best cheap/free scores 1.1

[Scenic]

back to topic.. sort of..
i recently got a computer from a friend. not quite a dumpster find, but it would eventually found it's way to one someday...

was helping him to clean out his basement. noticed a partly disassembled computer with a missing side cover standing around in between lots of junk to be thrown out..
curious as i am i asked him what's wrong with that comp..
he said he was fed up with it acting up and bought a whole new system..and asked me if i wanted it cause he would probably throw it away if i didn't want it..

as he was out of cigarettes, i bought him a pack and got the computer in return..

so.. this is what 5.50euro (about 7.46$) for the pack of smokes got me

- cheapo case with bad noname "500W" PSU and missing side cover
- Biostar GF7025-M2 TE socket AM2 board
- Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (2x2.6GHz) with Thermaltake cooler (80mm fan, copper base)
- Axle GeForce 9500GT 1GB
- 4x 1GB DDR2-667 (2x Aeneon, 2x Kingston .. ironically the board only has 2 RAM slots)
- 160GB HDD including his porn downloads
- Samsung DVD-ROM
- LG DVD-RW
- spare (?) Xencore cooler (all aluminium, 92mm fan)

not a bad deal imho

edit: EVERYTHING works fine.. i guess the only real problem was that junk PSU lol!

another edit: i should go to bed.. 5:44am.. all those typos are a clear indication.. well..they were. fixed now

[Phaihn]

Originally Posted by Scenic

the usual drill.. replace all nichicon HM/HN and you should be good to go..
too bad it lacks AGP :/

yeah

[Phaihn]

Originally Posted by ratdude747

hence why both of mine ( i did get a couple of these in) both went to the scrap pile. no agp+ 2 slots ddr (not 3 or 4)+ uATX= junk in my book.

yeah well i need to the money so i am going to get my network teacher to recap it then i am going to sell it.

[Chris Ambriz]

The greatest thing I found was in teh trash at the local thrift center dumbster it was a Korea Data Systerms CRT monitor that to my surprize bonged and came to life when I took it home apparently it hated the old owners because they never dusted it out I still am using it since I found it 3 years ago poor thing would have gotten destroyed because that thrift store loves to destroy things so people won't want them

[momaka]

Originally Posted by Chris Ambriz

The greatest thing I found was in teh trash at the local thrift center dumbster it was a Korea Data Systerms CRT monitor that to my surprize bonged and came to life when I took it home apparently it hated the old owners because they never dusted it out I still am using it since I found it 3 years ago poor thing would have gotten destroyed because that thrift store loves to destroy things so people won't want them

Yeah, it makes me sad when I see CRT monitors like that in the dumpster because I know they all probably work just fine too.

Yesterday, I was checking out the dumpsters again at my friend's condo complex. There was a 17" CRT sitting there in one of the dumpsters. I would have taken it out, but it was all the way at the back of the dumpster. No way I could reach it. And given that I don't have much space left in my room, I had to let it go.

Also yesterday at work, we had to throw away a huge HP laser printer in the trash . We actually have two of them, but both had problems (one picked up multiple pages and had a dead display, the other one would just make weird sounds and not print). The printer technician used parts from one to fix the other. The one that got all of the broken parts was the one we threw away.
I was thinking of putting a "dumpster alert" on craigslist, but the dumpster at my workplace has a lock on it .
I did save a few parts from that printer that I found on the ground, though - a Minebea stepper motor, 2 electronic clutches, a solenoid, random gears, and lots of screws. Forgot to check if the printer had any SIMM RAM modules in it, though. Could have definitely used those to upgrade the laser printer I have at my house. The power supply was probably good too - should have taken it out.

*EDIT*
The printer I mentioned above was a HP LaserJet 8000 I believe.

[Scenic]

the only real drawback trashpicking CRTs is that you'll never know if the CRT is good or if it spent it's whole life turned on 24/7 so the tube is so worn out it looks like you're looking through vaseline :/

Had that problem once.. fairly clean/new looking 19" Eizo CRT.
took it home (god these eizos are HEAVY), plugged it in and it actually worked fine
problem was: blurry/unsharp as hell, convergence totally out of whack and relatively dim in general. tube shot.. DAMNIT.. -.-

[Evil Lurker]

I have a friend that owns a scrap metal recycling business. Over the holidays one of the local school systems junked a crapload of Gateway E4100s. Unfortunately they were pretty much stripped of all components except the motherboard and CPUs. Still I got 6 D865GLC motherboards, 3 P4 2.4ghz HT CPUs, one 3.0ghz HT prescott, a couple other random 533mhz CPUs, an MSI P4 board with SIS chipset, and last but not least 12 XP Pro keys... all for peanuts.

[seanc]

If anyone wants some free stuff, the next time we're overloaded with defunct PCs and crap I'll let you know - come get them! We have to pay to dispose of them.

[cookieCAM]

I Just Ain't Lucky Like You Guys.......

[cookieCAM]

Originally Posted by seanc

If anyone wants some free stuff, the next time we're overloaded with defunct PCs and crap I'll let you know - come get them! We have to pay to dispose of them.

Ugh......Why Is Everybody Not Local

[Flababa]

Just acquired a Dell PowerEdge 2650 from the side of the road.

Sounds like a jet engine, but works perfectly.

2x Xeon 2.4ghz (400fsb)
6gb ECC DDR
2x 36gb SCSI 160 HDD's
Dual-ethernet add-in card (making it a total of four ports)
CD-Rom, floppy, etc
Windows 2000 Advanced Server (25 CAL)

Heard it may be possible to lower fan noise with a firmware update. Anyone know if that's true? Won't be able to work on it for another week or so.
Good times. :3

[Scenic]

http://support.dell.com/support/down...nConsent=False
..?

[Flababa]

Right. I know updates exist- Just wondering if anyone has had experience with them making the unit a bit less noisy.

I didn't see anything specific to that in the update release notes, unless I totally missed something.

[Pyr0Beast]

Hmm

Pull the fans out and install ordinary desktop fans providing software doesn't lock up because of fan failure.

[momaka]

Got another computer last Friday, again from the same condo complex where I always check the dumpsters.

This time, it was a HP Netserver E800. Specs:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport...ctID=c00069098
Actually, it's better than the specs above, because it also came with 768MB of PC133 registered RAM, a (new, LG?) DVD RW, some decent-looking Philips sound card, USB addon card, and a 256MB e-GeForce 6200 PCI card.

So, up to this point: great. But now, time for the bad news: IT STINKS! and I mean literally.
When I first picked it up from next to the dumpster, it looked okay (for a freebie anyways) - the sides were missing and there was not that much dust inside. After I got it home and looked more carefully - it's another whole story.
The first thing I noticed when I opened the trunk of my car was the smell - I swear someone must have taken a shit on the thing, it just wreaks of sewer. Oh look - rust spots on the case! Maybe this thing was sitting in a sewer after all. What else, what else... Large chucks of (presumably) food and also hair - check. ... And the brown things stuck in the dust on the CPU fan - dead roaches. YIKES, I got a roach-putter! Without a second thought, I put the whole computer straight on top of my trash can.

After a bit of thinking and pocking around, though, it seemed that there were no live roaches, so I decided to clean it [thoroughly, of course].
Step 1: took everything apart (including the PSU and one of the CD drives), above the trash can, and de-dusted with a toothbrush and a fine brush
Step 2: wiped the case twice with chlorine-based wipes (at this point, though, it still smelled like shit, especially over the rust spots)
Step 3: I gave it the RAID treatment. Just like member Junk Parts here, the only RAID I've used comes in a spray can
step 4: I put the case and PSU back in the trunk of my car (hey it already smells like shit - might as well put it back in and try to neutralize it with the smell of the RAID spray). Took some of the parts (HD, RAM, motherboard, etc.) and put them in a drawer in my garage.

So that's all since then. I still haven't tested if the thing actually works or not. I think I'll give the motherboard a nice soap wash before trying anything, though (hopefully in the next few days) - it still smells a little bit.
If it works, that will be great. I have one 80 GB, 10k RPM, SCSI HD I've been wanting to use now (can't sell it or throw it away due to sensitive data on it). If all is good, maybe I'll even consider getting a pair of 900-ish MHz P3 CPUs for it. I just saw an auction the other day on ebay for $8. Should be considerably faster than my regular everyday computers (mostly P3s).

Anyone interested in pictures? I haven't taken any, but might get some later on.

[goodpsusearch]

Originally Posted by momaka

Got another computer last Friday, again from the same condo complex where I always check the dumpsters.

This time, it was a HP Netserver E800. Specs:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport...ctID=c00069098
Actually, it's better than the specs above, because it also came with 768MB of PC133 registered RAM, a (new, LG?) DVD RW, some decent-looking Philips sound card, USB addon card, and a 256MB e-GeForce 6200 PCI card.

So, up to this point: great. But now, time for the bad news: IT STINKS! and I mean literally.
When I first picked it up from next to the dumpster, it looked okay (for a freebie anyways) - the sides were missing and there was not that much dust inside. After I got it home and looked more carefully - it's another whole story.
The first thing I noticed when I opened the trunk of my car was the smell - I swear someone must have taken a shit on the thing, it just wreaks of sewer. Oh look - rust spots on the case! Maybe this thing was sitting in a sewer after all. What else, what else... Large chucks of (presumably) food and also hair - check. ... And the brown things stuck in the dust on the CPU fan - dead roaches. YIKES, I got a roach-putter! Without a second thought, I put the whole computer straight on top of my trash can.

After a bit of thinking and pocking around, though, it seemed that there were no live roaches, so I decided to clean it [thoroughly, of course].
Step 1: took everything apart (including the PSU and one of the CD drives), above the trash can, and de-dusted with a toothbrush and a fine brush
Step 2: wiped the case twice with chlorine-based wipes (at this point, though, it still smelled like shit, especially over the rust spots)
Step 3: I gave it the RAID treatment. Just like member Junk Parts here, the only RAID I've used comes in a spray can
step 4: I put the case and PSU back in the trunk of my car (hey it already smells like shit - might as well put it back in and try to neutralize it with the smell of the RAID spray). Took some of the parts (HD, RAM, motherboard, etc.) and put them in a drawer in my garage.

So that's all since then. I still haven't tested if the thing actually works or not. I think I'll give the motherboard a nice soap wash before trying anything, though (hopefully in the next few days) - it still smells a little bit.
If it works, that will be great. I have one 80 GB, 10k RPM, SCSI HD I've been wanting to use now (can't sell it or throw it away due to sensitive data on it). If all is good, maybe I'll even consider getting a pair of 900-ish MHz P3 CPUs for it. I just saw an auction the other day on ebay for $8. Should be considerably faster than my regular everyday computers (mostly P3s).

Anyone interested in pictures? I haven't taken any, but might get some later on.

LOL

Me too!

Please post some pictures

I use that to clean things I find for free.

[Pyr0Beast]

Now you have a HDD RAID !

I'd take out the mainboard and wash it in dish-detergent/degreaser with warm watter. Dry it well and that's it.

[SuperDuty]

I've been collecting stuff from the the dump during the last four week ends, and WOW, what people throw away is amazing sometimes. Here my good finds :
- an Atari 2600 "Darth Vader" complete in the box, with the manual and four games. I couldn't test it since our older TV doesn't work anymore (badcap ? )
- three Playstation 1, they all work (only had an audio CD to test though)
- one Playstation 2, works fine with an audio CD
- one Dreamcast, starts and the CD spins, but I don't have the wiring or controllers
- HP Vectra from 1999 : Celeron 333 Slot 1, no RAM, 4.3Gb Maxtor HDD, 36X CD Drive, started but showed nothing on screen. The MB has many Sanyo and Nichicon caps. I've kept all the goodies and threw the remains back to the dumpster
- remains of an Acer eMachines : Boxer 61 motherboard (weird format), Athlon 64-LE 1600 (AM2, 35W), found Sanyo caps on the mainboard
- Continental Edison computer with a Pentium III 500 Slot 1, 64Mb PC100, a 4.3Gb Seagate HDD, a 5X DVD Drive, too bad the MSI MS-6168 motherboard (Voodoo 3 integrated graphics card) was dead, threw it away with the case
- Continental Edison computer with a Pentium III 733 Socket 370, 256Mb PC133, dead 20.4Gb Seagate HDD, 52X CD Drive, 16X CD Writer,
- MaxData computer with an Athlon XP1800+, an ECS Motherboard IIRC, 512Mb PC133, Radeon 9200SE, no HDD
- a computer from an assembler, with Pentium IV 1.8Ghz, 128Mb PC2100, 80Gb HDD with a fresh install of Windows 98SE, Riva TNT2, , MSI Ultra 645 motherboard, works flawlessly !!
- Cibox 19" wide TFT screen with a glossy flat panel and speakers, turns on then the screen goes black after a few minutes : dead capacitor(s), will replace all the Su'son caps on the power supply board.
- ViewSonic 15" TFT screen, needs a specific power supply that I don't have
- IBM Thinkvision 15", the power led would flicker and there was a loud ticking noise inside, replaced the bad looking capacitors inside and one diode that left a burn mark on the power supply PCB, and voila !
- an Apple Power 140 from 1992, starts but nothing shows on screen : found someone already grabbed parts from it as the screen wiring is missing

All this, going to ONE dump during the four previous saturdays.

In my area we have organized dumps with separate dumpsters, needless to say my favourite one tis the one with all the electronics Thinking about picking up random stuff to see what caps are inside.

[momaka]

Originally Posted by Pyr0Beast

I'd take out the mainboard and wash it in dish-detergent/degreaser with warm watter. Dry it well and that's it.

Just did that last week, except I used laundry detergent. Smells quite alright now. Did the same with the addon cards, RAM, and CPU heatsink. As for the video card, hard drive, and CPU - I used paper towel damped in alcohol to clean those.

Originally Posted by goodpsusearch

Please post some pictures

There yo go... pictures (just one actually) below - the motherboard in its post-washed condition. I tried it yesterday, and it works fine. CPU is 800 MHz.
The hard drive works too and has XP on it, but it reboots after Windows tries to load. It's unacceptably loud, though, so I don't know if I'll use it.
Haven't gotten to cleaning the case, the power supply, or the fans yet. Once I do that, I'll put everything back in the case and then play around with OS installation.

Originally Posted by SuperDuty

In my area we have organized dumps with separate dumpsters, needless to say my favourite one tis the one with all the electronics

Nice! I wish we had those around here. Unfortunately, we don't because trash trucks just come around and pick up trash. The closest thing I can think of is the local drop-off site, but that has only a "white-goods" (i.e. appliances) section. Not sure if it's legal to pick up stuff from there either. Entry is also paid, so not much incentive to go there.

When the weather gets warm here, I'll make sure to go out with my bike more often and just ride around my neighbourhood before trash day. Good exercise too .

[PCBONEZ]

Douse with mean green from a sprayer.
Rinse with HOT purified water.
Douse with alcohol from a sprayer.
Put on wire rack in the sun to dry.

With our humidity [meaning lack there of] it's bone dry in 20 minutes.
[5 minutes tops in the summer...]
.