How do i fix this?

X

XPfordummies

New Member
This is what I am getting on the screen when I first boot up. I know its a relic but just bear with me here.

PhoenixBIOS Version 4.04 M54Pe-14M
Copyright 1985-1994 Phoenix Technologies Ltd., All Rights Reserved.

Micron Electronics Inc.

CPU = Pentium 133 MHz
0000640K System RAM Passed
0015360K Extended RAM Passed
0512K Cache SRAM Passed
System BIOS shadowed
Video BIOS shadowed
Mouse initialized

0632 Diskette drive A error ((probrably cause there isn't one))
1701 Failure Fixed Disk 0
2nd Processor Initialized

Press <F1> to resume, <F2> to Setup

1300 Operating system not found ((after I hit F1))
 
Bad hard drive by the looks of that. The F1 to resume message has been seen quite a bit lately while trying to get some older systems going again. Another common problem with any old system left lying for a lengthy period of time would be drive fragmentation.
 
I have 6 different hard drives. I have tried all of them. I know that atleast 2 of the hard drives are good because they were in another computer working fine until I got a bigger hard drive.
 
I finally saw a WD go in all these years where the WD diagnostics first displayed an error free drive to suddenly see no drive listed on the bios post screen. GParted when trying to create a new Fat32 primary for the old drive seemed to be going normally creating that but then just kept going and going. Read but not write was the final determination even though the GParted had already removed the NTFS primary that had been on it.

Fragmentation on the other hand does occur after extended periods of time like a few years just sitting on a shelf somewhere. Has the case been sitting around for a long period of time without any use? Another item on a system a year or older people often forget is the battery on the board. Those get weak and go where the system will seem lifeless until replaced.
 
XPfordummies said:
This is what I am getting on the screen when I first boot up. I know its a relic but just bear with me here.

PhoenixBIOS Version 4.04 M54Pe-14M
Copyright 1985-1994 Phoenix Technologies Ltd., All Rights Reserved.

Micron Electronics Inc.

CPU = Pentium 133 MHz
0000640K System RAM Passed
0015360K Extended RAM Passed
0512K Cache SRAM Passed
System BIOS shadowed
Video BIOS shadowed
Mouse initialized

0632 Diskette drive A error ((probrably cause there isn't one))
1701 Failure Fixed Disk 0
2nd Processor Initialized

Press <F1> to resume, <F2> to Setup

1300 Operating system not found ((after I hit F1))
Click to expand...


That system is older than some of the people on the forums! :)

What OS are you using on that? Win 95?


Is your battery dead? Since you do not have an A:\ drive, your battery might be dead causing your BIOS to set back to defaults, which would set your boot drive as A:\, and since you dont have one, it could be causing it to lock up.

It's just a thought.
 
Im guessing the battery you are talking about is the coin-like thing on motherboards. Yet there isnt one on this motherboard as you can possibly see(if the pic isnt too small).

0080N.jpg

One more question. I see on the board where the cd drive and hard drive flat cables hook up it says primary on one and secondary on the other. Will it matter which one the hard drive is hooked too, or will the hard drive just not work if its reversed?

If either of these motherboards are considered better I will give up on the other one.
ab-px5.jpg


The other one is basically the same, but it has one less ISA slot, one extra long black memory banks, and two extra short white memory banks.
 
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The first one there is a server board with the option of a second cpu while the second looks like it could easily be a Socket A model due to the zero insertion type socket and retaining lever. On many old boards the battery was either a different shape and type or the cmos was maintained by a charge held in a capacitor on the board itself. Desktop boards at this time pretty much use the 2032 numbered lithium battery whether DL or CR depending on brand. Duracell would be DL while Eveready Energizer would be CR.

On the older boards there you also have to look at what support can still be found as far as the main drivers needed and what cpus can be found from a site like EBay. Or you simply grab from another older beater case that no one has any use for with a working cpu of that type inless you already one onhand.

On odd thing came about when reassembling an old Socket A build here where the cpu was thought to have been done in by overheating and the fsb had to be lowered to see an XP3200+ run as an XP2500+ at 166 in the bios instead of 200mhz(200x2=400mhz). Suddenly it started running at 200 again and as normal as ever after sitting around for quite some time. Tuff old AMD cpu there! :P
 
Well, I was gonna try to build a computer out of this old junk(I have 5 different old towers and a bunch of extra drives) for data storage and as a back up just in case my main computer crashed or got a virus. Then I could possibly use the back up to get the main one back up. Ok, thanks for letting me know this is basically a lost cause before I spent all my time trying to get it running. Now Im trying to upgrade the processor and video card in my main computer.
 
If you can find the driver sets online if you lack the original software disks and still locate hardwares like order PC100 or PC133 memory as one example you could piece meal some old stuff together for a simple project you can set aside at any time. But the main thing to remember is that every time you turn around a new dimm type like DDR3 or new socket type, video card bus, whatever is showing up. Older hardwares get lost in the fast shuffle as far as support and availability.
 
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