A Microsoft legend brought a PDP-11 back to life using spare parts, why not?

by
url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url

PC

4

Link copied to clipboard

Contact your XDA Account

Key findings

  • Dave Plummer revives a PDP-11 using spare parts in a fascinating video on the Dave's Garage channel.
  • He explains the process expertly and shows off his extensive knowledge of vintage hardware.
  • This insightful look into computer history is a must-read for technology enthusiasts.



Did you know that the guy who programmed the legendary Windows Task Manager and the Space Cadet game makes YouTube videos? His name is Dave William Plummer and you can catch up on everything he does on the Dave's Garage channel. And if you want an insight into his work, check out this cool video where he rebuilt a PDP-11 from spare parts he had lying around.


Dave brings a PDP-11 minicomputer back to life with spare parts

In the video, Dave starts digging through his box of PDP-11 components to see if he can get everything working again. In fact, he has enough parts to bring the PDP-11 back to life, even though it was built using parts from other PCs.


The coolest part of the video is how Dave describes everything he's doing. He's very knowledgeable about the hardware he's working with and isn't afraid to explain the process of building a PDP-11, why he's doing it, and the overall importance of it to computing. It gives great insight into how this old hardware works and is a must-see if you want to gain insight into how people used computers in the mid to late 20th century.


If you're interested in learning more about Dave's work, you'll be happy to know that this isn't the first time we've mentioned him on XDA. Last time we caught up with him, he explained how he designed the iconic Windows 95 menu. He also revealed that his time at Microsoft was almost ended after he added ZIP support to Windows. And finally, there was that time Dave talked on X about how the Format Drive dialog uses temporary code he wrote 30 years ago.



Leave a Comment