AU$50 well spent

[LCGuy]

Just bought a Compaq DeskPro EN off a mate at uni, one of these, to be exact.

Not a bad machine. Coppermine P3/1 Ghz, 384MB RAM (3 128MB PC100 sticks), no optical drive, no HDD. Best bit though, and the main reason i got it, is the video card - Radeon 7000 PCI.

The machine fails POST, but the main reason i bought it was the graphics card, which is going into the Dell, and the chip, which is going into the P3 as soon as I can find a Slocket adaptor. In the meantime I'm going to swap bits between it and my old bomb of a Celery 600 to see if I can get it going again.

I have to say though, for a machine thats barely much bigger than a Macintosh LC, it weighs nearly as much as a large Australian family sedan.

 

[Unknown_K]

A bit much for a dead machine and no drives isn't it?

Better hope the CPU is not he reason it won't post.

Don't they have PCI Radeon 7000 cheap in AU? Only the Mac versions are worth much here.

 

[LCGuy]

The thing is, as it is prices are inflated where I live, and I have no access to eBay. If i were to buy the chip and the card seperately, it'd probably end up costing me just as much, if not more. Its just that I live in a rural area, and stuff like this isn't as easy to find as it is in the city.

 

[Unknown_K]

Ok.

If a dead P3 is a good deal at $50, how much is a working G4?

 

[LCGuy]

You'd be looking at a good AU$100+, if you can find one. (As I've said a thousand times, Mac stuff is rare here)

And I am 100% serious.

As for my P3, another reason I got it is that I need the bits, and personally I'd prefer to buy them from a good mate, than any of the computer shops that sell used computer gear around here, all of which remind me of your typical dodgy used car dealership, complete with the salesman with the dodgy smile. (the computer shop that I like only sells brand new gear)

 

[LCGuy]

Just caught the town bus to the city centre, I'm at a park now using the WiFi. Seen some people give me some pretty weird looks grunting and groaning while carrying a backpack in my hands with a PC sticking out of it! haha

Oh well, its not as bad as the time I carried an AppleVision 1710 halfway across a large university campus with a builder's wheelburrow.

 

[LCGuy]

Well i had a look at it last night. You're not going to believe this, but it not only POSTS, but also boots! :O Haven't had a chance to hook up a drive and see if it boots properly yet, but booted up and complained about a flat CMOS battery. I set the date and time, and had a bit of a look around CMOS setup, rebooted, and it came up with the normal Compaq boot screen, and booted all the way until it tried to find a boot device, which there are none.

Only problem is that one of the case release buttons, the one on the right is busted. How would I go about getting the case open? :-/

 

[Unknown_K]

No idea how those open, use a screwdriver I guess or find a way to unscrew the bezels.

 

[Temetka]

Sawzall for the win..

With the proper blade you can 'open' darn near anything.

:evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

 

[LCGuy]

Lol, I've asked on a few forums, and nearly everyone suggests that I do something violent!

Ok, here's a challenge - once I get the machine open, it must be able to go back together!

 

[porter]

Ok, here's a challenge - once I get the machine open, it must be able to go back together!

Start from the inside.

How about you post a picture of the problem, otherwise we're just guessing. Personally I would use a sonic screwdriver, it seems to get the Doctor into most things.

 

[LCGuy]

The problem is, I can't take a picture of anything, since I can't get inside to begin with.

Basically, the button on the left is fine. You press it down, and it releases the latch. The button on the right, however, doesn't do anything. you press on it and it doesn't go down.

 

[Bunsen]

See if you can work out how the left latch works, and whether poking something in the right place with that information would open the right latch.

Yeah, I like those wee Compaqs. I got one here from a garage sale for $2, with a DVD burner in it. I think the Win install was pooched.

Sorry, big city. I was lucky. If those are the parts you need, I think you got a good score. Is there a freecycle list for your area? (which is what, Bundaberg or somewhere, right?)

And yep, the G4 towers continue to hover around AU$100 (which hello, 25 year record high, is US$97 today), even on ebay and in the cities.

 

[porter]

Basically, the button on the left is fine. You press it down, and it releases the latch. The button on the right, however, doesn't do anything. you press on it and it doesn't go down.

You need a Whitworth's 3/4" widget jimmy.

 

[LCGuy]

See if you can work out how the left latch works, and whether poking something in the right place with that information would open the right latch.
Yeah, I like those wee Compaqs. I got one here from a garage sale for $2, with a DVD burner in it. I think the Win install was pooched.

Sorry, big city. I was lucky. If those are the parts you need, I think you got a good score. Is there a freecycle list for your area? (which is what, Bundaberg or somewhere, right?)

And yep, the G4 towers continue to hover around AU$100 (which hello, 25 year record high, is US$97 today), even on ebay and in the cities.

I got it open, by jamming a screwdriver in where the button goes in, and then pressing the good button in the "normal" way.

Yeah, I'm near Bundaberg, and although there is a freecycle list, the only stuff ever on it is usually requests for working cars, requests for working, modern computers, requests for modern/valuable computer parts, baby clothes, old VHS tapes, 10 year old inkjet printers, etc, etc.

Either way, its now back in one piece, with a 40GB HDD, a Pioneer slot-load CD-ROM drive, and a WinModem. The Radeon 7000 is now in my Dell P4. This morning I put Windows Server 2008 Datacenter Edition on the Compaq. I had a Celeron 600 chip inside it at the time, and with that and 384MB of RAM, it not only installed, but also boots without complaint. Performance-wise, its a bit sluggish, but really not too bad, all things considered.