I have a passion for building computers and like to tinker with scraps. I am no stranger to being on a tight budget (I still am, really). Recently I found out my aunt, who works for the government, used to be an IT and programming wiz. How cool is that!? Anyway, she gave me her old computers.

I have already set to work, transplanting the biggest one into an awesome vintage rack mount case. I cannot get over how amazing this case is!

This case is made for an old server farm. It is designed so that the posts (stand-offs) can be removed and rearranged to accommodate multiple form factors. It has a locking door on the front. It is very spacious, and the drive bay is fairly unique. Larger drives go in the center and then smaller drives go around the outside, and it is easily removable. So once all the drivers are in it makes a crazy Borg looking cube. Downside is that if you want to remove a 5.25″ drive, you have to detach any 3.5″ drives you may have mounted on the sides. But it’s still great, and has built in features that are rad.

The board that is in here is an old AT style mobo. In order to use it with the absurd powers supply I have installed (an ATX-IB680W-BL Iceberg that changes colors, that I picked up cheap at Re-PC), I had to order a special adapter. I also needed to replace the momentary power button with a latching one, since the motherboard has no built in power control, and instead the power supply it came with has a panel mount switch. Changing the switch took about 3 hours, because my medication had worn off early, the button I had on hand was slightly larger than the one it was meant to replace, and the hole it was supposed to go into is located in a hard to get to place. Finally, my medication took effect, I used my Dremel to ware down the sides of the replacement button, and made it fit. I also had to solder connectors to it. Hopefully the solder joints remain intact. The old switch is on the left.

The adapter should be here Friday, and if all goes well, I think I will have it running DOS and Win 95. I have a few things to pick up, but it will be able to make phone calls and play AM and FM radio.

The rabbit came by a couple times to see how things were going, which is always a good omen.

The other two computes will also have a purpose. I plan to put Linux on one of them and use it as a server (which is something I have never done and have been waiting to do), and the other may become a new cabinet computer, who knows.