Re: Computer Failure
"BAP" <BAP@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:07352F95-BB00-4FB9-A0BC-8C28FE419DA7@microsoft.com...
| "MEB", a strange thing happened after I moved the Computer and Monitor to
| another location. I reconnected everything, powered them up and,
| surprisingly, it did re-start. However, like before, the Monitor light
from
| 'green' changed to 'red' and the tower would make a clicking sound and
no-go.
| And, like before, I had to coordinate the timing of powering up the two
| components in order to get the system to boot properly. However, on the
first
| successful boot, like before, the CD and Zip drives were not seen,
although
| they responded in accepting and releasing the disks. Currently, however,
it
| just boots up to a point where it warns that the Keyboard is not attached
and
| that's it. I tried another keyboard, but...no-go.
| If I want to pursue it, I will need to disconnect all the cables, dust up
| all that I can, re-cable all and see what happens.
| Thank you, "MEB", but I am not sure about it all.
|
Oh, okay, then if you decide to attempt this at some future date there may
be something else to try.
As you appear to get an initial finding of the peripherals except the
keyboard on POST you might try to refresh the BIOS with a BIOS flash for
that motherboard. This would be accomplished with a floppy disk created to
automatically boot and flash the motherboard. At this point it appears that
this may be a potential fix as there have been findings related to
successful use of this technique to reset corrupted BIOS due to electrical
issues, spikes, etc..
First, if at all possible, remove the CMOS battery for about 10 minutes to
completely remove any old settings, re-insert after checking whether it is
still good [generally 3+ volts] replace if needed [likely CR2032], and run
the floppy flash disk. Remember to re-set any Bios settings if this appears
to initially correct the issues.
--
MEB
http://peoplescounsel.orgfree.com
_________
|
| "MEB" wrote:
|
| >
| >
| > "BAP" <BAP@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
| > news:618AD7DC-73EC-402E-8FD3-73D68B4BB9D5@microsoft.com...
| > | I will need some time to digest what you are saying.
| > | Thank you for your reply!
| > | As far as the other machine ...it was assembled by Microtime...no
longsr
| > in
| > | the area.... in 1999. A 400 MHZ. A month or so back, the color schemes
| > began
| > | misbehaving...at times at bootup time, later while in session. It kept
| > | swithcing from correct shade to no color, at all. By moving the
Monitor or
| > | the Tower, it appeared to restore the color, but not always. I
| > re-installed
| > | the Video Drivers, but no go. Suspecting loose connections, I opened
the
| > case
| > | and re-seated the cards and the cables attachements. That appeared to
do
| > some
| > | good, but soon it started misbehaving, again.
| >
| > A potential cause could be the connectors. They rely upon two *fingers*
| > inside the connecotrs for each pin, pressing upon the outside of the
pin.
| > The weight of the cord will over time cause these fingers to expand.[in
| > addition to hot and cold] causing poor connections. Another would be the
| > known value of corrosion and its effect on these same parts.
Additionally,
| > the monitor connectors MAY have broken their soldered connection.
| > Another would be, particularly if the cord drapes over the back of a
desk,
| > the potential break of the internal wires in the cord. This also places
| > addition stress on those connectins. Moving the computer or montitor may
| > cause these issues to temporarily seem to be fixed.
| >
| > | In the meantime, the system had
| > | stopped seeing the Iomega Zip drive and the CD Drive. Twice I reseated
the
| > | cables on those units (power and signal), but no go. On one occasion,
| > while
| > | the Computer was on, I removed the power cable of the Iomega Drive and
| > while
| > | re-attaching it, I must have touched a bad spot, since the power to
the
| > tower
| > | was cut off. A short, perhaps. That was it!
| >
| > Well, depending upon how familiar you are with power supplies, you may
have
| > caused a short which has blown out one of the internal fuses. If you're
| > interested, check those, IF what you're indicating is that this old
computer
| > will no longer start or boot..
| >
| > --
| >
| > MEB
| >
http://peoplescounsel.orgfree.com
| > _________
| >
| >
| > |
| > | "letterman@invalid.com" wrote:
| > |
| > | > On Tue, 19 Feb 2008 03:20:02 -0800, BAP
| > | > <BAP@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
| > | >
| > | > >For some time I have been using a Machine that has suddenly started
| > having
| > | > >problems and is, currently, not functioning. It had a primary and a
| > secondary
| > | > >Hard Disks with a lot of Data that I would like to retrieve from
them.
| > The
| > | > >prinmary has the Operating System (W98SE), along with other good
stored
| > Data.
| > | > >The Secondary Disk has a lot of saved information and many family
| > photos.
| > | > >Is there an easy way for me to install these disks on another
machine
| > and
| > | > >get the info that I would like to save?
| > | > >Yes, I will back all up on CD's, once the job is done!
| > | > >Thank you!
| > | >
| > | > YES. but dont try to install them on a real new machine. Some of
the
| > | > computers made in the last few years dont have drivers for Win98.
I'd
| > | > find a machine from the same era. In other words it you had them in
a
| > | > 500mhz Pentium II, I'd look for something like an 800mhz Pentium II
or
| > | > III.
| > | >
| > | > I have the very same installation of Win98se that I installed in
1999.
| > | > It was in a Pentium 266mhz. Since then I moved it to another
Pentium
| > | > 266, then to a PII 500mhz, then to a PII 800mhz, and now it's in a
| > | > PIII 1000mhz. Every time I have had to insert the Win98 install CD
to
| > | > get the drivers to work with the motherboard, video card (if
changed),
| > | > etc....
| > | >
| > | > That's why I like 98. You CAN NOT do that with Win2K, XP or
anything
| > | > newer. From waht I know, if the XP computer dies, you either have
to
| > | > find an identical motherboard, or you lose all data (or have to get
an
| > | > expensive data retrieval company involved). For that reason, I
won't
| > | > even touch XP or Vista.
| > | >
| > | > I'm not sure of WinME allows for this or not.
| > | >
| > | > The whole issue comes down to the format of the hard drive. If it's
a
| > | > FAT32, you can still read the data, even from DOS. Actually, you
| > | > could boot those drives from DOS and save your photos and stuff, but
| > | > you'll lose the long filenames. (Of course they could be renamed
back
| > | > later if you know what to name them, and have a lot of time to
spend).
| > | >
| > | > You did not say what's wrong with your computer, or what speed it
is.
| > | > Maybe it just needs a new Ram stick or video card or something.
Tell
| > | > us what's wrong.....
| > | >
| > | > And, YES, you could install Win98se on another computer (from
| > | > scratch), and still plug in your secondary hard drive and you'll see
| > | > all your data. I actually have one drive that is nothing but
storage.
| > | > In other words, my OS and programs are on the FIRST harddrive. My
| > | > storage is all on a SECOND (slave) drive. I have a 3rd drive, which
| > | > is where I moved a bunch of storage when I ran out of space on the
| > | > regular one. I just unplugged one of the CD drives, and plugged in
| > | > the 3rd drive, moved a bunch of stuff to drive 3, and when I was
done,
| > | > I unplugged it, plugged back my CD drive and put that drive in a
safe
| > | > place. I dont burn CDs or DVDs, I just store stuff on harddrives
and
| > | > have a copy of each drive as a backup. I had too many "homemade"
CDs
| > | > fail in the past. I dont trust them.
| > | >
| > | > Hope this helps.
| > | >
| > | >
| > | >
| >
| >
| >