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286 USIT Athena PC

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Reply 40 of 47, by Surrat

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Wanted to update, of course the clock module battery is dead.
I replaced it with my Glitchworks and although it did work for bios settings, it s aid the time of day clock was stopped.
I'm guessing I need a different module, need to research since the one in the computer isnt a Dallas, its an ST:

Memory is also a complication, the original 256k simms are very thick with matching sim sockets, and all my newer 1mb simms are thinner, so they dont fit tight and cause no-ram beeps, or they work, but the bios shows parity errors.
I might have to replace the sim sockets to newer ones.
I wonder if I can get vertical 30 pin sockets that align with the board and have metal clips?

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Reply 41 of 47, by Jo22

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a) The old module can be fixed. Coin cells are harmless, just disconnect one of the power pins (hidden under plastic, maybe)
and install an external battery via cable (coin cell holder, 2x AA holder etc).

See http://www.mcamafia.de/mcapage0/dsrework.htm

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b) For testing purposes, you can do try this:
Use a few pieces of card board to keep the SIMMs from standing up.

A low amount of hot glue on the left/right side of toppest SIMM holder can help keeping the toppest SIMM on place.

Doing so will keep the pieces of cardboard in place, too.
Sure, it looks a bit messy, but its reversible. Just don't use too much hot glue. A little bit is enough.

"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel

//My video channel//

Reply 42 of 47, by Surrat

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Wanted to update.
I was able to find some working Timekeeper modules on ebay, so that problem is fixed.
Got some intel branded 1mb parity simms, and they work properly.
The old simm slots are cracked and some of their plastic clips are broken, but I found new amphenol metal clip sockets to replace them.
The only problem left seems to be that I cant get the board to boot off my adaptec 1542 scsi card, it sees it and the card seems to work fine, I can even format the drives using a boot floppy, but it motherboard refuses to start from scsi.
This is with no IDE connected. There seems to be no way to disable the IDE controller on the board.
I'm still picking away at it, I had really wanted to use the excellent 1542 scsi and a scsi2sd unit for its drives.

Reply 43 of 47, by Jo22

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Hi. Is the SCSI controller bootable?
As far as I know, it has to have a boot ROM with an int13h extension.
Normally, IDE and SCSI can co-exist just fine, I think.

"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel

//My video channel//

Reply 45 of 47, by Surrat

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Your welcome!
Glad I could help.

I replaced the simm sockets in my board with the nice metal clip new ones.
Still no luck getting it to boot off my Adaptec AHA-1542CF card, it has the boot bios and should work.
Running it just off floppies, its working great.
I hooked up a Gotek floppy emulator unit, works great with that too.
I dont have any IDE drives that are small enough and still working to test with.
I did hook up a compact flash 128mb card, and after manually putting in the CHS settings, the drive comes up in dos, and I can get a DIR list, but if I try to execute anything off it, the computer locks up.
I'm beginning to wonder if the board has a failed IDE interface.

Attached a picture of the board with the new sockets:

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Reply 46 of 47, by perezx

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Mine is still equipped with CF-IDE and runs well while using one CF but fails (usually boots to NC and then hangs, or hangs during boot) with another one. Perhaps, you should try couple more cards?

Reply 47 of 47, by andromeda

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Hi,
I will soon receive this faraday-based motherboard.
Does it support 1.44 floppy drives?
is the connector standard or proprietary? A gotek must work I think
Does the VGA output work on an old Nec VGA LCD screen?
For the ide disk I think I would put an XT-IDE CF card.
I also have an OTI-037C video card.
Can a PS/2 mouse connect to this card or do you need a serial mouse on the com1 port?
Does the PS/2 keyboart work with any PS/2 keyboard?
Thanks for your help