There's a system in the house that gets even more use than mine. It's the one in our "Computer Room" (which sounds Way fancier than it really is) that is the main connection to the house's shared printers. It's a brutal job: Runs for days at a time, has to be able to be seen on the network by everyone, has to have some manner of Guest account so others can run through and use it without having one of us there to log them in. It's effectively a community system... and it has been showing its age for a while.

The system was an old used Dell bought from our local college's surplus store. It was close to obsolete when we got it but I made it work for a number of years. Although I don't remember the stats off hand, it was old enough where Win10 wouldn't install on it at all. It was finally getting to the point where even recent browsers were taking forever to load on it.

That's where my old main rig and I come in.

Fun Fact: There was a point when older pre-built systems didn't use weird proprietary cases and form factors for their motherboard layouts and compnents. You could - in theory - scoop a Dell, HP or Compaq and slot in your own MATX board and power supply to make a new system in an otherwise solid case.

I just so happened to have one for just such an occasion. = )

I gutted a Dell Dimension 2400 desktop that was unused and badly in need of a cleaning. I scooped a cheap 500 watt PSU and dropped my old AMD board inside. I got Really lucky as that case used the current standard pinout for the front power/activity lights and front USB. The only weird thing was the sound. Not that the last part mattered as the front panel USB and sound board was absolutely destroyed.

A little cleaning, some pain trying to remove the original board (someone decided to tie the processor's heatsink bracket Directly to the case) and I had it swapped out in no time flat. Thanks to tying my old Win10 Pro install to my board & not my account, that was effectively a free upgrade from the Win7 that was running before. I just need to figure out the whole Guest account issue. Thanks for making that a pain to use Microsoft! -.-

Anyhoo! It's rare that a guy like myself who loves old PCs and collects old equipment can build something that can still be used on the daily by folks other than themselves. The board inside was my daily driver right up until I replaced it with my current Ryzen-based system not a few months ago. It still has plenty of life in it and, even with the old case, should stay cool as there's more airflow with my SATA stuff replacing the original's IDE cabling.

As for the next strip... it's still on the table. I am making progress on it but it continues to be slow going. Again, Really done with being a "Witness to History" and all the fun that's come with it.

It's Sandwich o'Clock. I'm on my laptop keeping an eye on my pup as my neighbors continue to fire off mortar-style fireworks in a residential area so the newsletter will be a bit later than I'd like.

Remember: Stay Strong. Stay Safe. Stay Aware.

'Till next time! = )

*Poof*

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