486 problem

[manux]

i picked up an old 486 that i want to setup as a server. it has been kept in a cold basement for some time. whenever i try to turn it on i hear a long beep, followed by a 3 long peeps, and another 3 longs peeps follows after that.
the monitor is blank, the keyboard doesn't respond, nothing else works.
can someone tell me what could be wrong and where to start to try to fix this? thx.

[bleg26]

First thing you should do is open her up.
Clean out the cobwebs and reseat the memory, CPU, and expansion cards(ie., vid card, snd card, etc.) Also check unplug/plugin the power commectors. Check the contacts for corrosion, etc.
Most likely the expansion cards have migrated out of their sockets.

[drstrangelove]

It has been my experience that a beep and 3 beeps is a video problem... try a diffferent video card if none of the above suggestions helped you out.
Hope you get it workin'

------------------
Never go up against a Sicilian when death is on the line!!
Hahahahahahaha***

[DMR]

Your system has failed its power-on self test, and the beep sequence is an error code indicating (hopefully) what subsystem has failed. The meanings of the sequence differ among BIOS/MOBO versions, so it would be best to check the manufaturers' sites for more info.

A couple of things you can check yourself:

-inspect the mobo for moisture damage
-make sure all cabling/connectors are in good
condition and are well seated
-reseat all cards and memory chips
-might need to replace the CMOS battery also


Good Luck!

[manux]

i've checked everything and they seem to be in order.

it's on-board video, no sound card.

do you think that the computer has been kept in the cold for very long something might not work and has to be replaced? like the chips,etc.?

there seems to be no battery on the motherboard.
the manufacturer is digital
series: DEC pc LPv 433sx

[This message has been edited by manux (edited 02 January 2001).]

[pipe]

Cool, manux, I have a DECpc 450d2LP that I use as a firewall. It has a 234M drive, 16M RAM and runs FreeBSD 3.4 http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/biggrin.gif

Poke around on Digital's site (now Compaq). Do a search for something like '433sx' and find a .pdf manual for that model/series to download. There should be a desciption of the beep codes there.

[pipe]

Here it is, manux:
http://www4.support.compaq.com/documentation/pcdoc/pdf/sd_pclpv.pdf

[manux]

thx alot.