Commodore 64 left outside for over a decade! Could it still work??

I was given a Commodore 64C that had been left outside for a decade or more in rural Oregon. It dealt with everything mother nature could throw at it while it sat outside. Could this machine possibly still work?
Watch to find out!
NOTE: The soldered chip I said might possible be the SID was actually the PLA. The SID is the socketed chip by the video connector.
--- Video links
Part 2: • "Left for dead" Commod...
Demo disk used:
SIDBurners 7
csdb.dk/release/?id=10043
--- Tools
Deoxit D5:
amzn.to/2VvOKy1
store.caig.com/s.nl/it.A/id.16...
Jonard Tools EX-2 Chip Extractor:
amzn.to/2VazxDS
www.jonard.com/Products/EX-2-...
Wiha Chip Lifter:
amzn.to/3a9ftWw
www.wihatools.com/precision-c...
O-Ring Pick Set: (I use these to lift chips off boards)
amzn.to/3a9x54J
Elenco Electronics LP-560 Logic Probe:
amzn.to/2VrT5lW
Hakko FR301 Desoldering Iron:
amzn.to/2ye6xC0
Rigol DS1054Z Four Channel Oscilloscope:
www.rigolna.com/products/digi...
Head Worn Magnifying Goggles / Dual Lens Flip-In Head Magnifier:
amzn.to/3adRbuy
TL866II Plus Chip Tester and EPROM programmer: (The MiniPro)
amzn.to/2wG4tlP
www.aliexpress.com/item/33000...
TS100 Soldering Iron:
amzn.to/2K36dJ5
www.ebay.com/itm/TS100-65W-MI...
EEVBlog 121GW Multimeter:
www.eevblog.com/product/121gw/
DSLogic Basic Logic Analyzer:
amzn.to/2RDSDQw
www.ebay.com/itm/USB-Logic-DS...
Magnetic Screw Holder:
amzn.to/3b8LOhG
www.harborfreight.com/4-inch-...
Universal ZIP sockets: (clones, used on my ZIF-64 test machine)
www.ebay.com/itm/14-16-18-20-...
RetroTink 2X Upconverter: (to hook up something like a C64 to HDMI)
www.retrotink.com/
Plato (Clone) Side Cutters: (order five)
www.ebay.com/itm/1-2-5-10PCS-...
Heat Sinks:
www.aliexpress.com/item/32537...
Little squeezy bottles: (available elsewhere too)
amzn.to/3b8LOOI
--- Links
My GitHub repository:
github.com/misterblack1?tab=r...
Commodore Computer Club (of Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington)
www.commodorecomputerclub.com/
Tivoo Pixel Art Display seen in my videos:
www.amazon.com/Divoom-Tivoo-r...
--- C64 Stuff
JaffyDOS:
blog.worldofjani.com/?p=3544
C64 Test Harness I use:
• Building a Commodore 6...
C64 Homebrew cartridge PCB: (used for the DeadTest / Diag Cart I use)
www.ebay.com/itm/Commodore-64...
EasyFlash 3 Multi-Cart:
store.go4retro.com/easyflash-3/
--- Instructional videos
My video on damage-free chip removal:
• How to remove chips wi...
--- Music
Music at end: (thanks to LuomuBanaani)
Ode to C64 by Søren Lund (Jeff)
csdb.dk/sid/?id=15426
Intro music by:
Nathan Divino
@itsnathandivino
Outro Music:
Abyss by | e s c p | escp-music.bandcamp.com
Music promoted by www.free-stock-music.com
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
creativecommons.org/licenses/...
--- Image Credits
None

[@LGR]

Fantastic, haha. Retro computers are so odd. I've had C64s that visually appear brand new that had way worse problems!

[@DEMENTO01]

Same but with late 90s tech haha (love your videos btw)

[@retroretiree2086]

My theory on those type of machines that look brand new but not working, is because they never worked properly so languished in their boxes unused!

[@RodrigoBadin]

Retro computers are like wine, the old the better.

[@michaelkessler3813]

Looks can really be deceiving in life. You never know what your gonna get with something from its appearance, and I guess this video and your comment prove that.

[@davidbjork5063]

@@retroretiree2086 Yes true and also how they stored. But the real funny thing is that for me these retro 80s technology and older works. I just connected and old videocamera from 1996, wanted to digitalize and burn to DVD some HI8 tapes. Yeh it worked to do that I was very afraid for the belts because it has been totally unused for more than 10 years! But then I turned on the camera mode. Picture totally black, wtf 😕 It means that some electronic gone bad in time degrading. But still happy all my tapes regardless if its music or video still works very good. But then I have some DVD-R thats only 10-15 years totally damaged. Everything is stored inside my house and in same space 😨

[@ian_b]

Ants: "Our modernist mansion is gone forever!"

[@shawbros]

You have to feel sorry for the ants.

[@MultiTomtom23]

Maybe they were currently in the process of calculating their way to the moon... I mean ants in a c64... I don't think the moved in there unintentionally 🤣 I even would go so far to speculate they were freemasons.. 😜😂

[@anrriveradxndsigamer1495]

me: *gives the ants a c64c case with carboard inside*

[@juventusventuno9213]

not many ants can say 'Born and raised in a C-64, baby!'

[@Bromon655]

Lol

[@museonfilm8919]

In a post apocolyptic world - we'll be okay with 8 bit music - that's good to know!

[@busybiscy]

The c64 isnt a fucking cockroach

[@GuardianWorld]

@@busybiscy It can survive 10 years of nature, MIGHT AS WELL SURVIVE A NUKE!

[@peterlamont647]

Ya, the c64 is the ak-47 of computing...and the Swiss army knife. Just saying.

[@hotcoregaming9902]

So nothing will really change... we will all hole up with a computer and eat Twinkies. I thought it'd be grimmer.

[@joescofield8652]

Hahahahaha gold

[@collectivesartori]

“We have flashing cursor”. Absolutely gold moment.

[@kduuutdschbonnbock5471]

█ ░ █ ░ █ ░ █ ░ █ ░ █ ░ █ ░ █ ░

[@Sinistar1983]

64 likes

[@BASSstarlet]

I still remember how excited it was the moving cursor in my Spectrum, the first time connected to tv set!

[@ShamblerDK]

When you showed the inside of that thing, I was expecting a lot of fixing and a multiple video series before we'd see any kind of life. I am baffled.

[@RedstoneMiner18]

Same lmao

[@metelicgunz146]

30 year old computer that was left outside for 10 years works when my motherboard is shipped dead.

[@tct72]

@War Zone It was likely the developer for ET that made the board.

[@williamb3323]

How true.

[@ReinoudVanBeek]

So true

[@byjohnson7659]

Sad but true. I live a few miles away from the former HQ of CBM. Companies used to make products robust and designed to last, back in the day. Now we get cheaply made to replace stuff to keep that $$ engine running.

[@sarahhess464]

Perhaps the people hooked up the old electric parts directly to a power line to see them explode and pop and something people used to use old radio parts for.

[@rafalk42]

I just love that poor, lost ant on the VIC chip (from about 2:20), trying to figure out what the hell happened to his/her mansion.

[@TheRainblossoms]

Lol, that's fantastic

[@metatechnologist]

He escaped and made a brand new home in Asrian's basement.

[@scottson2]

Once that machine goes on for a few minutes that VIC chip is going to get HOT! I have heatsinks on my own personal C64s i have repaired...

[@chitlitlah]

I did not see that at first. She's definitely a her though.

[@christopheporteneuvepro]

And in 2020, a single teaspill on my laptop's keyboard killed it. Mad props to Commodore

[@KThxsBy]

Ebay listing status before restoration, 'Acceptable'

[@maicod]

new Ebay status: Ant's Home

[@jonvincentmusic]

'Barn find'

[@101Volts]

Forget "Barn Find," I want to see "Pond Find" like when I dreamed of finding a NES in a pond in 2003/2004.

[@s1nRG]

"Like new"

[@johnsouthern6089]

WORKING

[@QuantumRift]

It's good to know that resurrected C64's will be able to rebuild humanity after Armageddon.

[@kenbee1957]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@ChrisNova777]

lol

[@MiettedeThonTomate]

This tiny one will do. Can't you see he's a survivor where you probably get sick in less a week lol? YAY!

[@kaylubproductions4517]

Well in fallout the computers are pretty much Commodore 64 with the look of a Commodore PET

[@Orbit_Corona]

Just listen to that C-64 sing. She's ready for a marathon of Beach Head, Raid Over Moscow, Maniac Mansion, and so much more!

[@allencasaletto3529]

You can't hurt meeeee!

[@power2084]

Let's play M.U.L.E. on it !!

[@matthewhapp8688]

Hell Yeah Ready Player one

[@pwnmeisterage]

C64 is a legacy from a lost age ... when companies built tech, not fashion.

[@venturestar]

100% Agreed

[@SlavTiger]

@JonsReef you need to learn the difference between silicone and silicon.

[@SlavTiger]

@JonsReef two different materials. One is an insulation the other an element.

[@johncenaplayingstarcraft9580]

@JonsReef silicon and metal get more unstable as it gets smaller.

[@codeoptimizationware2803]

@P: "C64 is a legacy from a lost age ... when companies built tech, not fashion." Oh, how I miss those tech days so much that it hurts. Meanwhile all this fashion (e.g., pretense toward) is always on the verge of making me vomit, constantly and excessively at that!

[@chrisscott7990]

This was back when having a few bugs wasn't a problem

[@pwnmeisterage]

That ant wandering around from pin to pin on the top of the CPU isn't moving aimlessly, he's actually helping to carry bits around, that's why this machine still works.

[@kenbee1957]

Ba dum tss?

[@kenbee1957]

@@pwnmeisterage Lol!

[@quantumbubbles2106]

@@pwnmeisterage ant colony = turbo mode! 😎

[@EsotericBibleSecrets]

@@pwnmeisterage Great, now I want to design a computer with a built in ant colony that runs on ant power.

[@JackBealeGuitar]

Spend £1000 on an iphone, the screen cracks if you sneeze near it, leave a C64 in a field and have ants move in, absolutely fine

[@RetroMarkyRM]

hahaha.

[@BilisNegra]

Well, not so much as ABSOLUTELY fine, but yeah, booted fine from the start.

[@Thematt11]

That's because older tech firms had something akin to a code of ethics that stated that if you were going to spend a few months wages on a machine that could cost more than a decent secondhand car then add to it a ton of peripherals and consumables you should be able to rely on it to continue working through a little bit of abuse.

[@proxy1035]

then again, technology is al ot denser and uses lower voltages nowerdays so while it is more compact it is also less resistant to outside forces. which makes sense

[@eduardoavila646]

Old technology was way more resistant, woth bigger and simpler components

[@bobraible]

Brings back memories. I designed chips for later versions of c64, but more of my work was on Amiga. Good stuff.

[@gregorymalchuk272]

Tell us about the chips you designed and your times at the company! We would love to hear about it!

[@jaakkohaakana7765]

Please write a memoir.

[@bobraible]

@@jaakkohaakana7765 Good Lord, no. My memory is getting pretty spotty. If you have any specific questions I'll try to answer to the best of my ability. I assume that you have seen Dave Haynie's presentations on YT. I arrived on the scene as the C64 was ramping up into mass production. Very shortly afterward Bob Welland and Al Charpentier left the company (basically the creators of the C64). CBM was primarily using NMOS technology for their PCs and I was hired (I think) mostly because I had done CMOS at Texas Instruments , which is a direction that CBM wanted to follow. I also knew NMOS from my first job. At that time the C64 board was loaded with TTL (small mass market jellybean chips). Due to a screw-up by a higher up at CBM we had no long term contracts for TTTL parts (CBM played the TTL spot market to save a few pennies). As luck would have it there became a terrible shortage of TTL parts in the marketplace. So I (and a few others as I recall) were asked to make pin for pin compatible replacements for the missing TTL parts. For various technical reasons that I won't get into NMOS was a terrible choice to do a pin for pin replacement of a TTL chip. To make a long story short(er) The new NMOS parts were made, the C64 production continued unimpeded. Not too long afterward the C64 cost reduction efforts were underway, and most of that TTL and other small chips were combined into larger, more integrated chips. Yay! PS: from your name I am thinking that u r from Finland? I am a avid reader of WWII history and have read about the winter war and the continuation war.

[@worldoftimelapse1480]

Thanks for this.

[@bobraible]

@@worldoftimelapse1480 you are welcome.

[@jooch_exe]

2:27 One ant refuses to leave his beloved MOS

[@tanathos0414]

Deserves a full restoration.

[@dennisp.2147]

Nah. Those corroded traces are a ticking time bomb. Finding the functional SID is a $50 bonus though.

[@danielmantione]

Ask Drygol for some advice ;) www.retrohax.net/extreme-refurbishing-series-episode-1-commodore-64/ www.retrohax.net/extreme-refurbishing-episode-2-atari-800-xl-part-one/

[@area85restorations75]

@@adriansdigitalbasement clean it up with electrical contact cleaner and carefully brush clear coat over the PCB to prevent further oxidation, the case didnt look that bad either!!

[@thepenultimateninja5797]

@@area85restorations75 I agree - no reason why those corroded traces should shorten the life of the machine. As long as the corrosion is stopped and the traces are protected with conformal coating, that machine could keep going for decades.

[@area85restorations75]

@@thepenultimateninja5797 I agree!!, a thinner trace might run hotter, but it's worth a shot in my opinion!!

[@anominalwill5599]

When I was 11, my family moved into a trailer with piles of old junk sitting outside, exposed to the elements for no telling how long. Among the junk was an NES with no AC adapter or RF, just the console itself, but with 2 games also in the junk. My brother and I took it inside and let it dry out for a couple days, then we made a makeshift video out line with an old power cord, and plugged it in with a universal AC adapter with manual voltage/amperage settings. Turned it on, and BAM! House burned down. Not really, it worked perfectly! Only problem: no controllers. So we ended up splicing up an old Sega Genesis controller to see if we could get it to work on the NES. After a couple hours of trial and error, we managed to get a response with the A button, but we lacked the know how to get the controller fully operational. Still an interesting project for a couple of little kids in our early years of tinkering, and about a month later, we did eventually pick up some controllers from a yard sale.

[@abyssstrider2547]

How old are you now though?

[@anominalwill5599]

@@abyssstrider2547 Why would that matter?

[@abyssstrider2547]

@@anominalwill5599 Just curious. I mean I just wondered about how old was the Nintendo when you found it, for example if it stood there for x amount of years or how much years has it gone through to be undamaged is what kinda makes me wonder. And which year was it that two 11 year olds could assemble an electronic device. Kids today probably couldn't do it so that's what piqued my interest.

[@anominalwill5599]

@@abyssstrider2547 This was in July 1997, I had just turned 11 in June, and my brother turned 12 in April. I would estimate the NES had been left outside for at least a year. Fortunately, it was elevated off the ground (sitting on a rotting dresser at the side of the trailer), so it wasn't exposed to much dirt, but it was full of rain water and pretty rusted on the inside.

[@abyssstrider2547]

@@anominalwill5599 Oh that's interesting. Someone just threw out a two year old working console? That sounds like a waste.

[@agypsycircle]

Oh my heart hurts seeing it in the initial condition! This was the first computer I ever had!

[@vatrenikrug]

the years of zx apectrum and comoder64.. my first was amiga500 omg,what a mashine,i was thinking what could be posible :D just they dont build this day things to last,i think we must make our own open source hardvere and our internet places that will work eternity with it :D not to become absolyt

[@normanroscher7545]

My first one was a 486 PC, but that was our family PC. My first own computer was an Atari 520 ST (which was already old back then), from the first series of 1985: You still had to boot it from a TOS floppy disc. The 520 soon got the OS on ROM chips, too, as the 1040 had it from the beginning. But mine was made before that.

[@nikolaiownz]

Man that music is just so fantastic.

[@timsquirrel]

Oh yes. I do agree! I love anything that comes out of the 6581 or 8580 SID chip. A legend of a microchip!

[@dicrylium-2868]

10:10 I got goosebumps when the 64 started singing.

[@lalleballe2k825]

Agreed. Absolutely beautiful!

[@heraldichunter25]

What is that music from I’m super into it

[@lalleballe2k825]

@@heraldichunter25 Ode to 64 - Søren Lund

[@aaronwilkinson7477]

Me too

[@awesomenokes]

Finds a rusty old C64 and the SID chip works. I buy a very well kept C64 and the SID fails. Life ain't fair

[@agrimm61]

Take a look at the fuse mentioned in the video. Its only purpose is to protect the SID, which won't work, if it's broken, even if the C64 is still booting.

[@VriendP1]

and if it won't work after replacing the fuse, let it recover in a field for a while.

[@Mosfet510]

Kyle Nokes If I get around to checking an old c64 I found and it doesn't work I may have a SID chip for you. I'd remove it so it gets a 2nd life lol.

[@devankaladharan2563]

one drop of water killed my macbook ,just a drop .

[@burn0u71]

still trying to figure out why that is so surprising to you. good luck getting that fixed. Crapple will probly tell you it is unfixable when all you have to do is replace a few components but crapple wont supply a lot of the parts to repair centers. take a look at this youtube channel kzbin.info/door/l2mFZoRqjw_ELax4Yisf6w that guy pretty much only fixes crapple macbooks.

[@rockytom5889]

@FRIENDLY JAPANESE BUSINESSMAN Nah,he's a realist.

[@woodiemarv]

Difference between powered on versus powered off

[@BixbyConsequence]

You didn't try using a garden hose to fix it?

[@Gerardus1970]

Crapple don't care, they plan in obsolescence. You probably went and bought another anyway ;-)

[@larsmuldjord9907]

I've rewatched this video several times now over the course of the last year. I think it's my favorite retro restoration video on KZbin. It makes me so happy to watch it! Thank you!

[@-Mohog]

It's not retro, it's original, it's vintage. Retro doesn't mean old, it means new imitating old.

[@Phoenixesper1]

3:04 after having it's home ripped apart, drowned with a garden hose, boiled in pure alcohol and then electrocuted, one lone ant has survived and stands triumphantly on the processor above the ruined landscape of it's once lush verdant homeland with sadness and hatred. Behold the ant god! Herculant! Xenant warrior antcess! It shall claim vengance against you Mr black!

[@DrachenKaiser]

lol. you are right, I not notice it until you.

[@wings4victory]

I see it too !

[@xombzz]

Where is it?

[@10player]

LOL

[@dlib89]

OMFG It survived! For those who didnt seen, it is on top of the chip from center-right. Inside the white square on the board. You can see it moving on top of it since 2:45

[@ei96byod]

That machine should be put on display as it is in some sort of museum. That's astonishing!

[@amirpourghoureiyan1637]

Yeah, right next to the Gameboy that survived a bombing raid in Iraq

[@2nmingo]

for real it deserves at least that much

[@NFFCMod]

Looks like something from fallout 3

[@NFFCMod]

@Skid1288 yeah you're right dude

[@BlackEpyon]

@Skid1288 If you're familiar with CuriousMarc's channel...

[@nicholasbryant1239]

The Pipboy's boot menu in FO4 is actually an homage to the Commodore 64's specifications. These things really are apocalypse proof

[@keithv708]

Yes

[@acefreak9561]

4*

[@MrPCSniperFi]

Just hearing that thing sing made me shed a tear, Adrian. Old technology always felt like a tank. This proves it!!

[@smallmoneysalvia]

Incredible. I think that fragile claim comes from old power supplies eating them.

[@38911bytefree]

They are fragile due to power supplies and also poor heat disipation. When machine (CPU, SID, VIC II and the PLA) is forced to run at its maximun (programmers did miracles), they overheat very bad asnd they three early board revs of the C64 dont have even have the metalshield. The excesive heat end ruining the chips. VIC II is a toaster. You can burn your finger, not joking. It like running your Pentium 1 without heatsink. Later revisions used the shiled that serves as heat disipation and the 64C lowered the auxiliary voltage for SID and VIC from from 12 to 9V. Power disiaption is quadratic. This helped a lot. But it is more. The 1541 was plagged with them issue. Many drives tunr innoperative after an hour or more. Transformer is below the board, so it can heat the electronics, plus its own heat. Ending on missalingments (due to metal expansion) and corrupted data or garbage because ROMS were outside its operating temperature. You let it off for 30 minutes and run like new.

[@CommodoreFan64]

I'll fully backup 38911bytefree Plus I can add the original power supplies of the Breadbin C64's where like little heaters, and in the winter time as a kid I can clearly remember with thick socks on(would burn my feet otherwise) using mine as a foot warmer, and over time some of them would break down, and cause an overvoltage on the 5 volt lines, and back in mid/late 80's a few different 3rd party C64 PSU's came onto the US market that were actually fused, and repairable to fix the overvoltage problems of the original PSUs.

[@EngineeringVignettes]

@Commodorefan64 - Yeah the plastic power bricks were notorious. The centre ground tap on the internal 5V regulator IC (7805) would open and then the regulator is "floating" so it dumps 12+ volts into the C64, blowing chips. Real crap design. I have one restored machine and I'm leaving it off for now until I build a new PSU for it. Cheers, - Eddy

[@jaymartinmobile]

To be fair it's not the power supply's fault directly that destroys most of the Commodore 64's. It's owner laziness. The commodore uses a standard 7805 regulator on the 5v line in the epoxy-potted heat-inslated brick supply. Although that is a several no-no's it's not the issue. That 7805 would probably eventually burn out but all that would do is make a dead supply. The problem is that IF you turn off the 120VAC WITHOUT turning off the commodore 64 first, the filter capacitors would force energy backwards down the 5v rail and the 7805 doesn't contain any protection for this. Eventually it will damage the output transistor in the 7805 and it will start letting the 9V rippled DC on the 5V line when turned on (basically a shorted regulator). Surprisingly, most of the MOS chips will take that for quite a while without truly damaging them. It's the RAM chips which have a max voltage of 5.6V that usually popped when this happened. If you put a heavy power supply that could push enough amps to the 5V rail on a damaged c64 you could use your finger to check which RAM chips were hot and replace them to get working again.

[@jaymartinmobile]

PS it was really common for users to put their computer, monitor, drives etc. on one power strip and just turn it off at that switch, but failing to turn the computer off first can and will eventually damage the 7805.

[@FurrySergal]

That would be an awesome find in a post-apocalypse.

[@maicod]

the aliens will think we all died in 1986

[@AJB2K3]

And now the C=64 will appear in Post Apocalypse punk!

[@cpufreak101]

@@maicod well it's better to restart Society with some computer tech over none

[@lucyxchan6808]

@@cpufreak101the C64 is awesome...its much better than nothing...if there is an apocalypse my only concern About the C64 is...he would burn if there is an EMP Impact...

[@devikwolf]

C64s are the real-world equivalent of Robco terminals

[@marcbeaumont62]

I resurected some old Silicon Graphics machines once that had sat outside, in the UK, for 5 years. The O2 machines were rusty but worked and the Octanes had a few issues but they all mostly worked apart from some bad memory chips. Still amazes me. BTW, it was snowing when I recovered them. A rather surreal moment recovering machines that cost around £10,000 originaly from a scrap pile in the snow.

[@spitfeueranna]

That's wild. Those are some complex machines inside.

[@TrehanCreekOutdoors]

Inside a shed I was paid to disassemble today, I found a Commodore 64 system, including the computer itself, a joystick, a cassette tape drive, and assorted cords. The shed had been damaged by a fallen tree limb and water had been entering the shed for many years. The styrofoam packing around the unit was literally falling apart. There were roaches, ants, lizards, and all sorts of bugs everywhere in, on, and around the equipment. While incredibly dirty, all of the system components appear to be original. As a 67 year old guy, who previously had training in computer repair and who operated a small computer repair business way back in time, I watched and learned about computers as they developed, including programming them. I turned to your video tonight for inspiration and to instill some hope that my shed find can also be resurrected from the dead. I expect to find large amounts of rust, trash, and who knows what inside but maybe...just maybe...my find can also be salvaged. Boy that will be a hoot to see! I'll definitely video the process as you did and may need some help with a question or two from you, if you would be kind enough to share the benefit of your wisdom with the Commodore 64. I did most of my early work on Radio Shack TRS 80 systems, not Commodores, so I am less familiar with them. Great video, BTW! Thanks for sharing it.

[@PrincePolaris]

How did it go with the C64?

[@TrehanCreekOutdoors]

@@PrincePolaris Things move slowly in my world because of health issues that keep my spare time very limited.. I've still got the C64 and do intend to tackle the job of troubleshooting it, probably during this winter. As promised, I will video the entire process. Be sure to subscribe so you can be notified when I post it. It will probably go on a new channel that I have called Trehan Creek Pickers. But I may post it here too. Really hope to resurrect it. Would be a hoot to see it operate once again.

[@PrincePolaris]

@@TrehanCreekOutdoors Sounds like fun! And I know what you mean, around here everything is simultaneously moving too fast and too slow all at once...

[@Tallefer]

Those were the Retro Keeper Ants! The rare kind. They were keeping the essential parts of hardware in working condition for the whole time! You should've caught their queen and let it breed for moneys. :D

[@SarpErsoy]

:D

[@theworldoverheavan560]

Lol

[@Biffo1262]

I still have my C64 full set still boxed in my cellar. I also have a bunch of games. This has motivated me to dig it out for my grandchildren. I have an Amiga too also full set and boxed.

[@AmigaA-or2hj]

I’m still using my Amiga.

[@xofyerg9832]

Don't.. Our current generation will not be grateful.. Not saying your Grand kids aren't buut.. Itll be sad if they disappoint you

[@Supergiantgeckos]

Collecovision

[@MaxmadV8]

Please keep them boxes and nice it's a great piece of history. It would be good to get them out fo your grandchildren. See what there take on it is. I'm sure you got alot of fun out the f it at one time.

[@pandahsykes602]

Steven Booth Amiga is legit the best . So many great Amiga games like It Came From The Desert with better gameplay than AAA games nowadays. Definitely keep that or give it to a loved one .

[@Lucio7056]

Manly tears have been shed. Thank You bro.

[@SpeakerPolice]

This video gives me life. One of my most favorite things is finding old abused equipment and bringing it back to life. I've done this dozens of times with TVs, stereo gear, old radios, etc. and it's always such an awesome feeling to see it come back to life after so long. The last one I did like this was an old 1990s-era Trinitron PC monitor that had been left outside on an abandoned lot for probably close to the same time as your C64...it was largely the same story inside. It just needed a good scrubbing and everything works, even the high voltage sections! It's still in use on a friend's SLI monitor setup. Let us know if you find any more old, abandoned equipment to rescue...I'd love to see more like this!

[@simontay4851]

That is unbelievable. How that still working! My mouth is wide open. I have no words. At the start of the video i was sure it didnt have a chance in hell of working and that the on/off switch would be rusted solid. Carefully fully cleaning the board properly is going to take hours.

[@khx73]

I couldn't believe it turned on the first time. I was thinking "No way... it's gonna go up in smoke" .

[@yetzt]

you can put a sticker on it that says "anthill inside" :D

[@danmackintosh6325]

Why this comment doesn't have more likes defies me...

[@sebione3576]

I don't know you but I love you for that comment.

[@dracenmarx]

2:50 One ant has survived! It survived spraying water and isopropanole, lol

[@CTyler84]

"What happened to my home!?"

[@bierundkippen720]

😂😂😂

[@BaneMcDeath]

Once you see it you can't help but watch for it for well over a minute.

[@davidsault9698]

It's the C64's ant. What would you expect? laughs

[@cosmicavatar773]

This has to be one of the coolest restorations of vintage tech. The fact that this still works is amazing.

[@discoHR]

That's a perfect example of how computers should be designed. Not like a MacBook Pro which dies if a bug takes a crap on the board.

[@discoHR]

They made good quality MacBooks 8 years ago. I have 5 year old MBP and it works fine. Apple messed up starting from 2014. See Louis Rossmanns repair videos. Literally, a bug takes a crap on a SMD component and MacBook dies. He just removed the bug, replaced the component and it works fine. Same thing 4 days ago, he just scraped some nasty stuff with tweezers, it works again.

[@Caledon91]

I bought a Macbook in 2009 for college and it worked fine for about two years but then it started to have serious hardware problems just from basic use. The monitor bugged out a few times creating dead pixels and vertical lines which the repair guys said was a bad connection but in typical Apple logic instead of re-soldering connections they said I had to replace the whole $400 display. The CD drive also broke at one point where it got stuck and I couldn't eject the disk. A RAM slot died so I had to run it with half the RAM at one point. And near the end of its life it was having power problems and would often just shut down at the slightest bump (I never found out what was causing it because I was done with fixing it.) Thankfully the AppleCare plan kept me from spending hundreds of dollars fixing the thing but after that expired I just sold the Macbook as parts, that was in 2013. I'm not a big manhandler with my electronics and I never dropped it or got water in it but owning it and dealing with all of it's random faults was a nightmare. That was the first Apple computer I have ever owned and it was also my last. I switched back to Windows computers and never looked back. Of course all the other computers I own or have owned weren't without their own problems but they were much easier and cheaper to repair and maintain. Maybe I just ended up with the problem child from an otherwise good line of computers but as far as I'm concerned Apple has been making junk as far back as 2009.

[@onlineamiga]

I was thinking whilst watching this.. in 20 years time, I very much doubt we'll ever see someone finding an iphone 5 thats been left out in hte cold and it still works. Old computers have so much space between circuit lines and thick circuit lines too. A modern device have everything so crammed in to fractions of milimeters, that one spec of rust and you break a circuit.

[@maurofoti526]

discoHR what most people don't realize is that it's obvious that older computer are more resistant to corrosion, environment and time. When technology goes on, the circuit become smaller, the connectors become more fragile and the voltages reduce, so the same voltage degradation that make a C64 survive would kill a new cpu. Look at that rusty chip: some sandpaper and it's as good as new, if you even bend a pin of a modern CPU the socket won't work. Bur that's the tradeoff for 5000× times the sperd

[@AlexS-sc3gb]

I have a 99% working 2011 MacBook Pro.

[@samio3907]

jeez that was a dirty c64! :D now fully derust it and restore all the parts. This beast deserves it.

[@NICEFINENEWROBOT]

Ants are good caretakers in micro computers. They have 6 hands for that.

[@chrisamadeus4647]

No matter how many times I have watched this video, it still amazes and pleases me so much. Great work carried out to a legendary computer.

[@ZXRulezzz]

They're not ants, they're little computer people :)

[@Tedybear315]

That is the original idea for the "Lemmings" game no doubt..

[@JasonMasters]

I'd say it's closer to being the first version of The Sims. Yes, Little Computer People was a real game, very similar in nature to the once-popular Tamagotchi (however it's spelled).

[@shadowgiratinasevilclone1357]

I like to imagine that they have been hard at work in the computer keeping everything working. That's the only possible explanation for this thing even booting.

[@Commander64]

I didn't know they had Nano Tech in the 80's!

[@mraiwa1000]

Yes! Somehow still alive, and somehow making things worse!

[@h.celine9303]

This is a miracle. Commodore/Amiga was the best Computer manufacturer ever. Period.

[@rogueplanet7776]

Had an Amiga 500 and an Amiga 1200 with DeluxePaint IV, a program I used to death. The 1200 was a tank, you couldn’t stop it with bullets.

[@erebostd]

@@rogueplanet7776 i removed the older board and put a FPGA in my Amiga 1200 , so it can live forever. I love this machine it's so amazing.

[@MonteMusicChannel]

Incredible. It's a testament of the build quality the original team put together. While nowadays anything sort of falls apart after a short amount of time, this thing still works after freakin' 38 years !! You did a god job here, thanks ! Chapeau commodore engineers, well done.

[@JayMar-no5vy]

I am truly impressed at the resilience of this computer and Adrian's no capitulation approach. I loved the C-64 and later the Amiga. Today I have emulators and every single game ever made for both computers. I recently built a console and decided to add about 10 more 8 bit emulators. Still love to play (I am 79 yrs old).

[@redlinechaser7942]

Sweet man! I'm 50 and doing the same plus a LAN network of 7 retro gaming pcs and counting! Game On!

[@BedfordLevelExperiment]

Live ant on the VIC-II chip at 2:18!

[@JohnJones-oy3md]

You're back to the classic definition of "debugging" a computer, coined by Grace Hopper (moths in her case). And she was a Commodore to boot. LOL

[@38911bytefree]

Man use compress air below the chips. Ants can damage this board. Or let the board soak in water for a couple of days. This board is gold IMHO and the last thing you want is an ant preventing to work. DEBUG IT ... (bad joke).

[@GLITCH_-.-]

That's not a bug. It's a feature.

[@lepterfirefall]

That ant doesn't want to shift.

[@JB52520]

Robert Schöni VSL - Oh, I heard it was a moth in a relay. I haven't researched it, it's just some story I've heard and always assumed was true.

[@hanniffydinn6019]

As retro computing fan, this video is the most glorious video I've seen for a long time.

[@MoosesValley]

At the start I thought it was hopeless .... but you did it, you brought the old C=64 back from oblivion. This gives me hope for a new form of archaeology .... in the future people could be digging up 50-100+ year old landfills and maybe recover all sorts of great stuff - old consoles, computers, etc. Such rugged hardware back then. Awesome video !!

[@SuperL3Z]

The Grandpa of computers commming back from the dead after being sat outside for 10+ years.

[@Randystephenson]

legend has it the Commodore is still playing the same demo...

[@eg1885]

I assumed at first you would be replacing a bunch of parts but this was unbelievable.

[@UNSCPILOT]

This makes even the legendarily unstoppable Nokia Brick of a phone look like a chump in comparison, this C-64 is an unkillable Ancient God of computers

[@Swenglish]

Somehow nature and neglect does less damage to a C64 than use.

[@sakohaji]

You exploded a lot of memories for me. more than 35 years ago. I still love it.

[@thatsuaveraptor4297]

got chills when the music started

[@patrickbetts5504]

Amazing! It's a TANK! Sad that just so they can make more money, companies don't want to build stuff as durable today...

[@billant2]

Too bad its power supplies weren't so well built.... had the tendency to short out and blow the main board.

[@silvy7394]

Well I mean some things are quite durable. If I hadnt pushed the VRM on my i5 PC a little too far it would of easily lasted 20 years, if not more without any new parts. Only lasted 9 though because I ran the VRM too hot for too long.

[@zaitarh]

Poor C64! Must have been horrible for it all those years. Great you saved it! You are truely the mother Theresa of computers! Amazing it still works!

[@KatJustice97]

The joy in your voice when the floppy runs is delightful

[@neville132bbk]

"Age shall not weary them, Nor the years condemn.."

[@BedfordLevelExperiment]

The SID chip is actually the socketed chip above the one you're pointing at 8:47, near the IEC port. Those two chips switched positions on that revision of the board.

[@BedfordLevelExperiment]

And I had actually just learned that from this video that shows every C64 motherboard version: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p5ubdn93g5Wbq6c

[@ralfjung4156]

Yes, the number is 6581 or the newer in the C64 II is the 8580. POKE 56323,255 :-)

[@BedfordLevelExperiment]

That POKE changes the data direction register B of CIA #1 from input to output, which causes the keyboard to be unreadable.

[@NTGTechnology]

I got an IBM 5170 AT from a guy who lives in a desert. The machine was left outside for well over a decade. It has some rust, a dead power supply, and an insane amount of dirt, but it works fine. I still need to restore it, but I'm shocked that it works.

[@NTGTechnology]

+SgtPiggie It wasn't just dust it was full on dirt with rocks included. I think the only reason it has survived was because of the lack of water. But it still get some.

[@bigstackD]

Dude that is awesome well done 🤘🏻😆🤘🏻

[@Gingerjake2]

That was purely enjoyable...who could have ever guessed? Thanks for checking it out & sharing with us!

[@jhutto1984]

Talk about taking a licking and keeps on ticking! Always fun to see someone get these old units that look like they've been left after the apocalypse and still get them to fire up. :D

[@chriss2031]

You so totally need to send your vid to the 8-bit guy and show him that. The reaction would be worth it.

[@srtech2205]

as if it's not crazy enough that this thing works, but it's that so much of the hardware still works with a little attention!!! Way to go Bud!!!

[@trip8321]

Adrian this is a fantastic video, keep up the good work. I could feel your excitement just watching the video, I was reeling like you!

[@haydencp1]

This is a story about Commodore 64C who life got flipped turned upside down

[@fred21679]

I'd like to take a minute just sit right there and I'll tell you how I plugged a can of deoxit air!

[@user-hd4wf5gq8r]

This comment thread makes no sense

[@zyxyuv1650]

@@user-hd4wf5gq8r how do you a cat?

[@robsku1]

@@user-hd4wf5gq8r Not the manatees!!

[@monoamiga]

Oh man, I love your enthusiasm when you find things working! I mean, this whole video is just touching :)

[@chevytruckman34]

What a blast from the past. I had one of these bad boys back in the early 90's. Spent HOURS in front of it.

[@schm4704]

Bah. I spent my YOUTH in front of my C128. :-)

[@qdaniele97]

All thanks to the lead in the solder alloy. Modern lead-free electronics left outside will be dead in a couple of months.

[@Thegamingground]

This video made my day, this is the best thing that I've seen in months. Well done mate!

[@NJP76]

As an aficionado of the C-64, this made my day! I could hardly believe that it just fired right up...almost as if it had just been turned off yesterday. My first legit computer was a C-64, and have fond memories of many hours on it. Very inspiring video. BTW, I proudly own two C-64's in the "breadbox" form factor, three 1541 drives, and all kinds of other stuff (and software) for them. I think I may even have the C-64 version of Sim City! It has been years since the last time I had either of them out of storage. Think it is time to pull at least one down and fire it up.

[@ImmersiveMatthewLynch]

What a special video you have made here. THANK YOU Adrian!

[@KnightMirkoYo]

Wow, I couldn't believe it. So resilient! I wanna find myself a Commodore 64 now

[@zeldaglitchman]

"Some physical insertion and removal goes a long way" Lovely out of context quote from this video.

[@VGScreens]

Keyboard still looks cleaner than mine, lol.

[@PaulStryker]

When I was a kid we had an Atari 130XE at my parent's house. Time passed by, I moved out to my own house, it's been so many years and I still remember exactly how it felt like playing it, the smell, the joysticks, the 5 1/4 diskettes, it's like I'm right in front of one right now. I'd LOVE to have it again and restore it.

[@caswick1014]

Love your videos, this one was very special. It gives me hope that as I begin learning how to work on these machines, anything can be fixed!

[@stewiegriffin6503]

when 8 bit guy saw this, they had to take him to the hospital.

[@luuk3213]

Stewie is not impressed though.

[@SorcererAC0]

*take

[@stewiegriffin6503]

corrected.ty

[@SorcererAC0]

Stewie Griffin np :)

[@yonice]

I want to see this retrobrited

[@sherazmalik2179]

Man this brings me back to my childhood days. I don't have a C64 anymore, but this makes me purchase one again ;)

[@marcjohnson2326]

A-mazing video! And great work to get it running again. Love your sense of humor about it.

[@aaronwilkinson7477]

This is so cool, I love seeing stuff in this crazy old poor shape coming to life! Nice work 👌

[@DeputatKaktus]

The machine needs a sticker that says „Anthill inside“. (and yes, this was Terry Pratchett reference)

[@VenomStryker]

I love how he just plugs it in and fires it up after hooking up the fuse. That thing is a damn tank! lol

[@DanMorin007]

Very impressive. Thanks Adrian for making this video.

[@jonbiedermann79]

Thanks for doing this- brought up a lot of memories as the Commodore 64 was my first computer before getting an Apple II+, and I'm still doing programming 43 years later!

[@martek500]

This commodore is fragile but not that fragile.

[@albiss1164]

Made me think of a Sci-Fi movie in which someone is dealing with very old tech and reviving the main computer. The 'dirt' inside it was truly shocking to see. Incredible!

[@ThatNormalBunny]

Great job on getting this C64 up and running again it is always nice to see old technology working as intended

[@Gectms]

I’ve watched this video at least a half dozen times since it came out. One of my favourites from this channel👍

[@danikarst7840]

the music of those old skool computers stays the best

[@F6FHellCat0013]

2:36 the last ant survivor on that chip

[@GeometryWars]

Absolutely amazing that this thing still works!

[@C_H_1972]

That’s insane that it works! Good job dude. Enjoy it.

[@Robo10q]

You, sir, are a steely eyed 8-bit guy. I can't imagine how many people would have not given this a second look, but you showed no fear and possibly no common sense--congratulations.

[@CB3ROB-CyberBunker]

just move the chips over to a new pcb. problem solved. although it's a 64C... don't think we have the pcb designs for the C yet. lol. but it doesn't look that bad... take the metal parts off, run them through the electroplating bath again, maybe run the entire pcb through the wave soldering machine (at least for the bottom) and most things should just look like they are new again..... a bit of half rotten away soldermask never hurt much, especially not as it's soldermask on top of a rather primitive form of hasl anyway on most of those boards. so there still is a load of lead over all the copper traces even with all the green goo rotten away.

[@JasonKelk]

It's really nice to see the machine survived it's ordeal... and that it's one of those rarer units with an old board in the new case as well. And I didn't write the intro shown in the video, but the main menu on SIDBurners 7 is my code from when I was a member of Nostalgia. =-)

[@tomasvittmo8895]

Omg, I didn't think it would work. Nice job! Thanx for another great episode!

[@darkzentai7417]

Bless you sir for being it back for one last go .