Using a 1997 IBM Thinkpad Laptop for the First Time

Many computing wonders have been left forgotten, still sealed in their boxes. How many dust-covered, moisture-filled storerooms are waiting to be rediscovered once more? Every box can become a true time capsule, and that idea brings us back to Clint from the LGR channel, who received an IBM Thinkpad 380ED from 1997, completely sealed and with all its accessories.

Two amazing stories keep coming back to my mind: the famous rescue of arcade machines that slept inside a rusty ship in the UK, and a computer store in Dallas called Computer Reset, so full of retrocomputing components that it took dozens of volunteers to sort through (you can see an update from July 2020 here).

And I can't help but think about the things still waiting to be discovered. Lost containers full of technology, virtually abandoned shops with intact boxes, piles of hardware and software that never had a chance. Today it's the turn of an IBM Thinkpad 380ED laptop from 1997, received on loan by Clint from LGR. It never left its box before, and now you can witness it:

Unboxing a Thinkpad Sealed for 23 Years

This IBM Thinkpad 380ED is a monster equipped with a 166 MHz Pentium MMX processor, 16 MB of RAM (basically we had to hand over a kidney as payment in those days to have such an amount), floppy drive, CD-ROM, and depending on the exact model, 2.1, 3.6, or 5.1 GB hard drive. The preinstalled operating system was Windows 95 OSR2, since Windows 98 was still far off on the calendar.

The suggested price from IBM for the unit that Clint received was $5,199... or more than $8,500 adjusted for inflation. But that wasn't the most expensive model! The full-spec variant with the 5.1 GB disk demanded $600 more, although in practice it hit the shelves with a significant price cut.

The owner of the computer requested the protection of the labels on the box, but beyond the security seal, Clint had no issues with opening it. Quick setup guide, accessories in their sealed boxes, spare parts for the TrackPoint (today they cost a fortune), a huge pile of manuals, and of course... the computer. Some ThinkPad models don't age well because their exterior marks easily and becomes 'sticky' as it were, but this one is a beauty.

The video's duration stretches over 40 minutes, but every second is worth it. In essence, unboxing a system like this becomes a ritual. And the answer is yes: The computer turns on, with an inevitable dead CMOS battery error (which Clint replaced immediately). Original software, promotional demos, everything is there. And how does the video end? At the owner's request, installing a registered copy of DOOM, DOS version on its floppy disks. More retro than that, you can't.