TPU's Nostalgic Hardware Club

[QuietBob]

The best way to use these older OS's, is just use them to surf the web

Or for benching older hardware and playing games. Using the internet on anything older than XP is problematic for the lack of modern browser support. Also, with all those bloated websites, even casual browsing seems to require a dual core setup at minimum. In my experience a single core just doesn't cut it for the web any more, no matter how high the clock.

 

[stinger608]

Or for benching older hardware and playing games. Using the internet on anything older than XP is problematic for the lack of modern browser support. Also, with all those bloated websites, even casual browsing seems to require a dual core setup at minimum. In my experience a single core just doesn't cut it for the web any more, no matter how high the clock.

Here is a site for browsers for XP. Older systems may work as well.

The 5 Best Browsers for Windows XP

Microsoft may have stopped supporting Windows XP, but that doesn't mean it is no longer in use. But why would anyone still use Windows XP? Well, for

appuals.com

 

[Trekkie4]

Well guys there you have it. Adison system is all back together & seems to be working!


Or is it...? Things unfortunately got stuck - in fact, just about EVERYTHING related to that Adison system backfired & seems to be going against my expectations & hopes. Case is still not finished (in fact, I have to visit the place first thing tomorrow morning & provide them with all the missing case parts, which they didn't want to sandblast & powdercoat at first, but they changed their mind), CRT is still at the repair shop, to be seen if it can be repaired or not and everything else is well, simply said stuck! I don't have a CD-ROM drive, I don't even have enough hex screws to put everything together, or the replacement PC speaker which is on its way from China. Oh yeah, I'm also missing that power switch so I've decided to put everything together (as it was, all these years) and keep it safely inside until I'll be able to put everything back together again.


Oddly enough, when I assembled the system back together again it didn't want to boot. Kept sounding the endless "siren" loop, aka the RAM issue. I honestly don't understand why, or because of what (since I had that same RAM module previously inside & it never had any issues) sooo just when things got desperately serious, I've decided to give it another stick of RAM & it booted up fine. *shrug* So, at least the replacement caps are working fine & there are no obvious damage to the system from what I can tell...

So much for now. But in the words of Star Trek, it's "To be continued..."

 

[biffzinker]

Well guys there you have it. Adison system is all back together & seems to be working!


Or is it...? Things unfortunately got stuck - in fact, just about EVERYTHING related to that Adison system backfired & seems to be going against my expectations & hopes. Case is still not finished (in fact, I have to visit the place first thing tomorrow morning & provide them with all the missing case parts, which they didn't want to sandblast & powdercoat at first, but they changed their mind), CRT is still at the repair shop, to be seen if it can be repaired or not and everything else is well, simply said stuck! I don't have a CD-ROM drive, I don't even have enough hex screws to put everything together, or the replacement PC speaker which is on its way from China. Oh yeah, I'm also missing that power switch so I've decided to put everything together (as it was, all these years) and keep it safely inside until I'll be able to put everything back together again.


Oddly enough, when I assembled the system back together again it didn't want to boot. Kept sounding the endless "siren" loop, aka the RAM issue. I honestly don't understand why, or because of what (since I had that same RAM module previously inside & it never had any issues) sooo just when things got desperately serious, I've decided to give it another stick of RAM & it booted up fine. *shrug* So, at least the replacement caps are working fine & there are no obvious damage to the system from what I can tell...

So much for now. But in the words of Star Trek, it's "To be continued..."

That was a fast PC back in the day with a Pentium II 350MHz. I didn't notice it was clocked at 350MHz.

Any dust/dirt in the SDRAM slot that was missed or solder joints on the back cracked?

 

[Trekkie4]

That was a fast PC back in the day with a Pentium II 350MHz. I didn't notice it was clocked at 350MHz.

Any dust/dirt in the SDRAM slot that was missed or solder joints on the back cracked?

It sure was! This one was actually right next to top of the line model, which would had been @400MHz at the time. It was a professional system, designed for those who wanted (and needed) extra performance. But mom & dad paid extra to have it fitted with Monster 3DII, 12MB which made one heck of a system! This is also the reason why it didn't have Iomega ZIP drive, originally it was supposed to have ZIP100, but to keep the cost down mom & dad specifically asked for the Iomega drive to not be included. Adison was was already expensive enough, it cost us around $2,300 or €1,980 at the time.

No - and that's the bizarre part. From what I can tell, the RAM module is fine, I even soaked the contacts in contact-cleaning solution but nothing... It didn't want to boot in EITHER of the 4 banks, but it worked fine with another stick.

 

[biffzinker]

It didn't want to boot in EITHER of the 4 banks, but it worked fine with another stick.

Maybe it's picky about the DRAM brand on the RAM module? I had a SCSI Zip drive for the PowerBase 240 (PowerMac clone) it was handy for backups or to boot off. Later moved to a Jaz Drive, and had to toss in a Adaptec SCSI Ultra2 PCI card to connect the drive. I held on to the Jaz drive after I donated the PowerBase. Later on I finally gave away the Jaz drive to someone.

 

[Dinnercore]

No - and that's the bizarre part. From what I can tell, the RAM module is fine, I even soaked the contacts in contact-cleaning solution but nothing... It didn't want to boot in EITHER of the 4 banks, but it worked fine with another stick.

Sounds like all of my DFI Lanparty boards. They sometimes even refuse to turn on with certain RAM brands installed. BUT only sometimes, other days the same stick of RAM is just fine. And I tested all of my sticks and know they are all good and working, only with these DFI boards its a big mystery what will work in them. Even my two P45 ones, mATX and the full ATX version of one and the same board do only start up with different sets of RAM. If I were to swap the sets I have in both now, both of them would not work. But if I use them as is now, they are running fine...

 

[Trekkie4]

Maybe it's picky about the DRAM brand on the RAM module? I had a SCSI Zip drive for the PowerBase 240 (PowerMac clone) it was handy for backups or to boot off. Later moved to a Jaz Drive, and had to toss in a Adaptec SCSI Ultra2 PCI card.

Yes, but that same RAM module worked fine the last time I had the system running, before replacing the caps... Oh well, doesn't matter I suppose. Sure glad that it's the RAM and NOT the actual motherboard!

So, regarding Adison & model lineup, I found this:


It clearly shows the lineup of all their models available at the time. Starting from the top, we have "Aurora, for safe beginning" as in safe introduction to computers" for those who are only getting started.
Followed by Multimedia HIT 15 (described to be "for family people") - this one is specifically relevant to my current situation because that replacement case (which is now being powder coated & sandblasted) actually came branded as "Multimedia HIT", which worked to my advantage because this particular model didn't have much hardware installed, therefore all the optional plates & expansion bays remained intact.
Then the next one in line was "Multimedia Duo". (described as "for those who love beautiful things) And unlike other Adison systems, this particular one came in weirdly shaped purple (Codegen?) case... Sure glad mine wasn't one of those, because I don't remember the last time I saw one of these in person...!

And THEN we finally have the "Open Space", simply described to be "For professionals". Mine was/is Open Space, with its 350MHz Pentium II & 64MB of RAM. After that one, the only way up was "Star Gate", which would had been their top of the line model at the time. Featuring Pentium II @400MHz, and (I'm going to assume) 128MB of RAM this one would had been seriously expensive & a long term investment.

To show off their appreciation for buying their Open Space system, I received a cool looking gift which I still have today - a wrist watch.


And let me tell you, this thing went for a dive several times (up to 3, 4 meters deep), so not only it is water proof, but it's also water resistant. It also fell down on the floor more than couple of times and survived literally everything! In fact, it is working just fine, it just needs a replacement battery

 

[stinger608]

Frigging awesome job and project @Trekkie4

 

[Trekkie4]

Frigging awesome job and project @Trekkie4

Thanks, but I suppose not quite yet ... although I HOPE that it WILL be someday, when I finally put it back together

This is going to take longer than I expected, but I'm hoping that things will eventually line up to my advantage & that I'll be able to fill in all the missing bits of this puzzle.

 

[biffzinker]

So, regarding Adison & model lineup, I found this:

I tried looking for the Multimedia Duo 17 but there isn't anything for it on the internet.

 

[Trekkie4]

I tried looking for the Multimedia Duo 17 but there isn't anything for it on the internet.

Ha, I'm not surprised

First of all, Adison was a Croatian company (from what I know & remember), which was part of the bigger picture called "Polaris", which was the main importer at the time for the entire country & region even. And second, the entire company went bankrupt in 2003 due to competitive prices & new companies surfacing, to the point where they lost their market share & everything went downhill. So they only exist on paper nowdays, such as these brochures which I kept all these years

But nevertheless, if you still want to take a look at their website & what they had to offer, use THIS LINK, through WayBack. Several captures are available, between 1998 & 2002.

 

[biffzinker]

Ha, I'm not surprised

I curious about the odd shaped front panel, and monitor/speaker hence why I was looking.

 

[Trekkie4]

I curious about the odd shaped front panel, and monitor/speaker hence why I was looking.

Oh, those were not manufactured by them. They were only part distributors (and provided service of pre-built systems), not manufacturers. In fact, even my "Adison" case is not really Adison at all. I have no idea who made it (I wish I have, it would have made my search a LOT easier) but I'm going to assume that it's either AOpen, or maybe Codegen. That purple case was indeed manufactured by Codegen, and my "Adison" case originally came with Codegen PSU. Sooo it could be, IDK *shrug*

 

[framebuffer]

Radeon 9800 Pro 256

 

[QuietBob]

Here is a site for browsers for XP. Older systems may work as well.

Found this page with even more choices, regularly updated:

Browsers for Windows XP — Retrobrowsers.com

www.xpbrowsers.com

It also links to an informative XP Forever wiki

 

[stinger608]

Found this page with even more choices, regularly updated:

Browsers for Windows XP — Retrobrowsers.com

www.xpbrowsers.com

It also links to an informative XP Forever wiki

Hope you don't mind bro, I put that in the original post as well man!!!!!

 

[Mr Bill]

Here is a site for browsers for XP. Older systems may work as well.

Chrome works fine on my XP Pro 64 bit, could never get Firefox or the New Edge to work. If you're not familiar with using Chrome with XP, some sites will not allow you in, but if you look on the page that comes up that says this site is not compatible with this browser, it really is, you just had to read that page real good, and you can find your way in. Here is some information on how to stop Chrome from flagging this browser is not supported anymore. https://www.askvg.com/tip-disable-w...be-supported-yellow-infobar-in-google-chrome/ This is the version of Chrome I'm using with my XP Pro 64 bit "Google Chrome (32bit) v48.0.2564.116"

 

[lexluthermiester]

I wonder how well PC Mark 2002 would run with an SSD up it's bum!!

Very well actually, I've done that test just to see the results. They were as expected, through the roof!

 

[Trekkie4]

Just a quick update. I had a talk with the guy & a final decision has been made. Adison case is going in for a full powder coat, inside & out (rather than just outside & sandblasting the interior). External panels will receive a fresh coat of beige/white, while the internal ones will feature silver-metallic finish. The same one that you would normally find on alloy wheels or older cars. Which is hardly a coincidence since the case is being processed & painted at the garage, specialized in restoring old Jags, Porsches & Mercs.

Nope, I'm not kidding

 

[Mr Bill]

Ok, I went out to the barn this afternoon, and dug through a box of oldies but goodies...

 

[sam_86314]

I recently restored my old PC from 2006-ish to 2013. And yes, I know it's dirty. I'm too lazy to clean it.

HP Pavilion a1250n
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+
RAM: 4x512MB DDR-266
GPU: ATi Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB (had others before that I don't remember)
OS: Windows 7 Pro (originally ran XP, then Vista, then 7 Starter, and finally 7 Pro).

I've had other PCs before this one, but this one is the oldest one I have detailed memories of.

I originally had some 80GB drive in it (probably a Maxtor). In 2011 or 2012, I switched to a fresh install on a 40GB Maxtor Fireball 3. Because I like sentimental things, I couldn't bring myself to erase that drive and do a fresh install, so I grabbed a blank 100GB Maxtor that I have and did a fresh install on it.

It originally had a 350W Enermax PSU, but the cable spaghetti got annoying, so I switched it out for one of my 350W InWin PSUs a few days ago. I also swapped the CPU fan because the bearings on the original were long gone.

I think my very first PC was the infamous Patriot Computing Hot Wheels PC. I still have the CD book from it (with the original discs it came with).

 

[Mr Bill]

I recently restored my old PC from 2006-ish to 2013. And yes, I know it's dirty. I'm too lazy to clean it.

HP Pavilion a1250n
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+
RAM: 4x512MB DDR-266
GPU: ATi Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB (had others before that I don't remember)
OS: Windows 7 Pro (originally ran XP, then Vista, then 7 Starter, and finally 7 Pro).

I've had other PCs before this one, but this one is the oldest one I have detailed memories of.

I originally had some 80GB drive in it (probably a Maxtor). In 2011 or 2012, I switched to a fresh install on a 40GB Maxtor Fireball 3. Because I like sentimental things, I couldn't bring myself to erase that drive and do a fresh install, so I grabbed a blank 100GB Maxtor that I have and did a fresh install on it, It originally had a 350W Enermax PSU, but the cable spaghetti got annoying, so I switched it out for one of my 350W InWin PSUs a few days ago. I also swapped the CPU fan because the bearings on the original were long gone.

I think my very first PC was the infamous Patriot Computing Hot Wheels PC. I still have the CD book from it (with the original discs it came with).

I didn't even remember having the HP PC I found out there, I have no idea what the processor is, maybe tomorrow I should power it up, and see if it will go into the bios.

 

[Ruru]

Yay, getting some Netburst LGA775 CPUs for free one of those must hit the magical 5GHz

 

[QuietBob]

I recently restored my old PC from 2006-ish to 2013. . . . Because I like sentimental things

You and us both my good sir!