My first system build, I blew up all the tantalum caps on the board by getting the AT power connectors reversed.

Kapow!

wierd_w wrote on 2024-06-16, 07:33:

My first system build, I blew up all the tantalum caps on the board by getting the AT power connectors reversed.

Kapow!

that's an oopsie, I mean no one else would have ever made that mistake ...right

Mmmmm AT power.
May have absent mindedly stated swapping a psu at work while it was still plugged to mains.
Gotta love those power switches back then.
240v wakes you up reeeeeeallly fucking fast.

Sometimes this hobby pisses me off so much that I have to fight the urge to rent a huge trash container and get rid of it all. Trash it, declutter, be happy that I don't have to deal with another terrible computer issue ever again. Do I even need more complications in my life?
When it happens I'm wondering if I find this hobby enjoyable at all or are these just anger management issues that plague my very existence? Too much passion but not enough skills? Lack of impulse control and rational thought process? Don't know.
Maybe just too damn critical of myself due to my low tolerance for failure. Something's definitely wrong when it sounds like a reddit therapy session.

I semi-bricked my KT133 (socket A) mainboard with a BIOS update.
There were no issues before, but now there's 50% chance of system starting up, DMA mode doesn't work at all and there are random BSODs and freezes. Backup BIOS file is corrupted for some reason and there's no trace of BIOS version with the same date as original on the web.

myne wrote on 2024-06-16, 06:31:

Uh... It sounds like your idea of doing it right is "brutally levering it off - but with a thin piece of plastic" […]
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iraito wrote on 2024-06-15, 16:10:

I killed a geforce 256...
It was my first time taking out a glued heatsink, i did everything right BUT the last part which is to put a plastic sheet between the screwdriver and the heatsink, i scratched the GPU die.

Uh... It sounds like your idea of doing it right is "brutally levering it off - but with a thin piece of plastic"

I'm going to go with most likely you did everything wrong.

The right way is to find out what softens the glue (Eg heat, acetone) apply it, and twist the hs back and forth until the glue breaks.

Levering only ends in failure. Either the die, the substrate, or the pcb.

Nope, I used liquid ice, the glue was brittle and easy to break, trust me, I got the heatsink off from voodoo3, voodoo5, another 256 but DDR and other cards.
That one time I simply forgot to put the plastic protection on the green die, also heat is dangerous and can have undesired effects on nearby components, with a localized application of spray ice you need the bare minimum amount of force and there's no lasting effect, acetone can melt plastic packages in some GPUs.

Mandrew wrote on 2024-06-16, 08:33:

Sometimes this hobby pisses me off so much that I have to fight the urge to rent a huge trash container and get rid of it all. Trash it, declutter, be happy that I don't have to deal with another terrible computer issue ever again. Do I even need more complications in my life?
When it happens I'm wondering if I find this hobby enjoyable at all or are these just anger management issues that plague my very existence? Too much passion but not enough skills? Lack of impulse control and rational thought process? Don't know.
Maybe just too damn critical of myself due to my low tolerance for failure. Something's definitely wrong when it sounds like a reddit therapy session.

I get that with hobbies from time to time. Sometimes for me it's a signal to tone it down for a while. Maybe I'm trying to hard and just not interested at the moment, or I've amassed too much gear or too long a to-do list of things I think I want to do, and it's getting on top of me. Or there are simply too many other things In Real Life that I need to see to first so I can think clearly and enjoy whatever. Sometimes it's just been too long and I've just forgotten how to do something and it's time to admit I've moved on mentally and don't really care any more.

With my old PC gear I downsized a bit, put things away, and for a few years that was how I've left it. But lately I've started to think I should admit the truth and get rid of more stuff, but it's finding where to start...

ratfink wrote on 2024-06-17, 00:03:

Mandrew wrote on 2024-06-16, 08:33:

Sometimes this hobby pisses me off so much that I have to fight the urge to rent a huge trash container and get rid of it all. Trash it, declutter, be happy that I don't have to deal with another terrible computer issue ever again. Do I even need more complications in my life?
When it happens I'm wondering if I find this hobby enjoyable at all or are these just anger management issues that plague my very existence? Too much passion but not enough skills? Lack of impulse control and rational thought process? Don't know.
Maybe just too damn critical of myself due to my low tolerance for failure. Something's definitely wrong when it sounds like a reddit therapy session.

I get that with hobbies from time to time. Sometimes for me it's a signal to tone it down for a while. Maybe I'm trying to hard and just not interested at the moment, or I've amassed too much gear or too long a to-do list of things I think I want to do, and it's getting on top of me. Or there are simply too many other things In Real Life that I need to see to first so I can think clearly and enjoy whatever. Sometimes it's just been too long and I've just forgotten how to do something and it's time to admit I've moved on mentally and don't really care any more.

With my old PC gear I downsized a bit, put things away, and for a few years that was how I've left it. But lately I've started to think I should admit the truth and get rid of more stuff, but it's finding where to start...

Im kinda at the point where I want to downsize but I have a lot of money in this hobby ...I could sell a lot of it but I doubt I would get even half of what I put into it back which leaves me at an impasse at what to do.

I will downsize because I want the clutter gone but my hobby wants me to keep everything and my brain reminds me how much it all cost ...How does one solve this problem. My father had the same issue with old cars and parts/spares he wanted it all gone because the clutter made him hate it but like me he had a lot invested in it and the hobby wouldn't let him just throw/give it away.

My guess is I will eventually just go through it all and only keep the parts I will use or I consider valuable to me. I mean how many complete retro systems does one need <<>>

-Selling complete working retro rigs is an idea I have considered but being in Australia makes it difficult to sell them either locally or internationally ...god the international shipping costs alone give me nightmares let alone trying to package a machine for shipping.

Trashbytes wrote on 2024-06-17, 02:15:

Im kinda at the point where I want to downsize but I have a lot of money in this hobby ...I could sell a lot of it but I doubt I […]
Show full quote

ratfink wrote on 2024-06-17, 00:03:

Mandrew wrote on 2024-06-16, 08:33:

Sometimes this hobby pisses me off so much that I have to fight the urge to rent a huge trash container and get rid of it all. Trash it, declutter, be happy that I don't have to deal with another terrible computer issue ever again. Do I even need more complications in my life?
When it happens I'm wondering if I find this hobby enjoyable at all or are these just anger management issues that plague my very existence? Too much passion but not enough skills? Lack of impulse control and rational thought process? Don't know.
Maybe just too damn critical of myself due to my low tolerance for failure. Something's definitely wrong when it sounds like a reddit therapy session.

I get that with hobbies from time to time. Sometimes for me it's a signal to tone it down for a while. Maybe I'm trying to hard and just not interested at the moment, or I've amassed too much gear or too long a to-do list of things I think I want to do, and it's getting on top of me. Or there are simply too many other things In Real Life that I need to see to first so I can think clearly and enjoy whatever. Sometimes it's just been too long and I've just forgotten how to do something and it's time to admit I've moved on mentally and don't really care any more.

With my old PC gear I downsized a bit, put things away, and for a few years that was how I've left it. But lately I've started to think I should admit the truth and get rid of more stuff, but it's finding where to start...

Im kinda at the point where I want to downsize but I have a lot of money in this hobby ...I could sell a lot of it but I doubt I would get even half of what I put into it back which leaves me at an impasse at what to do.

I will downsize because I want the clutter gone but my hobby wants me to keep everything and my brain reminds me how much it all cost ...How does one solve this problem. My father had the same issue with old cars and parts/spares he wanted it all gone because the clutter made him hate it but like me he had a lot invested in it and the hobby wouldn't let him just throw/give it away.

My guess is I will eventually just go through it all and only keep the parts I will use or I consider valuable to me. I mean how many complete retro systems does one need <<>>

-Selling complete working retro rigs is an idea I have considered but being in Australia makes it difficult to sell them either locally or internationally ...god the international shipping costs alone give me nightmares let alone trying to package a machine for shipping.

This sounds like you have a case of the sunk cost fallacy. Rather than think of the money you sank into your collection, you should think about what what you plan on using going forward. We've all wasted money, but we can't undo that. Also, all hobbies cost money, so it's best not to think of retro computing as an investment.

I think that I'm at the point where I could get rid of a few things. One idea is to keep track of what I will use over the next year. If it doesn't get used, I could probably get rid of it. Also, getting a fraction of what I paid for something is better than having something sit on the shelf unused. If I don't use it, I wasted the entire cost.

Trashbytes wrote on 2024-06-17, 02:15:

-Selling complete working retro rigs is an idea I have considered but being in Australia makes it difficult to sell them either locally or internationally ...god the international shipping costs alone give me nightmares let alone trying to package a machine for shipping.

Ocau has a decent retro community.
Prices are more mates rates though.
Gumtree might earn more, but might wait years too.
Ebay... Shipping isn't your problem.

Trashbytes wrote on 2024-06-17, 02:15:

Im kinda at the point where I want to downsize but I have a lot of money in this hobby ...I could sell a lot of it but I doubt I […]
Show full quote

Im kinda at the point where I want to downsize but I have a lot of money in this hobby ...I could sell a lot of it but I doubt I would get even half of what I put into it back which leaves me at an impasse at what to do.

I will downsize because I want the clutter gone but my hobby wants me to keep everything and my brain reminds me how much it all cost ...How does one solve this problem. My father had the same issue with old cars and parts/spares he wanted it all gone because the clutter made him hate it but like me he had a lot invested in it and the hobby wouldn't let him just throw/give it away.

My guess is I will eventually just go through it all and only keep the parts I will use or I consider valuable to me. I mean how many complete retro systems does one need <<>>

-Selling complete working retro rigs is an idea I have considered but being in Australia makes it difficult to sell them either locally or internationally ...god the international shipping costs alone give me nightmares let alone trying to package a machine for shipping.

the money you'd get is what you'd get, if there's no way to recoup the expense then it isn't 'out there' in any sense

if making room is an issue then a bit of reorganising can help, i actually now regret getting rid of a few 485, P2 and P3 systems a long time ago - not that i could have kept them all, but i could have kept the motherboards and more components at least. i don't regret losing the cases, PSUs and CRTs to be honest

myne wrote on 2024-06-17, 06:18:

Ocau has a decent retro community. Prices are more mates rates though. Gumtree might earn more, but might wait years too. Eba […]
Show full quote

Trashbytes wrote on 2024-06-17, 02:15:

-Selling complete working retro rigs is an idea I have considered but being in Australia makes it difficult to sell them either locally or internationally ...god the international shipping costs alone give me nightmares let alone trying to package a machine for shipping.

Ocau has a decent retro community.
Prices are more mates rates though.
Gumtree might earn more, but might wait years too.
Ebay... Shipping isn't your problem.

Ebay shipping if left to its own devices can lead to more troubles than its initial savings, I see a lot of sellers not want to deal with International shipping via eBay and having talked to a few who do deal with items about as big as a PC its a real hassle if anything goes wrong, true eBay should resolve most problems but Id feel like a real ass if anything got broken during shipping.

Shipping locally isn't a huge issue, Auspost is pretty good and Sendle is good too for larger items like CRTs and whole PCs. As you suggest it can take a while here in Australia to move larger items, Im inclined to part the bits I dont want out locally on eBay as "for parts or not working" even though the parts have been previously tested. I live in a remote rural area so I may also look into OCAU and see what they require to list items there, most are 6 months as a member or such.

Pretty sure it's 3 months.
But you don't seem to be in a rush anyway

myne wrote on 2024-06-17, 08:13:

Pretty sure it's 3 months.
But you don't seem to be in a rush anyway

Not really, I have been sorting through it all though, forgot how many AGP GPUs I have.

The vast majority of AdLib "music" makes me want to stab my ears with a pitchfork.
I don't care about MS-DOS games on systems newer than a 386.
I'll take Windows 95 over Windows for Workgroups any day, even on a 386 or 486.
I don't care for most of 3dfx or Creative's products.
I have a Super Socket 7 motherboard with three ISA slots. I don't use a single one of them.
I despise Windows 98. Windows 95 is faster, and any software that can't run on there is better off on Windows 2000/XP.
I installed Windows XP on my K6-2 350.
My Pentium III build has an OEM i815E motherboard.
I mostly use LCDs, since I don't want to wear out the phosphors on my CRT monitor.
I have two Pentium 4 systems, one of which is an IBM ThinkCentre S50.
I despise Windows 7 as well.
I shake my head when I see a Windows XP build with a Core i5 or i7.

GemCookie wrote on 2024-06-17, 10:16:

I installed Windows XP on my K6-2 350.
I despise Windows 7 as well.
I shake my head when I see a Windows XP build with a Core i5 or i7.

just taking those and partially agreeing, i also don't like "retro" XP and especially 9x setups on systems created when win7+ was around. i get the experimental fun of it, but it just somehow feels wasteful
I like Win 7 though 😀
I like XP too and bet it runs ok on your system, listening to some enthusiasts you 'need' a core 2 and 2gb ram or xp somehow becomes 'too slow', it really doesn't

Perhaps connected tot that I confess i rarely optimise anything, no need to max out the RAM or get the fastest CPU the board will take or flash the bios or fret over which driver is 'fastest'. all that optimisation is fun i agree, but its not actually needed for the purpose of enjoying playing a game. I really don't have a different experience just because the machine might be able to get through a few more cycles or fps

gerry wrote on 2024-06-17, 10:36:

GemCookie wrote on 2024-06-17, 10:16:

I installed Windows XP on my K6-2 350.
I despise Windows 7 as well.
I shake my head when I see a Windows XP build with a Core i5 or i7.

I like XP too and bet it runs ok on your system, listening to some enthusiasts you 'need' a core 2 and 2gb ram or xp somehow becomes 'too slow', it really doesn't

Lol XP works perfectly with the slowest willamette and 512mb of RAM, i think sometimes people forget that you can use early XP with apps and games meant for the year 2000\2001.

gerry wrote on 2024-06-17, 10:36:

I like XP too and bet it runs ok on your system, listening to some enthusiasts you 'need' a core 2 and 2gb ram or xp somehow becomes 'too slow', it really doesn't

Yup, it's usable. It won't set any speed records, but it is usable. I even underclocked the CPU to 166 MHz for kicks and giggles; while emulators ran a lot worse, the OS didn't slow down at all.

gerry wrote on 2024-06-17, 10:36:

just taking those and partially agreeing, i also don't like "retro" XP and especially 9x setups on systems created when win7+ w […]
Show full quote

GemCookie wrote on 2024-06-17, 10:16:

I installed Windows XP on my K6-2 350.
I despise Windows 7 as well.
I shake my head when I see a Windows XP build with a Core i5 or i7.

just taking those and partially agreeing, i also don't like "retro" XP and especially 9x setups on systems created when win7+ was around. i get the experimental fun of it, but it just somehow feels wasteful
I like Win 7 though 😀
I like XP too and bet it runs ok on your system, listening to some enthusiasts you 'need' a core 2 and 2gb ram or xp somehow becomes 'too slow', it really doesn't

Perhaps connected tot that I confess i rarely optimise anything, no need to max out the RAM or get the fastest CPU the board will take or flash the bios or fret over which driver is 'fastest'. all that optimisation is fun i agree, but its not actually needed for the purpose of enjoying playing a game. I really don't have a different experience just because the machine might be able to get through a few more cycles or fps

Honestly Vista Ultimate with updates on Win7 hardware gives the same experience and Win7 does .. they are pretty much the same OS under the hood with 7 having more updates.

Trashbytes wrote on 2024-06-17, 02:15:

Im kinda at the point where I want to downsize but I have a lot of money in this hobby ...I could sell a lot of it but I doubt I would get even half of what I put into it back which leaves me at an impasse at what to do.

Same. I don't want to deal with selling individual parts for like $5 when I have hundreds of different items. Some people do this on local auction sites and they have to pack and ship every single item they sell, even if they go for ¢1. Who wants to go to the PO to get ¢1 profit? I browsed through my motherboards recently and yup, most of them are either budget boards or OEM models that are pretty much useless outside the original case. If I start downsizing I'll definitely start there. My biggest problems are the monitors though because I could never sell old MDA, CGA, EGA or early VGA monitors. They are my babies.