TIL my old Commodore 64 still works after 35 years in a damp basement

I finally decided to clean out my parents' basement last weekend and found my old Commodore 64 that I got for Christmas back in 1985. The thing was sitting in a plastic bin that had a small leak, so it was a bit damp inside. I honestly figured it was toast, but I brought it home, let it dry out for a couple days, and plugged it in on a whim. To my shock, it booted right up and the screen looked clear. I loaded up a copy of Jumpman from an old disk and it ran like nothing happened. Has anyone else had an old computer survive worse conditions than this? I'm wondering if I should do anything special to clean it or just leave it alone.

2 comments

2 Comments

jesse841mo ago

Did you try recapping the power supply yet? That's what saved mine.

the_rowan1mo ago

Bullcrap. Replacing old caps is a bandaid, not a fix. @jesse84, I call luck on that. My board died again after I recapped it. Six months later, same blown transistor. The real problem is the voltage regulator circuit. If you don't replace that too, you're just wasting time and solder.