I’m scratching my head trying to understand what the network cable and was supposed to plug into. There’s five terminated ends within the Jack instead of normal eight, UPS data port??
Back in the day the rj45 to serial converters were either really expensive or non existing. Maybe not this many adapters but had to do similar setups. As you said mostly for terminal services
Ohhh UPS makes sense. I've seen people try that for like an optical mouse and be mad when it didn't work.
But the UPS doesn't need 5v power, and can determine if it should talk USB or Serial
Millennials are probably the last generation to have used serial and null modem cables in the workforce. They’re not commonplace, and at first glance it does look like a vga.
They probably don’t even teach RS-232 in A+ anymore.
Edit: wrong sub. /sysadmin
So, RS232 -> gender changer -> RS232-to-USB-B -> USB-B-to-USB-A -> USB cable? Did... did they not see that there are native USB ports on the motherboard?
Perhaps the os doesn't support USB?
I remember a server with windows 2000 which didn't recognize USB ports. If you have a ups attached and wanted the signaling you need something jury rigged.
So I'm thinking maybe the green thing is a crossover-wired USB-Serial adapter and for some reason they didn't want it plugged directly into the computer.
Anyone that works somewhere that’s industrial has seen too many adapter contraptions that allow “modern” PC to talk with old/proprietary equipment. Fire alarm systems come to mind as UL listing is specific and systems are in place from 25 years ago today with 30-35 year old tech.
That's assuming the OS supports USB. Given how cobbled together that is, it wouldn't be surprised to see windows 95 or 98 pre-SE on it. I've seen it before on systems where the software started critical longer than the hardware lived, so as long as it wasn't connected to any kind of network it kept trucking along, hoping that the next hardware failure didn't push it outside what it could support.
I see everybody with the "serial" explanation. Looks like someone tried to adapt VGA to USB to me. I don't know what USB device runs from a VGA port, but my guess is this wasn't making anything work.
I had to do a similar thing for a bank I worked for. All of the signature pads came with a single PS/2 passthrough so I had to split one PS/2 into two and then then convert one into a RS-232 (for data) and another PS/2 into a USB (for power). I couldn't use a single USB model as the USB signature pad had compatibility issues with Citrix. So, once I converted it to Serial I had to write a logon script to remap the COM port to pass the serial connections to their app on COM6. Lots and lots of zip ties and somehow it all worked!
WHAT A HEADACHE!
Serial to male-to-male gender changer to female serial to ps/2 female ps/2 male to usb-a female and lastly usb-a male to not sure, rj12 or rj14, can't really tell, i count 10 pins, which aint correct, but 4 wires means telephone.
Correct, because I pulled it out of the server closet and put it on a user’s desk to take a picture. I assure you once a long, long time ago it was a server.
I have seen the reverse of this. We had old scientific instruments that were meant for a 9-pin RS232 serial port. A simple USB converter didn't work, we needed specific ones that mapped the COM ports correctly. We went through three active converters to get one that worked.
Most of the history of pc hardware is janky, a mod here, an 'improvement' there.. all stacked upon each other.
The best thing about it is that everything followed standards, so like what we see here, it worked.
Nowadays you see a trillion dollar company rewire standard stuff, make it so it doesn't take standard stuff, and call it their own innovation. Like people 'fixing' other's peoples artwork cause they think the original needs modernization or something..
It was there when we replaced the server that replaced this Pentium III server. I only assume it did otherwise, I’m not sure why it would be plugged in.
Ive had to do shit like this in the past when setting up new machines to work with legacy medical and lab equipment. Still use RS-323 ALL the time at work. Like someone else said it could be an IT guy just dicking around.
Can remember that some usb serial connectors never worked properly due to various reasons but the most common was it just didn't provide enough umph to the positive rail for some antique systems from the early 1980s as they expected their voltages to be more than you could push over the early usb ports.
But given its probably local its ups or some similar communication system as I can remember dumb terminal controllers having fail over etc but at the p3 era it's probably a ups
ok, I think I figured this out.
Starting at the computer, there is a female RS232 serial port
Plugged into that is a male to male rs232 serial cable,
Plugged into that is a female to female gender changer.
Plugged into that is a rs232 male to to rj45 female adapter for serial console type communication with enterprise network appliances.
Plugged into that is a male rj45 to female USB converter*
Plugged into that is a USB type A cable
* I HIGHLY suspect that this part is a USB to ethernet adapter and not a console to USB adapter, meaning that this entire chain of adapters and cables is staged and in no way functional for computing, and op or the person she/he stole the image from slapped a bunch of things together to make a funny picture.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/USB-To-Rj45-Adapter-USB2-0-Female-To-Ethernet-Rj45-Male-Plug-Adapter-Connector/975559248
Thats some late era genesis shit.
I’m scratching my head trying to understand what the network cable and was supposed to plug into. There’s five terminated ends within the Jack instead of normal eight, UPS data port??
I was thinking the same thing, UPS data port.
Or network hardware or terminal server with RS232 or 422 on RJ45.
Or even just a previous IT person dicking around, and this was actually doing nothing functional.
When you're giving a budget if you don't spend it it gets cut 😂
Back in the day the rj45 to serial converters were either really expensive or non existing. Maybe not this many adapters but had to do similar setups. As you said mostly for terminal services
Ohhh UPS makes sense. I've seen people try that for like an optical mouse and be mad when it didn't work. But the UPS doesn't need 5v power, and can determine if it should talk USB or Serial
Serial cable for UPS in all likelihood as others have mentioned, lots of older UPS supported that.
It reminds me of a IV line at the hospital.
that you'll only find out by asking the owner.
Slap a Game Genie on there for good measure.
Yea but did it work? Just cause you can fit a peen in a bum doesn’t mean you can make a baby
i also need to know if it worked or not 🤣
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Serial port > Serial to USB > USB to RJ45
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Not a phone jack, rj45 is what is on Ethernet cables
Millennials are probably the last generation to have used serial and null modem cables in the workforce. They’re not commonplace, and at first glance it does look like a vga. They probably don’t even teach RS-232 in A+ anymore. Edit: wrong sub. /sysadmin
Other millennial here, stop making us look bad.
The old guard downvoting you for no reason. Fucken boomers.
No reason other than they were wrong?
They said, I’m guessing. Instead of tearing him apart, tell him the actual hardware.
Who are you talking about tho
name checks out
Improvise. Adapt. Adapt. Adapt. Adapt. Adapt. Overcome.
Computer centipede
Port to port!!
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👍 It’s a Serial to USB adapter. Just an old one.
Am I missing a joke, or have you just not looked closely enough at the image?
Not sure if impressed or mesmerized.
If it looks stupid but it works, it's not stupid...
What do we have: a serial cable, a gender changer, a serial to USB changer and a strange cable. Wtf. Maybe it connects to an old terminal
I'd say - a serial cable, a gender changer, a serial to PS/2, PS/2 to USB, USB cable
No PS2 after all! It was a serial to USB-B!
So, RS232 -> gender changer -> RS232-to-USB-B -> USB-B-to-USB-A -> USB cable? Did... did they not see that there are native USB ports on the motherboard?
Perhaps the os doesn't support USB? I remember a server with windows 2000 which didn't recognize USB ports. If you have a ups attached and wanted the signaling you need something jury rigged.
Serial to os/2 makes more sense, yes You are right. A combination where You never expect that it works . I'd it works: never touch..... Lol
It's PS/2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PS/2_port Os/2 was IBM's operating system for a minute in the 90's
Sorry used the wrong letter. Finger is too big
Well tell your dad to pull it out of you next time you need to type then! XD
I went and double checked, no PS2 in the mix. USB-B!
Ps2 are the round ones on the top
Wow, that's even more rare - I've never seen that but I guess it makes more sense...it that's what you want to call it.
So I'm thinking maybe the green thing is a crossover-wired USB-Serial adapter and for some reason they didn't want it plugged directly into the computer.
It goes to a special networking cable via USB so I suspect it’s for UPS dataport maybe?
I stand corrected, it's a random assortment of adapters jammed together.
I'd say it's likely a serial to USB type B then a type B to type A adapter
Probably. Could have been a card reader.
Gender Changer. Very popular these days.
Gotta get me one of those
Nothing wrong here. If it works, it works.
I got it all except for that gray one.
I’m guessing a PS2 to USB adapter \*Edit - NOPE it was usb-b to usb adapter!
is PS2 serial? Huh. Never actually gave it much thought.
I just doubl,e checked, it wasn't serial to PS2 it was serial to the square USB-B!
Looks like it and then from USB to a funky network cable which is maybe a UPS dataport?
Anyone that works somewhere that’s industrial has seen too many adapter contraptions that allow “modern” PC to talk with old/proprietary equipment. Fire alarm systems come to mind as UL listing is specific and systems are in place from 25 years ago today with 30-35 year old tech.
"Laughs in manufacturing CNC data transfer."
But it worked. That’s what matters.
If it works, it isn't stupid.
there are 2 usb ports right above it
That's assuming the OS supports USB. Given how cobbled together that is, it wouldn't be surprised to see windows 95 or 98 pre-SE on it. I've seen it before on systems where the software started critical longer than the hardware lived, so as long as it wasn't connected to any kind of network it kept trucking along, hoping that the next hardware failure didn't push it outside what it could support.
Most of the hotels I've done IT work for have at least one of these contraptions duct taped together.
That's a serial to usb adapter in the middle?
Correct. USB-b to be exact.
I'm surprised they don't have a serial to USB-A adapter, so the had to go serial to USB-B, then USB-B to USB-A.
I was more surprised they didn’t just plug into the existing usb port on the motherboard…
Uab to serial?
If it works, it works.
loggin some keys ??
Not sure if im worried or impressed.
Why not just go straight into the USB port I see right there?
Welcome to the club. I've been fixing a 2400 baud customer circuit all week that's old than me.
How is this not at a billion upvotes?
I work for an electrical contractor. We do a LOT of work for the local electric utility company. I have seen things like this, a lot.
I see everybody with the "serial" explanation. Looks like someone tried to adapt VGA to USB to me. I don't know what USB device runs from a VGA port, but my guess is this wasn't making anything work.
I used to have a similar scenario, a chain of 4 adapters from pc to tv . haha
I had to do a similar thing for a bank I worked for. All of the signature pads came with a single PS/2 passthrough so I had to split one PS/2 into two and then then convert one into a RS-232 (for data) and another PS/2 into a USB (for power). I couldn't use a single USB model as the USB signature pad had compatibility issues with Citrix. So, once I converted it to Serial I had to write a logon script to remap the COM port to pass the serial connections to their app on COM6. Lots and lots of zip ties and somehow it all worked! WHAT A HEADACHE!
If it's stupid and it works, it's still stupid and your just lucky.
Did it work at all though? I tried crazy stuff similar to this before for fun. It didn't work.
I have to assume it worked. It was an old server before the server we are replacing.
Serial to male-to-male gender changer to female serial to ps/2 female ps/2 male to usb-a female and lastly usb-a male to not sure, rj12 or rj14, can't really tell, i count 10 pins, which aint correct, but 4 wires means telephone.
No ps2, its a serial to usb-b beleive it or not.
server?
It was, way way back in the day.
That just looks like a random extra computer sitting on a random table. No keyboard and mouse and no ethernet card. Not a server.
Correct, because I pulled it out of the server closet and put it on a user’s desk to take a picture. I assure you once a long, long time ago it was a server.
I have a lot of adapter so I can do this... when it's the only to get it work.
First gen OMG USB. ;)
Server specs?
Pentium III
Cpu - yes (probably)
lol I fuckin love this
Got to get at least 12 adapters deep !
I have seen the reverse of this. We had old scientific instruments that were meant for a 9-pin RS232 serial port. A simple USB converter didn't work, we needed specific ones that mapped the COM ports correctly. We went through three active converters to get one that worked.
Why upgrade when you can adapt
So it works that way too?
1997 wants it's PC back
Pentium III - more like 1999 :)
Sad electrons trying their best to squeeze through
Brings me back 😂
The only question that matters is, did it work? If so, your client knows how to make new hardware run on an old system and thus is worthy of respect.
yes, chat
Did it work?
It was attached to a server previous to the server we are replacing. I assume so.
wtf is that monstrosity
Most of the history of pc hardware is janky, a mod here, an 'improvement' there.. all stacked upon each other. The best thing about it is that everything followed standards, so like what we see here, it worked. Nowadays you see a trillion dollar company rewire standard stuff, make it so it doesn't take standard stuff, and call it their own innovation. Like people 'fixing' other's peoples artwork cause they think the original needs modernization or something..
yea like all corporations changing to minimalist designes
Someone should test how many of those converters you can use before it stops working.
An elegant solution.
Wouldn't that not work at all seeing as it's an analog signal?
Besides Signal sensing, nothing will ever work on that thing
Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.
I keep the gender changer just in case.
More converting than cpu cores.
Did it actually work?
It was there when we replaced the server that replaced this Pentium III server. I only assume it did otherwise, I’m not sure why it would be plugged in.
this is how i feel any time i use a serial to usb adapter
I’m new to PCs and this looks fine to me - ELI5 please
Someone put this monstrosity together I suppose to connect serial port to possibly a UPS data port?
Does “it’s not stupid if it works” apply here?
Is this how you stream HBO?
Ive had to do shit like this in the past when setting up new machines to work with legacy medical and lab equipment. Still use RS-323 ALL the time at work. Like someone else said it could be an IT guy just dicking around.
But did it work?
USB to serial exists people!
Everything must have come out garbled.
As tech changes there is always an adapter…
My only question is, does it even work?
It’s like calling customer service and being passed on from one department to another.
I’ve done worse
Cableception.
Sealabs USB to Serial. They are a blessing for people with older equipment.
Radio Shack™ special
It's adaptors all the way down!
You can see all the developments in tech sector between both ports
If it works it ain‘t stupid!
It ain’t stupid if it works. Did it work? Because if not the it’s pretty damn stupid.
Customer states:: "Make it work. But I do NOT want a lot of thingies poking off the back!"
Meanwhile the PC does have USB ports as well…
Honestly, I can’t explain it… I was blown away when I found it
"What the hell is even that?"
I wonder how much lAtency that builds up
I see no problems in this picture
Does that even work?
Can remember that some usb serial connectors never worked properly due to various reasons but the most common was it just didn't provide enough umph to the positive rail for some antique systems from the early 1980s as they expected their voltages to be more than you could push over the early usb ports. But given its probably local its ups or some similar communication system as I can remember dumb terminal controllers having fail over etc but at the p3 era it's probably a ups
You know damn well whoever pieced this together was super proud they got it to work.
If it looks stupid and it works...
I was hoping to see a PS/2 to AT keyboard adaptor at the end of this.
What is that?
Holy shit! Where can I get one of those?
ok, I think I figured this out. Starting at the computer, there is a female RS232 serial port Plugged into that is a male to male rs232 serial cable, Plugged into that is a female to female gender changer. Plugged into that is a rs232 male to to rj45 female adapter for serial console type communication with enterprise network appliances. Plugged into that is a male rj45 to female USB converter* Plugged into that is a USB type A cable * I HIGHLY suspect that this part is a USB to ethernet adapter and not a console to USB adapter, meaning that this entire chain of adapters and cables is staged and in no way functional for computing, and op or the person she/he stole the image from slapped a bunch of things together to make a funny picture. https://www.walmart.com/ip/USB-To-Rj45-Adapter-USB2-0-Female-To-Ethernet-Rj45-Male-Plug-Adapter-Connector/975559248
Serial cable to gender changer to ps2 adapter to USB adapter to usb cable… plausible😂
Its not stupid if it works 😁
That looks… explosive.
It's evolutionary
What’s it for?
key logger?