View Full Version : Found computer
Roxstein
10-02-2009, 02:46 AM
So, I found this computer sitting on the sidewalk, and it starts. The disc drives all work, they open... nothing sounds wrong with it, but I don't have a monitor or any other peripherals to test if it truly functions, and when started it produces a buzzing/beeping noise- Can anyone explain this? I only ever got this with my old desktop when the RAM wasn't inserted correctly - everything seems fine on this desktop, so why is it doing that?
Anyway, pics:
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/559/p100209013324.j pg
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/6688/p100209013340. jpg
http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/9716/p10020901335 2.jpg
Does it seem like a waste of time to purchase cheap monitor/keyboard/mouse etc? I have a 2002 ThinkPad so with an extremely low budget I could get this computer working, given it doesn't have any large problems, and it could be an upgrade... maybe.
Not really. You can do a lot of interesting things with a old PC. Home server / AccessFromAnywhere etcetc
But, before you do anything drastic with the hard drive. Run file recovery software
You might be one of the lucky people who manage to find classified or corporate documents on old useless HDD's.
Best i could find on my own were a few Powerpoint and Excel sheets from a credit card company but no seriously good information to go on. Imagine it like a treasure hunt if you will
Roxstein
10-02-2009, 04:49 AM
Not really. You can do a lot of interesting things with a old PC. Home server / AccessFromAnywhere etcetc
But, before you do anything drastic with the hard drive. Run file recovery software
You might be one of the lucky people who manage to find classified or corporate documents on old useless HDD's.
Best i could find on my own were a few Powerpoint and Excel sheets from a credit card company but no seriously good information to go on. Imagine it like a treasure hunt if you will
Definitely going to look for cool stuff on it. Maybe some CP or something.
wat
If it fails to be a usable primary PC, but still functions, I'll put Linux on it.
lillb
10-02-2009, 01:36 PM
when it starts is it only one beep? or multiple beeps?
Piggus
10-02-2009, 02:29 PM
The number of beeps and how long they are is a type of error code.
One quick beep like you hear on most PCs means everything is working fine. One long beep followed by two short ones is a video card problem for example. Look up a list and see if you can match it.
.:Mouldy Punk:.
10-02-2009, 04:11 PM
If it fails to be a usable primary PC, but still functions, I'll put Linux on it.
This made me lol a lil. Sums up linux IMO :P
If you can get it up and running, it'd probably make a pretty sweet server box. Backups, extra storage, whatever really. You could probably strip it down to the bare minimum and have it as an always-on headless unit.
Roxstein
10-04-2009, 06:05 AM
The beeps are constant, 1 second apart, 1 second long. :x
Also, Linucks is great, but I don't have enough space for it on my primary :C
lillb
10-04-2009, 07:02 AM
Do you have a keyboard attached or not?
its possible that the beeps are due to not having a keyboard attached.
If you know anyone who's got a monitor, mouse, and keyboard you could borrow for testing that would prob be best
xelasha
10-04-2009, 08:48 AM
Linux is ok if your not gonna game. Otherwise it gets annoying switching between the two.
But for everyday normal tasks its great, Nice and fast.
You can play games, including modern ones but it's a fucking pain getting them to work with Wine.
Tons of custom configs and other winetricks needed
xelasha
10-04-2009, 09:27 AM
Nah wine is fucked I hate fiddling with that shit.
Things either turn worse or continue to not work and you don't know where you went wrong so you go back looking at configs and shit and you edit a few things and that multiplies the problem. Then you dlt Linux.
I spend like a motherfucking week fidling around with the audio config files.
I had 2 channel sound on a 5.1HD set which pissed me off. Audio quality on the MP3 was shit compared to Windows.
Funny thing is, i deleted the entire audio config to see what would happen and it started working. I opened a MP3 and the sound was working like it should have been.
Fucking ALSA and the rest of the audio is b0rked
cool find roxstien, I like picking up older computers for a discount price or free and repairing and refurbishing them, its a hobbie of mine.
and like others said the beeping noise is because no keyboard is plugged into it, as far as the buzzing noise, that could be anything.
and from the pictures it looks like it has everything it needs internally to be a useable system. CD Drives, floppy drive, onboard video, onboard sound, onboard lan, hardrive, modem card, etc. (not sure on the CPU and ram)
can you take some better pictures around the motherboard and CPU fan area, you can remove the screws that mounts the power supply to the case if you want easier access to it.
Roxstein
10-04-2009, 07:16 PM
I'll probably grab an old keyboard I have at my dads house, see what happens.
As for pics, I'll try later, when I'm not lazy. xp But everything looks fine.