And look what I've got today...

Cardboard boxes!

More specifically, IBM cardboard boxes,

as you might be able to tell from the little logos here and there.

And what's inside there? Well... ohh...

It's something super cool and something I've always dreamed of doing,

and that is getting a vintage IBM computer,

a PC 5170 AT, in this case...

and opening it! Setting it up!

And— and powering it on for the first time...

since it left the factory decades ago.

And so I actually was able to find this...

from a guy on eBay who apparently has access to a warehouse of these things.

It just looks amazing! What I would give to walk through there

and see a sight like that

just...holy crap.

But yeah, I bought one, and here it is.

It's all right here.

This one in particular was made in 1988

We're gonna open it up and set this thing up in a moment.

But just in case you're not familiar with these machines,

it's a 286 machine running at 8 MHz.

This one has 512K of RAM. I think a 30 meg hard disk...

1.2 meg disk drive, and...

The thing is, this one doesn't actually have...

a video card.

Or even an operating system.

According to the seller...

on his listing on eBay, he says this computer was manufactured at a time...

when the IBM dealer or authorized reseller installed additional options...

and set up the product for the end user.

So, if you were wanting to buy an IBM AT–

in 1988 in this case–

then you wouldn't actually got to IBM directly.

You would go to some sort of middle man, service dealer, or authorized retailer and...

they would get it from IBM, set it up for you with all the options that you chose.

And this is how it came, before it got to the end user.

So, I'm gonna sort of play the part of that middle man,

authorized IBM person and...

install a video card, an operating system, some other software...

I don't even know what else yet.

Because I'm not even entirely sure what's in here.

I am so excited! So let's do this.

I am SO ready...

to dive into this thing! Let's do it!

[cutting sounds]

Okay, I've got a box within a box here.

Nice.

I like that little message there:

"Units manufactured for USA and Canada...

require UL listed accessories."

The other things, which is in the other box,

we'll be opening after this.

I see the, uh...

tape is starting to deteriorate.

Which makes sense, it's been on there so long.

It's a really cool IBM box, though.

Look at that: "Personal Computer AT System Unit."

This one was made in the UK. One of their Scotland...

assembly plants, if I am correct.

I am keeping this box. [laughs] It's so cool.

Oh, this is a magic moment. It really is. This is the...

first time...

it's been opened since assembled.

Oh my goodness.

[laughs] The styrofoam has actually melted to the cardboard a bit.

There we go.

Oh... wow...

That...

is fantastic.

Looks like a few elements have gotten in here and just sort of...

you know, leaked onto that but...

not bad.

Here we go.

First up, we have the IBM Inventory Checklist.

And, yeah, keep in mind, this was not gonna go directly to...

the end user, this was, um...

you know, for...

distributors and retailers and stuff like that.

So, it says what it's supposed to come with.

Which it should.

And yeah, it's just in a bunch of different languages. That's it, really.

It's just a list of... three things.

"If anything is missing or damaged,

please consult your place of purchase."

So we have this little back plate... thing here.

Well, it's not little, it's friggin' huge.

And it's got some velcro– Velcro-branded velcro on the back here.

Looks like this goes over the I/O plate

and just sort of covers up, like, the screws

and sort of extraneous...

stuff?...

Yeah. That's new to me. I've never seen one of these.

Okay. That was simple enough.

And the rest of it's still stuck in the bottom there.

I don't know if it's meant to be like that. Maybe it's glued in place, I'm not sure.

Oh! [laughing] Oh-ho-ho!

Oh! How cool is this?

This is the first time it has seen the light of day in...

man, almost thirty years.

Three decades.

Close enough to it.

So, yeah, you can actually see here, there's the "Made in U.K." sticker,

which is of course gonna be removed...

you know, by the time it gets to the user, I would assume.

And a nice little key lock here, indicators...

And, yeah, it does have a little bit of...

not damage, it's just gonna need...

cleaning.

Because I assume in whatever conditions it was stored in,

it just got this sort of modeled effect going on.

Which happens any time something is stored multiple decades

and isn't a perfectly sealed box, because you could see that tape...

was perishing.

This right here is a wonderful moment though,

So, this disk drive...

Um, they always came with this bit of cardboard in there.

First time it's been taken out since leaving the factory.

This is to keep the heads from knocking around...

and getting damaged during shipment

I'm gonna put that back

Oh, yes...

There's that delightful power switch, mmm.

Oh...

Brand new, like it had an extra...

...click in there

It has now been de-clicked

Looks like the cork feet on the bottom are all still in place...

The glue hasn't completely melted away...

Some of it has started to...

[laughs] Ok, this is interesting,

So it is of course manufactured in the U.K., made for sale in the U.S.,

This is going to have to be switched to... there we go... U.S. voltage.

[laughs] That 230 volt, question mark. "Huh?"

Yeah, so you can switch it back and forth.

Between the voltages of the different countries

5170 little logo right here is sort of sliding downward.

The glue didn't quite hold...

But everything else looks to be absolutely...

I mean brand new, perfect condition, nothing else seems to be melting, which is good!

I assume that it maybe got some sort of heat exposure over time.

But yeah, I mean it's a good sign though

Things aren't completely, you know, melted.

It was made in Greenock, Scottland, United Kingdom.

Interesting too that it doesn't actually have this plate filled, it leaves it open...

I assume that's where they expect the video card to go because that's kind of a necessary thing...

It does not have any video output, it just has the basic serial interface over here.

And being the age that this is, even though it is brand new...

I still want to check the insides to make sure that nothing's like...

You know, burst, or falling apart, and I assume it has an internal battery right here...

I'm gonna check that as well.

And capacitors, things like that.

I mean, it's been 3 decades, there's no telling what's gone on inside of this...

Especially if some sort of exposure happened because of that tape failing on the box...

[laughs] It's locked.

So, the key lock is engaged which means I can't actually take the case off it...

So, I guess we're gonna go and open the accessories pack.