From the back door...

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crfriend
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From the back door...

Post by crfriend »

... as seen through the eye of a 1990s-era computer and attached web-cam:
back_door-20180708.jpeg
This was shot using a Silicon Graphics Indy system that's in the process of being brought back from what I thought was a certain and deadly fate. The camera is one that came with the system and is sitting below my knee height atop one of my computer speakers and faced out my back door. The quality is precisely what one would expect from that vintage, but everything still works.

Being one of those oddballs who "practises what he preaches" I run old computers as a matter of course, and am happy to see this one on the mend. I suspect a shorted tantalum cap on the motherboard someplace that has simply "failed open" where it was shorted before. I'll need a powerful magnifying glass and potentially my nose to locate the actual failed component. (And, yes, I have used my nose in troubleshooting before -- with success, which baffled those around me.)

Digital archaeology is fun, if sometimes frustrating. I've spent some time on this one just bringing some of the tools more or less up to date, and it's astounding how little attention gets paid to porting and compatibility now that we're in an Intel monoculture. Fortunately, I still retain those skills -- I need 'em.
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Retrocomputing -- It's not just a job, it's an adventure!
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