Hardware Rescue 101
by Coral1
Disclaimer: This intro is just a basic walkthru, so you can get a feel for the subject. Detailed information is supplied elsewhere. (Insert standard small print CYA stuff here).
Introduction
So! You want to learn how to do hardware?!? Well ..... Don't. Now if you will excuse me, I'm busy.
What? You still here? Oh ... OK.
Get comfy, grab your favorite form of caffeine, and lets get to it.
I guess TRASHCAN COMPUTERS is as good a place to start as any. As it happens, I just got in a bunch of old systems from various sources. What's that? What are my sources? Hmmmm... I can see you are going to be THAT kind of pupil. Good! Irritating, but Good. Though I must warn you ... Teacher is a Grouch, so don't push it.
Since I call them TrashCan Computers, it's a safe bet that I get them from the side of the road on trash days, and dumpster diving behind computer repair shops. It's amazing what gets tossed out. Also, when I started tinkering with these things, I mentioned it to everybody I knew, and now they give me first crack at their old systems and collections of pieces and parts.
The down side of this is that you don't get much chance to play with "bleeding edge" technology. The upside is that if you let the Smoke out of one, your wallet doesn't cry. You haven't heard about The Smoke?!? Well, computers really run on compressed Smoke. And if you accidentally let it out, the computer will not work any more.
Getting Started
The first thing we need to do is get the cases open. Don't laugh; there are half a dozen ways THEY use to keep you out of there. While most newer tower cases use some kind of slip-n-click side panels
What's that?? Why not just plug them in and see if they turn on?
When you are doing your own stuff, "Go for it".
But when something pops, sizzles, flames, short circuits, or any number of other bad things happen ... Don't come crying to me. Now stop interrupting, and let me continue....
Some of the reasons I take the covers off first are:
- They usually have to come off sooner or later, anyway.
- A lot of them will have enough dust and dirt packed in them to start a garden.
- To look and see if any Capacitors are burnt, leaking, or bulging. And any other problems with the mobo
and components.
Also you can get a quick idea of what you have by seeing:
- what kind of mobo (motherboard) power connectors it has
- the type of memory
- and as often as not, the make/model of mobo and what the jumper settings are, will be printed on the mobo itself.
**Example: If you see a list of jumper settings that say it goes up to 66MHz bus speed, with a max multiplier of 3, it's a pretty good bet that this is an early Socket7, and the Fastest CPU you will find on this thing is a 200MHz Intel non-MMX or AMD K6 chip. But I digress...
Really look at it
This first one is strange. Looks like a compact desktop on the bottom, with a mini-tower stuck on top.
Mmmmmmm. The sticker on the front says it a Packard Bell Platinum 1. With a 133MHz Pentium CPU, 16meg ram (128 max), 1.2gig HD, 4x CD Rom, Win95, yada yada. I was told it had been upgraded. But now it would not boot up. That's nice to know. NOT!
Upgraded how? Won't boot to BIOS? Windows?? Nothing to do but start at square one.
What's on the front:
- One floppy and one CD Rom that has "quad-speed written on it. So that's not the upgrade.
- Power LED and Hard drive LED.
- Power Switch and Reset Switch.
Let's look at the back.
Lined up across the bottom
Above this
So grasshopper... What does this tell you? You don't know?? Then stop playing with the buttons on your cell phone and pay attention.
I'll say.... an AT mobo attached to the bottom of the case (instead of the side), with a single slot on it for a daughter board for plugging in the add-on cards; at least 4, possibly 8 - 72pin ram slots; 2 IDE channels.
Time to crack the case and see.
Getting inside
This looks easy enough. Only 3 screws on the back of the case. One on each side and one top center. Using the trusty #2 phillips screwdriver, take the screws out, slide the cover toward the rear, ... Slide the Cover Toward the Rear, ... It's not sliding!?
Hmmmmm.... then there is a trick to it. That's why it only needed three screws.
Let's see....
Does the front cover come off?
Nope! Solid.
Super Secret Magic curse words?
Nope! Bounced right off of it.
Let's look at the seams again.
Nothing. The seams say this thing should slide toward the rear. I know what will open it! The small sledgehammer! It's over there... wait a second, this seam where the top, bottom, and front sections meet at an inside corner. It looks different. If I stick a slot screwdriver in there, and gently pry and twist...
BINGO! Moved 1/8 of an inch. Do the other side. Now it is a 1/4 inch. Grab the top rear of the cover, pull until it stops at about an inch, lift the cover straight up, and we are in. <Who says computers don't understand the threat of violence?? The trick is making them believe you, without having to prove it.>
Looking at the bottom edge of the cover, I see it has three L shaped hooks on each side that fit into matching slots in the main case. When you put them into the slots and pushed forward, the cover fits tight, and the screws just hold it in place. Slick! Very newbie unfriendly.
What's inside
Pretty close guess. Mobo on the bottom, one daughter board with 3 PCI and 3 ISA slots - and 1 ISA soundcard/modem installed; 4 - 72pin ram slots with 4 sticks of ram; the CPU heatsink is a fanless type; 2 IDE Headers - 1 cable to the HD and 1 to the CD Rom; 204Watt AT PSU (power supply unit).
Looks pretty clean in there. Very little dust buildup on the Intake Fan or the PSU. Ah-ha! Jumper settings! Let's see ... maximum bus speed is 66MHz, with a 2x multiplyer. Not Good. A 133 is the max this thing will handle. I'll bet you dollars to donuts it's not even a Socket7.
Good... I don't have to take the heatsink off to see what it says... Socket5!! Bummer. I was hoping to stick a 200MHz in it. Oh well. Let's finish this off and get to the next one.
4 sticks of ram. All the same. Marked as 1Mx32 -70 EDO. So that would make.. ummmm .. 16 Megs total. Looks like the sticker is correct. She must have upgraded the OS from W95.
Alright. Let's get this thing back together. It can get road tested later.
Next up is...
This one is a MONSTER desktop. It's soooo old it now looks yellow. 386??? Take out the screws, pop the cover, look inside.... Well I'll be a ... A 286!! This one is going into the museum pile..err.. room. I'll play with it later.
Disappointment abounds...
The next two are standard mini-towers. I'll do the one with the 56x CD Rom in it first:
Let's pop the cover and look inside.
Looks clean. Packed with stuff. What?!? Socket3! That means some kind of 486. Sheesh.
As long as I'm here. Unhook the heatsink clamp; lift the Lock Lever; pull the assembly out and look on the bottom of the CPU. No markings.
OK. Take the heatsink off and wipe some of the paste out of the way. AMD DX/2-100. I'll play with it later.
Well, This is going nowhere fast. I think I will save its brother (they were networked together) for later, also.
This is more like it
Here we go! A newer mid-tower case. Hmmmm.... Feels kinda light. On the front:
- A big hole where the CD Rom should be.
- 1 Floppy drive
- Power and HD LED's.
- Power and Reset Switches.
- A sticker that says "Intel Inside - Celeron"
On the rear:
All the onboard stuff :
- PS/2 Keyboard and Mouse ports.
- 2 USB ports.
- 2 Serial ports.
- 1 Parallel port.
- 1 Game port.
- 3 Soundcard holes - with no markings.
- PSU has an On/Off Switch. That's good.
- 7 add-on holes. 5 blocked, 2 empty.
- 4 screws on the sides of the rear, but the 2 top ones are real close together.
Should have separate side covers. Take out the 3 lower screws on the right side (facing the rear of the case). Mmmmm... top doesn't want to lean out, so let's pull straight back. That's the ticket. 6 Metal hooks! 3 on top and 3 on the bottom.
Diving in...
Looks clean. No HD, but an 80wire/40pin IDE cable. Heatsink/fan/CPU.
WooHoo! A stick of SDRam! Pop the clips and let's see what it says. 128meg PC100. Sweet!
What the Heck! Let's see if this bad boy fires up.
T minus ...
Clear a spot on the work bench next to a monitor.
Plug monitor into svga port.
Plug Keyboard in.
Plug powercord in to PSU.
Make sure all switches are ON.
And Now.....
Nothing.
Fans spun a couple of times, and stop. Try again. Turn OFF PSU switch, turn back ON. Push Power button.... Still nothing.
Hmmmmmm.... Take out the ram, put it in a PII test mobo, plug in power and video, jump the ON/OFF pins.....
We have lift off! Ram is good. Memory count reads 128meg. So a bad CPU or mobo.
Worth a shot...
Only one thing left to do. Pull the CPU, and try another mobo.
Pop the heatsink clip, take off the heatsink, lift the release lever, take out the CPU, wipe it off old paste on bottom of T-shirt... Don't look at me that way. You remind me of my Ex. She never did understand that shirts and pant legs make Excellent wipe rags. Where was I??? Oh, yea, mmmmmm.... 950MHz Intel Celeron .... 100FSB .... 1.7v ... not shabby. I hope it's good.
Move the empty case out of the way, grab a socket370 mobo from the pile, huh!... no onboard video. Grab a PCI card from another pile (why risk an AGP), plug everything in....
Nothing!
Undo everything, grab another mobo, hook it all back up...
Nothing! Looks like a bad CPU. I think I will hang on to it until I can dig up a known working one to retest the mobos. Just in case. The Flea Markets should be a good place to start. Hmmmmm... Guess I'm going to have to raid the change jar.
Quitting time!
That does it for me today. Not one of the better days, but not too bad. Came out with a decent stick of ram, a nice mid-tower case, a 286 for the museum (maybe). I still need to road test the Packard Bell, and if nothing else, strip the 2 mini-towers for pieces and parts.
Since you didn't seem to be THAT irritating, if you want to come back, I won't run you off with the 12gauge.
NS, NR!!
