As the title says: if anybody can help how can i fix it??
The problem was that the BIOS reported that CMOS memory size is wrong once, then failed to boot anymore (Only the BIOS started, but then Wait... Forever...). It must be some problem in the motherboard. As i had an another from an old 3.86 (But on it at the place of the CPU 4.86 was written), i decided to rebuild the machine on that mobo. I did it, when i turned on i heard that the memory check ran. But the video card (Cirrus Logic - i do not know what type now) refused to send any signal to my monitor like it was not in the PC at all. I first thought that some IRQ problems, so i pulled everything else off than the video card. The same thing happened... What can i do now??
I would really like to set up that good old PC again as i worked on it a lot. It has 25MHz 4.86 SX CPU, original hardware FM sound card, a CD drive with a separate card with "16bit I/F card" on it being extremely silent and being able to read even CD-R-s even at the size of 700Mb! I also like my good 15 years old Genius mouse... And that eight slots for SIMM memory
(I have 14 pieces of 1Mb SIMMs... Six additional slots would be good
). Not to mention that i love to test QB programs on it: it really makes up the feeling!
Hi Spotted Cheetah,
The first thing I would try is simply put the video card in a different slot. Sounds weird but you have no idea how many times this little trick fixed the problem for me :-).
hmm... interesting. i just got a 486 sx, running at 33 mhz. I've had some of the same problems... I find that if you keep on turning it on then off, it'll eventually send something to the screen. try fiddling with the graphics card.. that's what i was doing.
btw, does anyone know of a linux distro that has math coprocessor emulation? Some people recommended getting the source for debian then recompiling it, but i'm asking now, anyone know of a compiled distro that has it? If not, then i guess i'd better start downloading the source and figuring out how to compile it.... actually, it'd be good learning experience.
Sone of the high level expert can correct me if I'm wrong. But I believe Red Hat's Distro (version 3.X) had that....
This is weird. IMHO the 486 proccessor is supposed to emulate a math co processor. I think the 386 upward processors without a hardware co-processor did that.
yeah, it is weird, but that's the way it is... when i try to run a linux distro on the hd (i've tried about 3-4 now) it tells me that no math coprocessor is present and it's giving up.
I had the same ide too, but if there is only one slot in wich the card fits (ISA with that brown "8x AGP" on it's end), there are not too much choices :-?. The other failed mobo. had three of that type of slot. It got in my mind that it might became dusty, but if it was put away closed in a box, i think it should not. Probably oxide prevents it connecting. I might try to clean the slots, but that would requie to pull the thing in pieces again :-?
EDIT:
AARRGHH!
I pulled the thing in pieces again, fed the mobo. with loads of contact spray, but it not worked again! I got enough of it, grabbed the mobo and the poor VGA card, and beaten it so deep in it what was even possible. It not worked again!!
(Of course i waited for the contact spray to dry up, and did not use the hammer for the action...)
I think i will have to get yet another motherboard from somewhere... Then it will not have the jumpers set up appropriately :evil: - it is impossible to find out what to do then after 15 years...
It really looks like that it can not use up the video card there at all nor being able to send even just the power to it as the monitor gets absolutely no signal. The card works, i know, as it could display with the faulty motherboard. Possibly that another is too old: the BIOS on it is dated to 1987. Possibly it misses some connections what would be needed to make the VGA card functioning although i am sure that a such card must have been installed there before. I had to use the IDE controller card what was originally in it since that did not need the "AGP slot" while the original what was in the 4.86 needed (So it would not fit in this mobo as the only slot was occupied by the VGA card; from that old 3.86 i only had this two pieces of hardware with a few SIMM memory modules, and that old Genius mouse).
AARGGHH! Enough of this!
I bought an old motherboard: they told that it is a 4.86 while it was a Pentium with a whole damned huge ugly computer case what i will have to take to the metal recyclers. I built that motherboard in (It had a CPU), then finally it appeared as it produced the same problem that it was because of i accidentally plugged the IDE cable in with the wrong side (That old cable had both sides similar). Then i decided to try to rebuild with the old motherboard from the 3.86. Not worked again, same, but possibly i did not try it enough. Then i looked at the BIOS: it was 3.86, and i was not sure that it was put in the right way (Again both sides are the same; once i took it out to try to test with the 4.86 mobo.). Then i decided to replace it with the 4.86's BIOS: it TOASTED with a disgusting smell! AARGGH! Possibly both mobo damaged this way not mentioning poor BIOS chips... Then i finally built up the P133 based thing, but it highly disappointed, at least the video card. Sometimes it started black & white, sometimes color. Then Windows95 messed up completely. Finally from DOS i tried to run Island of Cheetah: it crawled at 4FPS!! 4FPS while on the original 25Mhz 4.86 it almost ran at full speed!!! That Cirrus Logic card was excellent, but i can not use it anymore as that damned mobo. has no ISA + "AGP" slots!
Possibly i will need yet another motherboard :evil:
My 486 works.
Although I had to rebuild it. Turns out the floppy drive that came with it was rooted.
I plugged in another drive and now it works wonders. Only, it has no HDD now. So, with a bit more tinkering on the software and DOS side, I can have a fully usable system with 8MB RAM and a CD for software base, and network to the main system for extra power.
:bounce:
>anarky
Arrghh! The lucky one :-?
That stupid VGA card is so slow that the whole system crawls like a slug. No matter what i do: i turned on Video - BIOS caching, and everything related, all what i could reach is that Island of Cheetah's FPS rised to 6 instead of 4. That 4.86 with it's 30MHz looked like a Cheetah compared to this P133 mess... Awful... :evil: