Today's finds :
MS PS2 KB with very nice options, need to test it and see if it works.
Wall to USB charger.
12V Adapter

Saw a PC case in a big blue dumpster, managed to lift the lid and take it out.
Was feeling very weak today and this is a heavy case, even had a lock on it.
Decided not to bring it home. Appears this is an Antec server case.
Was able to manage to open the side panel. inside
were:
1. 1 Tb Western Digital HD
2. 450 W PSU
3. Case fan
4. Misc. nice screws
5. PCI slot covers.

Initially borrowed a screw driver from a very kind cabby for a few minutes to get few
screws off, but then the cabby had to leave and I returned his screw driver to him. So I took the PSU, HD and a few screws home. Returned back with my own screw driver and removed rest of parts, then returned case alone to recycling bin. Also took 2 side panels home they were quite heavy to carry but too large for the recent C2D PC that I found, so I threw them away in recycling bin. Next is to test all the above items and see if they work, no point in keeping items that don't work with me. Will test these all slowly with time, don't wish to keep parts with me that don't work. For someone who uses mostly text and audio files, 1TB HD is like having my own aircraft carrier ship. This is just start of the main season, moving day is on July 1st here. If it continues like this, I must have a very good year in regards to used IT hardware finds. The one lesson I learned from today is to never leave without a screwdriver, will try and get myself a nice set of these that are convenient to carry around. Even, if I can get one HD or one case fan using one screw driver, the set will pay for itself. I wish all here on LQ, the same luck and fun times that I am having in regards to older computers.

Edited to add:
Just verified that all items I got today are working. Wiped out the HD, making new partitions, will install Puppy Linux on the first partition and store it away.

The other 1TB Seagate HD I got before from the HD recorder, I will also
try after this and if it works, do the same as above.

Forgot to add that I also got a really long network cable, at one end
the plastic clip is broken, hence it was likely discarded, however, I can try to use it without this clip, just need to be careful that I don't pull it out accidentally, that is all.

Edited again to add:
Glad to report that the 1Tb Seagate HD form the HD recorder is also
fine. All data on it is encrypted, so wiped out entire HD, creating
new partitions and will install Puppy Linux on primary partition of this HD. Will be done in about 15 mts. Glad to know that all parts
I am keeping now are functional.

At this rate, I might even be able to start locally a retro computer users club or even store of some sort if there was a demand for it but this is highly unlikely.

20 Gb very old HD I found in mid 2016 in P3 IBM Vista was in a metal case with a screw threaded in wrongly and also with the screw head widened. Was impossible to unscrew with different screw drivers and pliers. So finally, took an Allen Wrench and bent the metal case over to totally expose the HD, then turned the HD around till the metal connector to case was broken, only then was I able to unscrew that screw. Did this more for practice and familiarity.
Was really glad to get this done, feels nice.

Covered the exposed 2 PCI slots on the P3 with the PCI slot covers that I recently found.

Fix/Patch broken network cable links:
http://www.tested.com/tech/2740-how-...etwork-cables/
https://superuser.com/questions/7102...w-can-i-fix-it
http://www.instructables.com/id/Repa...Ethernet-Plug/
https://www.howtogeek.com/181866/how...-locking-clip/

Question to folks here, I am wondering why I find only abandoned desktops on street or in
recycling bins and not laptops. Any thoughts on this ? Will be nice to find unwanted laptops as they occupy much less space. Thanks in advance.

You answered your own question. downsizing and tablets just don't quite cut it yet.

Very good point. This made me reflect. There is a chance one might find a cell phone
with a broken screen. They can be repaired as per below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBrUtVfl9yc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pY_OietGtNQ

So far, I have just found cell phone cases tho.

See folks throw pens etc., when they move. So if they have a few older cell phones, tablets they might throw them also perhaps, time will tell.

On the other hand, there are messages to dispose tablets etc., properly due to the toxic battery inside, hence they might be using safe disposal options.

They are small enough to be put in a drawer and forgotten.
I have three tablets and they all live in my bedroom.
One is purely a book reader and gets used every night for a whil after I've put a real book down. The second gets used to look up stuff raised by the reading, and the third is used mostly for patience type games and occasional watching a TV program if I'm in bed when there is one I particularly want to watch.

For that very reason, laptops take up very little space in a drawer or cupboard, & that's where they go when some folks get a new one, then they just get forgotten.

I keep 4 laptops/netbooks in a drawer, though I do use them, as & when, like installing a new OS, or trying out something different.

Edit: I also keep two small 'desktops' in there too, a nettop & a Raspberry Pi3.

Saw a HP Deskjet 7310 today with power adapter, it was too huge so left it as such.

Am wondering, what other good free PC games are out there, specially puzzle games from the
Pentium 4 to Pentium 1 era that DON'T NEED a good graphics card. Thanks for any suggestions in advance, specially sites with game collections are welcome.

Note: I am already familiar with DOS games and have a few.

Someone alerted me to the demand for older computer parts and the businesses that
cater to this niche market. For the most part, this aspect of old PCs was ignored in this thread. Having a business selling older PC parts is just awesome. Here are few related links below:
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-onlin...omputer-parts/
http://itstillworks.com/sell-old-com...s-4587171.html
http://www.pcworld.com/article/16274..._PC_today.html


Bonus Read:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/16342...ps_tricks.html

One of the issues of using an older OS with browser is that some sites will not load. This very
good site is not loading for me in my older browser, frustrating but helps to know:
https://openstax.org/

mp3 Players are making a comeback:
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/best-st...ne-mp3-player/
This may seem odd to share here but if one is just interested in listening to audio,
these devices are small, convenient, excellent, portable and best of all save power
in comparison to desktop. Few years ago I was very sad to see these almost disappear
from local store shelves, now am glad to see them return. )

Restore old Computers Project:
http://www.retrotechnology.com/restore/r_restore.html
http://www.retrotechnology.com/restore/r_bother.html

Well, when you go to a REALLY old OS on OLD hardware you do not have that problem. They did not come with network interfaces, just serial and (if you are lucky) Parallel interfaces. There was no option for a browser, because they were seldom gui and there was no internet at the time. Older operating systems are famously valuable for doing real-time processing faster on less iron: because they HAD to!

There is a good reason why some firmware updates are still designed and delivered as DOS images. No background processing, nothing to get in the way.

DVD Writer
Opened the non working DVD writer I got in an abandoned PC last year fully, cleaned the laser lens with alcohol and tried it again, still doesn't work, so replaced it with
the DVD reader, it works on boot however, puppy Linux OS doesn't
recognize it auto, so have to mount, umount and eject it from the
command line. This is fine. This DVD writer has to be recycled.

PC Server Malfunction
When I was working on my PC yesterday, suddenly different windows started opening
in regards to puppy universal installer, it all happened very fast
like a script and will not allow me control of my PC. So powered down
my PC totally, powered of the Modem and then rebooted my PC.
I felt this was hack or malware of some sort initially.
One person altered me to HD failure signs, so learned about them:

http://www.lc-tech.com/pc/warning-signs/
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/fiv...mory-problems/

Even on Mobo capacitors can go bad. As one works with older hardware, there is more chance
these things can happen, so need to be prepared in this regard.

Another person told me that it is just my OS checking its version. So far this PC is
working fine, will monitor it further and see how it goes. The case of this server is
metal and even has metal bay covers, need to learn to remove this inorder to install
another CD writer in this permanently if needed.

P2 Computer:
The P2 I have has a CD Writer, now I feel I must remove it and just place a CD reader
inside it, perhaps even remove the 2 ethernet cards inside it. This way, it can be used
offline and for very basic things. Will reflect on this some and see.

P3 Discarded 2 years ago:
Due to City inspection I had to recycle a P3 PC. There was tremendous pressure then.
Now I feel, I could have removed the RAM, the optical drives, floppy drive and the PSU
from it, perhaps even the fans and processor. Could have just thrown the case and the Mobo.
This was more about space, clutter rather than faulty hardware. Next time will do better,
learning all the time.

Use Freedos to upgrade system BIOS:
https://opensource.com/article/17/6/...e-bios-freedos

BACKUPS
Using the C2D I found on road to do backups, it is going amazingly
fast. Will keep that PC and process separate, offline.

USB HD Cable:
The USB Hard drive cable I found, is white in color and for Samsung,
the plastic covering is cut towards the HD end but it still works fine,
perhaps will cover this area up with duct tape later on for safety.