Watch the restoration of a Commodore PET 4032 originally used in the Alameda Unified School District (AUSD) between 1983 and 1988 before spending decades in storage. One of four units rescued from school e-waste in 2022, this vintage system is brought back to life through teardown, troubleshooting, motherboard repair, and the first successful power-on with CRT display output.
Originally used at Lincoln Middle School in Alameda, California, the system still carries part of its educational history. Restoration work includes ultrasonic motherboard cleaning, replacement regulators and capacitors, IC socket installation, VDU board troubleshooting, video RAM replacement using salvaged VIC-20 memory chips, and testing with modern hardware such as the PET ROM/RAM Board and SD2PET IEEE-488 storage solutions.
The Commodore PET 4032 remains one of the most recognizable all-in-one educational computers of the early 8-bit era. Additional highlights include BASIC 4.0 startup, keyboard repair, software loading demonstrations, and Invaders (PET Space Invaders) running on restored hardware.
For Commodore enthusiasts, retro computing collectors, and vintage hardware restoration fans, this is a detailed look at bringing a classic school computer back to life after decades in storage.