{"id":23183,"date":"2026-01-09T19:17:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T00:17:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/?page_id=23183"},"modified":"2026-10-09T09:39:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T13:39:08","slug":"vin194","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/vintage-computing\/item\/vin194\/","title":{"rendered":"Compaq ProLinea 4\/24s"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section class=\"w-screen px-6 cu-section cu-section--white ml-offset-center md:px-8 lg:px-14\">\n    <div class=\"space-y-6 cu-max-w-child-5xl  md:space-y-10 cu-prose-first-last\">\n\n            <div class=\"cu-textmedia flex flex-col lg:flex-row mx-auto gap-6 md:gap-10 my-6 md:my-12 first:mt-0 max-w-5xl\">\n        <div class=\"justify-start cu-textmedia-content cu-prose-first-last\" style=\"flex: 0 0 100%;\">\n            <header class=\"font-light prose-xl cu-pageheader md:prose-2xl cu-component-updated cu-prose-first-last\">\n                                    <h1 class=\"cu-prose-first-last font-semibold !mt-2 mb-4 md:mb-6 relative after:absolute after:h-px after:bottom-0 after:bg-cu-red after:left-px text-3xl md:text-4xl lg:text-5xl lg:leading-[3.5rem] pb-5 after:w-10 text-cu-black-700 not-prose\">\n                        Compaq ProLinea 4\/24s\n                    <\/h1>\n                \n                                \n                                    \n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Compaq ProLinea 4\/24s features an Intel 486SX processor running at 25 MHz, 4 MB of onboard RAM, and no built-in floating-point math coprocessor. Housed in a compact desktop case, it offered a practical, expandable platform for the DOS and Windows applications used in offices and classrooms during the early 1990&#8217;s.<\/p>\n\n\n                            <\/header>\n\n                    <\/div>\n\n            <\/div>\n\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-fill\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/vintage-computing\/item\">Vintage Computing Collection<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"compaq-prolinea-4-24s\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Compaq ProLinea 4\/24s<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[Vin194]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"769\" src=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/260\/2026\/10\/PXL_20261008_142235729-1024x769.jpg\" alt=\"Compaq ProLinea 4\/24s\" class=\"wp-image-26403\" style=\"width:338px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/260\/2026\/10\/PXL_20261008_142235729-1024x769.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/260\/2026\/10\/PXL_20261008_142235729-512x384.jpg 512w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/260\/2026\/10\/PXL_20261008_142235729-320x240.jpg 320w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/260\/2026\/10\/PXL_20261008_142235729-768x577.jpg 768w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/260\/2026\/10\/PXL_20261008_142235729-1536x1153.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/260\/2026\/10\/PXL_20261008_142235729-2048x1538.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Compaq ProLinea 4\/24s represents an important turning point in early-1990&#8217;s PC history, when affordable IBM compatible computers began reshaping a market once dominated by IBM itself. Introduced in 1992, Compaq\u2019s budget ProLinea family marked a decisive shift away from premium priced systems toward competitively priced desktops, helping ignite an industry wide price war that forced IBM and other major manufacturers to respond. With its 486-class processor and modest memory and storage by today\u2019s standards, the 4\/24s illustrates the practical computing needs of businesses, schools, and home users of the period. Although less celebrated than Compaq\u2019s flagship Deskpro machines or the later Presario range, the ProLinea family played an important role in the company\u2019s expansion into the mass market. This aggressive low-cost strategy helped Compaq lead the charge against IBM\u2019s dominance of personal computing, ultimately overtaking the industry giant in 1994 to become the world\u2019s largest PC vendor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Manufacturer<\/strong>: Compaq Computer Corporation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Type<\/strong>: Desktop IBM\u2011PC\u2011compatible personal computer<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Release Date<\/strong>: October 1992<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cost at release<\/strong>: ~$2,000 (adjusted for inflation)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cost with peripherals<\/strong>: ~$4,400 (adjusted for inflation)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>MIPS<\/strong>: ~20<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"hardware-specifications\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"TextRun SCXW36078203 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW36078203 BCX0\">Hardware Specifications<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>CPU<\/strong>: Intel 486SX @ 25\u202fMHz (no internal math coprocessor in base config)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Memory<\/strong>: 4\u202fMB onboard (70\u202fns SIMM), expandable (some boards up to ~32\u202fMB)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Graphics<\/strong>: Often Tseng Labs ET4000\/W32 local\u2011bus VGA or similar integrated graphics on 486 models<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Hard Drive<\/strong>: Originally commonly a ~120\u202fMB IDE hard disk in many 4\/25s units<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Floppy Drive<\/strong>: 1.44\u202fMB 3.5\u2033 floppy drive (some units also supported a 5.25\u2033)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Expansion Slots<\/strong>: Typically 2\u20133 ISA slots + shared PCI\/ISA on some configurations<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Integrated I\/O<\/strong>: Serial, parallel, keyboard, PS\/2 mouse, and VGA ports (standard PC configuration)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong data-start=\"2249\" data-end=\"2260\">Weight:<\/strong> Approximately <strong data-start=\"2275\" data-end=\"2303\">~21\u201324\u202flbs (9.5\u201310.9\u202fkg)<\/strong> depending on configuration and drives.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"operating-system-programming-languages\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"TextRun SCXW136206418 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW136206418 BCX0\">Operating System &amp; Programming Languages<\/span><\/span><span class=\"EOP SCXW136206418 BCX0\" data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559685&quot;:0}\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Operating System<\/strong>:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Primary OS: MS\u2011DOS 5.0 or 6.0 (depending on the exact year\/configuration).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Graphical Environment: Windows 3.0 or 3.1 (Windows ran on top of DOS).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Optional OS: Some installations could run OS\/2 2.x or early Linux ports for PCs, but this was less common.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><strong>Supported Languages:<\/strong><\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Compiled Languages:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>C \/ C++ (Turbo C\/C++, Borland C++, Microsoft C)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pascal \/ Object Pascal (Turbo Pascal, Borland Delphi later on Windows)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fortran (IBM Fortran, Lahey Fortran)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Interpreted Languages:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>BASIC (GW\u2011BASIC, QuickBASIC, QBasic)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Bourne \/ DOS batch scripting<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Early versions of Python or Perl (if installed, mostly under DOS extenders or Windows 3.x)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Other: Assembly language programming via MASM \/ TASM for low\u2011level development.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"notables\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Notables<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Part of Compaq\u2019s ProLinea line, it was among the first 486\u2011class PCs sold at sub\u2011$1,000 prices, making powerful IBM-compatible computing accessible to homes, schools, and small offices.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Its aggressive pricing in 1992 forced competitors to cut PC prices dramatically, accelerating desktop adoption worldwide.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sold hundreds of thousands of units in its first year, making it one of the most popular \u201centry-level\u201d 486 PCs of the era.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Represents the democratization of desktop computing, bridging business-grade PCs and home computers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Donated by<\/strong>: Dr. Arlen Michaels<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/260\/compaq_ad.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2103\" height=\"1423\" role=\"none\" src=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/260\/compaq_ad.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-23188\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/260\/compaq_ad.jpg 2103w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/260\/compaq_ad-160x108.jpg 160w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/260\/compaq_ad-240x162.jpg 240w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/260\/compaq_ad-768x520.jpg 768w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/260\/compaq_ad-400x271.jpg 400w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/260\/compaq_ad-1536x1039.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/260\/compaq_ad-2048x1386.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/260\/compaq_ad-360x244.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2103px) 100vw, 2103px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-fill\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/vintage-computing\/item\">Vintage Computing Collection<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Compaq ProLinea 4\/24s [Vin194] The Compaq ProLinea 4\/24s represents an important turning point in early-1990&#8217;s PC history, when affordable IBM compatible computers began reshaping a market once dominated by IBM itself. Introduced in 1992, Compaq\u2019s budget ProLinea family marked a decisive shift away from premium priced systems toward competitively priced desktops, helping ignite an industry [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":19704,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cu_dining_location_slug":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_page_type":[128,90,123],"class_list":["post-23183","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","cu_page_type-desktop","cu_page_type-vintage-computing","cu_page_type-vintage-inventory"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23183"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23183\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26404,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23183\/revisions\/26404"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_page_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_page_type?post=23183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}