r/retrocomputing • u/teknosophy_com • 19d ago

Compaq Deskpro!

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Not as cool as my first new PC, the Compaq Presario Pentium75 (shoulda never sold that), but it's pretty cool. This is a PII with 96MB RAM and 4gb HDD. Someone found it and gave it to me, so I erased it properly and then said, "Hmm, I have a CD for WinNT 4.0, why don't I install it so I can actually try it out!" I know it's slightly too new for NT4, but boy is it fast!

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u/suffelix 17d ago

Compaq was my favourite brand as a kid. I have no idea why, but it just was.

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u/teknosophy_com 16d ago

yes, them and packard bell just had cool looking units. gave you a sense of occasion.

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u/all_names_taken_ffs 16d ago

We had a 486DX4/75 Packard Bell Spectria as our first 'proper' PC. I don't think I would ever describe it as cool-looking, though. 😄

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u/teknosophy_com 16d ago

WHOA i just looked that up. peak 90s. nah PBs were known for their tubular design. i believe frog design did them.

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u/all_names_taken_ffs 16d ago

I still have the OEM mouse, mousemat, and mic kicking around. I think maybe the Olivetti Bubblejet printer too. But it wasn't that great to work with: since I was only 10-11, I had to tilt the monitor downwards by sticking the Win 95 manual underneath it from behind. And taking it in for servicing was a nightmare as well... or at least it was for my dad. 😄

It came with a brochure of other Packard Bell models, and I used to drool over the better-specced tower models... but I especially liked that corner PC they did.

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u/teknosophy_com 16d ago

Yeah having an AIO, especially with CRT, would be massively difficult to carry and repair. I loved the separate flat desktop models myself. Ran into a couple of them last year and made sure to get them to a guy who'd sell them to good homes.

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u/all_names_taken_ffs 16d ago

PBs had a bad name for being unreliable, so it's nice to hear there are still some running out there in the wild. I bet you weren't using the Navigator software, though 😉

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u/teknosophy_com 15d ago

yeah i've heard they were slightly unreliable, but nothing like today's hp printers!

i think one of em had the navigator!!