The author acquired a Tektronix TDS7104 oscilloscope at the Silicon Valley Flea Market for $300, down from $700. While the unit powered on and booted into its main scope application, it suffered from a dim display and later encountered a CMOS battery error. The TDS7104 is a 4-channel oscilloscope with 1 GHz bandwidth and up to 10Gs/s sample rate, weighing 39 pounds and running Windows 2000 Pro Embedded on an NLX motherboard.

Initial issues included a failed CR2032 backup battery and display brightness problems. The author documented the repair process, including battery replacement and OS reinstallation via virtual machine and USB stick using a Plop Boot Manager. The scope also features resistive touch controls and a PowerPC-based controller board, with software and hardware options enabled through license keys.