New, non-Apple, non-PC conquest!

[grayson]

So here at CERN, people occasionally pitch old computer hardware and I get to rummage through it. Today I picked up a Sun SparcStation2, complete with external CD-rom drive, several internal hard drives, a full bank of RAM and a 20" CRT monitor. Unfortunately, I haven't booted it up yet since I can't find the 13W3 cable to connect the monitor to the machine, but when I do, I'll try to track down a copy of SunOS 4.1.4, an older version of Solaris or maybe a Linux/BSD variant, throw it on there and see what happens. Oh, if I get Solaris for it, I'm going to try to track down a copy of MAE to put on it.

 

[MacMan]

Nice find! We have a few of these kicking around in our University Physics department, though I am not entirely sure what they are used for.

 

[Bunsen]

Oh. My. Lord. You get to rummage through the bins at CERN??? That's like dumpster diver heaven!

Flabbergasted

 

[grayson]

Yup, there are several small skips in my building and quite a few HUGE ones just around. More than 90% is crap though (Pentiums, broken oscilloscopes, rickety CRTs, etc). Also, almost no Mac stuff, since physicists didn't really start using Macs until OS X. There is a B&W G3 that I've seen lying around, I'm trying to find out if it's actually been disposed of or if it's just lying there waiting for a new task.

It is a dumpster-divers dream, but I have no car and a tiny studio apartment. I feel like Tantalus.

Oh. My. Lord. You get to rummage through the bins at CERN??? That's like dumpster diver heaven!
Flabbergasted

 

[MacMan]

I have so much fun in the science faculty's skips at Uni, and I could imagine CERN would be amazing! I'm always wary of the Chemistry department's skips as they can sometimes contain strange things, same with the Biology department. There are alot of broken test tubes and the likes which should probably be disposed of seperately. However the skips of these departments have yielded many good conquests in the past including PowerMacs and a Colour Classic.

It is tricky when I find things lying around the Physics department as you often can't tell whether it is going to get thrown out or it is waiting to be moved elsewhere. More recently though they have started leaving waste equipment beside the door of the goods entrance to indicate that people can take it, and quite often I'll go there to see what's lying around. I once found a Mac Classic sitting there which I promptly nabbed and took home!

 

[Bunsen]

This reminds me: it's nearly the end of the financial year again }

 

[LCGuy]

You work at CERN???? :O That would be incredible!!!! :O

 

[Quadraman]

That's the way it goes at big corporations and universities and the like. Every year they get a budget for replacing computers and if they don't use it, they lose it so they use it and the old computers get pitched, working or not. My brother worked IT for a major financial institution and I just mentioned to him how I'd like a 7500, not intending for him to get me one, but a few weeks later, he got me one. He said they upgraded and binned a bunch of old machines. I wish I could have dumpster dived the place, but it was too far away and they had one of those trash compactors that can only be loaded from inside the building.

 

[LCGuy]

I wish my uni worked like that. The last time i saw them throwing stuff out was in 2003...nabbed an 8100, and some Apple displays, and an Apple Extended Keyboard II.

 

[coius]

my university binned about 25 G4 AGP PowerMacs. sadly, my mom would not let me go get them (i have no car, and still live at home). So, they all got taken to the landfill. no one in this city seems to like apple, since they didn't sell at auction. I think some of them were duallies too! 512MB ram, and a 64MB AGP 2x RADEON were in a few of them.

EDIT: it makes me sick everytime I think about it :'(

 

[Quadraman]

my university binned about 25 G4 AGP PowerMacs. sadly, my mom would not let me go get them (i have no car, and still live at home). So, they all got taken to the landfill. no one in this city seems to like apple, since they didn't sell at auction. I think some of them were duallies too! 512MB ram, and a 64MB AGP 2x RADEON were in a few of them.
EDIT: it makes me sick everytime I think about it :'(

In the future, when you hear about something like that, please post here where the stuff is located. Even if you can't pick it up, maybe someone else here can.

 

[coius]

yeah will do, but this was like 2 years ago. at that time, i was not much part of any forums, except applefritter, and I know pretty much nobody lives where I do (Omaha, NE) so it will be very hard for someone to drop everything at the tip of a hat, and drive all the way here.

 

[wally]

...and I know pretty much nobody lives where I do (Omaha, NE) so it will be very hard for someone to drop everything at the tip of a hat, and drive all the way here.

Check with Patnukem, he may be local to you, the other day in the Trading Post he was asking about a variac for delivery to your city. Don't know his transportation situation, but in any case it would be nice for you to have someone local to trade with!

 

[Bunsen]

It is a dumpster-divers dream, but I have no car and a tiny studio apartment. I feel like Tantalus.

Do you have a parking space? If so, might I recommend the purchase of a mid to late 1980s Toyota HiAce delivery van? Voila, transport and storage in one, for a measly few hundred to couple thousand bucks.

Heh, if it's not registered, at least you'll have lockable storage }

 

[Kallikak]

Also, almost no Mac stuff, since physicists didn't really start using Macs until OS X.

They did when I was studying - almost exclusively for desktop stuff, but also for some numerical work.

 

[MacMan]

Seems my Physics department has always used a mixture of machines: Macs, Windows / DOS and Acorns. The Maths department, (which is in an ajoining building), uses Macs almost everywhere as they are apparantly much better for running hard-core Maths programs than PC's.

 

[mongo]

Today I picked up a Sun SparcStation2, complete with external CD-rom drive, several internal hard drives, a full bank of RAM and a 20" CRT monitor. Unfortunately, I haven't booted it up yet since I can't find the 13W3 cable to connect the monitor to the machine,

I have two 13w3 cables that I'm not using. alternately, Sparcs look for a terminal connection on the serial port if there is no keyboard/monitor connected to the machine. You can also use a vga adapter, you'll need to reset the NVRAM parameters on the Sparc by typing blind, but it can be done.

That external CDROM is a nice find, hang on to that one. I had a lot of trouble finding a cdrom drive that was sun compatible.

I've had a lot of fun restoring old Sun's, enjoy!

 

[gobabushka]

sweet dude, im tryin to decide if i wanna conquest a sparcstation ipx, the only problem is tht i would need a 13w3 adapter, and an external cd rom drive for it. those are the deciding factors there