VOGONS


Reply 100 of 844, by Robert B

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ALL FDD's REPORTING.

Sony MP-F17W-59D
Panasonic JU-256A428PC
Samsung SFD-321B

I cleaned a little rust from the Panasonic unit. Nothing too scary. It was visible in the pictures above.

READY FOR TESTING!

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/3iz9o173w/

fdd1.jpg fdd2.jpg fdd3.jpg fdd4.jpg fdd5.jpg

Last edited by Robert B on 2018-04-18, 19:46. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 101 of 844, by Robert B

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A resounding SUCCESS!!!

Yesterday I was telling you that I was on the road to success.Well I've been there and even went to the next level 😁

What would you say if I were to tell you that I had a success rate of 120% aka 6 out of 5?

Weird dont you think?

I took out of storage the Pentium III build and tested all the six ODD''s I had. GOOD NEWS, ALL ARE IN WORKING CONDITION!

The sixth unit is the COMPAQ-LG CRD-8420B(CP1) which I told you earlier that it doesnt work. Well it doesnt work in the 5x86 build but in the PIII it works as new!

Pentium III - Slot 1 Build

Vital statistics:

1. CPU: Intel Pentium III 550MHz - SL3FJ - Costa Rica 512KB cache / 100MHz bus / 2.0V
2. Motherboard: LuckyStar 6VABX2 VER. 2.0 - Slot 1 - Chipset - VIA VT82C693 & VT82C596A / 1xAGP 2x / 5 PCI (4 bus master 1 slave) / 2 ISA / ATA 33
3. RAM: 384 MB - PC133 @ PC100 speed : 2X128MB PQI / 1x128MB IBM
4. VGA: Inno3D Geforce 2 Ti - 64MB - VGA/TV out
5. AUDIO: Diamond Aureal Vortex 2 Monster Sound MX300 - PCI
6. HDD: QUANTUM FIREBALL PLUS AS40-40GB - 7200RPM
7. FDD: NEC
8. CD-ROM: ASUS QuieTrack 52X CD-S520/A
9. LAN: generic 10/100 Mbps
10. Mobile HDD rack 3.5/5.25
11. PSU: generic JNC Computer Corp. 235W
12. Cooling: Intel stock slot 1 cooler / Inno3D - DeepCool v50 / Enermax T.B Silence 80 mm
13. CASE: Generic ATX Case branded COMRACE ~ 1999

front.jpg

For testing I used the Good Ol' CD SPEED 99 program.
http://users.telenet.be/erik.deppe/cdspeed99.htm

Single pass test.The best result wasnt on my list of high priorities.

I used a Windows XP Home Edition silver setup CD. It wasnt in mint condition but all the units had the same chances to prove themselves.

xp_1.jpg

As a note: I prefer low speed units because they are more silent and the chances of an optical disc break are lower. Only once, one of my ODD's, an ASUS CD-S520/A 52x unit, shattered a CD and it wasnt pretty.

Lets see the results.

GOLDSTAR CRD-8160B

16x_1.jpgGold_Star_CD_ROM_CRD_8160_B_V3_14.jpg

LG CRD-8240B

24x_2.jpgLG_CD_ROM_CRD_8240_B_V1_19.jpg

Goldstar CRD-8240B (CP1) COMPAQ

On startup and when the unit stops, the sound of the loose ball bearings is unnerving 😁 You think the unit slices and dices your CD. Otherwise the unit is silent and well behaved.

cdrom_5.jpgCOMPAQ_CRD_8240_B_V1_05.jpg

CREATIVE RW8435E

The unit is silent and makes all the right noises 😀

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/2fphji614/

32x_4.jpgCREATIVE_CD_RW_RW8435_E_VBC03_1.jpg CREATIVE_CD_RW_RW8435_E_VBC03_2.jpg CREATIVE_CD_RW_RW8435_E_VBC03_3.jpg

CREATIVE CD4834E

This unit has loose ball bearings like the COMPAQ - Goldstar - CRD-8240B (CP1) unit, but in this case they are placed in a space above the motor spindle and not in the top centering mechanism. This is a faster unit and man I was nervous. The CD reading procedure goes like this: you load the CD, loose ball bearings noise, the motor builds up the rpms, more loose ball bearing, low to medium rattling, more speed, hissing noises and when you think that your CD will be minced meat, all the noises disappear and the motor has a balanced sound and the unit starts to read. It's witchcraft I TELL YOU! 😁

48x_6.jpgCREATIVE_CD4834_E_FC101_V1_01.jpg

Pioneer DVD-120S

dvd_1.jpgPIONEER_DVD_ROM_DVD_120_S_V1_01.jpg

So this was the story of the 6 out of 5.

BONUS: the results of the ASUS QuieTrack 52X CD-S520/A as it was already in the system.

QFB40_3.jpgASUS_CD_S520_A5_V1_22.jpg

The FDD's arent on my list of high priorities and will be tested when I decide to do so.

Next episode? I dont know what I'll think up next!

Last edited by Robert B on 2018-04-18, 19:50. Edited 5 times in total.

Reply 102 of 844, by Robert B

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FDD Challenge

Now it is the turn for the FDD units to show their stuff.

WARNING: You should not dismantle the read / write heads of the FDD units. Doing so will mess up the calibration and getting it back is quite a challenge.Sometimes it is impossible without specialized hardware and skills. I did so and by chance I recovered the Panasonic unit. It wasnt pretty 😁 Sometimes you can make the unit work but it might read and write only disks made on it.

Sony MP-F17W-59D - Here I managed to make the motor move the read /write heads by tightening a loose screw but the calibration went bye bye. I tried to use the wear marks made by the upper head on the metal, as a guide, but as the head only had one plastic bit and not two as other units, which made the wear marks, it is impossible to calibrate this unit by hand. I consider this unit bye bye as it was from the beginning. Looking back I shouldn't've bothered.

fdd_sony.jpg

Panasonic JU-256A428PC - I think the unit was ok but I didnt test before I cleaned it. I also removed the read / write heads and I was pissed that I did it. I had a clean BUT NOT WORKING UNIT. What to do?

Solution:

1. I used two floppy disks that I knew were good. One factory made with LG CD-ROM drivers and one I made on a good unit
2. I used the wear marks made by the upper read / write head onto the metal on which it rests when the unit is not in operation. I also checked the alignment with the marks when the unit had a floppy disk in it.
3. I made read tests with the disks from point 1. Those floppy disks worked on this unit, the samsung one from bellow and another good one I had.

wear.jpg

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/25dfcea4c/

fdd_pana1.jpg fdd_pana2.jpg fdd_pana3.jpg

Samsung SFD-321B - works very well.

fdd_sam.jpg

I tried to recover another Sony FDD unit that was on the 5x86 but with no luck. This unit was bad from the start so I couldnt use the wear marks as a guide. When I used it on the 5x86 I was confronted with Format Disk messages, it read disks when it felt like and it even didnt read disks made with it. The signal that it was bad came when I tested an important driver disk on another unit and it worked after I thought it was bad because this unit didnt read it.

USB floppy disk units are also prone to this kind of problems....so it's better to get a new unit or one in better shape. Dont despair when one unit doesnt read floppy disks, try another unit.

CONCLUSION:
when it breaks REPLACE IT. It's easier 😀

So this was it! I need a BREAK :DAll the parts are resting and so will I 😁

Last edited by Robert B on 2018-04-18, 19:51. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 103 of 844, by Robert B

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PIONEER DVD-120S - REPAIR / MAINTENANCE / DISASSEMBLY

dvd_1.jpg

During more testing the DVD-ROM Pioneer DVD-120s unit still didnt work as it should. Sometimes it would not take disks and once it scratched one.

I replaced the original belt with a thicker one but after several load /unload cycles it wouldnt load disks at all.

The original belt has a square profile and 1.0 mm thick. The belt I used is also square but 1.2 mm thick.

Eventually I reused the original belt because the place where it is located doesnt allow the use of thicker belt. If the belt is thicker it can interfere with the closing of the metal latch from the front after you insert a disk.

For sure, the scratching of the CD was caused by the slipping of the rubber belt onto the pulleys. The dirt from the gears and the old dusty grease were other factors that contributed to this problem.

You know what came NEXT? 😁

FULL DISASSEMBLY! FTW!!!!!

a) I removed the rubber belt.
b) I removed 5 springs and a few metal components. I took great care to keep track of the location and orientation of the pieces I removed. I took notes and made pictures.
c) I pushed several plastic safety clips and removed the top disk load / unload mechanism. EASY AS PIE!
d) I removed, cleaned and greased with silicone grease almost all the gears. Two I didnt remove (but I greased them), as it was too risky. I would've had to remove the whole laser head assembly.
e) I greased with silicone grease the sliding grooves of the top load / unload mechanism. I lighlty greased the metal rails on which the laser head moves.
f) General cleanup
g) Greasing of other contact surfaces using common sense 😁
h) Tests with and without CD's

DON'T USE TOO MUCH SILICONE GREASE AS IT CAN RUN AND DAMAGE THE RUBBER BELT OR OTHER COMPONET(s).

Works like a dream! 😁

I made a tutorial in pictures because it's easier this way 😁

Almost 6kg of optical units are resting ready to be put to work.

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/38jk960g6/

dvd_120s_1.jpg dvd_120s_2.jpg dvd_120s_3.jpg dvd_120s_4.jpg dvd_120s_5.jpg dvd_120s_6.jpg dvd_120s_6_4.jpg dvd_120s_6_5.jpg dvd_120s_7.jpg dvd_120s_8.jpg DVD_120_S_9.jpg dvd_120s_10.jpg dvd_120s_11.jpg opis.jpg store.jpg

Last edited by Robert B on 2018-04-18, 19:51. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 104 of 844, by Robert B

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Another PIONEER optical unit: PIONEER DVD-105SZ, MAN, I really like these Pioneer units!

Last sunday I went to the flea market, without a real goal, just to browse the merchandise 😁. It wasnt a sunny day and it was kind of cold, so there werent near as many sellers as usual. I took a few steps inside the market and I immediately saw a slot load DVD-ROM unit. The model was Pioneer DVD-105SZ. Ever since I found the Pioneer DVD-120S I wanted to find another slot load Pioneer unit to have as a backup. I also wanted a unit with some decals on the front bezel. My wishes were heard by someone above and so I found this little gem 😁

I haggled a little and paid just 2.2 EUR for it. NO BRAINER!

The unit was complete, with some wear marks and a little dirty. It was missing the four screws that hold the metal cover. My gut feeling was saying that it is in good working condition so I didnt mind these "little" details. As usual the seller told me that it is working and if I have problems I can come the following week for a refund. Yeah right.....

I tested the unit home and it was working like it was new. The load / unload cycle was flawless and it read the CD's quickly.

This was my only purchase that day, as all the other old hardware available was in a condition which can be included in the following interval: ['DA F..K is DIS - Yep it MIGHT be still kicking]. 😁

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/ncu8m76e/

P105sz_1.jpg P105sz_2.jpg P105sz_3.jpg P105sz_4.jpg

Teardown wasnt very complicated

What a barn find..... 😁 dust devils inside 😁.....

I washed the metal casing and the front bezel until they were squeaky clean.

The load / unload mechanism of the Pioneer DVD-105SZ is more streamlined than the one of the Pioneer DVD-120S:

1. no rubber belt - a screw and sprocket setup - very GOOD!!!!
2. simplified load / unload mecanism
3. micro switches for load / unload - it operates faster and easier
4. no complex metal or plastic parts.
5. fewer springs

I like more this type of construction. I think when Pioneer manufactured this unit, it employed some of its know how from car stereos industry.

More later.

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/3aebph250/

P105sz_1.jpg P105sz_2.jpg P105sz_3.jpg P105sz_4.jpg P105sz_5.jpg P105sz_6_1.jpg P105sz_6_2.jpg P105sz_6_3.jpg P105sz_6_4.jpg P105sz_6_5.jpg P105sz_6_6.jpg P105sz_6.jpg P105sz_7.jpg P105sz_8.jpg P105sz_9.jpg

Next step was the cleaning of the inside of the unit.

The cleaning was straight forward and because the unit was in good working condition, I didnt want to damage something, so I didnt disassemble the unit until the last nut and bolt.

I managed to detach the PCB but I couldnt remove it completly because two wires from the load/unload motor were soldered on the motherboard. Even so I managed to clean it pretty well.

The inside of the unit was trickier to clean but nothing too difficult. A long soft brush and some cotton sticks were exactly what the doctor ordered 😁

I also gently cleaned the laser lens and it was really dirty. Even so it read the CD's without problems.

I also lightly greased with silicone grease the sprockets, metal rails and a few guiding plastic rails.

Then I assembled the unit and tested it again. It works like it is new 😀

Over and out. For now.... 😁

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/n18amgqg/

105sz_1.jpg 105sz_2.jpg 105sz_3.jpg 105sz_4.jpg 105sz_5.jpg 105sz_6.jpg 105sz_7.jpg 105sz_8.jpg 105sz_9.jpg 105sz_10.jpg 105sz_11.jpg 105sz_12.jpg 105sz_13.jpg 105sz_14.jpg 105sz_15.jpg 105sz_16.jpg 105sz_17.jpg 105sz_18.jpg 105sz_19.jpg

Last edited by Robert B on 2018-04-18, 19:53. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 105 of 844, by Robert B

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I found this GEM. I hope it will work as intended. Also I am very anxious to test again my CPU stash and see it the 500MHz CPU with 900MHz markings will overclock well.

More later 😁 (this might take a few days as only thursday I'll receive the package)

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Reply 107 of 844, by Robert B

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Battle of the Slots 1 vs A

The SLOT 1 and SLOT A systems have a special place in my heart. I think that this is the results of the fact, that back in the day, I never owned such a SLOT system.

When the SLOT systems were heralded as the next BIG THING, I just upgraded my aging 5x86 to a Celeron 366A(scoketed)+440BX. I was reading about the new SLOT CPU's in the IT magazines and I was dreaming about PENTIUM II and VooDoo but I couldn't afford one.......yep Good Old Days...just of a different kind! 😁

By the time I left behind the Celeron 366A, the world has moved on, and I bought a DURON 1.2GHz+Sis 735 which was soon replaced by Athlon XP 1900+ & Via KT333.

Due to these facts the SLOT systems remained as an undiscovered part of the map. " THERE BE DRAGONS! " and THE WORLD IS FLAT!

Today, after 20+/- years the SLOT systems are seen as something like an unnecessary move. Back then, they were seen as the light of a new beginning. Little did they know that their glory will be short lived. The socket outlived the SLOT.

The most vivid image from those times is the BATTLE FOR 1000MHz. I still remember it like it was yesterday.

After I worked with older systems the switch to SLOT systems came naturally. The fact that they had a short life made them even more enticing. Who needs a socket? Everybody has a socket! THE SLOT is the NEW socket! 😁

The first SLOT system I owned was Pentium III - 450 MHz upgraded to a Pentium III - 550MHz. This system was given to me a couple of years ago. The next SLOT system I aquired was a SLOT A system with 4 CPU's K7 500, 550, 600 and 700MHz. I was very happy when I bought the SLOT A system. I never saw one in the flesh. WHITE WHALES and stuff.There she blows!!!!! I bought from the local OLX site.

The joy of owning a SLOT A system was shadowed by the fact that the motherboard: PC CHIPS M800LMR 1.3A was budget one and didnt permit the alteration of any settings for BUS, Memory Timings, Multiplier, etc...

To add assault to injury some CPU's were recognized as different models. The only plus is that the motherboard and CPU's worked as intended.

PIII-SLOT 1 & ATHLON-SLOT A info can be found on this page:

Hello, World! :D - Robert B's PC builds - oogle away freely :)

So, for almost a year, I searched for a suitable SLOT A motherboard. The search wasnt frantic, but truth be told, the SLOT A motherboards arent so plentiful.

I also wanted to solve the mistery of the 500MHz CPU with 900MHz markings which was detected by the PC CHIPS M800LMR 1.3A motherboard as a 700MHz CPU.

The 550MHz didnt boot on the PC CHIPS M800LMR 1.3A motherboard and I wanted to see if it was still alive and kicking!

This was the PLAN

Finding a SLOT A motherboard in my country was easier said than done, because these motherboards are fewer than hens teeth!

After almost a year of searching I found on the local OLX site the motherboard I present you bellow.

In the morning, afternoon and evening, I entered frequently the local OLX site and searched the string "SLOT A". Usually this returned NO RESULTS. The few times I got a result I found only another budget motherboard or a beat-up SLOT A CPU CRYING - HEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On the 27th of March 2017 I found an add on the local OLX site which really got my blood pumping. In the pictures was my WHITE WHALE, A F.....G AWESOME overclocking friendly SLOT A motherbord. THE PERFECT SLO(U)T.With extras even, - A 700MHz CPU - F..KIN' A+++++++

The add was listed since 22th of March so I rushed and sent a message in which I stated I WANT THE SLOT A SYSTEM - PRONTO!!!!!!

!&@!!)!)&@!)&#)!#!)#&!#) THE KIT WAS RESERVED BY SOMEBODY ELSE....

DAMN! Back to:

SLOT A OLX =0 SLOT A OLX=0 SLOT A OLX=0....DIVIDE OVERFLOW....

On 11th April 2017 I typed on the OLX site, the now classic, string SLOT A and BAM! 2 results: The beat-up 750 SLOT A CPU crying for help and the SLOT A system I missed.

I sent a message instanlty. The guy who reserved the kit didnt want to pay the full price (22EUR) and it was again available. I bought it instanlty!

Besides the SLOT A kit I couldnt resist and I also bought a SLOT 1 kit. I really didnt have a 440BX motherboard. Good Old Chipset!

The SUSPECTS:

SLOT A

1. Asus K7M V1.04 Motherboard AMD 751 Northbridge & VIA 686A Southbridge, 3DIMM, 1xAGP x2, 5 PCI slots (with 1 shared ISA), PS2, USB, etc.
•Supports AMD Athlon™ processor de-signed for the AMD Athlon™ Processor Module (242-pin Slot A) and packagedin a plastic ball-grid array (PBGA).
•North Bridge System Chipset: AMD-751™ chipset with AGP/PCI/Memorycontroller supports a 200MHz Front Side Bus (FSB), supports up to 768MB ofPC-100 SDRAM DIMM, complies with AGP 2.0 specifications for 1X and 2XAGP modes and PCI 2.2. bus interface with support for 6 PCI masters.
•South Bridge System Chipset: VIA VT82C686A PCIset with PCI Super I/Ointegrated peripheral controller supports UltraDMA/66, which allows burst modedata transfer rates of up to 66.6MB/sec.
•PC100 Memory Support: Equipped with three DIMM sockets to support IntelPC100-compliant SDRAMs (16, 32, 64, 128, or 256MB) up to 768MB.
•Expansion Slot Options: Provides either four 32-bit PCI 2.2 and two 16-bit ISAexpansion slots or 5 PCI and 1 ISA. PCI supports up to 133MB/sec maximumthroughput. Each PCI slot can support a Bus Master PCI card, such as a SCSI card.
•AGP Slot: Supports an Accelerated Graphics Port card for high performancecomponent level interconnect targeted at 3D graphical display applications us-ing a 1X or 2X mode bus.
•USB: Supports up to 4 USB ports, two on the back panel and two midboard(optional), for more peripheral connectivity options
•UltraDMA/66 & UltraDMA/33: Comes with an onboard PCI Bus Master IDEcontroller with two connectors that support four IDE devices on two channels.Supports UltraDMA/66, UltraDMA/33, PIO Modes 3 & 4 and Bus Master IDEDMA Mode 2, and Enhanced IDE devices, such as DVD-ROM, CD-ROM, CD-R/RW, LS-120, and Tape Backup drives.
•Smart BIOS: 2Mb firmware gives a new easy-to-use interface that providesmore control and protection over the motherboard. Provides CPU/SDRAM fre-quency adjustments

2. AMD K7 SLOT A CPU 700MHz - AMD K7700MTR51B A, K7700CURBBA

SLOT 1

1. Gigabyte 6BXC V1.7 Motherboard - Intel 440BX
• CPU - Pentium II processor 200 – 633 MHz. Suporta si Pentium III.
- 242 pins 66 / 100MHz slot1 on board.
• SPEED - 66/100 MHz system speed.
- 66 MHz AGP bus speed. (133MHz 2xmode)
- 33 MHz PCI-Bus speed.
- 8 MHz AT bus speed.
• DRAM MEMORY - 3 banks 168 pins DIMM module sockets on board.
- 8 ~ 768MB SDRAM.
- Supports DIB speed mode for L2 Cache.
• I/O BUS SLOTS - 4 33MHz Master / Slave PCI-BUS.
- 3 8MHz 16 bits ISA BUS.
- 1 66MHz / 133MHz AGP bus.
• IDE PORTS - 2 Ultra DMA/33 Bus Master IDE channels onboard.(Using IRQ14,15)
- Supports 2 USB ports.
- Supports PS/2 Mouse & PS/2 Keyboard.

2. Pentium II CPU - 350MHz - SL37F

The components arrived without damage and the owner took the precaution to remove the retaining clips from the motherboard. THUMBS UP! Mister! 😀

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/fjh4dy8m/

box1.jpg box2.jpg box3.jpg group1.jpg group2.jpg group3.jpg

The Asus K7M has some huge capacitors.One is particulary BIG 😁 They are good capacitors branded Rubycon. Almost all the capacitors bear this brand. The only "problem" is a missing retaing clip form an SDRAM slot. NO PROBLEM!!!!

The Gigabyte 6BXC also has good capacitors branded Sanyo. Almost all of them bear this brand. MADE IN TAIWAN used to be as good as it gets!.

Both of the motherboards are complete with jumpers and labels 😁

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/eai2g1y2/

6bxc-1.jpg 6bxc-2.jpg 6bxc-3.jpg 6bxc-4.jpg 6bxc-5.jpg k7m-1.jpg k7m-2.jpg k7m-3.jpg k7m-4.jpg k7m-5.jpg

Last edited by Robert B on 2018-04-20, 05:44. Edited 4 times in total.

Reply 108 of 844, by Robert B

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THE BIG mini CLEANUP!

I say BIG because I have lots to do. I say mini because it's no big deal.

First I cleaned the Pentium II 350MHz - SL37F. I didnt want to take it all apart. The plastic retaining pins are brittle and I wanted to keep it simple.

I cleaned the fan, the heatsink and the PCB using a fine, soft, long brush made from animal hairs. I also used 99% isopropyl alcohol, cotton and cotton sticks. It came out pretty clean if I say so myself! 😁

The plus in this case is, because only the CPU makes contact with the heatsink, I only have to monitor the CPU temperature. The CACHE chips arent touching the heatsink. The CPU has a heatspreader and the thermal pad seems in good condition. If needed, I'll take this puppy to nuts and bolts in no time 😁

The fan is in good shape.

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/saqj3m86/

p2-350-1.jpg p2-350-2.jpg p2-350-3.jpg p2-350-4.jpg p2-350-5.jpg p2-350-6.jpg p2-350-7.jpg p2-350-8.jpg p2-350-9.jpg p2-350-10.jpg p2-350-11.jpg p2-350-12.jpg p2-350-13.jpg p2-350-14.jpg

The next step was the cleanup of the AMD K7 SLOT A 700MHz - K7700CURBBA, CPU.

Here I went all out. In this instance I had to deal with metal pins and the plastic cartridge. I managed to take it apart without damaging the retaining holes.

Like in the case of the other SLOT A CPU's I dismantled, three retaining holes from the plastic cover, are oval and one is round. The round one is the worst one. I guess this was an anti-tampering/warranty measure form AMD.

Details for this operation in a post from the link bellow.
Hello, World! :D - Robert B's PC builds - oogle away freely :)

I tried the method using a flat nosed pliers but this didnt work very well. I managed to loosen up the nasty pin caught in the round hole but I just couldn't get it to separate. I cracked a little the plastic cartridge. After this I used my bare hands and with carefull twisting an pulling I managed to remove the cartridge. My hand were hurting after this ordeal 😁

I was greated by a familiar sight.

The fan is with ball bearings but it's past its prime. I might take apart the bearings and grease them. FUTURE PROJECT.

On the CPU die there is the same small old heatpad and the CACHE CHIPS have the same SHITTY paste. Look at the condition it's in. Just one half-assed drop...

I just couldnt powerup a CPU in this state. It wouldnt be right.

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/ivq4vm14/

k7-dmg1.jpg k7-dmg2.jpg paste-1.jpg paste-2.jpg paste-3.jpg

EYE CANDY!

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/1uhdi47ti/

k7-700-1.jpg k7-700-2.jpg k7-700-3.jpg k7-700-4.jpg k7-700-5.jpg k7-700-6.jpg k7-700-7.jpg k7-700-8.jpg k7-700-9.jpg k7-700-10.jpg k7-700-11.jpg k7-700-12.jpg k7-700-13.jpg k7-700-14.jpg k7-700-15.jpg k7-700-16.jpg k7-700-17.jpg k7-700-18.jpg k7-700-19.jpg k7-700-20.jpg

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/1ljq5w0m6/

k7-700-21.jpg k7-700-22.jpg k7-700-23.jpg k7-700-24.jpg k7-700-25.jpg k7-700-26.jpg k7-700-27.jpg k7-700-28.jpg k7-700-29.jpg k7-700-30.jpg k7-700-31.jpg

BRACKETS AND STUFF!

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/2qb52bf46/

bracket-1.jpg bracket-2.jpg bracket-3.jpg bracket-4.jpg bracket-5.jpg bracket-6.jpg

READY FOR THE BIG WASH!

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/1f85aa70g/

wash1.jpg wash2.jpg wash3.jpg wash4.jpg wash5.jpg wash6.jpg wash7.jpg

STACKED and WAITING!

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/i3oj4ojq/

image.jpg image.jpg image.jpg

Last edited by Robert B on 2018-04-20, 05:45. Edited 5 times in total.

Reply 109 of 844, by Robert B

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The K7 700MHz - K7700CURBBA CLEAN UP! and assembly

1. Deep cleaning
2. I applied thermalpads on the the CACHE chips using the method detailed in a post found here: Hello, World! :D - Robert B's PC builds - oogle away freely :)
3.ARCTIC MX-4 - FTW!!!!
4. Final assembly and fine detailing.

THE RESULT? PRICELESS!!! 😁

Hold ON! Did you think that all was smooth sailing? When I mounted the metal retaining clips I almost damaged an IC on the CPU's PCB. It was a close one! Thank GOD it wasnt TERMINAL!

Even with all my experience I STILL rush and cut corners....NOT RECOMMENDED! 😁

Enjoy the pics!

After this I'll clean the motherboards and then it will be time for some SOFTWARE TESTING!

More to come!

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/10az2hnvi/

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gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/vi0nji1m/

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Last edited by Robert B on 2018-04-20, 05:45. Edited 2 times in total.

Reply 110 of 844, by Robert B

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I got a little sidetracked by these gifts 😁

FRESH! 😁

1. Iomega Zip 100 - Parallel interface - manufactured in 1998.
2. CD-RW unit Teac CD-W524E - this was my first CD-RW unit model and after dumping the original one back in 2007 or so, getting back in 2017 in the shape of a gift from a very good friend, was really nice.

The Iomega unit was missing the power adapter so I bought a universal one. Power requirements are 5V - 1A / 5V - 1000 mA. Power adapter model NTS 1000 EuP. Be carefull for the polarity of the heads as they can provide + on the inside shaft and - on the outside shell and with a simple rotation they will provide + on the outside shell and - on the inside shaft. See the PICTOGRAMS on the adapter heads and on the electronic unit you want to power.

The Iomega Zip 100 was dusty on the outside but very clean inside.

The Teac CD-W524E will be cleaned at a later date.

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/2k5c7r0ea/

a-g1.jpg a-g2.jpggoobay.jpgiomega-charger-1.jpg iomega-charger-2.jpg iomega-charger-3.jpg iomega-charger-4.jpg iomega-charger-5.jpg iomega-charger-6.jpg iomega-charger-7.jpg teac.jpg zip100-00.jpg zip100-0.jpg zip100-1.jpg zip100-2.jpg zip100-3.1.jpg zip100-3.2.jpg zip100-3.jpg zip100-4.jpg zip100-5.jpg zip100-6.jpg zip100-7.jpg zip100-8.jpg zip100-9.jpg zip100-10.jpg zip100-11.jpg zip100-12.jpg zip100-13.jpg zip100-14.jpg zip100-15.jpg zip100-16.jpg zip100-17.jpg

I still have to clean the SLOT motherboards and I also have to receive a 750MHz Slot A CPU to add to my collection 😁 I hope I'll find a 1000MHz one just for kicks 😁

More later.

Last edited by Robert B on 2018-04-18, 19:57. Edited 2 times in total.

Reply 112 of 844, by Robert B

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The story of the three little pigs

This title fits the bill like nothing else because each of these "little" jobs was a PIG in itself. Damn, it was a ride full of twists and turns 😀

The pieces I'm going to talk about over the next paragraphs, are from different batches of hardware I received, but given the fact that they shared the same moment in time beeing cleaned and restored, it was only befitting that they shared a common story 😀

Without any further ado, I present to you THE THREE LITTLE PIGS!!! (soft applauses).

The CAST:

A) Teac CD-W524E - CD-RW unit 24x10x40 - the pig with the house made of straws 😁
B) Pentium II SL2S5 CPU - Slot 1/333MHz Clock/66MHz Bus/512KB Cache - the pig with the house made of sticks 😁
C) AMD K7 SLOT A 750MHz CPU - K7100CNRBEA - the pig with the house made of bricks 😁
D) The BIG not so BAD wolf 😁

So here I was roaming the forest of old computer HARDWARE. I knew the path well and my senses were tingling. I caught the scent and didnt let go! 😁

***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Me smelling piggies - (mild evil laughter) and a grinning face.

Here you are little PIGGIE - uuuuhhh - T E A C CD-W524E - NICE! I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow...and surely the house built of STRAWS went into pieces. I wasnt even trying, said to himself the BIG not so bad wolf 😁

Storyteller: The Teac CD-W524E was my first CD-RW unit. I still remember the moment my father bought it for me. As usual he was nagging: WHY DO YOU NEED THIS NOW?

I still have the CD's I burned back then and they are still readable. After I read an article in a hardware magazine called CHIP I just needed to have it!

In the middle '00s, I tried to open my original unit and becauseI wasnt paying attention some springs came out and I simply threw the unit into the bin. That moment still "haunts" me to this day.What was so complicated that I had to throw away my once beloved unit? So when I received this Teac CD-W524E, as a gift from a good friend I was like: HELL YEAH!!!! The story has come full circle. Damn! 😀

The Teac was failry clean on the outside and I wasnt planning to deep clean it. I was about to open it, and just remove the dust, clean the belt and maybe grease something inside for easier operation.

Opening the unit was straight forward and what came after was something new to me. Sometime in her life the unit received a coffee bath and wasnt cleaned. Each piece I took away revealed more coffee contamination.

At this point I went into FULL ATTACK mode and took the entire unit appart. THE HOUSE BUILT OF STRAWS crumbled in front of me.

To my amazement the unit wasnt so complicated and the design was more elegant than that of other units I cleaned. I hoped that the unit was rubber belt free but it wasnt so. Anyway the belt is in great shape but a pain to change.

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/177f1ju48/

Coffee-524-1.jpg Coffee-524-2.jpg Coffee-524-3.jpg Coffee-524-4.jpg Coffee-524-5.jpg Coffee-524-6.jpg Coffee-524-7.jpg Coffee-524-8.jpg Coffee-524-9.jpg Coffee-524-10.1.jpg Coffee-524-10.jpg Coffee-524-11.jpg Coffee-524-12.jpg Coffee-524-13.jpg Coffee-524-14.jpg Coffee-524-15.jpg Coffee-524-16.jpg Coffee-524-17.jpg Coffee-524-18.jpg Coffee-524-19.jpg Coffee-524-20.jpg Coffee-524-21.jpg Coffee-524-22.jpg Coffee-524-23.jpg Coffee-524-24.jpg Coffee-524-25.jpg Coffee-524-26.jpg

Next was the cleaning of the various parts using 99% isopropyl alcohol, patience and attention to detail.

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/kqh24sbo/

524-1.jpg 524-2.jpg clean-524-1.jpg clean-524-2.jpg PCB-1.jpg PCB-2.jpg PCB-3.jpg PCB-4.jpg PCB-5.jpg PCB-6.jpg PCB-7.jpg

Assembly was straight forward. The pictures I took previously were of great help.

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/168ka7hvm/

524-3.jpg 524-4.jpg 524-5.jpg 524-6.jpg 524-7.jpg 524-8.jpg

Finished results - flawless victory!

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/221le8d74/

0-zero-0.jpg 0-zero-1.jpg 0-zero-2.jpg 0-zero-3.jpg 0-zero-4.jpg 0-zero-5.jpg

***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

The first piggie was nice and tasty but the wolf's HUNGER only intensified.

Me smelling piggies - (louder evil laughter) and a bigger grinning face.

Here you are little PIGGIE - uuuuhhh - Pentium II SL2S5 - NICE! I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow....and surely the house built of STICKS went into pieces. I must be getting old said to himself the BIG not so bad wolf. My huffing and puffing isn't as strong as it used to be. Maybe it was just one of those days 😁

Storyteller: The Pentium II SL2S5 was bought only for its heatsink, I was planning to use it on the K7 Slot A 750MHz CPU. In the end the PII outlived the K7.....The similarities of the plastic cartridge were obvious. Opening the PII cartridge was business as usual.

The cache chips didnt touch the heatplate for some unknown obscure reason.Usual practice back in the day.The metal heatspreaderover the CPU was a nice touch. No more fear of cracking the CPU die.

The metal retaining clips were made from a softer metal than I used to encounter. Bending them didnt require herculean power.

It was dirty like a PIG.

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/17abs45e2/

P2-333-1.jpg P2-333-2.jpg P2-333-3.jpg P2-333-4.jpg P2-333-5.jpg

Dismantling was a little challenging. The sharp edges of the metal shroud covering and fixing the fan were like knives. I already cut my fingers with the metal case of the Teac unit so I didnt need new ones 😁.

The heatsink was secured with brass screws that moaned when I removed them. The thermal paste used wasnt in great shape so it was necessary to be changed.

When I opened the CPU one plastic retaining hole broke away. Pretty common so I wasnt bothered at all.

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/1fyucwdzk/

P2-333-6.jpg P2-333-7.jpg P2-333-8.jpg P2-333-9.jpg P2-333-10.jpg P2-333-11.jpg P2-333-12.jpg P2-333-13.jpg P2-333-14.jpg P2-333-15.jpg P2-333-16.jpg P2-333-17.jpg P2-333-18.jpg P2-333-19.jpg P2-333-20.jpg P2-333-21.jpg P2-333-22.jpg P2-333-23.jpg P2-333-24.jpg P2-333-25.jpg P2-333-26.jpg P2-333-27.jpg P2-333-28.jpg

Next I cleaned all the pieces really well.

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/1fiskyl8w/

P2-333-29.jpg P2-333-30.jpg P2-333-31.jpg P2-333-32.jpg P2-333-33.jpg P2-333-34.jpg P2-333-35.jpg P2-333-36.jpg P2-333-37.jpg P2-333-38.jpg P2-333-39.jpg P2-333-40.jpg P2-333-41.jpg P2-333-42.jpg P2-333-43.jpg

Some repair was in order to restore the piece to its former glory 😁 I filed the hole a little for easier assembly.

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/2o61p4upu/

P2-333-44.jpg P2-333-45.jpg P2-333-46.jpg

Assembly and finished looks.

I added heatpads on the cache chips. The pads arent covering the entire surface of the chips because I wanted to reuse the plastic cover it came with. This is better than nothing. The K7 slot A CPUs only have a tiny blob of paste on them.

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/31km7cii6/

P2-333-47.jpg P2-333-48.jpg P2-333-49.jpg P2-333-50.jpg P2-333-51.jpg P2-333-52.jpg P2-333-53.jpg P2-333-54.jpg P2-333-55.jpg P2-333-56.jpg P2-333-57.jpg P2-333-58.jpg P2-333-59.jpg

***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

The first two piggies were nice and tasty but the WOLF still had some room for deserts, I mean JUST DESERTS!!! HE he

Me smelling piggies - (LOUD evil laughter) and a HUGE grinning face.

Here you are little PIGGIE - uuuuhhh - A M D K7 SLOT A 750MHz - K7100CNRBEA - NICE! I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow...and surely the house built of BRICKS STOOD TALL. ^#!*#^!&*~~~~~~!!!!! shouted the BIG not so bad wolf 😁 I must be doing something wrong.

He was out of steam and still nothing happened. On an anticlimactic note, this is the END of the story, plain and simple. No cavalry to the rescue and no big party. Because life is sometimes like this....

The last piggie lived to tell the tale.

Storyteller: The K7 was in really BAD shape. When I first saw the condition it was in, I said it's DEAD, plain and simple. Still, after two moths or so, time in which I watched the add posted on the OLX site, my views softened(BIG MISTAKE) and I ended buying the damn thing. The price was higher than its worth and my feelings got the best of me.

The seller said that the CPU is in good working condition. I bought all my Athlon SLOT A stuff from him so I wasnt worried.

The heatplate and cartridge suffered MASSIVE impacts but I was somewhat confident that the CPU survived - Yeah right......

The PCB was cracked, the metal pins were bent, the cartridge was deformed, the plastic clips were broken.

So even if I knew the general condition and I wasnt forced to buy it. Still, if I was the seller I would've wanted to know the real state in which my piece was.......just my luck.

Arrival state.

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/v9hgeuyq/

K7-750-1.jpg K7-750-2.jpg K7-750-3.jpg K7-750-4.1.jpg K7-750-4.jpg K7-750-5.jpg K7-750-6.jpg K7-750-7.jpg K7-750-8.jpg K7-750-9.jpg K7-750-10.jpg K7-750-11.jpg K7-750-12.1.jpg K7-750-12.2.jpg K7-750-12.jpg K7-750-13.jpg K7-750-14.jpg K7-750-15.jpg K7-750-16.jpg

Cleaning was business as usual.

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/25gv0lrws/

K7-750-32.jpg K7-750-33.jpg K7-750-38.jpg K7-750-39.jpg

I knew that the PCB was badly cracked and many traces were broken but I still planed to repair the damn thing.

EXTREME MEASURES Part-1 - VICE POWER!!! - I straightened the PCB using gentle force and thick cardboard strips.

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/fv7vcbm8/

K7-750-17.jpg K7-750-18.jpg K7-750-19.jpg K7-750-20.jpg K7-750-21.jpg K7-750-22.jpg K7-750-23.jpg K7-750-24.jpg K7-750-25.jpg K7-750-26.jpg K7-750-27.jpg K7-750-28.jpg K7-750-29.jpg K7-750-30.jpg K7-750-40.jpg

EXTREME MEASURES - Part 2- FINE TUNING!!!

By this time I knew that the K7 was beyond rescue. I didnt have the means to recover it so at least I wanted to somewhat restore the looks of the CPU.

Even after some bending the plastic deformation suffered by the PCB meant that it will NEVER be the same as it once was....

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/kyixwswu/

K7-750-43.jpg K7-750-44.jpg

Heatplate repair.

Flat metal bar and a hammer. SOFT HAMMERING the aluminium.

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/vh1wluo6/

K7-750-31.jpg K7-750-34.jpg K7-750-35.jpg K7-750-36.jpg K7-750-37.jpg K7-750-42.jpg

Assembly and finished looks.

galllery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/26zuae3ac/

K7-750-41.jpg K7-750-45.jpg K7-750-46.jpg K7-750-47.jpg K7-750-48.jpg K7-750-49.jpg K7-750-50.jpg K7-750-51.jpg K7-750-52.jpg K7-750-53.jpg K7-750-54.jpg K7-750-55.jpg K7-750-56.jpg K7-750-57.jpg

The K7 didnt live to tell the tale. The BIG not so bad wolf received his JUST DESERTS!!! 😁

This wraps up this episode. 😀

More later.

Last edited by Robert B on 2018-04-18, 19:58. Edited 2 times in total.

Reply 115 of 844, by Robert B

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Morsels for YOU!!! I still have much more work to do. The cleanup of the motherboards Gigabyte 6BXC and Asus K7M. Also I expect a socket A platform: EPOX 8RDA3I+ Athlon XP - Barton 2500+ which will require some cleaning too. I'll keep you update with my progress.

Ati Rage Fury MAXX and 3dfx VoooDoo 2 SLI Creative CT6670 D18726.00 BE/019894 & D18761.00 BE/019894 are ready for deep cleaning

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/2s9pm3q0w/

Ati-_MAXX-1.jpg Ati-_MAXX-2.jpg Ati-_MAXX-3.jpg Ati-_MAXX-4.jpg Ati-_MAXX-5.jpg Ati-_MAXX-6.jpg Ati-_MAXX-7.jpg Ati-_MAXX-8.jpg Ati-_MAXX-9.jpg Ati-_MAXX-10.jpg Ati-_MAXX-11.jpg Ati-_MAXX-12.jpg image.jpg V2-1.1.jpg V2-1.2.jpg V2-1.jpg V2-2.jpg V2-3.jpg V2-4.jpg V2-5.jpg v2-6.jpg v2-7.jpg V2-8.jpg v2-9.1.jpg v2-9.2.jpg v2-9.3.jpg V2-9.4.jpg v2-10.1.jpg v2-10.2.jpg v2-10.3.jpg v2-10.4.jpg v2-11.jpg v2-12.jpg

Cirrus Logic GD54M30 & Creative Sound Blaster 16 Prelude CT2960 VIBRA 16C have been cleaned very well 😁

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/2ys02xojk/

CL-1.jpg CL-2.jpg CL-3.jpg CL-4.jpg CL-5.jpg CL-6.jpg CL-7.jpgvibra-1.jpg vibra-2.jpg vibra-3.jpg vibra-4.jpg vibra-5.jpg vibra-6.jpg vibra-7.jpg vibra-8.jpg

More later.

Last edited by Robert B on 2018-04-18, 19:59. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 117 of 844, by Robert B

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HE HE (evil laughter 😁 )

HE HE HE !!! no voltage increase 😁

Today I went guns blazing on EPOX EP-8RDA3I !!! 😁 Story later this week 😁

3200_XP.jpg

Last edited by Robert B on 2018-04-18, 20:01. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 118 of 844, by Robert B

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The 5,6,7 AGP trio REVISITED

Last year I presented to you a story about three graphic cards which I received free of charge. Re: Hello, World! :D - Robert B's PC builds - oogle away freely :)

The protagonists of the story were:

MSI 8948 ver 100 - GeForce FX5700-VTD128 - AGP 128MB
Aopen Aeolus 6800GT-DV256 - AGP 256MB
BFG GeForce 7800GS OC AGP 256MB

These graphic cards were tested at that time on this system:

1. CPU: AMD Athlon XP 1900+ 1.60GHz - Palomino core
2. MOBO: ECS K7VTA3 V3.0b - VIA KT333
3. RAM: DDR1 3X512MB DDR333/DDR400
4. HDD: WD Caviar 800JB 80GB
5. FDD: 1.44MB Alps
6. ODD: LG DVD-RAM 4163B
7. GPU'S:
7.1 MSI 8948 ver 100 - GeForce FX5700-VTD128 - AGP 128MB
7.2 Aopen Aeolus 6800GT-DV256 - AGP 256MB
7.3 BFG GeForce 7800GS OC AGP 256MB
8. PSU: ENERMAX EG365AX-VE(G) 353W
9. Software: Windows XP Home Ed. SP2/Windows XP PRO SP3
10. Misc.

Back then I didnt have a better AGP platform so I was limited to what I had. The testing of the three graphic cards was a mixed bag. Artifacts in 3D, inability to install drivers sometimes, unable to run games properly. From the bunch only the 6800GT was showing good signs.

So I made a decision to revisit this episode and give it a conclusive ending as soon as I had the opportinuty,

So here comes the new and improved AGP platform:

Mobo: EPOX EP-8RDA3I V2.0 - nforce 2 Ultra 400
CPU: Athlon XP 2500+ 1.83GHz Barton core
Cooler: Spire FalconRock II
RAM: 2x256 PQI DDR 400
PSU, HDD, and some other misc parts are the same as the original system used for testing.

This kit reminded me of my old Athlon XP system : Barton 2800+, Abit NF7-S, RAID 0 WDC 800JB, Leadtek 6600GT....Good Old Days...

Before any testing took place I had to clean the motherboard, cooler and memory.

You know the drill.

First I dusted off and then washed with cold water the aluminium heatsink. Next came an old hair dryer and the heatsink was dry, clean and very hot 😁

Cooler cleaning.

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/2gh8ggv42/

a-_Cooler-dirty-1.jpg a-_Cooler-dirty-2.jpg a-_Cooler-dirty-3.jpg a-_Cooler-dirty-4.jpg a-_Cooler-dirty-5.jpg Cooler-clean-1.jpg Cooler-clean-2.jpg Cooler-clean-3.jpg Cooler-clean-4.jpg Cooler-clean-5.jpg Cooler-clean-6.jpg Cooler-clean-7.jpg Cooler-clean-8.jpg Cooler-clean-9.jpg Cooler-clean-10.jpg

CPU cleaning.

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/3ifk7o6hc/

a-cpu-dirty-1.jpg cpu-clean-1.jpg cpu-clean-2.jpg cpu-clean-3.jpg cpu-clean-4.1.jpg cpu-clean-4.jpg cpu-clean-5.jpg

Motherboard cleaning.

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/oqioqrys/

a-mobo-dirty-1.jpg a-mobo-dirty-2.jpg a-tools-1.jpg mobo-clean-1.jpg mobo-clean-2.jpg mobo-clean-3.jpg mobo-clean-4.jpg mobo-clean-5.jpg mobo-clean-6.jpg mobo-clean-7.jpg mobo-clean-8.jpg mobo-clean-9.jpg mobo-clean-10.jpg mobo-clean-11.jpg mobo-clean-12.jpg mobo-clean-13.jpg mobo-clean-14.jpg mobo-clean-15.jpg mobo-clean-16.jpg mobo-clean-17.jpgmobo-clean-18.jpg mobo-clean-19.jpg mobo-clean-20.jpg mobo-clean-21.jpg

TESTING GALORE!!!

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/wq2hbmkc/

test-1.jpg test-2.jpg test-3.jpg test-4.jpg test-5.jpg test-6.jpg test-7.jpg test-8.jpg test-9.jpg test-10.jpg test-11.jpg test-12.jpg test-13.jpg test-14.jpg test-15.jpg test-16.jpg test-17.jpg test-18.jpg test-19.jpg test-20.jpgtest-21.jpg test-22.jpg test-23.jpg test-24.jpg test-25.jpg test-26.jpg

Not all was smooth sailing.

As usual I had my share of small troubles:

1. The white plastic AGP retainer didnt let me insert some graphic cards all the way in the slot. So out it went for this testing session.
2. Sometimies the EPOX EP-8RDA3I motherboard gave errors:
CH - BIOS chip inserted incorrectly - I first pressed well the chip in the socket and eventually I took it out and straightened some pins
C1 - Memory module inserted incorrectly - I took out and put the RAM back in
The LCD display is very usefull for diagnostics especially when you dont gave a diagnose PC card.
Inserting and taking out RAM was painfull and required a lot of force. Maybe the PQI RAM PCB is thicker or something 😁.
3. The motherboard as many of her sisters of that time had problems with long graphic cards. If I used the 6800GT then I couldnt remove RAM until I took out the video card. The 7800GS couldnt be used until I removed a long screw holding the backplate.
4. I thought that the ENERMAX EG365AX-VE(G) 353W doesnt have a 4 PIN power connector and I made one from an old Thermaltake PSU which died. You should've seen my face when I took out of the box the PSU and saw that it already had one 😁
5. I took out the MAXX for a spin, but because the Win XP was already making fits after all the installs of NVIDIA drivers it didnt work well 😁 Anyway the MAXX will only be used on WIN 98 as for WIN XP it doesnt have proper support.
6. The Palit Daytona GF3 TI 200 has a thick PCB - inserting and taking out from the AGP slot was painfull!!! 😁

The Athlon XP 2500+ AXDA2500K4D / AQYFA 0342SPMW is locked but runs well at 200 MHz bus x 11 multiplier making it 3200+. I ran 3Dmark 2001 and some games. It is very stable even without voltage increase. I call this A BIG WIN!!!:D I didnt have a lot of time for testing but this chip seems nice.

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/228n39sy8/

agp_lock.jpg bios-1.jpg bios-2.jpg bonus.jpg p4cable-1.jpg

EPOX EP-8RDA3I + PQI DDR does not equal LOVE at least in this case.

Even if I tested the PQI DDR with memtest and games, and it ran well I still had weird errors popping on the LCD display. Errors at boot.Erros with and without overclock. Errors when changing graphic cards. The error codes were not consistent. I used AGP and PCI video cards and I still didnt find the cause.

THE SOLUTION: I used a Kingston KVR 512MB PC3200 DDR1 RAM from my box-o'-parts and the problems vanished. This exact scenario happened to me a few years back. This might be due to a strange incompatibility as I remember having something similar happen to me on my previous nforce 2 build with Abit NF7-S.

I also tested all my video cards and I have only some casualities: Tseng ET6000, Ti4200, Ti4600, Ati 9600 Pro, S3 Trio. The others are functional and CLEAN 😁

20170504_094152.jpg

The 5700FX, 6800GT and 7800GS are in good working condition. Testing of hardware should be made on era period correct hardware for less headaches.

So this is the HAPPY END for the 5,6,7 AGP trio story. Them may live long and prosper 😁

More to follow!

Last edited by Robert B on 2018-04-20, 05:45. Edited 2 times in total.

Reply 119 of 844, by Robert B

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After a successfull socket A story, albeit with some minor headaches 😁 my attention shifted to my precious Ati Rage Fury MAXX and 3dfx VooDoo 2 SLI - Creative CT6670.

These beauties will be tested on the Solt A platform Asus K7M+700MHz CPU. It will be some time until then, but we are getting there.

First was the turn of the Ati Rage Fury MAXX. Upon closer inspection I saw some oxidation on the aluminium heatsinks. Some crusty white deposits were present on the fans and the heatsinks. Not much, but it was kind of strange. Also small patches of rust were present on some chromed surfaces. I think that this component was stored in a humid environment or kept in a basement. The situation is not bad as I already know that the graphic card is in good working condition.

I cleaned the little fans using GREAT CARE AND ATTENTION. They are delicate and spinned nice even if they made a little noise. As I suspected the oil was long gone as the rotors were bone dry. Only one had the back cover in place.

I didnt want to remove the rotors as the washer that held them in place was tiny and I didnt want to lose it or warp it. Another problem was presented by the fact that the motor wires/winding, were/was very close to the actual propeller and if I damaged a wire then it would've been bye bye little fan! Cleaning was a tedious and nerve racking business as fear of damaging the motor wires/winding was always present. I used a soft brush made from animal hairs to remove much of the dirt. Also I used a sharp pointed bamboo stick to remove the bigger dust deposits from the hard to reach places. Afterwards I used lots if cotton sticks dipped into isopropyl alcohol 99% to clean the blades. I also cleaned the motor wires/winding using a few strands from the brush made from animal hairs and GENTLY touching them I removed the dust. Then I blowed over them strongly and they came out clean as good as they're going to be, about 90% of what I wanted.

I oiled the fans with a thicker oil and I put only a small drop using a fine needle. Afterwards I let it sink in and I blew over the blades to spin them. The excess oil was removed using a paper towell and I made covers from electrical tape.

They are ready to ROLL!!!

I guess these fans ARE MY BIGGEST FANS!!! 😁

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/1q006kz4u/

fans-1.jpg fans-2.jpg fans-3.jpg fans-4.jpg fans-5.jpg fans-6.jpg fans-7.jpg fans-8.jpg

I removed the brackets from all the graphic cards and I will polish them with a felt wheel or just using abrasive paste and a rag. I will see which is going to be better.

From the past experiences I knew that isopropyl alcohol 99% damages or removes ink marking from the cards - serial numbers and QC stamps.

I made a test with a cotton stick dipped in isopropyl alcohol 99% on one of the VooDoo cards and surely "number 7" was removed &$!&)!!)!$)!!!!###~~ 😁

Looking for a solution to my predicament 😁 I remembered I had an ORAFOL STONE GUARD FILM I used to protect a few painted surfaces on my car which were damaged by stones thrown by the tyres. I cut small pieces of it and applied them over the stamped markings. The trick worked and the markings survived the isopropyl alcohol 99% wash 😁

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/ewm4s5no/

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The cards went through a first general cleanup and they came out pretty clean. They need at least one more isopropyl alcohol 99% bath and they will be golden. The VooDoo cards are cleaner than the Ati Rage Fury MAXX. After the wash, the MAXX had some sticky deposits on the back of one of the graphic chips. It took some elbow grease to clean. You wouldn''t believe how much dirt came out from the small tiny holes from the back of the PCB. Endless cotton sticks felt on the battlefield 😁.I know it is dirt because of the colour. I will use a syringe with isopropyl alcohol 99% and I will clean the chip really well.I'll try to reach only the contact area between the chip/solder balls/pcb. It could be some residues left from the manufacturing process or the liquid which oxidized the heatsinks and rusted out some chromed parts. I cleaned a lot of components and didnt encounter this stuff. In a few cases I saw some white streaks but they werent sticky.

Also the other graphic chip from the MAXX has some brownish small deposits on one the corners. They are under the heatsink and I dont think I want to remove them. They also could be from the manufacturing process.

All the rust depositis will be removed.

I want to minimize the ammount of isopropyl alcohol 99% I use to wash the MAXX as the heatsinks are glued on and I dont want to remove them.

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/j8mvhkeq/

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gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/z5hudqzg/

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I hope the MAXX will survive this aggressive cleanup procedure. I keep my fingers crossed.

I couldn't clean the oxidation from the aluminium heatsinks but I removed almost all of the white deposits and now they look really well. After 18 years they cant be as the day they were born 😁

Also I prepared the Gigabyte 6BXC and Asus K7M for the BIG CLEANUP they so desperately need.

The Gigabyte 6BXC bad a small broken piece from one of the PCI slots and was repaired with transparent POXIPOL. Somone wasnt paying attention when removed a card from the slot and besides the plastic is old.

The Asus K7M had two missing screws from a serial port and received new ones.

The two motherboards will receive special treatment as I want to retain all the stamped ink markings. Also I will protect the paper labels from the last ISA slots by wrapping them in small plastic bags.

RESTORING 101! 😁

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/v7rpc7h6/

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More later.

Last edited by Robert B on 2018-04-18, 20:02. Edited 2 times in total.