pc won't boot etc.

hi,
ibm aptiva (2159-s90) almost 8 y/o win95B
yesterday for NO reason on powering on it gave 2 beeps and a configuration change and a time and date change (they were ok -- i.e. date and time ok and floppy drive was present)
i had to enter bios every time HOWEVER it would not prompt to save changes (just exit)
windows device manager had a yellow splat through the floppy drive and the resource box was empty.
(code29)
the floppy was working.(dos and windows)
i replaced the lithium battery (the old read 3.01 volts w/ a voltmeter and the new read 3.26 volts)
it was EXTREMELY dusty
now it will not post, there is sometimes the ibm logo on the screen with video and cache ram but no system memory ... the keyboard (leds) light up initially on powering on
it will not read a floppy; it makes no sound.
can someone PLEASE advise?

thank you

 

I would give it a good clean, disconnect/reseat all the connections and examine the motherboard for leaking capacitors.

 

hi BurrWalnut,
thanks for replying.
used compressed air last pm; i will reseat everything and start with the minimum but what do leaky capacitors look like?

it is booting to another start-up error now ( "adapter card resource ") (had cleared the cmos overnight) and it is registering system ram as well.
i appreciate your help,
sincerely
Tanya

 

Capacitors are little round things scattered around the mobo that can ooze a sticky substance. This was a known IBM problem some years ago.

It's unlikely but have a look for anything that doesn't appear right, e.g. unconnected wires, etc.

 

hi and thank you again
i guess they are the little blue columns

i have to remove and reseat the simms and don't want to break anything....

considering how dusty the inside was anything is possible re: disconnections.

i did not realize that ibm had a capacitor problem (this is an early 1997 pc)

also it was running VERY WELL before the original post-start-up error began... w/ no provocation;
i.e. there were no hd errors prior etc... (and scan disk was ok fwiw)


i thank you VERY much again for the help!
sincerely
Tanya

 

IBM's are normally good at sending you to the point of a problem (you just have to work out the cause ).

You mention the floppy drive a lot in your first post. Could you borrow another floppy drive to connect and try? (It would not have to be bolted in, just connected as a test).

Matt

 

hi Matt,
THANKS for replying!

the a-drive (and the cd-rom drive and power switch) are in "the media console" (aka access station) (a third piece counting the tower and monitor) (which attaches to the motherboard via a cable to the "media console controller card" in an isa slot
(there is nothing wrong with the floppy drive but the start-up errors (sporadically) indicate that there is
also when i got to windows (before replacing the battery) the floppy drive was supposidly in dos-compatibility mode)

HOWEVER...
i changed the boot order (which had changed on its own) and got into windows this morning....
(there is no dos-compatibility mode anymore)
it is running EXTREMELY slowly.
the zip drive is not working anymore
(i tested the psu (couldn't access all connectors) but what i tested was ok)

current question:
1. although it still could be a bad psu could the fact that the cmos settings are changing on their own indicate a bad chip?
2. i cannot figure out how to remove the simms (i have done it before but they seem to be more difficult than in the past and i do not want to damage the slots / board) do you know of a GOOD tutorial (with pictures) on how to remove simms without damaging the slots?
3. i guess i should shut the pc off; disconnect the slave hard drive (which i have used for backup); and disconnect the zip drive which is not working
to make sure i that the slave drive doesn't get "damaged "
THANK YOU again!
sincerely
Tanya

 

hello to all who posted to this thread
many thanks for the help!
thought i'd post back what the final problem was and the solution...
(at least for now)

there was a setting in the cmos ('cache state') which had set itself to DISabled ... ENabling it cured things...

thanks to all for the replies and suggestions (which all helped)!
sincerely
Tanya

 

Tanya, interesting. You changed the battery so I would have expected the CMOS settings to revert to default and would not have to be changed. You may have some hardware that is "non-standard" for that model.

You now have the solution here so if it happens again you can refer back (not like me... "now, how did I fix that thing before??" )

Thanks for letting us know how you did it.

Matt