Remember the Pentium 4 computer that I got for free last week? The one that didn’t work because it had “memory issues?” I did a little research into why the computer didn’t work, and it turns out that the computer used a type of memory called RAMBUS. RAMBUS was pretty fast back in the day compared to other memory, but there was a downside: each slot inside the computer for memory must have something in it. You don’t necessarily have to put memory in every slot, but if you don’t, you need these things called CRIMM cards to put in. CRIMM cards are essentially “dummy” (as if computer’s weren’t actually dumb… ) memory sticks that fit nicely into the memory slots. CRIMM cards aren’t memory; they just look like blank circuit boards with connectors on the bottom. I didn’t know any of this when I picked up the Dell computer off of Reuse. My computer had memory, but it didn’t have theCRIMM cards. So, without the required hardware, my Dell wouldn’t boot up.

Luckily, however, I found another stash of free, deactivated computers on campus, one of which was very, very similar to mine! I looked inside, and it turned that the machine had 2 CRIMM’s and no memory. The exact complement of what my beast had! So, I popped out the CRIMMs and took them home with me. Here they are:

Aren’t they pretty? See, there are no circuits printed on them – just connectors on the bottom. I snapped them into my computer. Here it is again in all of its large, old-computer glory:

…I plugged in the power, a keyboard, and a monitor and pressed the “on” button…and ahoy! It worked!! Perhaps I made a loud, embarassingly high-pitched shout of excitement; or perhaps that was just a car horn outside…

Anyway, the computer was pretty fast for a free computer (a Pentium 4 will do that!), and it handily pwned the task of installing the latest Ubuntu operating system (version 8.10, Intrepid Ibex). Here it is cheerily installing:

And just for fun, here another picture under the hood (the graphics card):

Hooray, another computer, and this one actually works! As a side note, I really like one of the themes that come with the new Ubuntu operating system. Here’s what it looks like:

That’s all for now, folks! Not quite sure what I should actually do with this computer, now that I have it… any ideas?

I like computers… but I like them even more when they’re free! At MIT, there’s a pretty cool email list called Reuse that anyone can subscribe to. The idea is as follows: People, professors, labs, etc. who have stuff that they want to give away for free email this list, specifying a place to pick up the items. Then, people who want the items go to that place, take what they want, and send an email to the rest of the list saying what they’ve taken. It’s a pretty cool setup – you can get a lot of neat stuff for free. Luckily for me and some of my other friends (**cough Wei ** ), computer hardware tends to be a popular category of items given away via Reuse! However, a lot of people other than me also like free computers, so it’s imperative to go claim the items ASAP – otherwise somebody else will!

Today, I happened to be checking my email in the Stata center when, low and behold, a very recent email came in detailing a jackpot of computers and CRT monitors! I immediately bursted with speed over to the lab that was giving away the hardware, and I managed to claim a Pentium 4! Here’s a picture of the untamed beast sitting in my dorm room:

However, there is one downside to Reuse: there’s usually a reason why people are giving stuff away! The Dell computer I got was missing a power supply. Okay, I thought, that’s not too bad… I have spares, and so do some of my other friends back in my dorm. So, that evening, me and Wei popped in a new power supply that was, luckily enough, completely compatible (both were made by Dell). Sweeeet! So we tried booting up the monster…

… and it didn’t work. Nothing. Well, I shouldn’t say nothing – it did make some noises and go through a few motions, but my monitor was showing zilch. Bummer. According to the diagnostic lights on the back of the computer, there’s a memory issue. Hmm… maybe if I find some new memory sometime and pop that in? That could work… I’ll just have to wait around for more Reuse computers that have compatible memory!