can probably guide you, in how to cram in more computers.

I hope this is helpful.

Very funny and very helpful, 🤣

Eventually, the computers will take up every corner of your house so there's only one final solution to give your computers more lebensraum, and that's to annex your neighbour's house.

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Reply 9 of 14, by Big Pink

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Errius wrote on 2021-12-07, 22:10:

Old style pizza box cases (like the original PC)

mR_Slug wrote on 2021-12-08, 03:12:

19" racks

This is exactly the route I've gone down. Horizontal desktop cases seem to have died out at the turn of the century, only lingering on in the home theatre realm - so most will be silver or black, not beige. 19" racks and shelves are expensive. If you can find a used example cheap enough and the seller is willing to post, the postage is nearly half the price of the rack itself.

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I thought IBM was born with the world

Reply 10 of 14, by Tetrium

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Muz wrote on 2021-12-07, 20:29:

My room has no more space to store these old PCs, what should I do?

Make more room or make more space. Go 3D 😜

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My retro rigs (old topic)
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Reply 11 of 14, by Azarien

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Miphee wrote on 2021-12-08, 07:22:

Let's be honest, it's not nice when you have to navigate around "e-waste" in your living room or hallways.

You don't need a "living room" that's half empty. What's the point, really? 😀

Kitchen, on the other hand...

Reply 12 of 14, by chinny22

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Miphee wrote on 2021-12-08, 07:22:

start selling something eventually.

Why sell when you can buy? Time to get a bigger house 😉

Reply 13 of 14, by Xuth

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My retro machines get stored in a cupboard until I pull one out to use it.

My desk has all the cables routed/managed to a specific spot where I can plonk down a tower and plug it straight in ready to go. Takes about 30 seconds from cupboard to fully set up. If needed I can put down one of my retro monitors and there's a VGA splitter ready to route off to it.

I just found it too cluttered to have them out all the time (especially because one of them is in one of those gigantic green Alienware cases from the mid-2000s...).

Reply 14 of 14, by cyclone3d

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Hah... I need to get rid of about 70% of my retro / vintage hardware.

Finding the time to test everything is the big issue.

Deciding what to keep isn't as hard for about 50% of it.

I've got 12 4-drawer filing cabinets filled with mostly loose cards in anti-static bags... I think maybe 8 drawers worth of all that space is cables, fans, power supplies and drives.

That isn't including any of the laptops or boxed stuff and most of my motherboards are on other shelves or in a cabinet.

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