Put the VGA port on first just in preparation for the unit to be tested. Then followed by the regulator. A new regulator was obtained, and the heatsink was fully cleaned of rust, then sealed with clear nail enamel.

Cleaned the ram and cache expansion. Then on to the first test. Paired the board with a known working Pentium 133mhz before trying the Spectra. That passed, so after a bit of cleanup on the Spectra K6, that unit was also tested. Both were a success.

It's good to see that it's not just the usual cleaning job but a very thorough one.
I'm always too lazy to remove brackets and connectors.

That is a beautiful labour of love for retro hardware . Extra points for refurbishing the PSU .

Time to get rid of those leaky button caps. I know, I know, tantalums are evil... not anymore, they are quite good these days made with new methods.

Did the recap, also put the keyboard/mouse block on, retested and went in to the bios. Had to pack it in for the evening so just a recapping pic for tonight.

It does appear that the bios does not have the signature splash screen. This does however match known Gateway motherboards, the OEM version of Intel TE430VX. The bios says 1999, even though it is marked on just about every part that it was built in April 1997. Wondering if they flashed this bios, if there is any Gateway splash screen specific updated bios for it. 1.00.xx.CY1T means something, but if I don't stop researching this and go to sleep I'm going to fall out of my chair.

Also, https://www.vogonswiki.com/index.php/Intel_TE430VX says it doesn't have a gameport, but it actually does if the Vibra16c is on board. Mine had one, but was removed from corrosion and rust, and I'm waiting on the official Foxconn part to arrive in a few months with delivery powered by a slow boat crewed soley by seamen fueled by only their dreams and cold bat soup.

Thank the gods for http://www.vogonsdrivers.com/getfile.php?fileid=929 who ever maintains those archives is a saint.

G'night,
TW

TimWolf wrote on 2020-09-03, 03:09:

It does appear that the bios does not have the signature splash screen. This does however match known Gateway motherboards, the […]
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It does appear that the bios does not have the signature splash screen. This does however match known Gateway motherboards, the OEM version of Intel TE430VX. The bios says 1999, even though it is marked on just about every part that it was built in April 1997. Wondering if they flashed this bios, if there is any Gateway splash screen specific updated bios for it. 1.00.xx.CY1T means something, but if I don't stop researching this and go to sleep I'm going to fall out of my chair.

Also, https://www.vogonswiki.com/index.php/Intel_TE430VX says it doesn't have a gameport, but it actually does if the Vibra16c is on board. Mine had one, but was removed from corrosion and rust, and I'm waiting on the official Foxconn part to arrive in a few months with delivery powered by a slow boat crewed soley by seamen fueled by only their dreams and cold bat soup.

Thank the gods for http://www.vogonsdrivers.com/getfile.php?fileid=929 who ever maintains those archives is a saint.

G'night,
TW

Bat gazpacho sounds delicious . 😉 Seriously, great work !

Very impressive work.

Awesome! Very thorough job on both the power supply and the motherboard!

Looking forward to the restoration of the case. I love these types of threads.

TimWolf wrote on 2020-09-03, 03:09:

It does appear that the bios does not have the signature splash screen. This does however match known Gateway motherboards, the OEM version of Intel TE430VX. The bios says 1999, even though it is marked on just about every part that it was built in April 1997. Wondering if they flashed this bios, if there is any Gateway splash screen specific updated bios for it. 1.00.xx.CY1T means something, but if I don't stop researching this and go to sleep I'm going to fall out of my chair.

For what it's worth, my Gateway from much later only gained a full screen Gateway splash screen after I updated the BIOS to the latest version. The earlier BIOS merely showed a small logo on boot up in the middle of the usual boot sequence.

The latest version from Gateway, BIOS revision 1.00.08.CY1T

https://web.archive.org/web/20010717161137/ht … Bios/cy1t.shtml

https://contents.driverguide.com/content.php? … path=TIGE08.TXT

is from 1997, which is probably why they went with a (later / improved?) 3rd party upgrade.

yawetaG wrote on 2020-09-03, 06:09:

For what it's worth, my Gateway from much later only gained a full screen Gateway splash screen after I updated the BIOS to the latest version. The earlier BIOS merely showed a small logo on boot up in the middle of the usual boot sequence.

My Slot 1 and S370 systems had both options controlled in BIOS
Full screen enabled hid post messages and showed a loading bar under the logo.
Full screen disabled had a little white box with Gateway branding along with standard post messages

After BIOS updates I think it defaulted back to full screen, but it has been 20 odd years!

And great work on the restore, I was expecting swapping out hardware from the initial pictures, but after all the work on the PSU alone this aint no typical restore!

I'm enjoying this excellent resurrection, everything looks very clean in the after pics! electronics are more robust than we sometimes give them credit for

Very awesome restoration job. I am looking forward to seeing the finished pc

No bezel so I have to homebrew it. Thinking this nonworking dehumidifier. It was $2 (got $1 off!) at the same estate sale I got a Tandy RLX full set for $25 at.

This is the inspiration for the case bezel design I'm working towards. It will not be identical by any means, just in mind as it is created.

Now THAT is proper Gateway 2000 case.