News and Views

What’s the Oldest Computer You Own?

Posted by on Sep 13, 2011 | 58 Comments

Gnomie AlexCrowley1995 asks: “What’s the oldest computer you own?”

Whether you’re a wise, old school veteran of the days when giant, sprawling supercomputers used punch cards or you’re a youthful whippersnapper who doesn’t remember floppy disks, CRT monitors, or the days before there was a World Wide Web, I think it’s safe to say that everyone reading this probably remembers (fondly or not) their first computer. Like many from my generation, mine was a Commodore 64 that was donated to a friend a few years ago; I’m told it still works just fine. Since then, I’ve had a pretty wide variety of PCs ranging from the stationary to the portable, and the laptop I currently use is about five years old.

There should be an image here!In the video below, LockerGnome’s Chris Pirillo talks about the oldest computer he currently has in his possession.

“The oldest computer I have is a Toshiba notebook that I got as a review unit when I was co-authoring Online! The Book with John C. Dvorak. It still works; it’s an amazing machine — a business class machine — it had amazing speakers built in (I think Harman Kardons) and they sounded so rich and vibrant. But the thing I loved most about that notebook computer, beyond the fact that it stood the test of time (I got it, I think, in 2002), is that it has a screen resolution of 1600 x 1200 — on a notebook! On a portable machine! It’s a little on the heavier side with a plastic chassis, and it still works!”

What’s your oldest, still-functioning computer? What operating system does it run? Does it use formats no longer widely supported? Is it something that you use every day, or is it tucked away in the closet for emergency situations when your main system’s not being cooperative? Let us know in the comments!

Photo shared by matthewjuran.

  • http://www.leonbacud.info Leon Bacud

    Beat this: 1999 eTower desktop that is being used as a print server.

  • http://www.leonbacud.tk Leon Bacud

    Beat this: 1999 eTower desktop that is being used as a print server.

    • Rgsrx

      1997 Dell Dimension R400…upgraded the 400MHz Pentium with a Slot-1 1.2GHz Celeron kit, RAM to 768mb RAM (running twice the max that Dell claims but Intel board supports), PNY FX5500 128mb AGP video card (replaces the OEM 8MB card), USB 2.0 PCI card (1st generation of computers to run USB 1.0), dual boot Windows XP Pro/Windows 7 (OEM Windows 95 with free 98 upgrade disk 3 months after purchase, 250Gb & 100Gb HD’s (replaces OEM 3.2Gb). This computer is still running next to me. I just don’t have the heart to mothball it yet. It was in use continuously from May, 1997 to January 2011. Then I “inherited” my daughter’s 2007 T5234 9 months ago when I bought her a docking station for her laptop.
      It was getting slow but since I don’t game or video edit, etc., it was fine for internet, e-mail, Quicken, etc.

  • http://www.facebook.com/ferraripower Andrew Benner

    PowerMac G5 (7,3) 2 GHZ Dual Core, 512MB DDR, 250GB HDD, ATI Radeon 9800 Pro. I’m actually typing this comment on it right now. My brother received it for free from a friend and has since left it for an i5 baseline Mac Mini, leaving me with a FREE MAC. though it doesn’t really have support for much of anything, i sure am not willing to spend money on a mac, so i gladly use it. As they say, you can’t beat free.

  • http://www.facebook.com/ferraripower Andrew Benner

    PowerMac G5 (7,3) 2 GHZ Dual Core, 512MB DDR, 250GB HDD, ATI Radeon 9800 Pro. I’m actually typing this comment on it right now. My brother received it for free from a friend and has since left it for an i5 baseline Mac Mini, leaving me with a FREE MAC. though it doesn’t really have support for much of anything, i sure am not willing to spend money on a mac, so i gladly use it. As they say, you can’t beat free.

  • http://twitter.com/Paatskie Peter Leijenhorst

    PowerMac G4…catching dust on the attic

  • http://twitter.com/Paatskie Peter Leijenhorst

    PowerMac G4…catching dust on the attic

  • Anonymous

    A Tandy Coco 3 with all the attachments and 2, count ‘em 2 floppy drives! And boxes of software for it!

  • Anonymous

    A Tandy Coco 3 with all the attachments and 2, count ‘em 2 floppy drives! LOL And boxes of software for it! Kauth has me beat though. Mine came with 128K of RAM which I upgraded to a massive 512K!

    My wife and I both built our PC’s around 2000. P4′s, now with 3.2 and 3.6 Gig processors, but still chugging along just fine. (Funny, I never considered 2000 old?) Both running the biggest ATI PCI video cards available for them, X1950′s I think? Been too long since we fooled with them.

  • John Kauth

    A Timex Sinclair. This was one of the earliest home computers. Originally a kit it was later sold assembled. It had a 16K memory add on. Programs were typed in by hand and stored on a cassette tape recorder. A television was used as the monitor.There were magazines with programs to type in available at the time. Was still functioning the last time I demonstrated it a few years ago.

  • John Kauth

    A Timex Sinclair. This was one of the earliest home computers. Originally a kit it was later sold assembled. It had a 16K memory add on. Programs were typed in by hand and stored on a cassette tape recorder. A television was used as the monitor.There were magazines with programs to type in available at the time. Was still functioning the last time I demonstrated it a few years ago.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Robert-Kubichek/100002467741464 Robert Kubichek

    Timex Sinclair x3 with all the addons 8-)

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Robert-Kubichek/100002467741464 Robert Kubichek

    Timex Sinclair x3 with all the addons 8-)

  • Anonymous

    I have given away all my older computers, and many are still in use by my older relatives, but I am still using a 2001 (or 2002), Mac Powerbook on a regular basis, though it no longer my main machine. Its a capable machine despite its age. My Pb accompanies me everywhere I go except short shopping trips. Wi-Fi for browsing, email and Skype; acts like a library or information center, a business machine running an up to date version of MS office for mac, the display is kind to aging eyes and command/+ can enlarge any type to readable proportions on a full size page. I can even send faxes with the modem! Our kids and family are located all over the country so we’re on the road often. We make reservations with online discounts, check our e’s, research the repair “they” say we need on our vehicle, check customer ratings on the shop, and so forth.
    I know you can do this on a mobil phones these days, but we don’t want or need one in our new low budget lifestyle. My PB may not be the fastest machine on the road, and Apple no longer supports repairs on G4 machines or OS upgrades beyond Leopard (10.5.8), but it still meets every challenge I put to it, and it runs recent software like CS4. When we’re away from home, its easy enough to free up space for camera RAW by utilizing the optical drive for storage and back-up, installation disks for software I rarely use but need, and so forth.
    OSX Leopard runs all my software, including photoshop CS4, MS office for Mac, games, iTunes, and more.
    The machine has been upgraded to 2 GB of pc 2700 DDR ram, from the original max of 1G, and I put a new 7200 rpm IDE HD in there in June; a vast improvement over the pokey original 4200 it replaced. Its a great machine, boots faster today than it did when I bought it, and the cost of the upgrades was negligible. It has a great optical drive that we use in all its functions. In the camper its our media center. We watch DVDs, listen to recorded books, process photos of our day’s adventures and save them on recordable media. Great display, still looks “new”, and in my opinion was the best laptop on the market until the MacBooks came out. Can’t say enough about the powerbook. Its still my favorite out of all the machines I’ve owned or used, before or since.

  • Anonymous

    I have given away all my older computers, and many are still in use by my older relatives, but I am still using a 2001 (or 2002), Mac Powerbook on a regular basis, though it no longer my main machine. Its a capable machine despite its age. My Pb accompanies me everywhere I go except short shopping trips. Wi-Fi for browsing, email and Skype; acts like a library or information center, a business machine running an up to date version of MS office for mac, the display is kind to aging eyes and command/+ can enlarge any type to readable proportions on a full size page. I can even send faxes with the modem! Our kids and family are located all over the country so we’re on the road often. We make reservations with online discounts, check our e’s, research the repair “they” say we need on our vehicle, check customer ratings on the shop, and so forth.
    I know you can do this on a mobil phones these days, but we don’t want or need one in our new low budget lifestyle. My PB may not be the fastest machine on the road, and Apple no longer supports repairs on G4 machines or OS upgrades beyond Leopard (10.5.8), but it still meets every challenge I put to it, and it runs recent software like CS4. When we’re away from home, its easy enough to free up space for camera RAW by utilizing the optical drive for storage and back-up, installation disks for software I rarely use but need, and so forth.
    OSX Leopard runs all my software, including photoshop CS4, MS office for Mac, games, iTunes, and more.
    The machine has been upgraded to 2 GB of pc 2700 DDR ram, from the original max of 1G, and I put a new 7200 rpm IDE HD in there in June; a vast improvement over the pokey original 4200 it replaced. Its a great machine, boots faster today than it did when I bought it, and the cost of the upgrades was negligible. It has a great optical drive that we use in all its functions. In the camper its our media center. We watch DVDs, listen to recorded books, process photos of our day’s adventures and save them on recordable media. Great display, still looks “new”, and in my opinion was the best laptop on the market until the MacBooks came out. Can’t say enough about the powerbook. Its still my favorite out of all the machines I’ve owned or used, before or since.

  • Anonymous

    An Apple ][ with 16K memory, Integer BASIC & cassette tape recorder purchased in May 1978. Was upgraded over the years to 64K and two 5.25 floppy drives.

  • Anonymous

    An Apple ][ with 16K memory, Integer BASIC & cassette tape recorder purchased in May 1978. Was upgraded over the years to 64K and two 5.25 floppy drives.

  • Anonymous

    Let’s see. I did my first programming on a (approx) 12″ x 12″ board that I wired back in 1959. And I had my first PC (a RadioShack TRS-80) in 1980. But I’ve gotten rid of all of my older PCs by donating them to someone who couldn’t afford their own. Now, my oldest (of the 4 I currently own and use) is the 2008 Dell Vista machine which I upgraded to Win 7. In addition, I use a Dell XP machine (newly re-furbished) for my Charitable Foundation and when I pass away, they will get to keep and use it) and I have two newer (2010 and 2011) Acer laptops, both with Win 7 64-bit systems. However, on the Dell Vista (a 32-bit system), I currently still use Lotus Symphony, Lotus Agenda, Lotus Magellan, and XTreeGold (all DOS products) and just recently I added DOS-box to the 2 Acer 64-bit systems so that I could run the Lotus Agenda software and will probably add the other DOS software sometime in the near future.

  • Anonymous

    Let’s see. I did my first programming on a (approx) 12″ x 12″ board that I wired back in 1959. And I had my first PC (a RadioShack TRS-80) in 1980. But I’ve gotten rid of all of my older PCs by donating them to someone who couldn’t afford their own. Now, my oldest (of the 4 I currently own and use) is the 2008 Dell Vista machine which I upgraded to Win 7. In addition, I use a Dell XP machine (newly re-furbished) for my Charitable Foundation and when I pass away, they will get to keep and use it) and I have two newer (2010 and 2011) Acer laptops, both with Win 7 64-bit systems. However, on the Dell Vista (a 32-bit system), I currently still use Lotus Symphony, Lotus Agenda, Lotus Magellan, and XTreeGold (all DOS products) and just recently I added DOS-box to the 2 Acer 64-bit systems so that I could run the Lotus Agenda software and will probably add the other DOS software sometime in the near future.

  • Iroc8

    An Amstrad with TWO 5 1/4 inch drives and a 16 COLOR monitor.  It had 512 ram and an 8088 proc.  I bought an external Radio Shack 20 meg HD thinking I would never be able to fill it.  Of course it ran MSDos ’cause I couldn’t find a copy of PC Dos

  • Iroc8

    An Amstrad with TWO 5 1/4 inch drives and a 16 COLOR monitor.  It had 512 ram and an 8088 proc.  I bought an external Radio Shack 20 meg HD thinking I would never be able to fill it.  Of course it ran MSDos ’cause I couldn’t find a copy of PC Dos

  • Rstoutle

    Apple IIe bought in 1982 for over $3000 Canadian. Haven’t turned it on for a while but it was still working a couple of years ago. Came with two 5 1/4 drives and monitor and 128k memory.

  • Rstoutle

    Apple IIe bought in 1982 for over $3000 Canadian. Haven’t turned it on for a while but it was still working a couple of years ago. Came with two 5 1/4 drives and monitor and 128k memory.

  • Lamar Bridges

    I have a TRS80 Radio Shack with Level II basic tucked away somewhere. It initially had 4K memory and no drive. I used a audio cassette recorder to store data. I wrote almost all of the programs that I used. I believe I got it in January of 1980. My next computer was put together by friends (1994).

  • Anonymous

    I have a TRS80 Radio Shack with Level II basic tucked away somewhere. It initially had 4K memory and no drive. I used a audio cassette recorder to store data. I wrote almost all of the programs that I used. I believe I got it in January of 1980. My next computer was put together by friends (1994).

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=681289821 Bob Snyder

    My first was an Atari 600XL followed rapidly by a 130XE (with a generous 128k of RAM!) My oldest functioning machine would be my Sony Vaio laptop which came with Vista but has since been upgraded to Windows 7. In between, I’ve had desktops from various manufacturers starting with a Packard Smell with Win95 up to my current system: A Gateway with Win7 (also upgraded from Vista).

  • http://www.facebook.com/scott.loddesol Scott Loddesol

    Have a 1990  white box amd 386 40 4mb memory 120 mb harddrive sitting in a closet gave away the the final upgrade in 2002 only thing original on it was the case

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=681289821 Bob Snyder

    My first was an Atari 600XL followed rapidly by a 130XE (with a generous 128k of RAM!) My oldest functioning machine would be my Sony Vaio laptop which came with Vista but has since been upgraded to Windows 7. In between, I’ve had desktops from various manufacturers starting with a Packard Smell with Win95 up to my current system: A Gateway with Win7 (also upgraded from Vista).

  • http://www.facebook.com/scott.loddesol Scott Loddesol

    Have a 1990  white box amd 386 40 4mb memory 120 mb harddrive sitting in a closet gave away the the final upgrade in 2002 only thing original on it was the case

  • rp

    Compaq 286 with 512k memory, dual 5″ drives and a 10 mb hard drive on an ISA card & 14″ NEC MultiSynch monitor

    • Pinoj

      My system is almost identical.  NEC Powermate 286, 5.25″ Drive, 10mb hd, no RAM slots.  I bought a soundblaster card for it, and later on a 3.5″ disk drive.  I “overclocked” it from 10mhz to a speedy 12.3Mhz.  I think my first major game purchased for this system was Kings Quest V.

  • Bitterbluez

    Apple III with one internal 5 1/4″ and one external 5 1/4″ floppy drive and green tube monitor purchased circa 1982.  Still works with original Apple OS including Visicalc and Applewrite although has an intermittent power problem on mother board from time to time.  Also have a functioning TI 99 4A circa the same time frame.  Uses memory cartridges loaded with several games ie TI Invaders as well as micro BASIC which loads programs to/from a cassette cartridge using an audio cassette deck.  TI Invaders is still quite challenging lol.

  • http://coffeejitters.net/blog Judy Schwartz Haley

    I recently cleaned out an old storage space and came across the 40 page programming guide for my old Vic-20. No longer have the computer, but just the book brought back some good memories. 

  • http://coffeejitters.net/blog Judy Schwartz Haley

    I recently cleaned out an old storage space and came across the 40 page programming guide for my old Vic-20. No longer have the computer, but just the book brought back some good memories. 

  • Raistlin

    I have a 1999 Gateway GP7600 Pentium 3 Desktop…

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_UET2NODU4UXV3MJGSU3ZHH3XVA Jim G

    I still have documentation — and building instruction — for a Sinclair ZX81.  Don’t have the computer anymore.  That was the first computer I built and had in my house. As for one that still works I will have to go with this Celeron clone that runs Windows XP. I think it came with NT or millenium (no kidding I also had a laptop running ME).   I use it so my family can store files on it — they use up way too much space on their computer and then say “what does this low drive space mean — oh **** [sound of computer crash]“. 

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_UET2NODU4UXV3MJGSU3ZHH3XVA Jim G

    I still have documentation — and building instruction — for a Sinclair ZX81.  Don’t have the computer anymore.  That was the first computer I built and had in my house. As for one that still works I will have to go with this Celeron clone that runs Windows XP. I think it came with NT or millenium (no kidding I also had a laptop running ME).   I use it so my family can store files on it — they use up way too much space on their computer and then say “what does this low drive space mean — oh **** [sound of computer crash]“. 

  • TechMali

    My mom has a Windows 98 computer we got in 2000. MY first computer is the one I’m using now, I got it in June, it’s an Asus with Windows 7 and Ubuntu on it, it works perfectly. As of now my browsers won’t open on Windows 7, probably some malware. Gotta fix that, lol.

  • Jim Girard

    64K C/PM system, purchased in 1980, dual 8-inch floppy drive and monitor (each had different brand name). Assembled by consultant, had special desk built, total cost $10,000. Programs: WordStar, BASIC, dBase II. Now in storage but would run like new if I reassembled it.  

  • Jim Girard

    64K C/PM system, purchased in 1980, dual 8-inch floppy drive and monitor (each had different brand name). Assembled by consultant, had special desk built, total cost $10,000. Programs: WordStar, BASIC, dBase II. Now in storage but would run like new if I reassembled it.  

  • Frantl2003

    Sharp PC-4500 Series (1987, laptop PC)

    Original Retail Price: $995 to $3,195

    Base Configuration: 7.16MHz 80188-compatible CPU, MS-DOS 2.11,
    two expansion slots, 256K RAM (640K max) and 32K ROM, 3.5-inch floppy
    disk drive, monochrome LCD, parallel port, lead-acid battery pack, AC
    adapter

    Video: 25-line x 80-character text

    Size/Weight: 12.12 x 3 x 13.75 inches, 10 lbs.

    Important Options: MS-DOS 3.2, second 3.5-inch floppy disk drive, external 5.25-inch floppy disk drive, 20MB hard disk drive, GW-BASIC 3.2

  • Frantl2003

    Sharp PC-4500 Series (1987, laptop PC)

    Original Retail Price: $995 to $3,195

    Base Configuration: 7.16MHz 80188-compatible CPU, MS-DOS 2.11,
    two expansion slots, 256K RAM (640K max) and 32K ROM, 3.5-inch floppy
    disk drive, monochrome LCD, parallel port, lead-acid battery pack, AC
    adapter

    Video: 25-line x 80-character text

    Size/Weight: 12.12 x 3 x 13.75 inches, 10 lbs.

    Important Options: MS-DOS 3.2, second 3.5-inch floppy disk drive, external 5.25-inch floppy disk drive, 20MB hard disk drive, GW-BASIC 3.2

  • Hran

    My first computer was a Netronics Explorer 85. It had an intel 8085 cpu and a whopping 4k of on-board memory. It needed a separate serial terminal for access. Via the S-100 buss, you could add additional expansion cards.
    I built mine from a kit in 1978 – soldered EVERY component by hand. Even had to build the power supply from components!
    I added a HUGE 64kb memory card to the S-100 slot.
    There was no OS. It booted to a CLI with Basic available.
    I still have it in a closet with a bone from my first dinosaur kill, and some dirt from my first cave. Those were the days. . .

    • http://twitter.com/MacintoshOSXI Mark Hesser

      Nice! :)
      Thats OLD!
      Does it still work?

  • Hran

    My first computer was a Netronics Explorer 85. It had an intel 8085 cpu and a whopping 4k of on-board memory. It needed a separate serial terminal for access. Via the S-100 buss, you could add additional expansion cards.
    I built mine from a kit in 1978 – soldered EVERY component by hand. Even had to build the power supply from components!
    I added a HUGE 64kb memory card to the S-100 slot.
    There was no OS. It booted to a CLI with Basic available.
    I still have it in a closet with a bone from my first dinosaur kill, and some dirt from my first cave. Those were the days. . .

    • http://twitter.com/MacintoshOSXI Mark Hesser

      Nice! :)
      Thats OLD!
      Does it still work?

    • http://twitter.com/MacintoshOSXI Mark Hesser

      Nice! :)
      Thats OLD!
      Does it still work?

  • http://twitter.com/MacintoshOSXI Mark Hesser

    iMac G4 17 inch, Flat Panel, 1Ghz Processor, 768mb RAM, Pro Speakers, original Keyboard and Mouse, Display Adapter, running Mac OS X Leopard (10.5.8)

  • http://twitter.com/MacintoshOSXI Mark Hesser

    iMac G4 17inch, 1GHz Processor, 768mb RAM, 80GB HD, Super Drive, Pro Speakers, Keyboard and Mouse, running Mac OS X Leopard (10.5.8)

  • http://twitter.com/MacintoshOSXI Mark Hesser

    iMac G4 17inch, 1GHz Processor, 768mb RAM, 80GB HD, Super Drive, Pro Speakers, Keyboard and Mouse, running Mac OS X Leopard (10.5.8)

  • http://twitter.com/MacintoshOSXI Mark Hesser

    iMac G4 17inch, 1GHz Processor, 768mb RAM, 80GB HD, Super Drive, Pro Speakers, Keyboard and Mouse, running Mac OS X Leopard (10.5.8)

  • http://twitter.com/MacintoshOSXI Mark Hesser

    iMac G4 17inch, 1GHz Processor, 768mb RAM, 80GB HD, Super Drive, Pro Speakers, Keyboard and Mouse, running Mac OS X Leopard (10.5.8)

  • http://twitter.com/MacintoshOSXI Mark Hesser

    iMac G4 17inch, 1GHz Processor, 768mb RAM, 80GB HD, Super Drive, Pro Speakers, Keyboard and Mouse, running Mac OS X Leopard (10.5.8)

  • Anonymous

    An old HP desktop that came with Windows ME pre-installed. It has 125mb of ram and below a 1gh processor.

  • Anonymous

    An old HP desktop that came with Windows ME pre-installed. It has 125mb of ram and below a 1gh processor.

  • Anonymous

    An old HP desktop that came with Windows ME pre-installed. It has 125mb of ram and below a 1gh processor.

  • Etoinshrdlu

    I actually still have a CoCo, Color Computer from Radio Shack. It recorded programs in basic to a tape recorder which I also still have. 

  • Etoinshrdlu

    I actually still have a CoCo, Color Computer from Radio Shack. It recorded programs in basic to a tape recorder which I also still have.