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Compaq DeskPro 386s

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Denniske1976

Experienced Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
480
Location
The Netherlands
Hi guys,

Had some issues with my Compaq DeskPro 286e, but I also had a non working Compaq DeskPro 386s (386sx-16). That machine wouldn't boot according to the person I got it from, but it did count memory upto 384K and then would reboot... turned out all of the switch settings were exactly opposite as they should be LoL (someone interpreted ON/OFF wrong). So I have that one working without a problem now.

Only thing is, the case badge is all scratched up... you know, the "Compaq Deskpro 386s" oval emblem. I know it's a long shot, but anyone here happen to have one of those? Or maybe a full front? Also I think a 3.5" 1.44M drive would be nice to have, because neither my 286e or my 386s have this (only 5.25" 1.2M drive).

So yeah, uhm.... that :) Here's hoping, thanks alot and y'all stay safe and have a good one!
 
Denniske1976 said:
Hi guys,

Had some issues with my Compaq DeskPro 286e, but I also had a non working Compaq DeskPro 386s (386sx-16). That machine wouldn't boot according to the person I got it from, but it did count memory upto 384K and then would reboot... turned out all of the switch settings were exactly opposite as they should be LoL (someone interpreted ON/OFF wrong). So I have that one working without a problem now.

Only thing is, the case badge is all scratched up... you know, the "Compaq Deskpro 386s" oval emblem. I know it's a long shot, but anyone here happen to have one of those? Or maybe a full front? Also I think a 3.5" 1.44M drive would be nice to have, because neither my 286e or my 386s have this (only 5.25" 1.2M drive).

So yeah, uhm.... that :) Here's hoping, thanks alot and y'all stay safe and have a good one!
Click to expand...

If no one here has a good deal on the floppy, there are quite a few on ePay (search "3.5 floppy drive compaq") for a not horrible price. These are 1/3 height drives, so any old 3.5 won't work. I had the opposite problem: had the 3.5 drive but wanted the 5.25 drive - a little harder to find.

As for the front bezel and badge, those may be real hard to find without an entire computer connected to them. With a good scrubbing and the lazy man's retrobright (submerge the bezel in a solution of OxyClean in bright sunlight for a couple of days) it comes out pretty good. The badging may require some creative repainting, but you could have something that looks okay until you find a replacement.

This was a mess when I bought it:
attachment.php
 
Yeah well, the logo on mine looks like it fell on the sidewalk with that... some kind of stone structure impact on the logo so I'n not gonna get that looking good again. The plastic front is't at all bad, I got that pretty neat (except for some kind of pink-ish marker or paint that's really hard to get off since it looks like it's "in the plastic").

Just thought I might try here, since my 286e keeps giving me beeps (while working normally, it beeps about the MDA or video card being "kaputt" at boot but with normal on screen image and no error messages... I have another thread about that) and I had this thing "non working" but now with the DIPswitch setup right it actually works without error (except date/time but the battery has been replaced, and the eject button of the 5.25" floppy drive is kinda stuck). So I was hoping I might get to "making this pretty again", a new emblem would really help and since I did see one on eBay (but for DeskPro 575) and I always keep all parts/screws/nuts/slot blanks etc etc etc from every unusable old PC I recycle, I was hoping someone here had maybe a non functioning 386s they might been holding on to for parts.

The rest of the case isn't so bad, the metal cover is actually very clean and nice and in the back there's only black marker to mark where the power/keyb/mouse/video cables should go, so I can get that off no problem I guess...

BTW: That is a very nice one you have there, looks very good! I love the tape drive (I love tape drives, it's kinda my fetish... especially the QIC-80 ones)!
 
Look what I just found on eBay:https: //www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-COMPAQ-DESKPRO-386s-Front-Plate/184448343287?hash=item2af1fa5cf7:g:eBMAAOSwsKlfYDCW
 
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