On Tue, Jan 10, 2023 at 11:49 AM Tim via users <users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Lack of a Service Tag and CPU mismatch suggest a checkered history --
> worst case would be a stolen system with easily identifiable data
> removed.
Though could just as easily be two or more broken systems cannibalised
to create one that worked.
Many years ago I was given a collection of ex-office PCs that had died
in various ways from a power surge (a PSU here, a motherboard there, a
daughterboard, etc). But I was able to put together two or three from
all of the rest that worked very well for me for a long time.
Back before life-cycle management, I "recycled" dead office PC's a few times
when an elderly mission-critical PC died (controlling lab instruments or other
essential gear). At least one was still working when I retired, but I learned it
has since died.
Eventually they became very outdated (about 10 years out of date), and
too slow for modern use. I stripped them down for recycling. About
the only things I kept were a few cables, various RAM sticks, and all
the screws. I don't think any new PCs would use the same kind of RAM,
but they might go into a printer. A spare PSU is always useful for
testing, but a new trustworthy one is better for actually fitting into
a PC, and cheap enough. The screws were actually the most useful parts
to keep.
In high-school (graduated in 1968) I made money to support my bicycle and electronics
habits buying scrapyard electronics from the labs in Los Alamos and selling parts or test
equipment repaired with scavenged parts to radio stations and hams. I still have a collection
of screws, topped up over the years with parts stripped from dead PC's. I also still have a
couple Simpson multimeters that lack the original screws for the handles. My mother had
a government issue stove from the 1950's with an oven door that hinged on screws identical
to the ones used for the handles on Simpson multimeters. As you can imagine the screws
were overkill for a multimeter handle and undersized for an oven door hinge, so needed
replacing every few years.
Yesterday I reconfigured my home intercom system and needed a screw. Found one in
the 1960's section of my screw collection (I think it was the last of that size).
If you follow Munro Live Teardowns, you know that screws are eval and should be replaced
by snap fittings or rivets. Desktop PC's used on ships at sea could be brought down by a
screw loosened by the vibration, resulting in further vibration damage to circuit boards or
other parts. Meanwhile, engineers are cramming more stuff into small boxes, making it hard
to reach screw fittings with regular drivers. I recently had to buy a set of ball-end hex keys
for cap screws located where a regular hex key can reach.
--
George N. White III
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