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What's your oldest piece of hardware that's still alive? - Printable Version
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What's your oldest piece of hardware that's still alive? - movq - 06-06-2015

Here's mine. This was my fourth computer, IIRC, bought around 1996:

Code:
CPU: Pentium 133
RAM: 64MB
HDD: 8GB IDE
GPU: S3 Trio64
NIC: Realtek 8029
SND: Creative SB16
KBD: IBM Model M
MOUSE: Some serial ball mouse with three buttons

It's not the original machine, though. Especially, the NIC was added much later. When I bought it, it had 32MB RAM, a different graphics card, and most likely a different hard drive. I had to replace the CPU because a very noisy fan was "glued" to the original CPU -- I just couldn't get it off. It now runs an identical CPU model but with a larger, quiet fan.

Given that my previous machine was an IBM Model 80 (and an IBM Model 30 before that -- meh, today I really regret giving that one away), it was a huge step forward: That Pentium was the first one to come with Windows 95 and it was able to play high resolution videos. Remember Good Times? Incredible at that day.

At some point, this machine ran SuSE Linux 6.1. I don't have that around anymore, though. This morning, I installed OpenBSD 5.7. Dead simple and works quite well. It took me a minute to get the serial mouse to work in X11 (notes), but now it runs fine:

To me, that's pretty amazing. This machine is about 20 years old and it can still run a modern operating system. Okay, well, you'll have a harder time getting Linux to run because that Pentium 133 is an i586 -- most current distributions require at least an i686 processor.

In the photo above (case.jpg), have you noticed that bay with the red LED? That's the hard drive. You can unlock it and pull it out. I have a second case just like that (https://uninformativ.de/files/p133/hard-drive-case.jpg) with MS DOS and Windows 3.11 installed. It's Windows for Workgroups, so there's even a working TCP/IP stack. I was too lazy to switch hard drives today, so here's some older photos:

As you can see, it's connected to a modern LCD screen. I simply don't have the space to use a CRT monitor.

Every once in a while, I boot this machine for nostalgia's sake. Most old DOS games just work as they should (remember, that machine is already way too fast for a lot of DOS games). Browsing gopher holes on OpenBSD without X11 almost reminds me of using a dial-up modem to connect to BBS systems.

Most importantly, using the P133 reminds me that today's computers are insanely powerful.

RE: What's your oldest piece of hardware that's still alive? - sulami - 06-06-2015

You're old :D

My oldest piece of hardware that is still in use is a NEC Multisync XV15, a 15" monitor built in '94 according to the label. Still works fine. I almost threw it away last year with a bunch of other old hardware, but forgot it in the end. Later I found out, that one of my servers spits out a very strange signal over D-SUB, which none of my LCDs is capable of handling, I assume it forces a higher refresh rate or something, but the NEC can work with it. So it is my designated server monitor, which I have to carry around everytime something bad happens and I lose remote access.

Aside from that, I still own my first self-bought CPU, a Pentium 4 HT 550 with 3.4GHz and Hyperthreading from '04. I supposedly still runs, but I only have one LGA775 board left and that is in use. Impossible to cool that thing anyway.

RE: What's your oldest piece of hardware that's still alive? - venam - 06-06-2015

A flash of the past, this thread is amazing.
The oldest hardware I own is a vintage stereo/amp from the 90s.
[Image: %24_75.JPG]

It's not as impressive as having a vintage computer and I don't use it anymore.
What I like about the hardware of that time is that you can open then and inspect the mechanical parts. The board was so big that you can visually analyse it.

RE: What's your oldest piece of hardware that's still alive? - bsdkeith - 06-06-2015

Looks like mine is from around 2004, HP D530 P4 3GHz with 1Gb ram, it came with IDE & SATA, & has lost its case/mobo only.
Now only used occassionally for testing distros, with either a pendrive, USB HDD, or a SATA HDD attached when needed.

RE: What's your oldest piece of hardware that's still alive? - Webtm - 06-06-2015

I have around 4 pretty old laptops and an old PC. Looks like the oldest one is probably a Dell Inspiron 2650. A also have an old Motorola StarTac that would probably turn on if I knew where the charger was.

RE: What's your oldest piece of hardware that's still alive? - venam - 07-06-2015

My grandpa has a Grundig radio from 1958.
[Image: radio_Grundig_2066PX_restored_09oct2007.jpg]


RE: What's your oldest piece of hardware that's still alive? - z3bra - 07-06-2015

Got a N64 with Doom 1! Does this qualify as old piece of hardware?

RE: What's your oldest piece of hardware that's still alive? - greduan - 08-06-2015

Oldest I've got is a Dell Vostro 1500 from 2007. It's got the Intel Core 2 Duo 2GHz processor.

Use it all day err day, really need to buy something newer.

RE: What's your oldest piece of hardware that's still alive? - xero - 08-06-2015

old photo...
[Image: J8i03tI.jpg]
my atari 2600 is probably the oldest retro console i have...
but my record player might be older, idk.

RE: What's your oldest piece of hardware that's still alive? - venam - 08-06-2015

(08-06-2015, 11:27 AM)xero Wrote: old photo...
[Image: J8i03tI.jpg]
my atari 2600 is probably the oldest retro console i have...
but my record player might be older, idk.
You seem to have lost a lot of time in that room.

RE: What's your oldest piece of hardware that's still alive? - October - 08-06-2015

Looking at these consoles brings back a lot of memories.

RE: What's your oldest piece of hardware that's still alive? - movq - 14-06-2015

(07-06-2015, 11:53 AM)venam Wrote: My grandpa has a Grundig radio from 1958.
[Image: radio_Grundig_2066PX_restored_09oct2007.jpg]

Do you know if this still works? I mean, is it actually usable? Can you still receive some radio stations?

I've found most "older" radios (probably from the 1990'ies) to be virtually useless today. There's so much noise and static from modern devices that you can barely understand a word... Or, maybe it's always been that way and I've just gotten used to today's top-notch quality of TV/MP3/YouTube/everything. I'm not sure.

RE: What's your oldest piece of hardware that's still alive? - venam - 14-06-2015

(14-06-2015, 12:52 PM)vain Wrote:
(07-06-2015, 11:53 AM)venam Wrote: My grandpa has a Grundig radio from 1958.
[Image: radio_Grundig_2066PX_restored_09oct2007.jpg]

Do you know if this still works? I mean, is it actually usable? Can you still receive some radio stations?

I've found most "older" radios (probably from the 1990'ies) to be virtually useless today. There's so much noise and static from modern devices that you can barely understand a word... Or, maybe it's always been that way and I've just gotten used to today's top-notch quality of TV/MP3/YouTube/everything. I'm not sure.
I didn't test it, I just saw it laying around his house. So it might not be as "alive" as it should.

RE: What's your oldest piece of hardware that's still alive? - strang3quark - 05-07-2015

I have a ZX Spectrum +2B, It still works, I had a lot of tapes but they are all damaged now.

RE: What's your oldest piece of hardware that's still alive? - jvarg - 05-07-2015

I have an old IBM Model M from 1987 and an old Nokia Communicator 9000 from 1996
[Image: V7Ov3t9.jpg]

RE: What's your oldest piece of hardware that's still alive? - Loki123 - 01-03-2016

I have somewhere a Nintendo NES from 1983. Pretty neat and I loved that console.
I also have somewhere a desktop PC that has Win 3,1 and 8MB RAM. (8MB was the max for the computer..)
I'm unsure if I have some older stuff laying around, my grandparents might have something older.

RE: What's your oldest piece of hardware that's still alive? - tudurom - 01-03-2016

My mom's car. A Renault Megane I, post-facelift.

RE: What's your oldest piece of hardware that's still alive? - tudurom - 04-04-2016

I have some neat Nokia weapons:

[Image: ieGnDC0.jpg]


RE: What's your oldest piece of hardware that's still alive? - swathe - 24-05-2016

Tandy TRS-80. It's on display at the local university

RE: What's your oldest piece of hardware that's still alive? - josuah - 21-11-2016

At the University of Rennes 1, in philosophy department, there is a computer.

Full of dust, even if is in a very clean classroom. As if there was the superstition of the dust making it working, as in a voodoo curse.

The keyboard is a mechanical one, and the mice has a ball in it, from before the laser-based ones.

There was a Windows sticker at the side. Can't remember, but it was before Windows XP. It was already plugged in, so I turned it on to see what would happen, and then... Our teacher told us we had to go to switch room with another class. I could not see what happen.


I came back one week later, the screen was turned off as I let it, but the computer was still running! I plugged the screen power cable, and turned it on:

[Image: 4rqS2kS.jpg]

A linux getty prompting for my login!

What is this system? An old Linux on a very old hardware? Ctrl + Alt + Del, and systemd reboots... Systemd? Not that old after all...

Now it boot up!

At least, no tricky UEFI to configure, plain old BIOS please!
[Image: 2DMRCto.jpg]

With these green (or red if FAIL) [ OK ] at the right, I assume it is systemd, right?
[Image: DaJiAGB.jpg]

So it is a RedHat we got there, (written in red, obviously).
[Image: Yfd997c.jpg]

I hope to cross more of these relics along my way.

[EDIT] typo!

RE: What's your oldest piece of hardware that's still alive? - venam - 22-11-2016

(21-11-2016, 05:43 PM)josuah Wrote: So it is a RedHat we go there, (written in red, obviously).
Probably a sys-admin machine.
It's probably directly connected to skynet mainframe.

RE: What's your oldest piece of hardware that's still alive? - josuah - 22-11-2016


Quite a safe place to hide a terminal to a mainframe: old dusty computer in plain sight, looking like pending for being trashed.

RE: What's your oldest piece of hardware that's still alive? - hades - 29-11-2016

I still have an Apple Powerbook G4 from around 2007, which is like 30 years old in Apple years. It has Debian installed, and the screen has a bad flicker problem. It has resided in my closet, mostly unused, for about 3 years now.

RE: What's your oldest piece of hardware that's still alive? - venam - 19-04-2021

Alright, what's your oldest piece of hardware that's still alive?

Personally, I don't have much hardware around other than my main laptop: Acer aspire v5-551 from 2012. I guess it can be considered "old" at this point but for me it's still "new".
So, what's your oldest hardware?

RE: What's your oldest piece of hardware that's still alive? - jkl - 19-04-2021

The oldest piece of hardware that's still alive and in regular use is my IBM Model F XT keyboard. I'm positive that it is unlikely that I will ever own an even older piece of hardware. (No room for a PDP-11.)

RE: What's your oldest piece of hardware that's still alive? - ckester - 19-04-2021

After struggling to fix yet another paper-jamming issue, I finally retired my LaserJet 4+. So the oldest hardware that's still in use at my house is now my ThinkPad T410.

(The PowerPC Mac Mini is back in the boneyard. It was a fun exercise to get a BSD running on it, but it was too underpowered to be of much use.)

RE: What's your oldest piece of hardware that's still alive? - seninha - 20-04-2021

I have an old Core 2 Duo from 2007 that used to be my home server (back when I had a home server). I also have an old Celeron CPU around. Those are stored; not in use.

The oldest still active computer thing I have is my secondhand monitor from 2006 that I use as a second monitor for my also-old (but not that old) also-secondhand Thinkpad T430 from 2012.