Erroneously assembled 1974 Altair 8800 computer gets fixed and enjoys first run in 2026 — Intel 8080 powered machine ran its first program 52 years later

A computer historian has documented the moment a 1974 kit computer successfully ran its first program – in 2016. .

A computer historian has documented the moment a 1974 kit computer successfully ran its first program – in 2016. The ancient Altair 8800 computer is thought to have been “partially assembled with some errors” by its original owner, but it has now been fixed, with the aid of a new PSU, after 52 years of neglect. SDF, from the Interim Computer Museum (ICM), shared the momentous moment on their X profile.

This MITS Altair 8800 kit was partial assembled with some errors but never completed. It sat for decades but now it has finally been corrected and completed with a new power supply. Here it is running its first game program.https://t.co/ihON7y2jBE #retrocomputing… pic.twitter.com/exru2ZZbfbJanuary 14, 2026