My "Back to Basics" build and have I broken it \ VOGONS

My "Back to Basics" build and have I broken it

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First post, by Almoststew1990

Posted on 2021-03-07, 15:29

Almoststew1990 Offline

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In the past I've done ITX W98/DOS builds, a Dual P3 build and various P4 builds but I wanted to go back to basics for a simple, nothing special Windows 98 PC.

It has a FIC Something-or-Other motherbaord with a 440LX chipset. I bought a Celeron 333MHz but I got sent a P2 266MHz, and the seller is in the process of finding the Celeron.

It had 128MB of SDR RAM (100MHz I think)

It had an ATI Radeon VE with VGA, DVI and TV-Out (new in box). A slightly interesting card that I was planning on messing around with capturing from.

It is using on-board Yamaha YMF715E which has real OPL 3 and a Yamaha Wave table (which doesn't sound that good to be honest!)

But then I was in the process of swapping in my AWE32 and when routing the CD audio cable I think I knocked a capacitor. It's now held in place with only one leg.

What does this capacitor do? can I just head up the solder a bit and push the leg back down? I got a soldering iron recently but have never used it.

Reply 1 of 3, by weedeewee

Posted on 2021-03-07, 17:27

weedeewee Offline

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from the photos it looks like like the capacitor is an aftermarket addon...

ie. There is no silkscreen for any capacitor where it is located.

Right to repair is fundamental. You own it, you're allowed to fix it.
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Reply 2 of 3, by foey

Posted on 2021-03-07, 23:45

foey Offline

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Great clean build. Sometimes it's those middle-of-the-road builds which give you a little more joy!

Whats the sound card like in dos?

So glad you swapped out the dire Hipro 150w Power supply. I used to see many Tinys in that form factor that needed replacement PSUs back in the day!

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Reply 3 of 3, by Doornkaat

Posted on 2021-03-08, 05:56

Doornkaat Offline

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I have googled the board and it's an FIC VL-603 as far as I can tell.
Some pictures have the capacitor and some don't so I assume this is a factory hotfix to counter some known issue or oversight during production without changing the PCB.

I recommed you reattach it before powering the board again. Add a bit of fresh solder to the pad and the end of the leg, then push the leg to the pad and heat both simultaneoulsy until the solder melts and keep them together until it solidifies again.

If you haven't done this before maybe you can practice with a dead board or something similar before moving to the real deal.
Good luck! 🤞

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