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Discovered 386 PC in my basement that I thought was lost in move of 1998!

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Billyray

Experienced Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2007
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186
Location
NE Ohio
Pretty exciting finding a PC that I thought I pitched when we moved back in 1998. :killcomputer: It's been in an open box all this time with just its beige top showing. It was my wife's first computer, which I bought for her in about 1993. It is a small mini-tower from Micro Experts with an AMD 386 DX-40 running at 20/40 MHz. It has 4 MB of RAM and 140 MB IDE hdd. I just found it tonight because I was breaking down boxes to recycle, and noticed this box. It must have been sitting there since we moved into this house! :hide: Anyhoo, I attached a VGA monitor and AT Keyboard and voila! it fired up. :bigparty: (I checked inside the case before I turned it on to make sure the battery hadn't leaked. It's the multiple button kind soldered onto the mobo.) It has Windows 3.1 and all of our old stuff still working! There's a memory parity bsod when trying to run large programs, so I will have to look into the memory. In fact I will probably try and expand the memory and add another hdd.

I will try and research what I need to know, and probably need some assistance here as well. I won't be able to dig into it much until the weekend though. :sad2:
 
Thanks luvit. I haven't even cleaned it up yet. I'll get more pics posted once I have time to really get into it more.
 
Cool. Those 386-40s were really nice, especially price wise back in the day. And that looks like an excellent generic AT case.

Once you nail down the RAM issues, I would make a point to run a full disk scan using scandisk or similar to check for any bad/weak sectors that might have popped up while it was in hiding.

Now, if computers start popping up that you don't recognize and don't know where they came from, then you might have a problem. ;)
 
SomeGuy said:
Cool. Those 386-40s were really nice, especially price wise back in the day. And that looks like an excellent generic AT case.

Once you nail down the RAM issues, I would make a point to run a full disk scan using scandisk or similar to check for any bad/weak sectors that might have popped up while it was in hiding.

Now, if computers start popping up that you don't recognize and don't know where they came from, then you might have a problem. ;)
Click to expand...

Good idea SomeGuy. I noticed the disk was pretty full too. only about 34 MB remaining on the 140 MB drive. I'm still pretty pumped about finding this. I wish I could suddenly discover my old Panasonic Sr. Partner. But I know I sold that one to a woman I used to work with back in the late 80's. :( Once I saw one on Ebay just like mine; Had the 10 MB hdd, and the carrying case in good condition. I remember it was pretty pricey too. I still have my Panasonic's Basica version on my other 386 machine. O well. I don't know what I'd do with it, if I did have it. At least with this new one I found, I can play old DOS games. It has enough memory and color graphics (which my other 386 doesn't.) I noticed it doesn't have a sound card!!! I'll have to remedy that situation too I think. :D
 
Rediscoveries can be enjoyable alright. At least now you have quite a number of options more permanent storage, CF adapters and what not, if the hdd does go tits up.

Certainly keep us posted on progress.

Have fun.
 
I have my first question. Here is a picture of the battery. It is pretty weak. I'm losing 3 hrs. of time in one day! :shocked:

misc 386 001.jpg

Should I cut it out and solder in a CR2032 assembly?

I found out the board is made by Acer, (ALi M1419) Here's a link to info, but it's all in German. :-?

I'm ordering 4 more 30 pin 1 MB ram sticks for the empty slots. That should help speed things up in Windows 3.1

misc 386 002.jpg

I'll need some suggestions on a sound card too! :D

Thanks to all for making this so enjoyable! :mrgreen:
 
Billyray said:
I have my first question. Here is a picture of the battery. It is pretty weak. I'm losing 3 hrs. of time in one day! :shocked:
Should I cut it out and solder in a CR2032 assembly?
Click to expand...
If you did that, you would need to add a series diode to stop the motherboard trying to charge the CR2032 Lithium. The other issue is voltage. You would replacing a 3.6 volt battery with a 3 volt one (actually, slightly less than 3 volts due to the diode). 3 volts may not be adequate for your motherboard.

I see an 'external battery' connector in the photo. Therefore, an option is to cut out the existing NiCad battery, and then use the 'external battery' connector.

Take a look [here] for some more information.
 
Good thing I checked here first! :toast2: I'll go with the external battery, and cutting out the old one. Thanks!
 
Billyray said:
That's amazing to find ANOTHER case like that! :D Do you know what kind of mobo it holds? Is it a baby AT board? It's really a small case.
Click to expand...

I think it's just a generic PC case. I recall using this style case at a computer store I used to work at when I was a teenager (which adds to the nostalgia factor for me). It'll take just about any standard AT style motherboard... most of the dimensions that are different between a baby and full size AT case are with the drive bay section.
 
Yeah. it' generic. I a couple weeks ago I have actually seeked-out an AT case I had back in 1992.
Unfortunately it was occupied with a mobo and everything, as it should be, but the price was nearly $200.
I like billyray's case, as pictured.. in the 90's there were many unappealing generic cases during that time..
yeah, i was worried about having a nice clean case like that equally as i worried about the innards.
 
More 386 Pr0n :blush: :picture:

more 386 001.JPG
more 386 002.jpg
more 386 004.jpg
more 386 005.JPG
more 386 006.JPG

Don't forget I still need advice on a sound card. :eat:

Thought this guy's YouTube of a 386 case and mobo ALMOST exactly like mine was pretty interesting.
 
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Right-on, man! That case is immaculate.. i envy you with that mini tower.
After I accomplish a few things.. I may be building one of those ...if I can get a beautiful case.
Cases with noteable wear or mars from that era doesn't turn me on so much.
*** From that era, I used SoundBlaster Pro. ***
 
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