Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Watch a full Commodore PET 4032 restoration as this rare vintage school computer from Alameda Unified School District (AUSD) is brought back to life after more than three decades in storage.
This Commodore PET 4032 was originally used at Lincoln Middle School in Alameda, California between 1983 and 1988, and is one of four units that were rescued from school e-waste in 2022.
This video documents the complete restoration process including teardown, repair work, troubleshooting, and progress captured over a four month period, leading up to the first successful power-on with display.
If you enjoy retro computing, Commodore PET restoration, vintage computer repair, and classic 8-bit systems, you’ll enjoy seeing this iconic machine restored and running again.
Fun Fact: The Commodore Universal Dynamic PET 8032090 motherboard was used in the PET 4016, PET 4032, and PET 8032 models.
Replacement parts used in this restoration including capacitors, voltage regulators, and the Commodore badge label are linked below.
DISCLAIMER: Please do not take this video as a tutorial / advice. I'm not an expert, this is just my hobby :)
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Timestamps
0:00 Commodore PET 4032 (AUSD School Unit) - Will It Work?
1:55 Restoration Progress (2022–2025 Photos)
2:41 Case & Ports Overview (Tape, User, IEEE-488)
3:17 Ultrasonic Cleaning PET 4032 Motherboard
3:44 Pre-Repair: Minimum Parts to Replace
4:58 New Regulators, Capacitors & IC Sockets
5:52 Removing Old Parts & Installing New Ones
6:54 First Smoke Test After Repairs (No Display)
7:10 Testing with PET ROM RAM Board (TFW8B)
8:02 Second Smoke Test - First Chirp!
8:32 VDU Board Repair (CRT Video Board)
12:20 First Power On with CRT (Display Output After Repairs)
13:25 Display Issue - Not the Expected Screen
13:55 Diagnosing Video RAM Problem
14:34 Salvaging 2114 RAM from VIC-20
15:43 Installing Replacement Video RAM
16:14 Video Memory Test (TFW8B PET ROM RAM Board)
16:34 Power On with New Video RAM Installed
16:55 SUCCESS - BASIC 4.0 Screen Appears!
17:04 Connecting the Graphics Keyboard
18:11 Repairing Keyboard Conductive Pads
19:25 Motherboard Repair Overview
20:16 Testing Keyboard After Repair
20:36 First Full Reveal - AUSD PET 4032 (Wesley Crusher / Wil Wheaton)
21:00 Loading Software via SD2PET (IEEE-488)
22:01 Space Invaders on Commodore PET 4032
22:48 Outro
Links mentioned in this video
Chuck Hutchins - PET 12 inch Monitor Repair:
youtube.com/watch?v=LU6U4vqQ6Mg
Commodore PET video RAM faults:
blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/2017/08/commodore-pet-video-ram-faults.html
Repairing my Commodore PET 2001 Keyboard (again):
youtube.com/watch?v=65LyezP9GvU
The Future was 8-bit SD2PET SD Card storage device:
tfw8b.com/product/sd2pet-commodore-pet
Tynemouth Software Commodore PET ROM/RAM Board:
tindie.com/products/tynemouth/pet-romram-board
More to explore:
Subscribe:
youtube.com/geekwithsocialskills?sub_confirmation=1
My Commodore CBM PET Computer Playlist:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOgohYmiitqkt1J9Pk6WBC-kUi1cOQWNs
Repair Parts with Board Locations, Part Numbers and sources:
Commodore PET - 4032 Narrow Badge/Label from COREi64.com:
corei64.com/shop/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=300
CaiKot 44 Conductive Carbon Paint:
amzn.to/3GpzxHP
Commodore PET 4032 12" VDU board parts replaced:
- R753 - 56 Ohm 1/2 watt resistor - Mouser P/N 273-56-RC
- R752 - 58 Ohm 1/2 watt resistor - Mouser P/N 603-MFR50SFTE52-59R
- C754 - Radial Cap 47uF, 250v - Jameco SKU 610010
- D754 - Diode, 1A, 400V - Jameco SKU 35991
Commodore PET 4032/8032 Universal Dynamic PET 8032090 board parts replaced:
- Q1 and Q2 - TIP29 Transistor - Digikey P/N TIP29FS-ND
- VR1 - 7905 -5v Voltage Regulator
- C2 - 470uF 16v capacitor
- C5 - 4700uF 25v capacitor
- UB3 - 74LS373 latch chip
- UC4 and UC5 - 2114 Video RAM
- VR2 - L7812CT SGS +12V 1.5A Linear Voltage Regulator - eBay
- VR4 - LM323K Texas Instruments +5V 3A Linear Voltage Regulator - eBay
- UB12 and UB16 - 6520 PIA (Peripheral Interface Adapter) - Mouser P/N W65C21N6TPG-14
- UB13 - 6545 CRTC - ACORN BBC MICRO 6845 CRTC CONTROLLER HD46505SP - eBay
- UB14 - 6502 CPU (Central Processing Unit)
- UB15 - 6522 VIA (Versatile Interface Adapter)
- UC8, UC9 and UC10 - 74LS157 TI Multiplexer - Digikey P/N 296-1645-5-ND
Geek With Social Skills is a retro technology and vintage computing YouTube channel focused on classic systems like Commodore, Apple II, and DOS PCs.
Explore more retro tech, vintage computing, gaming, and nostalgia content at:
geekwithsocialskills.com
#commodorepet4032 #retrocomputing #vintagecomputers
Watch a full Commodore PET 4032 restoration as this rare vintage school computer from Alameda Unified School District (AUSD) is brought back to life after more than three decades in storage.
This Commodore PET 4032 was originally used at Lincoln Middle School in Alameda, California between 1983 and 1988, and is one of four units that were rescued from school e-waste in 2022.
This video documents the complete restoration process including teardown, repair work, troubleshooting, and progress captured over a four month period, leading up to the first successful power-on with display.
If you enjoy retro computing, Commodore PET restoration, vintage computer repair, and classic 8-bit systems, you’ll enjoy seeing this iconic machine restored and running again.
Fun Fact: The Commodore Universal Dynamic PET 8032090 motherboard was used in the PET 4016, PET 4032, and PET 8032 models.
Replacement parts used in this restoration including capacitors, voltage regulators, and the Commodore badge label are linked below.
DISCLAIMER: Please do not take this video as a tutorial / advice. I'm not an expert, this is just my hobby :)
Subscribe
youtube.com/geekwithsocialskills?sub_confirmation=1
Timestamps
0:00 Commodore PET 4032 (AUSD School Unit) - Will It Work?
1:55 Restoration Progress (2022–2025 Photos)
2:41 Case & Ports Overview (Tape, User, IEEE-488)
3:17 Ultrasonic Cleaning PET 4032 Motherboard
3:44 Pre-Repair: Minimum Parts to Replace
4:58 New Regulators, Capacitors & IC Sockets
5:52 Removing Old Parts & Installing New Ones
6:54 First Smoke Test After Repairs (No Display)
7:10 Testing with PET ROM RAM Board (TFW8B)
8:02 Second Smoke Test - First Chirp!
8:32 VDU Board Repair (CRT Video Board)
12:20 First Power On with CRT (Display Output After Repairs)
13:25 Display Issue - Not the Expected Screen
13:55 Diagnosing Video RAM Problem
14:34 Salvaging 2114 RAM from VIC-20
15:43 Installing Replacement Video RAM
16:14 Video Memory Test (TFW8B PET ROM RAM Board)
16:34 Power On with New Video RAM Installed
16:55 SUCCESS - BASIC 4.0 Screen Appears!
17:04 Connecting the Graphics Keyboard
18:11 Repairing Keyboard Conductive Pads
19:25 Motherboard Repair Overview
20:16 Testing Keyboard After Repair
20:36 First Full Reveal - AUSD PET 4032 (Wesley Crusher / Wil Wheaton)
21:00 Loading Software via SD2PET (IEEE-488)
22:01 Space Invaders on Commodore PET 4032
22:48 Outro
Links mentioned in this video
Chuck Hutchins - PET 12 inch Monitor Repair:
youtube.com/watch?v=LU6U4vqQ6Mg
Commodore PET video RAM faults:
blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/2017/08/commodore-pet-video-ram-faults.html
Repairing my Commodore PET 2001 Keyboard (again):
youtube.com/watch?v=65LyezP9GvU
The Future was 8-bit SD2PET SD Card storage device:
tfw8b.com/product/sd2pet-commodore-pet
Tynemouth Software Commodore PET ROM/RAM Board:
tindie.com/products/tynemouth/pet-romram-board
More to explore:
Subscribe:
youtube.com/geekwithsocialskills?sub_confirmation=1
My Commodore CBM PET Computer Playlist:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOgohYmiitqkt1J9Pk6WBC-kUi1cOQWNs
Repair Parts with Board Locations, Part Numbers and sources:
Commodore PET - 4032 Narrow Badge/Label from COREi64.com:
corei64.com/shop/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=300
CaiKot 44 Conductive Carbon Paint:
amzn.to/3GpzxHP
Commodore PET 4032 12" VDU board parts replaced:
- R753 - 56 Ohm 1/2 watt resistor - Mouser P/N 273-56-RC
- R752 - 58 Ohm 1/2 watt resistor - Mouser P/N 603-MFR50SFTE52-59R
- C754 - Radial Cap 47uF, 250v - Jameco SKU 610010
- D754 - Diode, 1A, 400V - Jameco SKU 35991
Commodore PET 4032/8032 Universal Dynamic PET 8032090 board parts replaced:
- Q1 and Q2 - TIP29 Transistor - Digikey P/N TIP29FS-ND
- VR1 - 7905 -5v Voltage Regulator
- C2 - 470uF 16v capacitor
- C5 - 4700uF 25v capacitor
- UB3 - 74LS373 latch chip
- UC4 and UC5 - 2114 Video RAM
- VR2 - L7812CT SGS +12V 1.5A Linear Voltage Regulator - eBay
- VR4 - LM323K Texas Instruments +5V 3A Linear Voltage Regulator - eBay
- UB12 and UB16 - 6520 PIA (Peripheral Interface Adapter) - Mouser P/N W65C21N6TPG-14
- UB13 - 6545 CRTC - ACORN BBC MICRO 6845 CRTC CONTROLLER HD46505SP - eBay
- UB14 - 6502 CPU (Central Processing Unit)
- UB15 - 6522 VIA (Versatile Interface Adapter)
- UC8, UC9 and UC10 - 74LS157 TI Multiplexer - Digikey P/N 296-1645-5-ND
Geek With Social Skills is a retro technology and vintage computing YouTube channel focused on classic systems like Commodore, Apple II, and DOS PCs.
Explore more retro tech, vintage computing, gaming, and nostalgia content at:
geekwithsocialskills.com
#commodorepet4032 #retrocomputing #vintagecomputers
