pentiumspeed wrote on 2022-02-17, 13:20:
You should given a full model, which is: Prolinea 3/25zs
I had been looking for one as I wanted this cute little computer, no luck. Seen one once years ago.
Cheers,
Correct, 3/25zs. Although a Compaq diagnostic utility says it's a 3/25s, but it's not the original MB either. The original MB has heavy damage from a leaking battery which I will be fixing eventually. So the board in there now might be from a 3/25s. The I/O plate was slightly different and had to be swapped, so that could be the case.
This computer has an interesting history from what I can tell. I picked this up from eBay recently as not working. It was listed for at least 4 months because that was the last and only listing revision, so I offered the seller very little for it and they accepted (shipping was about 75% of the cost, all within the US, if that tells you anything).
The only problem was a shorted/smoked tantalum cap on the MB, +12V rail. However it still wouldn't boot because Compaqs apparently won't without a CMOS battery and instead blames it on the floppy controller Ha ha. So that's when I put in the other MB I also picked up. That had battery damage too, but very limited. Interestingly, the same cap on that one blew when I powered it. But I have since replaced that also and it's fine now.
The most recent file on the hard drive makes me think this was last successfully booted in '94 or '95. It was made in the UK, and although the owner left very little evidence of use on the hard drive, he did leave his resume in an Excel file (complete with his address in the UK but worked in TX for a time) and a wallpaper (256 color image of course) of his kids. So my guess is this was shuffled around for around 28 years, never working.
This is my very first retro computer purchase. I've been window shopping for many years but always rationalized my way out of it. The local computer store sold these when I was a kid and I always wanted one, but didn't get one until now!
You're right though, for some reason far more 486 Prolineas appear on eBay. I haven't seen a 386 since, but admittingly it hasn't been that long.