Your first ever computer + an embarrassing story

[Fritzo]

Pfft...OP is a youngster

First computer was a Commodore 64 WITH the awesome 1541 disk drive. I still have it and it still works

First PC was an IBM PS/1 286. It had no hard drive, a single floppy drive, and DOS 4.1 built into a ROM chip on the motherboard. Working around having a single floppy drive to run everything taught me the ingenuity with computers that I have today.

A couple of years after that I got an IBM PS/1 486sx/25 and was pretty much in the mainstream world after that. In the early 90's, the Internet was mostly text based, so I used to log into Delphi for a real Internet connection (none of that AOL crap for me).

Embarrassing part was when I thought you could just switch processors in any computer to make them faster. Tried to add a 486DX4/100 to my PC and it wouldn't start. Swapped it back, wouldn't start. It was under a 1 year warranty so I took it back to Best Buy. They were about to take it back, but then found the cause of the problem was a piece of aluminum gum wrapper shorting out the motherboard (it still smelled like Juicy Fruit ). They removed it, the PC fired up, and they charged me $100 for a service fee.

 

[Baked]

Playing Falcon 3.0, X-Com, SimCity 2K on my 486DX with sound blaster compatible soundcard, loading drivers in DOS. Epic! I hated Win 3.1.

 

[CZroe]

TI BASIC - first computer I could program for but it was really more of a game console with a keyboard
Apple Mac Plus - first computer with a dedicated screen, HDD (external), and a mouse
Acer Aspire with IBM P150 - first x86 PC with a modem!

I remember trying to save space on an old 80MB HDD that my friend had Win95 on. We only used it for transferring games to an N64 backup device with command line utilities. At first it was slow-going trying to fill it up because we had very few games between us, but we started borrowing and renting games to dump the ROMs and started downloading games at the library (sneaker-netting them by floppy disk). The smallest games were usually 8MB so it's not like the HDD could fit very many (9 with no OS). When we ran out of space, we deleted games we could always borrow again, but it wasn't long before we needed to delete Win95 wallpapers and all the useless bits of bloat:

DEL MSPAINT.EXE
DEL SOL.EXE
DEL C:\Windows\*.BMP
...

The storage crunch got increasingly worse and the decisions on what to delete became increasingly difficult. In desperation to find space before returning a rented game, we eventually deleted something we weren't sure was important. Our logic was "well, it let us delete it and the PC is still working!" but a reboot showed that Windows was no longer bootable after that. I didn't have a Windows 95 install disc and had no idea how to fix it on the command line back then. My friend's dad was angry for years even though it was already a POS that was better served with a formatted HDD and a DOS 6.22 boot floppy.

 

[jagec]

My family's first computer was a Mac SE/30 (for those of you who remember the Apple standard naming conventions of the time, this was the infamous "SEx" that never was). But I preferred the Apple IIs at school. Nothing like working with dual 5.25" floppy drives...one to load your program, and one to save your files.

It also made it a lot easier to copy that floppy.

Sadly, we didn't have internet at home, and they kept it pretty well supervised at school, so I didn't really get onto the internet proper until quite a bit later in high school. It was sad to see my crappy Geocities site finally die in '09.

 

[Mixolydian]

Our first family computer was a Packard Bell 166MHz Pentium w/ Windows 95. Biggest piece of shit ever. A few years later I bought a used Power Macintosh 5400, which was my first computer of my very own.

 

[JoeyP]

Not to feel too old, but you really cannot appreciate how far computers have come until you've had to set dip switches, configure jumpers, and edit your autoexec.bat and config.sys files to eek out those last precious bytes of (extended? expanded?) memory by loading DOS high to the UMB, and removing DMA and IRQ conflicts, so that you can play starflight.

 

[PingSpike]

Not to feel too old, but you really cannot appreciate how far computers have come until you've had to set dip switches, configure jumpers, and edit your autoexec.bat and config.sys files to eek out those last precious bytes of (extended? expanded?) memory by loading DOS high to the UMB, and removing DMA and IRQ conflicts, so that you can play starflight.

It was a true nightmare. Every time you complain about how slow your PC is remember how long it used to take to copy or load from a floppy disk. But some guy who used to use punch cards will still show up and tell us how great the floppy disk was at the time.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

My first computer was a P3 750Mhz in 2000 that was originally a shared computer, but the power supply exploded the day after I got it. My dad took pity on me and decided to upgrade, giving me his 1.4Ghz Thunderbird. The most embarrassing thing I can think of was probably changing my admin password every day. Since it was mine I wanted to feel like I was in total control so no one could get in, so I developed a system where I would go through different DBZ characters and Super Saiyan levels, out of phase with each other. Here's an example for a day-by-day...

SSJIGoku
SSJIIVegeta
SSJIIITrunks
SSJIVGohan
SSJIGoten
SSJIIGoku
etc

Anyways, after a couple weeks of that I think I entered the wrong one and locked myself out of my computer. Had to reformat.

 

[DesiPower]

My friend bought a refurb CPU from Dell, was going to use all the peripherals from the old one, so be backed up all the important stuff by copying them to the desktop. Logic behind was - things that are on the desktop are actually stored in the monitor. Beat that!

 

[Fritzo]

It was a true nightmare. Every time you complain about how slow your PC is remember how long it used to take to copy or load from a floppy disk. But some guy who used to use punch cards will still show up and tell us how great the floppy disk was at the time.

Yeah, if you wanted to play a game back then, you REALLY had to want it. Sometimes it would take 3 days to get your expanded and extended memory correct. Tie Fighter was terrible, but OH so worth it once you got it going. I think the worst one was Strike Commander

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAdikjwJ2vs

 

[RaiderJ]

Not to feel too old, but you really cannot appreciate how far computers have come until you've had to set dip switches, configure jumpers, and edit your autoexec.bat and config.sys files to eek out those last precious bytes of (extended? expanded?) memory by loading DOS high to the UMB, and removing DMA and IRQ conflicts, so that you can play starflight.

Oh man, I remember setting up a bootable floppy disk that had a menu of various games that you could pick from. Each one had a different config.sys and autoexec.bat file customized so enough memory was available. Worked great for playing all those Sierra games! Biggest hassle was getting Space Quest IV CD-ROM to load up since it needed optical and mouse drivers.

 

[clamum]

Our family's first computer was a Christmas present for my brother and I when I was in fifth grade (winter 1993-1994). It was a 486 SX 25MHz I believe. We were so clueless as to how to use Windows 3.1 that we could only play games right after we installed them off the 5 1/4" floppy disks (because you could run the game/app right after you installed it).

It ended up being my parents figuring out File Manager and .exe files to run the games. Needless to say, there were like 10 directories where we'd installed the same game (GameDir, GameDir_01, GameDir_02, etc) over and over. Hahahaha.

 

[Possessed Freak]

Oh man, I remember setting up a bootable floppy disk that had a menu of various games that you could pick from. Each one had a different config.sys and autoexec.bat file customized so enough memory was available. Worked great for playing all those Sierra games! Biggest hassle was getting Space Quest IV CD-ROM to load up since it needed optical and mouse drivers.

I remember optimizing my init string on my modem to get the best performance based on which bbs I connected to.

Then once on the BBS I would dig through the file section hoping to find some mouse driver that was only 2k.

 

[coloumb]

We must be of similar age...

I chuckle a bit when I hear "My first computer was a 486DX"... or a "C-64".

I guess my 1st "home computer" was an Atari 2600. Why do I consider it a computer? Because you could use the Basic Programming cartridge on it.

My 1st time using a computer was the TRS80 at my mom's work - it had the 5.25" floppy drive and was the absolutely awesome. I believe after that it was a UNIX system at school, then Apple at school TI/994a at home, then C-64 in the Air Force, then an Amiga, then finally desktop PC for Windows 95.

I can't recall any embarrassing stories though... [or maybe showing my parents "the internet" late at night and it taking FOREVER to load over a 56k modem - they weren't too impressed but I thought it was extremely cool]

Not to call you wrong, but there wasn't a "time before computers" during your lifetime.

When I was a little kid, I got a TRS80. That thing was awesome! You had to hook the tape recorder up to it, and loading a good program could take quite a while to play the cassette. It was an awesome platform for learning how to program.

Then, after playing with Apple II computers at school, I was able to get a Commodore 64. That would have been around 1982-1983. Then, in 1984, I went to college for engineering & worked with a DEC VAX 11/780 for a couple of years.

Then, you were born.

edit: I've thought for a while, and can't top spending $150 to reformat a hard drive.

 

[Spoooon]

Our family's first computer was a Christmas present for my brother and I when I was in fifth grade (winter 1993-1994). It was a 486 SX 25MHz I believe. We were so clueless as to how to use Windows 3.1 that we could only play games right after we installed them off the 5 1/4" floppy disks (because you could run the game/app right after you installed it).

It ended up being my parents figuring out File Manager and .exe files to run the games. Needless to say, there were like 10 directories where we'd installed the same game (GameDir, GameDir_01, GameDir_02, etc) over and over. Hahahaha.

The computer we got after the commodore was an SX25. I have the overdrive processor on my desk, lol. I remember being in awe when I first had Doom up and running.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

My first real build (when I chose every single part), I had a thermaltake case with room for about eight, 80mm fans. Well I was also really into gaming and it was performance at all costs. Soooo I decide on buying eight, 80mm Vantec Tornado fans.

http://youtu.be/Cx0juwi3zP0?t=2m40s

Image 8 of those. I think my dad went crazy and since then Im all about silent computing lol.

 

[JoeyP]

I remember optimizing my init string on my modem to get the best performance based on which bbs I connected to.

Then once on the BBS I would dig through the file section hoping to find some mouse driver that was only 2k.

The funny part is that before the internet, you had to meet people in person or on a BBS to get that information. I remember jotting down modem init strings on paper, or waiting for my pleas for help to relay around the BBS network for a week hoping for advice. Sometimes all the lines to popular BBS's were busy for hours...

 

[arch113]

TI 99 4/a > C64 > 8088

 

[BurnItDwn]

My first computer in the house was an apple 2 E when I was 4 years old (1984.)
"My" first computer was in 1996 when I built a super cheap cyrix box (which I replaced with a K6 in 97, and then a celeron in 98 or 99.)

The household had a 486 dx 33 at the time I built the Cyrix, so even though it had a garbage FPU and was TONS slowwer than even a pentium 133, it was plenty fast for quake and quake 2 with my Canopus Pure3D

 

[sandorski]

My first as well. :wub:

I would literally wake up, code until late in the night and go back to sleep for weeks at a time. I kept filling up all the memory with my programs so I would have to rewrite them to be leaner each time.

hehe, ya, I tried Coding a game and filled up the RAM too. I tried to figure out how to use the Datasette to get around that, but never succeeded. I also discovered how annoying BASIC was to work with, despite being very careful with making Line# blocks, the Program seemed to always be executing unexpected Lines....but now as I type this I wonder if I simply forgot to use Goto commands at key points that resulted in the execution of Lines that were intended to act like Modules. lol

 

[clamum]

The computer we got after the commodore was an SX25. I have the overdrive processor on my desk, lol. I remember being in awe when I first had Doom up and running.

If I remember right, we had to edit the autoexec.bat and skip loading mouse drivers and sound drivers in order to get Doom to run more than like 0.25 FPS, LOL.

 

[sandorski]

Not to feel too old, but you really cannot appreciate how far computers have come until you've had to set dip switches, configure jumpers, and edit your autoexec.bat and config.sys files to eek out those last precious bytes of (extended? expanded?) memory by loading DOS high to the UMB, and removing DMA and IRQ conflicts, so that you can play starflight.

Very true, even worse though was doing this before the Internet and Documentation. You basically had to just try every combination until one of them worked.

 

[vshah]

my dad had a 486 box from work (3rd computer in our house after a 386 lappy and a 486 lappy).

I was messing around with it, taking it apart, putting it together etc. I found the bios and realized I could set a bios password! I the proceeded to promptly forget what the bios password was. my dad came home to find the computer taken apart with me hunting for the cmos battery to see if it might reset.

 

[cronos]

Very true, even worse though was doing this before the Internet and Documentation. You basically had to just try every combination until one of them worked.

I remember I was really depending on computer magazines back then. All the tips and tricks about optimizing your expanded/extended memory, what programs to use (QEMM, etc). Only place we'll find information like these are from the magazines.

 

[Maximilian]

My first computer

I had a commodore64 but the first proper computer i had was this huge AT thing labelled "Colossus". It had a 486SX 25mhz, that is the only spec i remember though. It came with windows 3.1 (had to type "win" to start it) and i played simcity 2000 on it until i accidentally formatted windows then the computer shop fixed it by putting windows 95 on it with simcity classic. I was a bit miffed because it ran slower and simcity classic wasent as fun as 2000.

My dad bought this comp from a guy who worked in the newsagents. It was later broke and we asked an english guy to fix it, he took it and promptly moved away, this was ~1999, i assume he retired to Hawaii on the funds he obtained selling my ancient comp.

My embarrassing story

My friend walked in on me and my ex having fun on his exercise bench Oh wait its to be a computer story, apologies. For my first computer i spent ages trying to install a floppy disk labelled "VL BUS DRIVER" which i thought stood for "virtual bus driver". It sounded fucking epic, i visualized a game driving a bus around, running over people etc... I never did get it to work. Later on another computer GTA 1 quenched this need to drive a bus and kill people

Many years later i find out it wasent a game, that was a driver disk for the Vesa Local Bus. Some weird interface that never caught on:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VESA_Local_Bus

Wasted so much time on that stupid floppy disk!

EDIT: Oh also wasted many hours trying to re-install windows 95. The manual said to type "x:\ *some command* where x is the letter of the CD Drive" so i spent my time typing in x:\ *some command* and wondering why it never worked My dad was stumped as well but hes never been much of a techie.