Basically spent all of sunday repairing and prepping the returned old 486 for it's second run on e-bay again. Quite a pain in the Ass. Wound up going with a 210MB HDD because that seemed to be the most reliable option. Had to fix the CD-ROM Drive (it was fixable, tray was jammed by a CD that was in it and off it's track - works great now), and fixed the seven segment display to now show 100/33 when changed.

Now have been setting up a Windows 3.11 for Workgroups setup in DOS GPL 7.01, going to try this out. If I don't like it, I might buy another 8.4GB Seagate Drive and duplicate the setup I had before. I used the 8.4GB in the Compaq Deskpro 386s/20 machine. Got sick of deleting stuff just to run something else on there.

Thanks to Thermalwrong, I got the DX4 Overdrive working at 100 MHz instead of only 75.

More info here: Ramping up the Intel DX4

I also replaced the power supply fan and placed a small fan on the processor without damaging it.

It wouldn't spin at first, easy fix.

PD2JK wrote on 2023-11-27, 15:57:

Thanks to Thermalwrong, I got the DX4 Overdrive working at 100 MHz instead of only 75. […]
Show full quote

Thanks to Thermalwrong, I got the DX4 Overdrive working at 100 MHz instead of only 75.

More info here: Ramping up the Intel DX4

I also replaced the power supply fan and placed a small fan on the processor without damaging it.

DSC_7077.JPG

It wouldn't spin at first, easy fix.
DSC_7076.JPG

That's such a nice tidy little system and thanks 😀

I got some small carbide drill bits and a little hand drill last week. Today I spotted this sad PCB (still haven't got this fabricated as a new PCB yet...) and got some ideas given some recent posts with that floppy drive connector repair:

Cutting through PCB without power tools is going to be harder than you think. The fiberglass material is also not a good thing to inhale.

I've got some serrated scissors that do a great job cutting through thin steel or in this case fibreglass without blowing up dust 😀
Tim Holtz - Non-Stick Micro-Serrated Multi-Cutter 7" - 102e apparently, I bought them years ago

Yeah, you absolutely do not want to breathe it in. Not quite as bad as asbestos but still terrible. I am most curious about how the results will be, that poor SB though 🤣

Thermalwrong wrote on 2023-11-27, 17:41:

I got some small carbide drill bits and a little hand drill last week. Today I spotted this sad PCB (still haven't got this fabricated as a new PCB yet...) and got some ideas given some recent posts with that floppy drive connector repair:

i used the saw dust of the pcb as filler material for the superglue... i wanted to use the "baking soda" method but had nothing on hand.
Maybe thats even better then sawdust. Nothing wrong with saw dust, but i will always ask myself "Would it be even bettererer?" 😁

Good luck!

Played some old SEGA/Nintendo console games on my ATV 4K emulators 😀

DerBaum wrote on 2023-11-27, 19:09:

i used the saw dust of the pcb as filler material for the superglue... i wanted to use the "baking soda" method but had nothing […]
Show full quote

Thermalwrong wrote on 2023-11-27, 17:41:

I got some small carbide drill bits and a little hand drill last week. Today I spotted this sad PCB (still haven't got this fabricated as a new PCB yet...) and got some ideas given some recent posts with that floppy drive connector repair:

i used the saw dust of the pcb as filler material for the superglue... i wanted to use the "baking soda" method but had nothing on hand.
Maybe thats even better then sawdust. Nothing wrong with saw dust, but i will always ask myself "Would it be even bettererer?" 😁

Good luck!

I used some super cheap epoxy that cost £1, even with this cheap and slightly odd epoxy that smells more like PVA glue, it's holding fantastically well. It looks great now too!

This was the tricky part, getting the holes drilled without breaking all of these carbide bits. Small metal drill bits do almost nothing to this fibreglass, but carbide cuts through it slowly but surely. Sadly carbide is also very fragile and if the bit is bent too much it'll snap and the bit is basically useless after that.

I did a couple of test fits and initially found that the slight off angle my cut was at resulted in the card's front edge hitting the nearby test case, so I spent ages whittling down the edges with a very decent cutter blade. Turns out fibreglass is amazing for blunting blades. In the end though it was fitting with only a bit of light shining through, the metal legs fit nicely and it all fit together fairly flat.
To make that permanent I used this cheap epoxy with the PCB held down on a disposable plastic sheet. To keep the epoxy from getting everywhere I used this little syringe and that worked surprisingly well, somehow this 'epoxy' could even be removed from the syringe after so it's still usable. The connector was partially assembled so it could be pushed together in place once there was enough epoxy in there and it was left to cure for a bit. Then I started cleaning off the excess with a knife before it was all dry.

To reconnect the traces I mostly used magnet wire tinned up - it took me a few traces before I realised that hard-gold finish on the ISA slot pins would be ruined without some protection, which proper kapton tape does a fantastic job of. The board was cut in such a way that I had to guess where some of the very missing traces went - thankfully all the hard work was done a year ago and now I can refer to the pcb layout to see where the traces are and where vias need to be re-made:

The final result is mechanically strong and soon I'll put the components back so they don't just get lost over time 😀
Here's how the front and back look close up, ignore the possibly shorting loose traces wires, those will get secured once I know things work.

Thermalwrong wrote on 2023-11-28, 03:36:

Here's how the front and back look close up, ignore the possibly shorting loose traces wires, those will get secured once I know things work.
finished trace rebuild.jpg

I see no reason why it shouldnt work.
That looks great. 👍

edit: Ok maybe i see a reason near JYEN jumper... traces seem broken there

Recently got my hands on an ASUS N4L-VM DH which is a Socket 479 motherboard that supports Core 2 Mobile chips. Intended for the HTPC market back in 2005/2006…

Capacitors were shot, so I had it recapped by a good friend of mine.

It now lives.. updated to latest bios and currently running a T7200 2GHZ Core 2 Duo. Plan to get a T7600 soon and do some overclocking paired with a overkill videocard for some fun.

Thermalwrong wrote on 2023-11-28, 03:36:

I used some super cheap epoxy that cost £1, even with this cheap and slightly odd epoxy that smells more like PVA glue, it's hol […]
Show full quote

DerBaum wrote on 2023-11-27, 19:09:

i used the saw dust of the pcb as filler material for the superglue... i wanted to use the "baking soda" method but had nothing […]
Show full quote

Thermalwrong wrote on 2023-11-27, 17:41:

I got some small carbide drill bits and a little hand drill last week. Today I spotted this sad PCB (still haven't got this fabricated as a new PCB yet...) and got some ideas given some recent posts with that floppy drive connector repair:

i used the saw dust of the pcb as filler material for the superglue... i wanted to use the "baking soda" method but had nothing on hand.
Maybe thats even better then sawdust. Nothing wrong with saw dust, but i will always ask myself "Would it be even bettererer?" 😁

Good luck!

I used some super cheap epoxy that cost £1, even with this cheap and slightly odd epoxy that smells more like PVA glue, it's holding fantastically well. It looks great now too!
ct1350 - connector rebuilt 2.jpg

This was the tricky part, getting the holes drilled without breaking all of these carbide bits. Small metal drill bits do almost nothing to this fibreglass, but carbide cuts through it slowly but surely. Sadly carbide is also very fragile and if the bit is bent too much it'll snap and the bit is basically useless after that.
ct1350 - drilling new connector - carbide bits 2.jpg

I did a couple of test fits and initially found that the slight off angle my cut was at resulted in the card's front edge hitting the nearby test case, so I spent ages whittling down the edges with a very decent cutter blade. Turns out fibreglass is amazing for blunting blades. In the end though it was fitting with only a bit of light shining through, the metal legs fit nicely and it all fit together fairly flat.
To make that permanent I used this cheap epoxy with the PCB held down on a disposable plastic sheet. To keep the epoxy from getting everywhere I used this little syringe and that worked surprisingly well, somehow this 'epoxy' could even be removed from the syringe after so it's still usable. The connector was partially assembled so it could be pushed together in place once there was enough epoxy in there and it was left to cure for a bit. Then I started cleaning off the excess with a knife before it was all dry.
ct1350 - epoxy.jpg

To reconnect the traces I mostly used magnet wire tinned up - it took me a few traces before I realised that hard-gold finish on the ISA slot pins would be ruined without some protection, which proper kapton tape does a fantastic job of. The board was cut in such a way that I had to guess where some of the very missing traces went - thankfully all the hard work was done a year ago and now I can refer to the pcb layout to see where the traces are and where vias need to be re-made:
checking connections.png

The final result is mechanically strong and soon I'll put the components back so they don't just get lost over time 😀
Here's how the front and back look close up, ignore the possibly shorting loose traces wires, those will get secured once I know things work.
finished trace rebuild.jpg

I'm intensely waiting for the results.. My main fear is that the cheap epoxy won't handle ISA insertion/removal stress..

I spent my night/early mornings on working on my Amitech FreeNote 4407 (Mitac MiNote 7521C) first doing some trial and error on Windows 2000, then in the end deciding to install Windows Me instead and patch up with all the updates I could find, and install the drivers. That's going to be it for now 😀

In the mean time I was running back and forth between the work table and my (almost one year old) son's bedroom to calm him back to sleep again. I hit the sack at 0230, and back up at work.

Sorting, cleaning and bagging of various CPUs.

Heh I give up for now, this took so dang long. I lost so many of the smaller capacitors & resistors somehow and it took ages to find them, bend the legs, trim the legs. Check the values etc.

Here's how it fits in the slot of one of my mini SBC computers. I wanted to just use it in the big testing PC since that's got the remnants of a real case to check fitment, but for this initial testing I needed -5v and to be able to see power consumption

Good news and bad news...... the ISA connector works though and it's not falling off. The glue is more of a space filler, those metal legs inside the fibreglass are giving all the important mechanical strength it needs, more now with the traces soldered on too.

Thermalwrong wrote on 2023-11-29, 03:08:

Heh I give up for now, this took so dang long. I lost so many of the smaller capacitors & resistors somehow and it took ages to […]
Show full quote

Heh I give up for now, this took so dang long. I lost so many of the smaller capacitors & resistors somehow and it took ages to find them, bend the legs, trim the legs. Check the values etc.
ct1350-rebuilt.JPG

Here's how it fits in the slot of one of my mini SBC computers. I wanted to just use it in the big testing PC since that's got the remnants of a real case to check fitment, but for this initial testing I needed -5v and to be able to see power consumption
IMG_2566 (Custom).JPG

Good news and bad news...... the ISA connector works though and it's not falling off. The glue is more of a space filler, those metal legs inside the fibreglass are giving all the important mechanical strength it needs, more now with the traces soldered on too.

Kudos, (hands clapping).

Nice work ! hope the glue holds 😀

All I have time for is pulled out a computer given me by relative a few years ago shoved away in the garage for a few years. They claimed I gave it to them in 2006 and had some upgrades but was not used since 2016, I got it in 2020 iirc.
So it sat for at least 3-7 years. It took some coaxing but fired up. Has a MSI P6N mobo w/e6600, 2Gb ram, both an IDE CD/DVD and IDE DVD/DVD-DL burner, some Asus 6600 256Mb vid card and 160GB IDE+ 1TB sata drive.
Has Crappy Windows Vista (wish it was XP or Win7) on the boot drive. added: I need to retire or re-think this hobby 😁

Thermalwrong wrote on 2023-11-29, 03:08:

Heh I give up for now, this took so dang long.

That's magnificent (again 😉 ). Aren't you afraid the connector snaps? If it's working in the final rig (if any), I wouldn't dare to touch it ever again. 😁

Spent time dismantling an IBM ThinkPad 760 XL which no longer starts up (before dismantling), but just have a speaker symbol flashing. I read that it could be just the switch for hibernation, but that didn't seem to be the case. I also read that it could be most likely the main system board or the power board.
I tested the PSU and it gives 16.4 V which is close to the 16 V DC it says.

Thermalwrong wrote on 2023-11-29, 03:08:

Good news and bad news...... the ISA connector works though and it's not falling off. The glue is more of a space filler, those metal legs inside the fibreglass are giving all the important mechanical strength it needs, more now with the traces soldered on too.

And the bad news is?..