GoKawiilComputer Reset was a large used computer store and warehouse in northeast Dallas whose heyday was in the 1980s and 1990s, but it remained a go-to source for vintage and retro computer parts into the 2010s. Its fame grew after it closed in 2019 when several prominent Youtubers visited the facility and made videos about it.
Computer Reset history
Computer Reset’s owner, Richard Byron, founded the legendary store in either 1984 or 1985. Newsletters from the 90s said 1985, but the website said 1984. A native of Oklahoma, Byron had a bachelor’s degree and a JD degree and worked for Boeing, Dresser Industries, and ARCO before starting Computer Reset. The business operated out of a facility on the 9500 block of Skillman Street in northeast Dallas, Texas, near the suburb of Garland.
Computer Reset had its own newsletter/catalog it sent to customers on a periodic basis. And of course it had a website, when the Web became mainstream. Computer Reset’s facility was about 18,000 square feet, which included about 11,000 square feet of retail/office space and 7,000 square feet of warehouse space.
Although it sold most major brands, it was the go-to place for IBM equipment, especially the PCjr and its matching 4863 monitor, Portable PC, and the PS/2 series. They even had and the militarized version of the IBM 5170 in inventory, in limited quantities.
How big was the Computer Reset warehouse?
Prominent Youtuber LGR described Computer Reset as a 38,000 square foot warehouse. But that may be overstating its size. The property records describe the building as closer to 18,000 square feet, sitting on a 39,976 square foot lot. So 38,000 square feet was closer to the size of the land, not just the building. A typical Best Buy store is 38,000 square feet. So imagine a half-size Best Buy store packed to the brim, rather than a full one. It’s no less impressive. As those videos showed, the inventory was so overwhelming you lost your sense of scale.
For comparison, the long defunct shop in St. Louis that most closely resembled Computer Reset was 6,000 square feet total.
If you knew the right person, you could still enter Computer Reset and make purchases in mid 2018. But the last update to Computer Reset’s website happened in 2011. Between that and the storefront’s appearance in late 2018, it looks like the business was trying to wind down sometime in that 2011 to 2018 timeframe.
The store unofficially closed in 2018. Richard Byron was in failing health by then, and he died in September 2019 at the age of 75. The liquidation of Computer Reset became a story of its own.
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