exploring an old windows95 computer

Jeffbx · 07-16-2002, 05:46 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by chosenfool
how do i get in the BIOS with this old clunker? im pressing F1, delete, insert, f5, you name it. anyone remember how to, if it does have a BIOS at all?

Woo hoo! Good 'ol Windows 95.

What kind of BIOS is on the motherboard? That's what determines the key sequence to get into the setup program.

Try CTRL-ALT-INSERT - that worked on some of the older Dells. What model is it?

ribitch · 07-16-2002, 06:00 AM

what about f2 or shift f2. f10 may work as well

topane · 07-16-2002, 06:15 AM

Maybe try holding down any key at boot. You might get something like "Keyboard error - press F1 to enter setup" if you're lucky.

Jeffbx · 07-16-2002, 10:07 AM

Try Ctrl-Alt-Enter

http://docs.us.dell.com/docs/dta/4XXLE/00000001.htm

Ladogaboy · 07-16-2002, 10:49 PM

Hahaha, this is too funny...

Actually, a neighbor just asked me to look at her computer. A nice, whopping, P75!!!

Ohh, and it has an S3 too!!! Oh, and take this, overclocking king... I got the P75 to post at 90MHz!!!

Haha, and any of you remember Conner hard drives? She's got a 1.2 Gig drive in there!

Anyway, the motherboard is blown, but all the other components work well. I don't know what to tell her, though, because I know that she is on a budget and doesn't have very much money to spend. All she does is word processing, Excel, and AOL, so I can't really justify telling her to go out and spend $500 or so for a new comp. I'll probably just have her get an ATX case (her old one was AT), and I'll just slap an old Socket 7 MoBo in there.

Jeffbx · 07-17-2002, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by chosenfool
but thanks, Jeffbx - that did it!

Woo hoo!

caribiner23 · 07-18-2002, 02:46 PM

Congrats on your new "addition," chosen...

I had a similar experience recently:

A couple weeks ago, someone left a Compaq Prolinea (66 MHz) desktop on the dumpster at my building. When I saw it wasn't gutted (as discarded computers around me usually are-- a lot of techies seem to live here), I took it back to my place to see what was up.

It must have come out of a data center (or a well-sealed box), because it was really clean inside (as in, almost zero dust). It had a clean install of Windows for Workgroups 3.11 with no user files. 16 MB memory, ~450 MB hard drive.

Being the geek I am, I tossed in some SIMMs and a 2 GB hard drive in the thing and fired it up with an MS-DOS 6.22 floppy to see if I could get it to run. It worked! Then I attached a CDROM drive. Next stop... Mandrake Linux 7.0.

It has one PCI slot, so I was able to install a Netgear 10/100 card, and it actually comes up okay. Like chosen's machine it has on-board video with 1 MB of memory (S3 chip) so video is pretty light on speed and graphics, and I think I'm getting every bit I can out of those 66 megacycles of CPU power.

It's a great conversation piece, and it kept me off the street for a few days.

caribiner23 · 07-21-2002, 07:53 PM

By the way, does anyone know how to get into setup on a Compaq without using the "F10 boot disks?"

I was messing with stitch (my 66 MHz Linux box-- it says "LILO" when it boots, so when I named it.. oh, never mind) and I was too lazy to get up and go into the next room to get the disk and I was thinking it would be nice if I knew the key sequence for Setup.

Ladogaboy · 07-21-2002, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by caribiner23
By the way, does anyone know how to get into setup on a Compaq without using the "F10 boot disks?"

I was messing with stitch (my 66 MHz Linux box-- it says "LILO" when it boots, so when I named it.. oh, never mind) and I was too lazy to get up and go into the next room to get the disk and I was thinking it would be nice if I knew the key sequence for Setup.

Are you talking about the Bios setup? I think that you just press the F10 key.

caribiner23 · 07-22-2002, 12:12 AM

Quote:

Are you talking about the Bios setup? I think that you just press the F10 key.

That's what logic would suggest, given the name of the program on floppy. Doesn't work for me, though.

Hmm.

Jeffbx · 07-22-2002, 05:51 AM

OK, here I go showing my age again -

Some older Compaq's have to have the BIOS software reside on the hard drive. There is a small (8mb or so) partition that the BIOS software sits on. If you re-partition or add a different hard drive, you need to download the BIOS package from Compaq & let it re-create the partition & install itself. I don't remember for sure, but I'm fairly certain that you'll have to re-partition & format the entire drive to get the BIOS back on there. Assuming, of course, that you can still find it on Compaq's site.

johnnymk · 07-22-2002, 08:40 AM

If you want to make those old computers speed up a bit, the Evergreen and equivalent overdrive processors actually work. http://www.half.com sometimes has them cheap.

caribiner23 · 07-22-2002, 09:50 AM

Quote:

I'm fairly certain that you'll have to re-partition & format the entire drive to get the BIOS back on there

Thanks! I will give that a shot.

07-16-2002, 06:00 AM	#2
ribitch Rear Admiral Upper Half Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Michigan Posts: 3,672	what about f2 or shift f2. f10 may work as well __________________ http://ribitch.com/ipod.html

07-16-2002, 06:15 AM	#3
topane turducken all the time Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Between the wheels Posts: 5,055	Maybe try holding down any key at boot. You might get something like "Keyboard error - press F1 to enter setup" if you're lucky. __________________ Shall we buy a new guitar? Shall we drive a more powerful car?

07-16-2002, 10:49 PM	#5
Ladogaboy Admiral Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: Hiding amongst the minnows Posts: 6,843	Hahaha, this is too funny... Actually, a neighbor just asked me to look at her computer. A nice, whopping, P75!!! Ohh, and it has an S3 too!!! Oh, and take this, overclocking king... I got the P75 to post at 90MHz!!! Haha, and any of you remember Conner hard drives? She's got a 1.2 Gig drive in there! Anyway, the motherboard is blown, but all the other components work well. I don't know what to tell her, though, because I know that she is on a budget and doesn't have very much money to spend. All she does is word processing, Excel, and AOL, so I can't really justify telling her to go out and spend $500 or so for a new comp. I'll probably just have her get an ATX case (her old one was AT), and I'll just slap an old Socket 7 MoBo in there. __________________ It is not enough to merely touch the face of god; you also must open your eyes so that you may see your palm.

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07-16-2002, 10:07 AM	#4
Jeffbx Fleet Admiral Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Michigan Posts: 9,390	Try Ctrl-Alt-Enter http://docs.us.dell.com/docs/dta/4XXLE/00000001.htm

07-18-2002, 02:46 PM	#7
caribiner23 Commander Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Chicago Posts: 1,127	Congrats on your new "addition," chosen... I had a similar experience recently: A couple weeks ago, someone left a Compaq Prolinea (66 MHz) desktop on the dumpster at my building. When I saw it wasn't gutted (as discarded computers around me usually are-- a lot of techies seem to live here), I took it back to my place to see what was up. It must have come out of a data center (or a well-sealed box), because it was really clean inside (as in, almost zero dust). It had a clean install of Windows for Workgroups 3.11 with no user files. 16 MB memory, ~450 MB hard drive. Being the geek I am, I tossed in some SIMMs and a 2 GB hard drive in the thing and fired it up with an MS-DOS 6.22 floppy to see if I could get it to run. It worked! Then I attached a CDROM drive. Next stop... Mandrake Linux 7.0. It has one PCI slot, so I was able to install a Netgear 10/100 card, and it actually comes up okay. Like chosen's machine it has on-board video with 1 MB of memory (S3 chip) so video is pretty light on speed and graphics, and I think I'm getting every bit I can out of those 66 megacycles of CPU power. It's a great conversation piece, and it kept me off the street for a few days.

07-21-2002, 07:53 PM	#8
caribiner23 Commander Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Chicago Posts: 1,127	By the way, does anyone know how to get into setup on a Compaq without using the "F10 boot disks?" I was messing with stitch (my 66 MHz Linux box-- it says "LILO" when it boots, so when I named it.. oh, never mind) and I was too lazy to get up and go into the next room to get the disk and I was thinking it would be nice if I knew the key sequence for Setup.

07-22-2002, 05:51 AM	#11
Jeffbx Fleet Admiral Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Michigan Posts: 9,390	OK, here I go showing my age again - Some older Compaq's have to have the BIOS software reside on the hard drive. There is a small (8mb or so) partition that the BIOS software sits on. If you re-partition or add a different hard drive, you need to download the BIOS package from Compaq & let it re-create the partition & install itself. I don't remember for sure, but I'm fairly certain that you'll have to re-partition & format the entire drive to get the BIOS back on there. Assuming, of course, that you can still find it on Compaq's site.

07-22-2002, 08:40 AM	#12
johnnymk Chief of Naval Operations Join Date: May 2000 Location: LEVITTOWN< PA> USA Posts: 13,621	If you want to make those old computers speed up a bit, the Evergreen and equivalent overdrive processors actually work. http://www.half.com sometimes has them cheap.

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