Salvaging parts from retro systems - Saved from e-Waste!

[@livefreeprintguns]

Bullet hole right through the bottom of the case straight into the hard drive... I actually low-key love this lol.

[@GrowlyBear917]

yeah that hard drive is shot. Literally!

[@readycheddar]

I was so excited when I saw the slug too!

[@adriansdigitalbasement]

Take it from someone with an excess of old computers, it's probably best to just recycle the old cases with missing parts. :-) Barring keeping some of the little accessories that might prove useful to help fix up other cases later. Great video as always!!!

[@miketech1024]

Thanks! Yeah I'll probably have to eventually as space constraints mount, just really hard to bring myself to do it. 🙂 Luckily these are light enough for long-term attic storage until they prove useful to myself or someone else.

[@NJRoadfan]

Yeah, like saving the rails. The shop I worked at had a bin full of them that came in handy a few times.

[@SGTMacBC]

@@miketech1024 Pizza boxes make great storage for worthwhile motherboards. Usually enough room for ram, cpu and heatsink.

[@boardsort]

As someone who deals with E-waste for a living I can appreciate all of your retro saving efforts having rescued hundreds of vintage machines myself over the years, some extremely rare.

[@captain1334]

@zEletrixxyour junk

[@rodhester2166]

I 2nd that..

[@lucasrem]

is hobby only, nobody needs it, pay for it... I have Voodoo SLi Machine Etereme Alienware, a Museum gaming Rig, invest in it ? Worth ?

[@justsumguy2u]

Since you asked; I used to be a computer parts hoarder, and what I learned over time is to save the stuff that's practical to keep, and chuck the rest. The reality is that you're never going to find the missing side or front panels for those cases, so I'd scrap 'em and save yourself the space they would've used

[@succulent951]

you could probably machine the missing side panels - they're just sheets of metal with clips essentially shame about the others though as they're incredibly well designed

[@sofaltiv]

in my opinion, one of the most beautiful activities you can do as a computer nerd is to go through old systems that are partially defective and save parts that are still usable in order to build something new from them. :)

[@chiefthunderhorse4430]

Exactly why I love finding old systems in thrift shops, most of the time it is a miss, but I've found some treasure's out there

[@sofaltiv]

@@chiefthunderhorse4430 unfortunately there are not so many thrift stores here in germany, otherwise i would visit them regularly and search for computers ... ;)

[@SGTMacBC]

Nice to know what I can use old hard drives for. Put them in my jacket pockets when going to shady neighborhoods.

[@miketech1024]

"Survive a trip to Philly with this one weird trick!"

[@jonrutherford6852]

Your tight action-packed editing is a work of art in itself. These videos are enjoyable even for somebody like me who recognizes a lot of the component and brand names but is almost clueless as to functions. I admire your work.

[@MarksKicksOnRoute66]

Mike I must say I'm glad the algorithms led me to you! Your a true pleasure to watch. Not only are you very tech savvy. You come across as a beautiful person very genuine. I'm sure your a blessing to those who know you. Keep the 🌈 's flying 👍

[@davidsurety2629]

Yep u said it this guy Mike is my unwind go to when I need to zone out and reminisce

[@tsimeone]

Same here 🌈 love the videos too. Huge retro fan.

[@yakovkhalip9714]

nice ! recently picked up a 1990' Packard Bell desktop at my country place - it was in a yard of people, who collect old metall stuff, selling it to scrappers... After few days under sun and rain it was still working - even Seagate ST3120A 106mb IDE HDD)

[@themadmallard]

that 1 gig stick of ddr1 would have been one of the most $$ things in that case back in the day, and there was 2 in there....

[@JohnSchmitt3rd]

Just discovered you, this hardware takes me back...

[@SOU6900]

I know exactly what that Lionel piece was for in that second system. It was a piece of a wall clock that had sound in it. Every hour the sound would play and the train would run around the face perimeter of the clock face. I had said clock back in the day. Also on a side note I wouldn't mind having one of those Enlight PSUs.

[@marcberm]

The first PC looks like someone tried to replicate the look of the early iMac era towers from Apple.

[@Michael_Livingstone]

The bullet through the HD, that’s a new one.

[@Greg1096]

Always been a fan of those thunderbird athalons.

[@memoryhunter2084]

I fell in love with every fucking video of yours, I watch them like a kid watching some kind of a documentary and not taking an eye off for a second, amazing videos and thank you a bunch!

[@reidster87]

Fun video as always. When I saw the bulged WD hard drive lid, I morbidly wondered if you'd power it on to see what happens. I guess you could always do that if you find a PSU you really don't like 🤣

[@nerangcomputers]

KZbin it's time to promote this creator!

[@pizzaluvah]

"Autopsy.." "Entry wound.." "Right through the PCB.." I like your humor. 😆

[@jblyon2]

Always remember: When putting in a screw, if brute force isn't working, you're not using enough.

[@tyttuut]

That's how you crossthread!

[@SGTMacBC]

@@tyttuut You must be new to sarcasm.

[@chiefthunderhorse4430]

​@@SGTMacBCHahahaha, I was going to say the same

[@lorenzorentniop717]

Untill the screw brakes of lol

[@miketech1024]

I just mentioned this piece of advice at Jiffy Lube and they gave me a job!!

[@charlesswenson259]

Dude, I love your videos. They brighten up my day.

[@asusorsus]

love when you boot up old hard drives with old softwares its nostalgia

[@uptoptem3392]

Awesome video! I was planning my Crossfire machine while watching this. 5 Systems in one video!

[@ramadaneel8048]

Very interesting video on some old but vintage looking computers.

[@eg1885]

You're the type of guy I wanna donate my old PC junk to. One of the many things I kept is a Creative DVD Encore drive and PCI card with all the cables.

[@tony--james]

I'm late commenting/watching, I've been locally stunned, approx 250 feet from me, I went into a Retro Computer Hoarding situation. I'm still shaking, this guy has 150 vintage PC towers in his place, I got to finally see them , all are from approx 1993 to 2004, just jaw dropping, like walls of them stacked up 8-9 feet high, told me in 40 years they're gonna be worth a lot of money, could barely walk in there, I'm at a loss lol

[@a1superfantastic]

CONGRATS ON HITTING 10K, MAN! Well deserved. As much as I'd like to see more videos more frequently, don't put too much pressure on yourself. It baffles me how KZbinrs like Adrian's Digital Basement crank out as much content as they do and still hold down day jobs, so pace yourself. We'll be here!

[@precisionxt]

Those Yamaha drives are amazing. They are super durable and have amazing DAE capabilities. They sound so cool when seeking too. I have a soft spot for those. Also in all my years in IT, I’ve never seen a fan on the northbridge.

[@willyglover]

That exact Yamaha CD-RW drive was the first one I purchased for myself. I remember it costing around $300. I used that thing through 4-5 different systems before I upgraded to a faster burner and gave the Yamaha to my brother who used it for a few more years. Almost never a failed burn.

[@iliasgmf]

14:36 the V Class POST Screen woke up memories of our first computer that had an socket 478 MSI motherboard probably from around the same time as this one

[@therisingrtied]

Omg the ABIT KT7A-RAID board brings back so much memories. I had that board it was so nice.

[@blackheart58]

I like the look of the first system, the blue appeals to me. The third system is in such a sad shape. I wonder what it looked like before it was stripped. I love watching you dive into old systems and finding out what the bugs are. I also enjoy watching the restoration and salvaging of older systems. Some of them take me back to the days when a home computer system was a new fanged thing. That’s one of the many reasons I love your videos.

[@keithbrown7685]

I wonder if there is a way to remove those little areas that look like the blue paint had crossed the boundary between the case and the frame.

[@russbetts1467]

Brilliant video. I'm old enough to remember those motherboards; graphics cards and sound cards; not forgetting Floppy drives and Windows 95. I've never seen an 'Enlight' PC before, but good to see the nice touch of a Ferrite ring on the front panel wiring. I've still to watch your next episode, 'Salvaging MORE parts'. Russ. UK.

[@winstonsmith478]

Enjoy your humor, restoration details, and HD archaeological digs. The characteristics of that last case that you liked so much remind me of the old Antec cases, that one being a low end one. Until 2007, I'd used only that brand for my PCs.

[@lucasrem]

I still own some Antec cases, can't make any epic build in them.. Alienware, Gateway 2000, Colani tower, they less good cases are more epic now.

[@shermansheepherda8488]

You could start making Bullet proof vests for the Marines with HDD's inserted in them , would work out a lot cheaper than the Kevlar vests.

[@MarcABrown-tt1fp]

Probably very heavy as you would need to interweave them to account for gaps, not to mention the case that absorbed a big chunk of the kinetic energy.

[@RuruFIN]

I'd make side panels from acrylic to those. Had one on my cheap case in the 2000s :)

[@lucasrem]

Back then i used fancy cases only, still own them why keep the trash cases ? lol

[@tangerinepuma28]

Yo Mike, I might be building my new computer and reviewing my old one, I ordered the computer case and I got the motherboard and cpu for free so I’m happy, can’t wait to watch this video!

[@miketech1024]

Fun! Which components are you putting in your new system?

[@tangerinepuma28]

@@miketech1024 my gtx 1650 (soon upgrading to a rx 6600 XT), i7 7700, b250m-hdv, and my Corsair hx-750, my case didn’t come in today sadly but it should soon

[@prozacgodretro]

Pretty sure the gray coating is elctroplated nikel, and the cleaning you did will rust right back up a bit worse possibly? You could spray some clear lacquer over it, or some kind of a primer that's what I usually if the case is not Rusty and I can get it off

[@YarmouthHoops]

Awesome content, Mike! You know you’ve made it when Adrian comments!! I’ve repaired several fans now learning from your method. Thank you!

[@kidman2505]

I had an MSI-7142 (MSI K8MM-V) with a 3400+ Clawhammer as a teen with my first job. Great times!

[@johnhammond3482]

i always enjoy watching your videos

[@Brightonize]

Finding these random items inside these old machines is so amusing to me. It's like you'll never know what to find in these. 😄

[@richardnja]

you certainly know your stuff...i used to own a 286 with a 20MB hard drive which was very loud like the way you systematically move from one thing to another....in a neat and thorough way thank you for the IT candy!!

[@slycooper1001]

i once had a stuck floppy drive screw i stripped that screw attempting to unscrew it i decided to cut it off but halfway though sawing the screw i accidentally realized i created a flat head screw and i managed to unscrew it i still use that screw because it made me feel dumb and then smart and it made my custom retro gaming computer have more character

[@westtell4]

i had something to do for work this morning so i'm an hour late... but YAY

[@paullee107]

While you kinda do it every video, I'd love one that shows how to perform the tasks - like, floppy drive. Open, Clean, grease- what grease, etc. On each component Love the content as always!!

[@blackterminal]

I like that you are very positive.

[@2Toadz]

Synergy is bank software for imaging checks. This was definitely a bank computer, and by the initials on one of the loading screens, FNB, maybe it belonged to First National Bank. They obviously failed to destroy their HD when disposing of the computer.

[@cfwebdeveloper]

Another entertaining video! Thanks! "And I do so I did!" ~MikeTech 2023

[@cee128d]

And a big plus for using Knoppix for testing. If a system won't boot Knoppix it's in bad shape. Too bad Klaus decided to end development on it. I anxiously awaited every new release to add to my collection. RIP Knoppix, you served us well over the years.

[@miketech1024]

It is heartbreaking. Knoppix was hugely important to building my Linux skills when I was a kid.

[@cee128d]

@@miketech1024 Yep. It has been my Go To distro for testing, diagnostics, recovery, and just overall Do Everything on a CD, DVD, and now USB Flash Drive. I rarely leave home without it on a Flash Drive.

[@gcmanuel85x]

Cut some Acrylic for the side panel^^ Some type of lego method to hold it in place.

[@mattp3437]

Mike, couple of additional thoughts. On the Super Power case. Not sure if you caught this but it doesn't have a normal I/O shield. It's a bolt in variant that I am not sure fits inot other cases without some modification. That is what originally tipped me off that the cases may not be off the shelf and may be an OEM system builder variant. You may want to save the I/O shield if you are disposing of the case. For cases with rust I used a product called Evapo-Rust that did a nice job disolving/removing down to bare metal. It is not a harsh chemical but does take it down to bare metal ... and will remove the paint on the case so you have to target where you want to apply it.

[@sebastianohalloran9093]

Lovely presentation as always, clear, at a good pace and interspersed with humour. Love the watch face on display as ever; thanks for the representation or support.

[@2xtreem4u]

i have the same model of power supply at home i use it to test hard disks and power my big case side fan on hot days :)

[@Butterscott_NJ]

System 5 is very nostalgic for me. The company my dad worked for in the 2000's bought them in droves, and rode them hard. Due the manufacturing environment they were in, they were coated with fine ceramic dust and it would bake those Enlight power supplies. They tossed loads of them with Athlon XPs into the e-waste pile and my dad would take home. The first computer I built myself was from scavenging parts from all of them. It was an Athlon XP 1800+ with a VERY similar, if not the same, Thermaltake Volcano cooler and a Radeon 9200SE. I eventually found a board with a 3200+ and a 9800 Pro to upgrade to. I used the case into the early 2010's eventually running a dog slow Athlon x4 and a HD6750.

[@cyberwolfe]

There was an AGP Pro? I just learned something new that I never even knew existed! So cool! I loved AGP graphics cards. 😃

[@LexHellius]

That blue case, supposed to be silver-gray. Looks like someone decided to paint it blue :) I had a similar one in early 2000s and I'm pretty sure it was silver-gray. I've completely forgot about it, until I saw your video - that brought back some good memories :) Thank you!

[@Kundalini12]

Acetone is a good solution for stubborn thermal paste.

[@dezhocob]

Thank you so much for saving these components for as long as possible!

[@wettuga2762]

Allright! I also love retro beige cases with blue color accents, I'm currently using one for my 3Dfx machine, with matching beige/blue Genius stereo speakers, just missing a beige/blue keyboard and mouse but I guess that might be too tacky 🙂 Now I know what to do with all the bad HDDs laying around: use the platters to make a bulletproof vest!

[@bengelman2600]

We gotta get you some MikeTech round stickers for your fan repairs.

[@miketech1024]

This is brilliant!

[@JohnSmith-xq1pz]

This is more or less how I found my Sony Vaio 3.0ghz Pentium 4 HT when I saved it from e waste. The factory GPU and video/audio media card where gone aswhile as the HDD The reason I saved it was two fold, I was looking for a fun retro XP gaming machine, and no bad caps on the motherboard

[@rodhester2166]

Make plexiglass side panel, paint 1 inch wide edge of inner side of plexi to the match color of case to hide the magnetic tape, stick magnetic tape on the painted inside of plexi and maybe jazz the inside up with a cheap short led strip with remote control.. I have pics of a few I have done like this and they look awesome.

[@m_rocka]

The Wii manual took me out for a bit!

[@marquesdlr]

Very good video! First system's blue is indeed original. It's the same case that came with my Pentium 4 back in 2002, funny to see it again!

[@miketech1024]

I'm glad someone recognized it!

[@jeffb.6642]

Always enjoy watching someone restoring older computers like this, reminds me of my first PC in 2003, a Compaq ... something.. I don't think it was a Presario... but it had a 2.7GHz Celeron, 512MB of RAM and a 120GB 5400RPM drive - man I thought it was a beast at the time. Wasn't long though before I realized it didn't have quite the oomph that I was looking for, so within a couple of years (3 years?) I had built my very first PC with an AMD 4400+ X2, 2GB of RAM, Nvidia GeForce 7800GT and a massive 320GB hard drive. It was like trading a Mitsubishi Mirage for a Corvette.

[@lucasrem]

Happy i was on intel Core Extreme and 8800 GTX back then, just released, waited for the 8800GTX my first $1k, kept it a long time ! 2016 ?

[@OctavioGaitan]

Man... I wish I lived close to the place where you get these old PCs from.

[@Lastman737]

I like the red boards.

[@chaseohara4781]

That train you found is from a Lionel Trains clock. I used to have one. It actually went around the face of the clock on the hour. Kind of like a weird coocoo clock. If you google Lionel Train Clock, you'll find images of it. 😂

[@billraty14]

What is synergy? It's a utility that lets you serve (share) your keyboard and mouse on several systems, a software KVM. Frequently used by software devs that have two machines on their desk, one to write and compile, the second to test, but they use one mouse and one keyboard. I think it is called 'Symless' now, but definitely something to check out.

[@NaderGator]

the first AMD athlon case can easily be turned into an "Amithlon - AMIGA" ;) .. that would be an good re-purposing for this ancient hw

[@ray_mck]

Those 3C905 NICs are workhorses -- definitely keepers!

[@chiefthunderhorse4430]

I love these system break downs, you have quickly became on of my PC channels, I do want to ask though, do you have formal training or was this a hobby and you learned as you went, either way you have a great knowledge of what you're doing

[@miketech1024]

No formal training. It's just been my hobby since I was 5 years old. Had my first working system together at age 7 using trash-picked parts. The '90s sure was a GREAT time for this! Professionally, I'm a Senior Systems Engineer but that's all centered around DevOps/Cloud infrastructure. All this cloud wrangling has me longing for the simpler time these systems hail from.

[@keithbrown7685]

Thanks, MikeTech! My doctor says I need to see these vids. They help keep my relatives' heads in place, lest I take them all off with a chainsaw.

[@alc5440]

System 3 was most likely a bank computer. Image Center is an application for retrieving statement images and whatnot. I know I shouldn't be surprised that the drive wasn't destroyed and yet somehow I still am.

[@cooky842]

I just binged almost all your videos. I love your drive and knoepedge of old tech. You made me think about my old oentium 3 550mhz on which i played diablo2 and so much ultima online. If i wasnt so tight on money i would support you on patreon, preserving old tech is important! I definitly subscribed to your channel and cant wait for the next one!

[@miketech1024]

Thanks!

[@MarcosCodas]

Side panels: plexi! You can very easily have that cut to measure and pick the necessary thickness. I use acrylic for tons of projects.

[@maxtornogood]

Bullet through a hard drive, brutal but effective data destruction! Never even knew IDE Raid was a thing, I look forward to your future plans!

[@davidrmcmahon]

Love your videos man, could watch all day.

[@robert1975031]

I loved those enlight cases and I had one at one point, but those rails always were missing. I held onto the power supply for years.

[@typlswwwwwwf]

Great video ❤ as always

[@agy234]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fan on a north bridge. Pretty neat

[@amalegardevoir]

That gray stuff over at 25:23 is very likely just paint primer, it was used because some cases from that time just weren't that much rust resistant, the problem with removing it is that rust tends to come back after like a month so it is very much advised you repaint it with matte silver Rustoleum or something similar for metal if you intend to keep it.

[@BenState]

phosphoric acid convers the iron oxide to iron phosphate, not requiring any additional coating.

[@2528drevas]

Good for you. This is a hobby of mine too.

[@dmjoel]

I would think a trip to a home center would yield, some sheet products for side panels, plexiglass, sheet metal or for real air flow, maybe a radiator cover they came in two tones and were perforated metal sheets.

[@communalnoodle1356]

Careful with the Codegen Power Supply from the first machine - they are known to randomly go bang (even when they were new) and take the rest of the system with them.

[@miketech1024]

Thanks! I guess it's going into the for-parts bin too.

[@communalnoodle1356]

@@miketech1024 No worries!

[@RuruFIN]

Yeah. I remember a Codegen 350W unit murdering my 6600 GT AGP 16½ years ago, after that I went to high quality PSUs.

[@communalnoodle1356]

@@RuruFIN oof that sucks. Alot only found out the hard way.

[@nushnume]

They would usually go bang if you try to power up stuff that actually stress the psu enough. I had a friend that had a codegen psu with a non working fan and it worked like that for a few months until we replaced it. I recapped that psu and replaced the fan and it worked for 1 or 2 more years in an old Athlon XP computer. They're not quality but they are better than today's noname brands that cost 20$ new

[@joebruno2675]

I used to use old storm window plexiglass for side panels back in the day.

[@GELF]

I had a computer with the same blue case sometime around the year 2000

[@The.Orchard]

Enlight made the best cases in that era! It didn't take much to do better than the competition!

[@RuruFIN]

Now I got chills just from pure nostalgia. The last system is pretty damn similar to my first gaming PC what it comes to specs, I had the same board (non-RAID version), 512MB PC133, Athlon 1000 @ 1404MHz & GF4 Ti 4200 (similar performance to that Radeon 9100 aka 8500 LE rebrand). I had also a SB Live! card on that.

[@paramcomputers007]

I love old Pc Case 😍

[@jon-paulgrainger1303]

That HDD should be deconstructed and put in a frame. Nice PII destruction 👍.

[@rayanmark1920]

I love this ❤❤❤❤❤

[@georgez8859]

Nice Collection.They will make some great systems. Thanks for the Video

[@Universal.G]

That's a heck of a necklace you're wearing in the thumbnail 😂. Flava flave

[@halbouma6720]

Back in the day I always zero write filled any IDE drive I got - even the new ones would often flag bad sectors when scanning/formatting for the first time. If you do that with the 2GB caviar drive, it could clear out those bad sectors and be fine again. BTW, I'm still using my inwin A500 cases from 2000 lol. Thanks for the video!

[@endotherm]

Just cut the side panels out of perspex, for that "see through" look. Maybe add a few internal colour changing LEDs for something to look at.

[@eugeniuszgorka8599]

I don't have a Polish translation, and my English isn't very good, but I understand a little. Greetings from Poland > from Silesia . Nie mam tłumaczenia na polski , a mój angielski nie jest na wysokim poziomie , ale trochę rozumiem . Pozdrawiam z Polski > ze Śląska . 🤝👍 . The bullet in the hard drive is interesting😱🤔

[@keefhk11]

Hi Mike. Thanks for another interesting video. I have quite a collection of old machines myself, including some odities such as Sun workstations and a huge Compaq muliple processor server with scuzzy raid.

[@dawn1berlitz]

that old at style case with windows 95 belonged to a bank at one point some of the software on it was for banking stuff

[@geoffreyreuther5260]

The URL that opened up was also a dead giveaway. It was a teller login on a private network.