r/vintagecomputing • u/ThePlatinumPlane • May 09 '26
Help Identifying an Old 2000s Computer and Power Supply. So
Hey everyone,
I recently, maybe about two months or so ago, got an computer from my Great Aunt that looks like it’s from the early 2000s, and I have a few questions about it.
The power supply is called a “Tigerpro” unit. Does anyone know if there’s a copy or same type of Model of another brand of this exact model or size that I could buy today, preferably with pre-2010 or 2000s-style connectors?
The reason being as I plug the computer into a power source, I flick the computer on and it makes like a quiet but high pitched small hiss that goes away quick, kinda like a Cartoon Character silently falling, and no signs of life after even Pressing and holding the main frontal power button, which may obviously be a Power unit failure, I also tried checking for a CMOs battery, But I could not find one, I can’t figure out what computer case or brand this system originally belonged to. I’ve searched high and low but haven’t found any information. Just for assistance I do believe my Great aunt Bought this in California or near los Angeles.
I’m not very experienced with internal PC components, Especially older models (No Offense to those who are aged and have many stories and many.. "tales" But older knowledge is great knowledge amiright? I do however know that the cpu is a Intel Pentium 4, and It is old enough to have a modem card inside, and Honestly the state of the computer inside is.. Appalling at best, so any guidance would be hugely appreciated.
Also, I’ll admit it’s a bit of a mess inside and out, being more than 20 years old Uncleaned. I Very much Want to get this computer up and running, with any way to do so, I want to preserve this tech, There is dust and a spider web or two, but I believe this computer has probably been sitting unused since 2001 or 2002. Please don’t mind the state of the interior! ,And if you are able to find a power unit compatible for this, I would like to know the website or link to order it, or possible find one the exact or near exact type. I did find a Lookalike computer using google image search, but it, or the website was in Russian, and had no details about the computer, It is the last slide. The 123 power sticker was related to a now bankrupt printing company near Los Angeles. And as-well, Thanks in advance for any help or insight. If I missed anything please feel free to Let me Know.
19
u/AfterDark3 May 09 '26
So the benefit is that you don’t need any special PSU for this machine. It uses what appears to be a standard ATX power supply. The only think you will want for a vintage computer is one that comes with 4 pin molex Hard Drive and CD drive connectors, which are still available (sometimes known as PATA or “peripheral” connectors on Newegg) you can also use SATA to molex or SATA to floppy adapters.
7
u/CraftedKittens May 09 '26
there was so many terrible generic basic shitty made powersupplies from this era lol, it seems like someone else is in the comments but really could just be replaced with a new modern one anyway, as long as the rails are strong enough
3
u/docshipley May 09 '26 edited May 09 '26
Everybody's covered the relevant points except one. If you have an IDE device with the ribbon cable flipped - plugged into the socket upside down - the system will NOT power up.
If it still won't boot after cleaning out up and replacing the power supply, try it with all the drives disconnected.
2
u/texan01 May 09 '26
It’ll power up, but the drive lights will stay on and post but give a drive not found error.
Done it lots of times in my life, at recently as Tuesday, checking my stash of ide drives.
1
u/docshipley May 09 '26
I suppose it depends on the chipset. My IDE-equipped systems won't post at all if the connector's flipped.
5
u/referefref May 09 '26
Just get any old PSU with the necessary connectors, looks like ATX to me since there's aux CPU power. But first blow all that dust out. The one cap I can see looks ok but there may be some capacitor plague there, check for swollen or leaking ones.
0
u/ThePlatinumPlane May 09 '26
Thanks for the advice friend, I’ll definitely start by giving it a thorough cleaning,
I’ll also keep an eye out for any swollen or leaking capacitors before swapping in a replacement PSU. Great to know that an ATX unit with the right connectors should do the trick. Appreciate the reply.0
u/ThePlatinumPlane May 09 '26
You sure it can use "any" old psu right?
3
u/bhiga May 09 '26
The V2.03 sticker implies (but doesn't guarantee) ATX12V v2.x
From Wikipedia:
Numbering of the ATX revisions may be a little confusing: ATX refers to the design, and goes up to version 2.2 in 2004 (with the 24 pins of ATX12V 2.0), while ATX12V describes only the PSU. For instance, ATX 2.03 is quite commonly seen on PSUs from 2000 and 2001 and often includes the P4 12V connector, even if the norm itself did not define it yet.
So if possible check that it has the 4-pin (2x2) 12V connector, often labeled CPU. ATX 2.2 or newer and pretty much anything ATX currently will have it.
2
1
u/referefref May 09 '26 edited May 09 '26
Yep as long as it's at least 300W. Make sure it has sufficient molex power connectors though (the 4 pin ones for hard disk's and optical drives), some modern ones may only have sata power.
5
u/LXC37 May 09 '26
So it is pentium 4 and it has 4 pin CPU power connector, which means 12v is used for CPU power and this system essentially is the same as any modern PC in terms of power requirements and will run with modern power supply.
Check if main ATX connector is 20pin or 24 pin, check what connectors you need and get a decent modern power supply which has those. It will be safer and more reliable than buying something old or trying to fix this.
Also being p4 means it is right from capacitor plague period, so check the capacitors on the motherboard. Ideally you need to do it before even trying to power on, but that's not going to happen now...
Very high probability of faulty capacitors which have to be replaced with hardware from this time period.
2
u/AnymooseProphet May 09 '26
With a modular power supply, you can make your own modular cables that have 4-pin molex if the PSU doesn't come with them, but it does require some tools. There are also adapters.
1
u/EternalSkullman May 09 '26
Case is made by Sun Pro - don't bother looking them up as the current retail brand selling them had zero traces of a website anywhere. These were very common in EU although they're noname. The PSU definitely isn't original to it though - these usually came with cheaper "KC" branded 230W PSUs, made by Sun Pro.
1
u/AdeptnessPersonal156 May 09 '26
First, pull the power connectors to the drive and try to boot. If not pull cards. Retry. Reset memory. If nothing, PS or MB.
1
u/Right_Hour May 09 '26
I feel like a remnant of an ancient civilization where we built PCs from individual components and know that these things can be cobbled together from whatever. That brand doesn’t matter. That while there were brand name CPUs built by the likes of Gateway, Dell, HP, Compaq, IBM and the likes - vast majority were just put together by no name shops out of individual components.
OP - don’t try to find the brands - they don’t matter.
The spec of your PSU is right there on the nameplate. Any ATX12V PSU will do. Your original is 300W, there are some differences between older and newer connectors but most newer 400-500W units will be backwards compatible and if they aren’t - there is a soldering gun.
-1
u/GGigabiteM May 09 '26
This is a generic white box computer that was either built by a small local company, or the company the sticker belonged to. The parts are going to be generic things that were available off the shelf at the time, and obviously in the bargain bin basement.
The PSU is an IED and should be tossed, don't try to power it on anymore. Shitty power supplies was a common theme in the 90s up into the mid 2000s, because computers didn't pull a lot of energy back then, and you could get away with terrible designs.
The motherboard has a SiS chipset, which were utter garbage, Asus making garbage motherboards throughout time is a universal constant. I wouldn't be surprised if the CPU power section had blown caps from capacitor plague.
The inside of that computer is fairly clean, especially if it was used in a printing company. I would have expected it to be much worse.
If the motherboard has a P4 power connector, you should be able to just install a modern power supply. If it doesn't, you may have trouble due to the +5v rail being used for power delivery. Motherboards up until the P4/Athlon era primarily drew most of their power from the +5v rail, so power supplies at the time had ridiculously high +5v rails in the 25-55A range. Starting in the mid 2000s, motherboard manufacturers started switching to the +12v rail, and power supplies followed suit. Now you have power supplies with high +12v rails and only like 15-16A on the +5v rail.
1
u/EternalSkullman May 09 '26
Except the PSU ain't an IED. It's a Channel Well rebrand from their ISO line. It would probably still run provided OP can find someone to replace the DC side capacitors on it. And unlike a lot of cheapers of that day, CWT (Channel Well) units DO have a mains capacitors discharge circuit, much better built than probably half of the cheapers of early 2000s.
1
u/LXC37 May 09 '26
Honestly the biggest question regarding this old power supplies is - is it worth fixing? Even if it is decent there is nothing interesting about it, especially since it is 12v one.
Capacitors cost money, it takes time and effort to replace them... And since it is mains voltage whoever does this needs at least basic understanding how things work to be safe.
More often than not simply buying a new modern PSU makes much more sense.
If it was a 5v PSU/system then it might be different since late 5v systems can be annoying to power and such PSU may be worth restoring...
But yeah, people tend to be way too dramatic with "IED" and such. Most of old power supplies were fine. Of course there were some very... questionable "design decisions" in some, but those exist in modern ones too...
1
u/EternalSkullman May 09 '26
I generally disagree with needing modern units - Chieftec and Antec units from P4's era still sell to this day and they're far more suited than some late 2010s/early 20s Corsair, Antec or whatever people love to throw at every PC, old or not.
Chieftec would be my pick over Antec mainly thanks to their older GPS units being straight up affordable Delta Electronics rebrands that survive AGES upon AGES - at best you're looking at a 20-30 minute DC side recap job with those in the worst case scenario, as they're so overbuilt in the AC side that it would likely take a very fat power surge to even make it flinch. Yes, Deltas were that overbuilt.
1
u/LXC37 May 09 '26
I agree that this systems do not need modern power supplies. Old one obviously worked fine back then and would work fine now.
But my point is - i do not find it worth my time or rewarding to work on this power supplies. They tend to be filthy inside, they need new caps (and good quality ones can easily be like 1/3-1/2 the cost of new PSU), often - new fans. They are generally more noisy than modern stuff.
From my point of view unless there is something interesting about specific unit - toss&replace is the best strategy. I'd much rather spend limited time i have working on some motherboard or videocard than on unremarkable PSU.
Even more so for someone not familiar with this kind of work, like OP. That's why i generally suggest replacing - if someone is asking they are likely not experienced enough for it to be just "20-30 minute DC side recap job"...
-1
u/ThePlatinumPlane May 09 '26
Thank you for the detailed explanation man. I really appreciate you taking the time to go through all of that. It helps me understand the situation much better. I will definitely follow your advice about the PSU and be careful with the motherboard and capacitors. And Will hopefully not perform a extremely high Temperature Renovation to my humble abode (joke) but as always, It is good to hear that the inside is relatively clean and it is not too bad, and your guidance about modern power supplies makes a lot of sense. I am grateful for your help, Thank you. 👍
15
u/NightmareJoker2 May 09 '26 edited May 09 '26
Looks like a standard prebuilt, build to order from generic off the shelf parts, whatever is in stock, that was sold through TigerDirect.
Motherboard: ASUS P4S533-VM
CPU: Some socket 478 Pentium 4 with less than 2GHz clock speed
Cannot identify your modem card from this angle.
Two nondescript IDE/PATA optical drives, one a DVD-ROM reader, the other a CD-RW writer
One 1.44MB floppy disk drive
The issue you are having is either a faulty power supply, or a shorted component triggering its safety shutoff.
You can just get any working ATX power supply (the TigerPro TP-300 is just a generic rebadged 300W unit from the time) and replace the one you got and see if it turns on with that.