So, I'm well aware of what machines I owned. The real trouble is trying determine where they fit in the timeline, as it decides a lot of factors about my character. My laptop and gaming rig have concrete dates I took ownership, as one was a birthday present and one was my custom built rig. The issue is specifically relating to the three PCs I had growing up, as these were originally bought by my parents to do business stuff, and so I wasn't exactly informed (or caring) on purchase dates or exact models.
Tracking the models down was relatively easy, as I remember specifics that each model had which other models in the series didn't. Finding the dates has taken more work. What I've tried to do for each machine is discover evidence that can pin down either the before or after dates, therefore narrowing the exact year at the very least. Here is what I've found.
As a note; I've only included relevant CD-ROMs that can help place a date on these machines. I owned a LOT of budget CD-ROM games, but most of them were well after a new PC was acquired, so they can't really help in this case.
I've split this post into parts for character limit and time reasons.
Machine A: IBM Aptiva 2171 - Windows 98SE
This hunky old off-white bastard was my introduction to computing. My first experiences with it involved games like Fatty Bear, and I may have possibly even once or twice been allowed to access the internet from it (dial-up, of course). Placing a date on it was tough, because I don't quite remember it at my first or second houses. Here's what I gathered:
- The first thing I gathered was the release date of the 2171. According to IBM, that was at the tail end of 1998, with the major rollout in 1999.
- I managed to find a manual burried in a container of all our old manuals for the HP Deskjet 680C printer which came with the machine. It had a release date of 1996.
- I discovered that Windows 98SE was first released on June 25, 1998, and its first discontinue date was on January 16, 2004 (but was later pushed back to 2006).
- Two old games that I would have most likely played on the Aptiva of which I still have discs for include Blue's Clues: Blue's Birthday Surprise (1998) and Fatty Bear's Birthday Surprise (PC version released in 1995).
- On the 13th February, 2002, an email was sent to an iPrimus account owned by my mother, which was printed out, and the print-out was discovered by me in a folder full of old files. The contents were of no consequence, but the interesting thing is the ISP; it was started up in 1997, and I personally don't remember being on iPrimus ever (the first ISP I remember we connected with was Unwired, a now defunct company).
- In Year 3, 2003, I had to type out and print a report with a computer about a member of my family. This was a big deal as I had only ever used the computers for fun, and I believe this is why some version of Word was purchased and installed on a machine. I remember typing up the report in the back-room/office of the house, which would make me believe this is the Aptiva (since it lived in the office for most of its life until it was moved into my brother's bedroom in time).
- An old CD-ROM for Microsoft Works v7 (the last version compatible with Windows 98) had its files dated at July 13, 2002, and the release was between 2002 and 2003. It contained a version of Microsoft Word 2002, and may prove it was the Aptiva I typed the report on.
- Going through an old photo album, I managed to uncover a photo of my brother and me, quite young (pre-school) in the same room as the machine itself. While the timestamp on the photo appears to invalid (it was either taken by another camera, used another roll of film or developed at another location in comparison to all other photos), it is bundled into the 1998 section, and the appearances of my brother and I match the other nearby photos.
Based on what we know so far, the most likely year of acquisition is
1998.
Machine B: Dell Dimension 8400 - Windows XP Service Pack 2
The Windows 98SE was no doubt very important for the young child me, but as I moved into adolescence, the XP was where I would make my home. Most of my early modding adventures and budget game escapades happened on the XP, so it's a very important piece of tech to me. I was also the first machine I ever opened up and play with the internals of, and it was the first time I ever had free access to the internet (or, moreso than in the past). Firstly, here were the two critical pieces of info that basically gave me the exact year this machine came into ownership:
- If you take the Service Tag of a machine and input it into Dell's support website, you can get info about the machine's history. By putting mine in, I discovered that this computer was not bought from the store, but instead was ordered direct from Dell. The date the order commenced production (putting your custom configuration together) before shipping was July 23, 2004.
- Every Dell machine has a number of stickers and internal prints that indicate important info about the machine. The MFG, or Manufacture Date, listed on my 8400 was July 24, 2004.
It hadn't occurred to me to check the MFG or the Service Tag until long after I had done other bits of research however, and here's all of that info I had gathered;
- Windows XP was first released in 2001.
- One of my more technically-minded uncles had produced a clone of a Microsoft Office Pro 2003 disc for us, which required Windows 2000 or later. The files on the disc were all dated October 2nd, 2003.
- The machine came with a Dell Photo All-In-One 922 printer. I found the manual for it, and the print year was 2004.
- A special case and holographic disc for an official Windows Installer DVD for Service Pack 2 had its files burned on October 4, 2004. This appears to have been a custom order after acquisition of the PC.
- The Dell E173FP Monitor and Dell Resource CD were both released in 2004.
- Another photo in the albums had my brother and me in shot with both our PS2 Slim as well as this Dimension 8400. The photo's developing date says April 10, 2006. What's interesting is that the Dimension was still in the secondary living room, which is where it lived before it was moved into my brother's room to replace the Aptiva. A possible theory therefore is that the Aptiva was likely moved into my brother's room so my Mum could get her own space after my sister was old enough to score her own room, especially given there was no longer a need for my office.
Based on what we know so far, the year of acquisition is
2004.
COMING UP NEXT: The Vista Machine, The Consoles, The End Goal
