Dell Pentium Pro Restoration — Part 1c: Test results & PSU in detail

The end of our tests, and the power supply is (mostly) performing at an excellent level! Our main concerns were voltage output regulation which it passed with no problems. I’m confident the supply is safe enough to power the motherboard and all of the peripherals. There are a few tests where we uncovered some issues, […]

Dell Pentium Pro Restoration — Part 1b: Power supply testing

During testing, I’ll be powering the supply through an isolation transformer for safety, and will also use a variac to test the power supply with lower and higher AC voltages. For measurement, I’ll be using a Rigol DS1102E oscilloscope as well as a BK Precision 2709B digital multimeter. This is an entry-level scope with limited […]

Dell Pentium Pro Restoration — Part 1a: The power supply

Before powering up the system or doing anything else, I want to see what condition the power supply is in. The importance of the power supply is obvious: without it functioning properly, the condition of anything else in the system is a moot point. Not only do we need the appropriate voltages, we need them […]

Dell Pentium Pro Restoration – The Plan

After getting the system out of the closet, I took photos to document the current condition. Overall, it’s in nice shape given its age. I didn’t see anything structural that was damaged, e.g. no missing or broken plastic. The plastic on the case as well as on the drives has yellowed over time. This is […]

Dell Pentium Pro Restoration – Intro

Introduction By the time I was forming memories as a young child, we always had a computer in the house. My dad was a software and database engineer; he worked in several industries, including in the aerospace field where he wrote software for Pratt & Whitney rocket engines. The first computer I remember was a […]