The Tech Deck

The Packard Bell Club 533C

Well well well, wasn't this a deal? I saw this PC listed on eBay for like $90. It was a bid so I bidded the $90 and waited to see if I got it and to my excitement I did get it! Since the listing had postage too it added up to $110 but that isn't too bad compared to the prices I see computers listed here for as they're all so expensive!

History

The history? Well, originally I was trying to install Windows 98SE on the old family PC on a separate hard drive but nothing would work as it only had 1GB of RAM and Windows 98 and 98SE hate having 1GB for some reason. After a lot of trial and error I kinda gave up in dismay and well, waited to see if I could find a cheap retro PC. A lot of the PCs I found were too expensive and either the buyer wanted so much more for postage or wouldn't post at all until one day I saw the Club 355C listed on eBay for a cheap price so I launched into it and bidded on it. To my excitement no one else bidded on it and I won the bid! It arrived way earlier than expected too but that was a bonus.

Specifications

As for the specifications, I can list them properly for this machine hahaha! This PC has:

  • A Celeron clocked at 2.66GHz
  • 768MB RAM with 32MB integrated
  • An 18.6GB PATA hard disk
  • A RTL8139 network interface card (Realtek RTL8139/810X Family PCI Fast Ethernet NIC)
  • Two optical disk drives, one being a 52x CD-ROM and the other a 52x CD burner
  • A 1.44MB floppy disk drive

The PC originally came with no OS so I installed Windows 98SE along with the unofficial Windows 98 Second Edition Service Pack 3.

Pictures and Videos

The box the Packard Bell arrived in. It is a box to a Antec Draco 10
This was the box it came in. A bit misleading but I can imagine if someone was a porch pirate and took this PC they were in for a surprise!
Opening of the box. The Packard Bell is secured with foam and two layers of bubblewrap with the front of the PC facing upwards
I was worried it would come shattered and in pieces but it seems the person I brought it from took good care to make sure it got here safely. It was even in two layers of bubblewrap!
The front of the PC on my desk in front of my iMac. It has two CD drives and a floppy disk drive. The PC is a white colour.
This is the front of the PC. The box it came stated it was 12KG but I swear it feels heavier than that.
The stickers on it. It has a 'Designed for Windows 98' and an Intel Celeron one. The case also has a Year 2000 Compliant sticker.
The stickers on it. It has a 'Designed for Windows 98' and an Intel Celeron one. The case also has a Year 2000 Compliant one.
First boot of the Packard Bell. It has the old EnergyStar logo along with it listing the primary master, primary slave and other information.
Startup stuff. It has a ASUS P4SGL-VM as you can tell. Haven't seen the Energy Star logo in a long time.
Windows 98 setup screen
Picture during the setup. Before I got this I tried to install Windows 98 on the ASUS P5GZ-MX but that had far too much RAM so I couldn't install Windows 98SE however on this Packard Bell I can!
Windows 98 welcome screen. The resolution is squished.
The Windows 98SE desktop itself. This was way before I had to fix display drivers to get the right resolution and get 256 colors working.
A blue screen of death saying a fatal exception occurred.
What I can tell ya is that the 90s loved drivers. I had to get drivers for the IGP and USB so during that process I got a blue screen... I also got the Windows Protection Error so that was not fun.
Carnivores waiver screen. Carnivores main screen.
Thankfully after all the struggles I finally got stuff to work and I could play a game that was on the XP machine that was made for Windows 98, Carnivores!
A part of the inside showing the network interface card in a PCI slot.
These were some pictures I had to take of the inside of the PC when I had to get some help on Mastodon. This photo has the NIC and the two extra USB slots which are on the back of the case near the bottom.
Another photo of the network interface card.
Here is more. You can see the RAM sticks and the ribbon cables along with two other PCI slots. The NIC is using one of them.
CPU cooler.
CPU cooler and such.
PATA hard disk.
The PATA hard disk. A day after I got this PC I ran into a weird problem where one of the lights on the optical disk drives and the light for hard disk activity were blinking whenever I turned the PC on. There was a faint clicking sound too but it seems that replugging the PATA hard disk's cable back in solved that problem. It seems that shipping makes cables fall out.
The whole inside of the case.
All of the inside.

Other Stuff

To be added later.

Notes

To be added later.