Cory Whitesell saved his old NEC ProSpeed 286 laptop from becoming e-waste after repair attempts failed, turning it into a retro workstation. The machine’s exterior remains largely original, and the power supply has been retained as well; power is drawn from the old hard drive’s molex connector and feeds a Raspberry Pi that fits inside the case. The original keyboard connects via a PS/2-USB adapter, while the passive-matrix LCD has been replaced with a modern display of the same size. The DOS experience is delivered through emulation on the Pi; if the processor proves insufficient, a more powerful board or a phone can be fitted into the drive bay. Such restomods have a dedicated category in a retro computing competition.
Background
The laptop is no stranger to the FikirPilot archive: we have published 9 stories featuring this name in the last 90 days; the most recent is dated October 9, 2026.