What Happened to the Computer Reset Warehouse?
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- Опубліковано 27 тра 2024
- Exploring a MASSIVE retro computer warehouse, part 2! Revisiting Computer Reset in Dallas to see what's changed, how much remains, and experience some of their weekend events. And yep, groups of folks are still being let inside, so it's not too late to visit before they shut down later in 2022!
● Here's the group to join for scheduling/info on weekend events:
/ 627459117730981
● LGR links:
/ lazygamereviews
/ lazygamereviews
/ lazygamereviews
● Other pertinent links:
The First Visit to Computer Reset
• Exploring a MASSIVE Re...
Flyby2 Screensaver Blerb
• Awesome Screensaver Fo...
Andy's Tetris for DOS/QBasic
andy.junkdrome.org/devel/tetris/
● Music licensed from Epidemic Sound:
www.epidemicsound.com
00:00 Computer Reset Part 2!
02:14 Some Context and Setup
07:24 Tour of the Warehouse
26:44 Weekend Events!
37:14 In Conclusion...
#LGR #Retro #Computers - Наука та технологія
Honestly big props to the owner. This whole warehouse could've been sold years ago and all the cool stuff thrown out by whoever bought the place up. Instead there's been this amazing opportunity for the whole community to get access to countless pieces of retrotech that would've never seen the light of day otherwise.
That's all they fucking do in piece of shit Kingsport. I wanna be ostracized from the shithole here.
Definitely. It's a goldmine of retro tech. For some reason I still think about it when I'm thinking of older tech and wishing that it was saved or the products haven't gone to waste. Good to see an update.
The hope is the last that you don´t have to loose.
It was a nice little business plan, and a shame that it got out of hand and that Richard's days in this world were numbered. But it is absolutely wonderful that all this old tech was diverted from landfill to continue being useful to whoever needed it or wanted it.
Property in Texas is dirt cheap so they probably did better doing this than selling the place.
This makes me so nostalgic/sad. I ran a successful computer retail store/repair shop for 20+ years, and to think of the pallets of surplus IBM CRTs and PS/2s I saw over the years, really old laptops (Toshiba with monochrome and Thinkpads of DSTN color screens), mechanical keyboards, old versions of Lotus, DOS, Windows 3.0/3.1 etc. That I could have bought cheap and stored to have for sale today. To think of the number of CRTs I've recycled over the years, just one vanload was 80 CRTs. The number of 286/386 computers that were so old they got recycled for scrap. And yes, I bought an entire pallet of Hot Wheels/Barbie computers back in the day, I'm know I had one or two of them returned to me after years of service for recycling. I have a huge passion for this old tech, and I wish it wasn't becoming so cost-prohibitive to find.
1. Find a thrift store or salvation army nearby, sometimes they do not charge too much.
2. Are you Mr. Robot?
@@CP200S appreciate the advice but I've checked out the local goodwills and there's nothing ever there. Occasionally you will find like a DSL modem with no AC adapter for $4 which is useless to me. I haven't even really found any software titles or anything I've been to four different ones. I know Clint from lgr on UA-cam has great luck at goodwills but I've just never found anything. I tried posting to a couple local Facebook groups asking for older equipment and really only had one hit from that.
@@cliffshockley4406 Yeah nowadays it's definitely not easy to find anything cool anymore. I also regret leaving lots of stuff behind like Sega CDs, loads of PC XT clones, Ataris and other stuff. On the other hand I have been also lucky to have found (and bought) a few Amigas, C64 1541 drive, Intellivisions and other stuff, but it was about 15~20 years ago. Maybe if you look early in the morning on really small cities nearby and with a lot of persistence, but "sumguy" already been there most of the times. Wish you better luck next hunting!
@@cliffshockley4406 ... Have you talked to some of the managers at Goodwill? Maybe they might give you some ideas & perhaps they might tag some stuff for you if they find more old tech, which they definitely will. There is no surprise what people find in their closets, basements & attics. I do know that Goodwill had some contract with Dell over a decade ago (2009-10?) that when people bring in old tech, especially stuff like old CRT monitors & CRT televisions & maybe some old computer parts (drives, motherboards, cases, etc), that they partnered to have those recycled instead of putting them on the Goodwill shelves. There's probably a lot of money in that recycling & I know how greedy Dell can be, heh. That's such a shame, for us collectors. But it's also understandable, because GW only has a limited shelf space, even if it's one of their giant superstores, as people keep bringing in a lot of crap, & computer cases & CRT's use up a lot of that shelf space. I remember Goodwill having tons of CRT's & PC towers in 2009 & then the next year or so, they disappeared. That's at least at my local Goodwill. But I did see an article about the recycling partnership. My local GW does still have tons of computer & electronics tech & I am tempted to buy a lot of them, but I have to refrain a little more as I don't want to end up looking like Reset's warehouse. :)
I got a BRAND NEW, boxed monitor from 1999 free 3 years ago online, I did take out of box to test. Havent used it though as haven't got the space for it so its in guest bedroom/office.
Sad that nobody made a UA-cam channel to record the entire process of them cleaning up daily, showing the awesome things that they found there and even just showing their work. I would watch it all thousand of times (like I did with your first video)
Missed opportunity, would have been an interesting "series"...
Somehow I feel relieved that the 8-Bit Guy actually has enough sense of humour to do that.
This is a happy/sad story. Sad to see an old man's business fall apart and turn into a mess but Im happy to see this stuff being used now. Im sure the gentleman who owned the business would enjoy seeing this stuff being used again.
At one time it was clearly a decently sized business. Multiple units, from storefronts to repairs with a ton of employees. Sad how it deteriorated, but damn it was weird seeing where at one point it was clear work for a specific thing was happening.
I LOVED your first Computer Reset video, but I've always felt very sad in thinking that everything in there ended up scrapped and in a landfill. Getting this follow-up video and finding out that the warehouse not only survived, but the stock was actually being sorted through, re-organized, and sold off... this makes me so happy. This video is a perfect sequel! Best of luck and thanks to Noelle and the volunteers for their hard work in giving this place a proper send-off
Omg I laughed at 8bit guy's cameo!
But I do feel like I've missed out. The closest experience I can't say I've had is going to the junkyard looking for car parts for my own car and/or rare parts that I know would sell well. But that huge junkyard I used to go to is gone forever just like this place will someday be.
8-bit was LITERALLY a kid caught in a Tandy store! Umm, sorry, Candy store
Sadly, CR is now gone. They are in the final stages of cleaning and recycling everything left.
I get the junkyard thing. I've found some pretty rare badges from a 1990 Ford Thunderbird anniversary edition super coupe. Badges were mint, bought them for a few bucks, wound up eventually selling them on the TCCOA forums years later for $100.
What the hell did happen to car junkyards? Maybe they moved to the middle of nowhere and just sell online now.
The room with the shelves full of old software and peripherals tugs at my heartstrings. When I was a kid I used to love browsing computer stores. Every single item had some sort of definite purpose, most of which I could only speculate about, and there were thousands of them. There is much less experimentation going on with consumer-grade computers nowadays, and pretty much everyone has the same basic set of peripherals. I actually get surprised looks when I pull out a pocket trackball instead of a pocket mouse to use with my laptop; most people don't even know there's a second option, or know why anyone would even want a second option. That being said, I absolutely do not miss the slowness of computers back then.
There are some other mice options along that vein such as Apple's magic trackpad and ergonomic sideways looking mice, as well as trackballs. VR controllers and the Steam Deck's dual track pads also come to mind. There is still some innovation, but way less now that there are established standards that most just fall back on. Even if they aren't all how I prefer to use my pc it's always nice to have options and see new ways of interacting with technology.
Many people, upon seeing a picture of my Evoluent Vertical D Mouse are completely intrigued by it and only when seeing my hand around it get how you are supposed to use it :P. The design is surprisingly old and has been dubbed "a failure before launch" by many computer experts, and then RSI started to become a thing :P.
It's also how interesting so many things made to make computers accessible
The real computer reset was the friends we made along the way
ITS THAT DUDE
Shame Luke couldn't get footage of you hauling out a pallet of Hot Wheels and Barbie PCs 😂
Not even lying, Shank, well-known Console portablizer extraordinaire is the dude Clint mentioned picked up the Hot Wheels PC in the vid. Did a very cool PC build with it for a vid!
It definitely "Reset" the vintage computer community.
@@CCConversions Ha! Good one on that pun. 🤣
RIP Richard
What a legacy! I hope he is looking down on this and feels a sense of pride. It has to be exactly what he wanted but never could do. This is true recycling, reuse. Some of this stuff likely was intended as parts etc and is now getting a brand new life in the hands of collectors!
Yeah, it was hoarding junk until enough time passes. Now it's gold.
@@bengelman2600 ...it was still junk hoarding. This dude stacked up monitors in a pile outside and left them there for decades. For every piece saved, another 2 likely died.
I'm not saying that to kick rocks at the guy. More of a warning about how easily you go from a hobby, to a collector, to a hoarder. There's a line at which you're doing more harm than good and it's probably pretty blurry until you're way past it. I've been there, or close, a few times myself.
Hes not looking down at all. Hes dead.
@@familyengineering5591 Grow up.
@@LinkRocks ratioed
I absolutely died when the second he touched the ibm workstation box. I was like “oh god! Keep the 8 bit guy away” then THERE HE WAS, paper clip in hand 😂 man, Clint that was amazing. Great video and testament.
When you pulled out that Apple I and said it was worthless, I nearly screamed. You got me ;)
I wondered how long it would take to find a comment addressing that!
I caught that too!!! 23.44 minutes in I fell to the floor. What was it like only 200 or so of those were made? I saw one had been listed for $450,000!
I don't know what's funnier, the Apple 1 schtick of the fact that ZONE TOONS WATCHES LGR!!!
Wait... it's ZONE, the world really is a small place
Glad I wasn't the only one who caught that too lol.
23:44 -- We've come to a point where I'm really hoping I know Clint's sense of humor whilst he is holding an Apple I, talking about stuff that "chances are won't be worth anything to anyone."
Pretty sure that was 8bit Guys repro.
Ok, I thought that was an Apple I also!
Lmao. I knew it looked slightly different, but I said the same thing. 🤣
that was hilarious! I recognized that instantly
@@Blobboss Did he bring that in just for that joke? Otherwise, why would it be there? I instantly recognized it as an Apple I (those big capacitors really stand out) and came here to find out what other people thought.
I'm probably a weirdo for saying this, but I love the look of that building - the stone exterior, all the wood interiors, the little fountain in the lobby by the reception desk. If I had a business that needed office space, I would try and take this building, haha.
me too, feels very nostalgic, like 80s-90s exteriors, I really like that style.
I bet they have a payphone
Definitely not alone there brother! Complete even with spiral staircase and that outdoorsy lobby with a fountain!
@@TimberwolfCY how could I forget the spiral staircase! Yes!
Same! When I was a kid, the local computer swapmeets always seemed to take place in buildings like this, super heavy with stone accents and wood panels. Having all that amazing retro PC goodness in there just seals it!
Quote from The 8-Bit Guy:
I'm saddened to report that Computer Reset was broken into and a number of things stolen. They also took the two remaining IBM workstations that have been featured on my channel and a few others. Since these are pretty rare, I would encourage anyone to keep a look out for any attempts to sell these online. There is currently a cash reward being offered of $2,000 for any information leading to the suspects.
It'd be nice if so many shitty people never got into computers in the first place.
The single most relatable hoarder experience:
Q: "Where are you gonna put all this stuff?"
A: "I'm getting this to where I'm going and that's all I know."
I have a friend who is a hoarder . He is being forced to to sell one of his hoarding spaces. So EVERYTHING has to be 're -hoarded' somewhere else.. where there is already .... no space.
8-Bit Guy with the Dremel and paper clip, legit caused a scene at work laughing just now
my hears stopped for a moment! should have had a trigger warning! XD
David holding up the Dremel and paper clip.....I laughed harder at this than I maybe should 🤣
Solid comedy gold right there.
Master Troll levels for sure lmao
Some quality trolling for those who know the incident it’s a callback to.
I had to pause I laughed so much.
That was epic
I take back all the nasty things I said
Got strangely emotional during this. Its like experiencing the end of an era, again. Great that people are getting some cool stuff and hopefully restoring/keeping it in working order. I regret getting rid of my first 386 to get the latest and greatest back in the day. Had i lived in the states i would so like to take a few trips to that warehouse. Thanks to Richard Byron for keeping history in a bottle and out of the landfills, Rest in peace. Another thanks to you LGR for these videos!
Olivetti 386SX 25Mhz.
You and me both friend. x.
Wonder how many third-world countries would consider what is in that warehouse as, modern"?
@@brodriguez11000 for the most part none, they are aware and even have modern technology. It is a lack of funding they suffer from not a lack of knowledge. And if we look at the poorest African nations for example, they are on the hook to western banks for circa $300 billion all while a trillion dollars of their wealth extracted over 60 years by capitalist corporations and despots, sits in the Cayman islands protected by the US and UK alliance to keep capitalism going at any externalised cost.
Most poor nations are often in credit in reality, its just we stole all their money and power.
I hear you brother, I wish I held onto to the computers of my youth aswell, even the shitty Compaq(not even sure what was in there system wise)that got me started.
@@iladelproductions8820 some of the stuff I threw away... worth a bloody fortune now.
The building, now that we can see it, is actually pretty phenomenal. Would be such a vibe for a store front like that. Thanks for the update video, I'm really glad to hear how much of this stuff got taken to good homes. Very sad to hear about the owner and etc. Such a wild ride. Wish I could have made it down there.
Taken to good homes LOL...no it got put up for sale on Ebay for ridiculous prices for the most part.
Someone who pays a lot of money for an item is almost by default going to be a good home for these items for many reasons.
@@wildbill23c Begone with your negativity.
So what; you see someone who's expressing happiness over some small deed, and you feel it's your place in the world to not only contradict them, but to laugh at them for being so naive as to focus on the good that they see?
No doubt many of those items were taken for profit, but so what? Firstly, you (or I, or anyone) don't have any idea what portion were sold on eBay, let alone how "ridiculous" the majority were priced.
What we *do* know is that the people responsible for the collection put a lot of time and effort into making sure that it was distributed as widely as was feasible, instead of ending up in the trash. They also seem to have done a pretty good job laying aside special pieces for museums, and preventing any overwhelming portion from going to 1 single entity who could monopolize. And I'd argue that prices on eBay will, sooner or later, come down to reflect the value that these items hold to the community, against the value of the _time and effort_ that the sellers put in. Some people will always price gouge, of course, but on the whole it's a benefit to the community that many of these items are sold on ebay - _it allows them to find good homes_
You should try the whole positive thinking approach occasionally. Or if you can't manage that, at least realize that people who are optimistic aren't necessarily ignorant.
Good Day Sir!
That place would make an epic music venue beer/wine bar.
@@brandonb3279 Sevier the skeevier ain't too far off from the most likely immediate fate, but in the end probably about 20-30% made it to a new home at a crazy profit. Another 20 probably got taken by collectors direct from store and the other 50% is either floating around online marketplaces or has been tossed out.
man. that place being re-discovered a few years ago such a wonderful story of community and volunteering effort . fantastic to see there's still plenty of good will and effort being put by people so that these things don't just end up in a skip, forgotten and destroyed. Thanks for documenting it
Love your music, really helps with my stress
It's weird, but one of the things I miss about going to computer stores when I was younger is the smell. It was a very specific combination of new electronics and styrofoam.
I never noticed an odour in computer stores, but military surplus stores, they reall had their own scent!
Name... uhm, kinda checks out? =)
Not for me! Lol the old guys that used to do trade-ins quit a while ago. Their place always smelled of cigarette smoke.
The old Radio Shack that was in our local mall in the 90s-early 00s had this amazing smell
I bought a new turntable recently, and it had that distinctive smell! I hadn't smelled it since I was a kid. I love it. I don't know what it is, but it's awesome.
As you went through I recognized a ton of stuff that I owned and used over the years. Took me back, also made me feel old. You strolled by a monitor we had on our Packard Bell in the mid 90s. It slammed me into a vivid memory.
1995
About 9pm
Just had my bath before bed
Simpsons starting, theme playing in the background
Only table/desk lamps on in the house, dull incandescent glow throughout the house.
Kitchen is cleaned and shut down, very mild smell of dish soap, and dinner still in the air.
I ask my mom, can I play one more game on the computer.
"Yes then bed, you have school in the morning"
I run to the *Computer Room* it's really just our front hall so it's cold in here. I plop into our orange desk chair.
Push the big square power button in *kachunk*
Flip the I/O rocker on the monitor
*Monitor hums to life*
*BIOS BEEPS*
*HARDDRIVE WHINES UP*
*Floppy Drive Buzzes*
"American Megatrends"
"MEM TEST OK"
*HARDDRIVE STARTS CHATTERING AWAY*
*Windows 3.1 logo center screen*
I grab the mouse, what game am I going to play before bed?
Then boom, I'm 33 again surrounded by LCD monitors and the silence of my house.
Jesus.... You could have pulled this from MY memory...
God the nostalgia hits hard in this video. So much emotion. It's like every mom and pop computer shop from the 90s combined with hints of office max and CompUSA all rolled up into one. Amazing stuff. Congrats to all. Godspeed Richard.
Happy I'm not the only one who has really strong emotional responses to these videos.
It's strange. I got my first proper computer in 1995. I was only 10. I never was deeply enmeshed in era of the tech scene. But I remember going to the local computer repaid store and being amazed at all the stuff in the store (not knowing what any of it was or did). But it still impacted me because I just *knew* it was a special time. There's something so wonderful about that era that I can't put my finger on. It makes me sad that it's gone.
Twenty years ago a small regional bank hired me to perform inventory on a defunct computer business that went into foreclosure. Pretty small - definitely small by comparison of CR - but even then, I loved every minute of it - going thru items, marking them, inventorying, and taking stock of what they'd just acquired.
LGR, thanks so much for going back and capturing this additional footage. Watching the video and looking at all their stuff takes me back to the days when I would build computers and makes me sad that I ended up recycling most of my items. But its great that you were able to go one last time and record your experience to share with the world and I can only hope one day I might make it to the DFW area to gather some items for myself before they shut down!
I was wondering what became of this place. For some reason i remember thinking that the owners who inherited it weren't interested in any of it, and thinking that it was soon set to be demolished. It was fairly disheartening to think about. But it looks like maybe i misunderstood or things changed since then... I'm just glad to see that at least so much has been salvaged and that things are going to museums. It would have just been such a waste.
This is legendary
HAHAH that burned monitor, it have been lived meaningful life. Yeah, I've seen text burned and sometimes background maybe, but cctv is good one!
@@jannejohansson3383 Moi Janne.
Huvikseni vaan tässä kyselen, että oletko myös Suomesta?
I just checked the liquidation group's page, and it said that the store was empty! SO THEY SAVED EVERYTHING!
I remember watching the first video about Computer Reset, and not being a Retro PC person I found it very fascinating. I could sense the excitement of finding that place and being able to wander through it and see all the cool old computer stuff. Kind of like finding an old 80's mall still in tact with all the old stores and the merchandise still in there. I would like to know what LGR though was the most "valuable" rare PC things were in there.
When it's all over and computer reset finally closes for good, the volunteers should each get a golden Zenith Multimedia Player trophy
That monitor at 12:48 is amazing. An echo of the past from whatever doorway that was. Its such a weird vibe because unlike a photo it's not on purpose. It is an imprint of an unknown place and time. I just love the weird energy from that
I really respect the owner for handling this place the way they have. They obviously realize that there is still some desire from people to have this stuff. The $150 is very fair considering the treasure trove that can be piled on a table to take home.
I cannot imagine what treasuresers there was at the begining. I think that first people who knew what to take were SO LUCKY, and they grabbed some serious rare and expensive stuff.
I think that this is emotional and almost spiritual experience, for everyone over 40 and was breathng with this stuff when he was young
8 Bit Guy just straight up stalking you now :) lol Love this video - so glad Computer Reset Warehouse were able to get rid of stuff and have been able to keep events going for so long. Time to move on to the rest of their lives now.
Yeah they made a killing off of these people. Easily over $100k just for unlocking a door.
@@kenfresno2125 $100K, really? Source on that - that's pretty incredible if true. I find it hard to believe that little gathering of people bought $100K of goods.
@@yellowblanka6058 Not that little gathering - LOTS of those little gatherings. It only takes 667 people at $150 a head to clear $100K. If they get 20 people over an average weekend, that's about eight and a half months - call it a year if they take some weekends off. If anything, $100K might be low.
@@DannyBeans Sure, but the way the original poster worded it implied that they made $100K from that single group, or at least that's how I interpreted it.
The more that physical retail stores die off, specifically enthusiast ones like computer/electronics stores, toy stores and the like, the more the nostalgia of days gone by gets painful.
It's not so much that retail is dying, it's that your childhood is dying.
Oh, so is that why I'm tearing up while watching a video about a warehouse of old computer parts?
@@deusexaethera Retail is dying because there is very little left on the High Street that appeals to men. If I say Radio Shack/ Tandy, Maplin, and Dixons that covers both the U.K. and U.S.A. The 8 bit Guy did a whole video about it.
One of my fondest memories was going to a HUGE metropolitan area with a CompUSA store that seemed to carry on for miles. It was a wonderland of computer stuff.
That kind of thing just doesn’t exist anymore. The sense of excitement about computer technology in general doesn’t exist anymore.
It’s not just about childhood, it’s a shared experience, and a personal experience, that we lived through and will never come around again in quite the same way.
@@nickwallette6201 In the mid 1990s I drove about 25 miles to go to the opening of PC World in Southampton U.K.. The opening offers I bought were a 4x CD-ROM drive and a Soundcard for a total of about £90. The CD-ROM even came with a VHS tape explaining how to fit it ! About four years later we got our own PC-World just up the road. My first purchase there was my first Digital Camera; £400 for 3M Pixels.
As CRTs turned into LCDs and Desktops into Laptops they ended up with aisles full of nothing but laptop bags. Then that store closed and moved to parent companies Curry's store where the computing section is an area about the size of a tennis court between the TVs and Cellphones.
I highly doubt I'll ever make it out there in person, so I'm super happy to see what has happened since your last video. Also that surprise 8-Bit Guy cameo was hilarious.
Btw the 8-Bit Guy wanted an Apple I - did he grab the Apple I or was it destined for a life as a museum exhibit?
@@Leofwine He built a clone system.
Haha, I COMPLETELY forgot about Computer Shopper magazine! Those books were absolutely gigantic - catalog-sized, even - and filled many an hour in my tween years.
"Random things that might not be worth anything to anyone", that was a good joke at 24:43! Probably just a replica/clone Apple 1 board, but still.
Yes I paused right there too. That's too serious of a subject to joke about!
Yes…probably
When your $150 entry fee gets you a $1,000,000 win
@@deltaray3 if that really is an Apple I, we need to make sure LGR never lives it down!
@@Hiphopasaurus Hey. I've seen that board before. ua-cam.com/video/wmMnz090MOg/v-deo.html
@23:44 That moment when you casually stumble on an apple 1 motherboard!!!
I think a lot of this stuff makes up the set pieces of very fond memories for a lot of people. They were the catalysts to hopeful visions of the future. I'm not sure if Richard Byron saw this strictly as a business but it seems his efforts will end up making a lot of people happy. Great video, Clint.
Considering the immense amount of interesting things in that warehouse, I'm not surprised if he saw this more than just a business.
25:01 this shot contributed HUGELY to my one and only pilgrimage to Computer Reset. The items in the far left edge of the frame are now being restored by yours truly... And Clint, I have you to thank for this opportunity...another success!
Computer Rest is awesome, I ended up buying two of the Dell server racks there. The place has come a long way, it'll be sad when it shuts down for good. Some great treasures to be found there still.
Computer Rest is a nice name for the place
I could really use a 98 or XP PC for gaming but don't have the money to travel to Texas
@@davidfoster7374 Rest in PC's
It's not going to shut down. The guy running it now is making a killing off of facebook suckers who pay him just to walk around and look at stuff. He's likely made around $100k for just showing up and opening the doors.
@@kenfresno2125 pay to walk around and look? What are you talking about?
It would also be great to do a Tech Tales on the owner and family, and how this once was as big as it was, its decline, and so on. All respectfully, because everyone watching this thinks this would just be the coolest place to visit.
Everyone like this so LGR can see! Great idea.
Great idea!
I was able to visit a similar warehouse in central Florida twice in, I guess, mid-to-late 200x. It was at least the size of the Computer Reset's "actual warehouse," maybe a bit larger, but was 100% DEC equipment from the late '60s through the '90s. I was in awe of the amount of hardware the owner had (he was a retired DEC Field Service Engineer) stuffed in there. My first visit was to pick up a birthday present my wife had surprised me with - a PDP-8/E, RK05, and a 6-foot rack for them. That was the first 110-pound "hard drive" unit that I ever lifted! He had warehouse shelving racks/units literally full of modules (i.e., boards) for the different DEC systems. "Tri-walls" (the large triple-thick cardboard boxes approximately 4x4x4-ft attached to pallets packed full of piles of cables (required to interconnect systems) and stuff I couldn't climb to were everywhere. If he hadn't been ~3-hours away (one-way drive), I would have gone back many times to help him sort things out because at that point he really didn't know everything he had in there. A few years later he sold the warehouse contents and retired again, but I never found out what happened to everything because his email went silent after that. I think that PDP-8 and (primarily) PDP-11 & VAX users/collectors would be climbing over each other to crawl through the place now like it was when I saw it back then.
I'm not really into computers myself (yet I subscribe to this channel...), but just seeing all this stuff is so exciting. I lover preservation and have a strong passion for both the obscure and rare, so I'm really happy for all these people in the video who got to discover and take a bunch of stuff
Same
That place is full of so much vintage computer goodness you even found a perfectly good 8-Bit Guy!
I've been to Computer Reset 12 times and everything has changed significantly, seeing the warehouse get more and more spacious is just an amazing experience, as great as liquidating the warehouse is, my bedroom is now overtaken by my computer Reset finds. I will definitely come back one last time on the final event day sometime in April
When is this final event day?
@@dougradtke No exact day; but it's sometime in April 2022. There's more details in the Facebook group
12 times ... that's a lot ! Can you imagine someone going even more times than that ? :D
@@Cherry1880 thanks for the heads up I just sent a join request. Legitimately I will go to Dallas for that final farewell final day for some retro finds.
@@psergiu I can, there's one guy ahead of me, he went 16 times.
Wow, this is a paradise! I would love to spend days tinkering with those PCs parts, trying to put them to work again, for daily browsing, email, movies, maybe some emulation like SNES. So many machines stored waiting to be recycled, discarted or fixed/resurrected. Great video, LGR!
At least they didn't just recycle the lot. Most young people will not carry on the parent's dream, and the parent usually knows that. As long as you are respectful in how you deal with their estate, that is what means the most. Loved the 8 bit guy cameo!
23:33
“So much PC Jr shit”
Now there’s a box that’s been labeled by someone who’s done for the day. 🤣
They should sell "look only" tours for $15 for people like me that knows that taking retro computer items "just because they are cool" will eventually lead to marital strife but also want to look around. 😂
This video is the next best things so thank you LGR!
Seems like that's the ideal situation for people to volunteer?
Our goal is to clear the building, and there's a limit to how many people we can manage at a time. Partly because the front parking lot is pretty small. So if you come in the building, we will beg you to take our stuff with you when you go.
@@AndyGoth111 I wish there's like free international shipping for this lol. I want a lot of things from there but I live on the opposite side of the globe (and no, it's not Australia for those who're wondering).
I grew up in north texas… used to call their dedicated BBS, visit the store and see all kinds of rare c64/atari/etc gear. So sad to see yet another thing from the “good old days” going away…
I do enjoy the nostalgia from watching things like this. But then I also remember owning some of this very equipment back in the day, and while I was living the dream when it was new and flashy, 10 years later, I shed no tears while putting sometimes literal pickup truckloads of the stuff out for the trash, and witness the local scavengers clear it out within minutes. For a long time, I never threw away a power cord, until I had amassed 3 large bins full of them. A few years back, I finally pondered the notion that every single power cord in those bins represented a computer that I owned at some point. I can't recall having actually owned 200+ computers, but I never collected power cords just for the sake of it, so I must have. Then again, every case, every power supply, they all come with one, so maybe it's not quite as extreme as it seems. But I threw away floor to ceiling stacks of old packard bell desktops when I was constantly moving, and after every move, more and more stuff just starts looking like trash.
I'm in a similar position now. I'm seriously starting to feel the hoarding bug, so forcing myself (and my wife) to go through every box and bin that we haven't so much as opened in 15 years just to determine if the contents are even remotely worth saving anymore. So yeah, the nostalgia is fun, but I miss very little of it.
I have good news. If the stuff is ten years old it is probably worthless. If it is twenty five years old it is now valuable antiques. Last year I was trying to clear out my garage and realised what is now the most valuable computer I own had been sat there for ten years.
Thank you! I am old enough that I have used much of those older equipment, especially the 1970s stuff (yes I am older). The old IBM Amber screeens made me sigh; I worked as a mainframe computer operator and we used one for monitoring VMs. Also I remember the Wangs. I knew a Computer Engineer who worked for Wang. He was headed to Europe to service machines at US Embassies back when the USSR was collapsing. While in Berlin he went looking around and brought home fragments of the Berlin Wall. He gave me some which I passed to my wife (she is German) who weaped. Ah the memories. Again: thank you.
Thanks for coming back to CR! It was fun for us volunteers to hang out with you Friday and during one of the events. The terminals behind the caution tape were ones that were found on the outside of the building around the back in the weather. That's were the dirty Apple II color composite monitors were found too.
im using a pc that a garage upgraded it had been outside in all weather for over a year an was completely soaking wet. dried it out an plugged it in a booted right up.
Thanks for volunteering! Even now, the place is really amazing. Thanks for all your hard work!
I was volunteering from 2019-2021, I've gotten my fair share of electronics, Found me a new old stock PC Junior in the backroom a few months ago.
Lucky!
I bet you never thought, when you were growing up and had aspersions to work in IT , you'd be doing something like this. you literally have the coolest job ever and I just wanted to thank you for all that you've done and committed your life to this. Mad props brother
Great experience. I've been twice and was supposed to be there during the filming of this episode. My trips start in Richmond VA so it is quite the trek. I was able to go not long after the first LGR video and got so much stuff. I mean... SO MUCH STUFF. I went back after the $150 take all you want buffet began and got SO MUCH STUFF. You cannot believe how much is still there. All tech geeks must make this trip. It's a nerds trip of a lifetime. Noelle is incredibly nice and the volunteers (Kevin, Raymond, Andy, David, etc....) are heroes of the tech world. GO. YOU MUST GO.
I wish I could go just to visit. I don't have space or much desire to keep it, but I do have a desire to see it, experience it, in person. Damn.
You HAVE TO see Gate City and Weber City! NO vintage computers whatsoever. I HATE IT! THat's why I want to be ostracized from this area. Basically a fucking middle finger to vintage computers!
At 23:42 ... that's an Apple 1! Pretty sure that LGR just put that there as a joke, but if he didn't... damn, that would be an insanely valuable discovery
I missed that. Good catch. How droll. :)
Hehe, funny joke, just like brandinshinga a rifle to spite parents of now dead children, hilarious
@@czarkowskipawelyt Not funny.
I live halfway around the world, and I can't describe how bittersweet it is to watch this; happy that all this effort and love going to reduce e-waste and forging new friendships over a common love and passion for retro computing, but sad as well that i never got to and wont get to be a part of it. 😭
I hate this feeling, because it always leaves you with the sense of regret in the form of "it's already gone" or "i could grab/do more"
“Notes” Clint versus “Script” Clint is like a universe swap episode.
HUGE thanks to Noelle and the volunteers for making this happen. Seriously magical watching everyone find hidden treasures.
I remember fixing a lot of that mid to late 90’s stuff, Wyse terminals, many of those dot matrix printers, and even those HP DesignJet plotters early on in my career.
I feel old now!
The Lockheed Martin screensaver is priceless. It's going on every computer I can put it on.
Thanks LGR! Currently stuck at work in the middle of a huge storm here in the UK, so I can't go outside. This is great to pass the time!
Hope all of you stay safe in the UK! That storm looks brutal.
Same
Wait for all this to blow over?
Same here in France.
Same here. Our weather is usually incredibly mild, especially in the North West where I am, with usually nothing resembling a storm! Stay safe.
I grabbed two working CRT monitors (one in box!), new old stock Ergo Mouse, IBM Dos 5, and two Dell Poweredge 2400 servers without SCSI drives, but dual pentium 3s! I also found a Diamondtron monitor that didn't end up working, but i wouldn't be surprised if there were others in this pile, still being unearthed!
I will say even in the two weeks since this video was shot, LOTS have been taken, but there are still LOTS there. Thanks for highlighting this place and it's history.
I've seen people show what has gone out since on the Facebook group (LGR was there for the weekend of the 22nd and 23rd of January - my session was on that Saturday afternoon) - and there is always this feeling of "Why didn't I see/get that?". "My table" has a cameo (with a volunteer next to it - the 7496 "Executive Workstation" I was gifted is already underneath) in what had to be within the first hour, but I'm not in any of this video footage. But I did recognize people in the same session as I was - and one of those 3290 terminals did come back with me too, and will be put back into service!
Ngl, if somebody made a tv movie out of this, i definitely would love it. Its so unexpectedly endearing and story-rich, the fact that it used to be an abandoned warehouse where nobody even bats an eye for years turned into a fully community driven effort to make best of whats left of its numbered days.
I'm super thankful I got a chance to go down there and pick up some parts, old software, and just experience the place right before the pandemic went nationwide. It was a once in a lifetime kind of experience for nerds like me!
A computer warehouse that my family owned for multiple decades closed last month. While it wasn't Computer Reset levels of interesting to me, they still had a lot of neat old things, like old software and posters. Never got a chance to buy any of that stuff for myself, though.
God I wish something like that near me existed :(
Sad places like this don't exist much anymore.
Also sad that old computers/equipment has become so expensive that young'uns can't experience, learn, and appreciate this stuff as easily or cheaply. Feels like we're losing history so flippers and rich-nerds can hoard things.
Exactly, I started playing games on the old family pc before getting me own. It’s gotta be much harder for kids nowadays to convince their parents to pay $1000+ for them to play video games.
On the flipside, RPi and Arduino have replaced those kinds of tinkerer's PCs for a while. And it's been a decent and adequate replacement IMO.
Ehhhh... I feel that's an exaggerated point of view. You can buy a lot of vintage PC for the cost of mid-level modern GPU and those are flying off the shelves. There's just more demand from the younger audience for newer hardware.
It's been the same way in the car world for a long time. Guys complain about the rich old guys hoarding whatever classic cars while they showed up to the show in a new Camry that exceeds the value of whatever car they're they claim they can't afford.
@@Fay7666 Spot on. There is no cheaper time to be geeky than now, the possibilities are so much greater too. Old computers are fun but it was expensive to be a computer geek in the 80s and 90s.
We have emulation now which is, for the most part, free. If you want to know how software works, emulation is the way to go, since you can see the inner workings. Trying to fix problems on vintage hardware was incredibly difficult when they didn't have an OS or debugger and required very expensive hardware such as in-circuit emulators, which are now forgotten.
Thank u for these kind of videos where u take us on the whole trip. I’m enjoying this a lot.
You bet, I'm glad you're enjoying!
Part 1 ... then Part 2 ...
....
Man ... this was amazing !!!
👏👏👏👏
Thanks for sharing !
My family is into the whole reselling business. The need to be constantly taking on new product is real... It becomes a survival instinct. I can totally see how places like this turn into hoarders dens, and I can only imagine the poor guys state of mind near the end.
This makes me so happy. Ecycling and hardware preservation is very dear to me. Seeing the community coming together to help and salvage everything that's still usable. And I'm sure this a massive load off Noelle's shoulders
Why the fuck can't they do hardware preservation in Kingsport?
LGR, thank you so much for this. I remember catching the original vid a couple years ago and was just dumbstruck. Thank you for going back, and thanks especially for the 'window shopping by proxy' experience. I'll likely never get to go, so experiencing that sort of camaraderie and community feeling there was very special! You and the volunteers there are right: they are ultimately just things, the experience surrounding it and the feelings and friendships they evoke are even more incredible.
Very special thanks also Noelle and the volunteers there also: it's clear they've taken on a huge burden, and to push through like that and make something more than even the great sum of those parts, is truly incredible. Wow.
Awesome video, as usual!
Your soft jazz background music is always soothing, but for this experience in particular I felt it was especially appropriate, as it really matched the warm pleasant feeling it gave me to see that all this wonderful history is going off to be used, preserved and appreciated.
Even though I won't have a chance to visit and collect anything myself, I'm so thankful to Noel & her family, and all the team of volunteers for their efforts to allow this collection to be distributed to good homes. I'm sure her father would find it a very worthy outcome for his life's passion!
19:03, I have one of those IBM computers running NT controlling a piece of scientific equipment. It still works, it’s fun to give a new student a floppy disk and tell them to copy the data over to a newer computer.
23:49 “Chances are they aren’t going to be worth anything to anyone” as he pulls out an Apple I 😂😂😂
21:26 That t-shirt man... Overclocked Remix... A man of culture.
Thank you!
Damn that 8-bit guy 🤣. Places like this are great for finding stuff for upcycling. So happy there are people out there interested in vintage stuff to do something with.
Thank you for sharing LGR. Brought back a lot of memories. Had a computer repair shop in Portland, Oregon from 1990 to 2000. Sure miss the folks, and everyone learning new things all the time. Those were the days.
90% of all these products are e wastes.10% are just outdated technologies..
Hey, i'm in the video! I'm the one who got the Coke machine, it's in my workshop running now with all my goodies from Reset! I also got the key cutting machine from there also...
Hey, were you interested in microfiche readers? Or am I thinking of someone else? We still have two if you want them. :)
@@AndyGoth111 I think It was someone else, there are a few things I still want probably visit again soon, but no budget this week…
How much was the coke machine haha
my hat is off to the good ppl who volunteered to help , instead of just clearing it out and putting it on a landfill/etc
cheers
Yay, I'm in a video!
It was great meeting you btw! Was hoping to get your autograph too, but I think you left to see The 8-bit Guy.
Was a great experience, and I'm really glad I made the trip out there. Everyone was quite friendly and geeking out about different things. Going to head back to Dallas for the Retro Computing Group in the future too.
David with the Dremel and a paperclip 😂😂😂
I'm so glad you guys gave this place enough exposure so some of this stuff got scooped up by collectors and museums instead of just becoming e-waste. Cheers to you Clint.
Such a win/win. Enthusiasts get to rescue these treasures, the owners get paid by people to clear out the warehouse instead of paying people to junk it. We get to watch with envy.
such a damn privelege to have stumbled into this place right before everything exploded - the group i came in with was apparently among the guy who wrote the Cisco hold music, too
I was born in Dallas Texas and I just moved back 6 months ago. I totally forgot that this is in my back yard now, really something amazing.
That Reset Gazette reminded me of the first few years of my computer experience between 1988 and 1991 or so, when magazines where the way to learn from and see whats out there in the computer world. That was before my first steps onto BBS, the Fidonet and eventually getting into the early Internet in dial-up. Thats when magazines slowly became a complementary source for information, but to this day I have this fuzzy feeling when I see paper from that era - things where so much simpler and harder at the same time. 😌
Wish I could go there. I like the random subwoofer just sitting there at 24:37. 8-Bit Guy's cameo was great.
OMG. This place reminds me of Ever Perfect Systems in Tempe, AZ. I used to work there as a computer tech. It still exists with stuff like this.
my friend went to computer reset because she lives around there. this was in 2020 i think. she did a video call with me for an hour and i got to watch her trawl through the coolest stuff and find amazing crt monitors for her collection. it was super fun to kind of “be there”
Richard would be happy to see us fellow nerds, gaga over his (probably unintended) legacy. Warms my old stony heart to see this stuff going to people who will appreciate it, and not e-cycled or landfilled. Actual tear to my eye.
I'm so glad the memory of this store will be archived, it's such an amazing little piece of history.
I worked at a place around 2000/2001 that had a Shiva Lanrover VPN....I also had the Dell Optiplex tower PC at the bottom of the shelving that was shown a few seconds before that shot.
What a great update and close to a great story. I started watching you around the time you made the original video, ironically, because of 8-Bit Guy's video on Computer Reset. So, his cameo made me smile ear to ear. You and David had a hand in saving this place and the computing history that was inside. To see how far it has come and how much technology was saved, to be preserved for generations to come, makes me happy.
I'm living for Clint making the trip to see all this old school tech in his comfiest slippers and trackies lol
Maximum comfy at all times, man
Man... Probably one of my top favorite videos of yours. I'm sure a lot of us have dreamed of experiencing something like this. Thank you for giving us a window into that dream.