Svenne wrote:

Got another PC 😀
Intel Celeron 1.2 GHz, 512 mb RAM, 32 mb WinFast 3D, 20 GB Samsung IDE HDD, 56x (!) CD-ROM.
It has a minor problem, however: it refuses to boot from any device. After the HDD detection, the screen turns blank with a blinking cursor. Would you mind helping me with that, please?

Can you provide some info about the mobo? Try setting the BIOS set up settings to "fail safe", and also try a PCI graphics card. Also, is there a HDD detect option in the BIOS?

I don't know what mobo it is. The BIOS screen said something about "Apollo 133" or somethin. Already tested with fail safe settings. I don't have a PCI graphics card. Mobo has HDD detection.

The chipset is "VIA Apollo AGP133 Chipset". I don't know what motherboard it is though.
Here's some pictures I took: http://s719.photobucket.com/albums/ww193/Sven … Celeron%201200/

That looks very much like an old DFI board, though I couldn't tell you what particular model it is.

Should I flash the BIOS?
Btw, I found that the mobo can emulate a sounblaster card and a MPU-401 interface! Seems very interesting.

Should I flash the BIOS?

With what? If you don't know what board it is, where're you going to find a BIOS update?

One thought: have you tried disconnecting all the IDE drives and just boot from a DOS floppy?

Not yet, I'll give it a try.

I've managed to fix the Celeron. It only required a simple clean. I suppose the dust short circuited the mobo.
However, I need drivers for a Leadtek WinFast S325 graphics card. It's pretty annoying to run it in VGA mode.
EDIT: Found drivers by Leadtek, but setup won't run. I tried starting it from the temp folder, but it complained about "Invalid device id". The video chipset is Nvidia based (GeForce 2?). I've also figured out that the chipset is a VIA Apollo Pro 133A AGPsets (AV18S403). I've installed sound drivers for it. Btw, do I need any special chipset drivers, such as AGP drivers?
EDIT 2: Found chipset drivers and installed them. However, now Windows 98 complains that the graphics card can't find any I/O resources. Here's the message I get:

1Minnesintervall 00000000 - 00FFFFFF används av:
2    Moderkortstillägg för ACPI BIOS
3Minnesintervall 00000000 - 00FFFFFF används av:
4    Moderkortstillägg för ACPI BIOS
5Minnesintervall 00000000 - 01FFFFFF används av:
6    Moderkortstillägg för ACPI BIOS
7Minnesintervall 00000000 - 01FFFFFF används av:
8    Moderkortstillägg för ACPI BIOS
9Minnesintervall 00000000 - 0000FFFF används av:
10    Moderkortstillägg för ACPI BIOS

Translated to English:

1Memory interval 00000000 - 00FFFFFF is useed by:
2    Motherboard add-on for ACPI BIO
3Memory interval 00000000 - 00FFFFFF is used by:
4    Motherboard add-on for ACPI BIOS
5Memory interval 00000000 - 01FFFFFF is used by:
6    Motherboard add-on for ACPI BIOS
7Memory interval 00000000 - 01FFFFFF is used by:
8    Motherboard add-on for ACPI BIOS
9Memory interval 00000000 - 0000FFFF is used by:
10    Motherboard add-on for ACPI BIOS

I tried to disable ACPI, but it didn't work; Windows 98 complained about missing files, and couldn't find them on the CD.

Fixed it! I just removed the PCI ethernet card that was installed, and now it works! However, the graphics card can only handle resolutions of up to 1280x768 w/ 32-bit colors. According to the comments in the config file of H-A-L 9000's megabuild, a card with 8 mb memory can handle up to 1600x1200 w/ 32-bit colors.

It looks like your graphics card is a TNT2 M64 rather than a Geforce2... maybe the drivers you're trying are too new for that card? Look for the old Detonator drivers, version 30.82 would be a good bet.

I got the drivers from Leadtek's website, and yes, it's a TNT2 M64.

I've done some more work on my "new" system, and I've got some problems:
* The wireless network utility doesn't automaticly connect, instead I have to open the GUI.
* When a wireless connection is established, any games I try to run fails with a bluescreen with the message "A fatal exception 06 occurred on F000:00000092. The application has been terminated".
* When I get the games running, I either get no picture (although videos work fine), or missing images/text. I'm using DirectX 9.0c, earlier tried 8.1. It's maybe the graphics card, but the dxdiag DirectDraw/Direct3D tests works fine.

The wireless card I have is not even supported under Win98. Is yours?

There are drivers for Windows 98 on the CD.

Installed an ATI Radeon 9200 SE yesterday, DirectX works now. However, it won't do resolutions over 1280x1024, and Need for Speed: Road Challenge fails to detect it, resulting in laghell. Can I force NFS:RC to detect it as an ATI Rage or something?

Whatever, reinstalled the S325. I also reverted back to DirectX 7.0 - and found out that the card didn't pass the 3D test. This means NFS Porsche 2000 is out of range. However, I've also found out that the graphics card and the network card is sharing IRQ. Could this be the source of some of my problems?
EDIT: I gave up with DX7 and installed DX 6.1 - and the card failed the 3d test 😖 . However, it strangely works with DX 8.0a or higher, but I can't play any games. I'm suspecting that the card is broken 😜
I also have some issues with the onboard audio; the soundblaster emulation doesn't work. I've enabled SB emulation (of course), and installed DOS drivers, but it still doesn't work. Does anyone know how to fix this please?

Bump.
Got another PC, a Fujitso Siemens Xpert.
Full specs:
Model: Fujitsu Siemens Xpert.
CPU: Intel Pentium II 400 MHz.
Motherboard: ???
Graphics card: ATi Rage Pro 4 Mb integrated (ew).
RAM: 64 Mb.
HDD: 1x 6 Gb.
OS: Windows 98 Gold (now upgraded to 98 SE).
Internet: Some sort of modem.

Pictures coming later.
Btw, does anyone know how to remove the casing on these machines? There are no visible screws, and the panels seems to be folded behind the front cover. Furthermore, there's a handle underneath the front cover, but it doesn't seem to do anything. Any suggestions?

Svenne wrote:

Btw, does anyone know how to remove the casing on these machines? There are no visible screws, and the panels seems to be folded behind the front cover. Furthermore, there's a handle underneath the front cover, but it doesn't seem to do anything. Any suggestions?

Yes. Pull the handle outwards, which allows you to slide off the entire outer casing towards the front. This works best when the case is standing on the edge of a table, so you can reach the handle from underneath. Sometimes these cases are a bit stubborn to open, so be careful not to pull the entire computer off the table.

The plastic front and the top/side panels are held together with screws inside, they can not be separated from the outside. This awkward case was very popular in educational facilities, because it was difficult to figure out how to open it and pilfer stuff from the inside. 😉

Did you find the drivers for the ESS1868F ?

Yea, a long time ago. However, since I installed Windows 98 I didn't have any use for them since they're already included. Besides, the CD reader can't read CD-RW's, and I didn't have a PC with a FDD at that time.