First post, by jedikwon
Hello.
So I got this old 486 computer from an office near my work. They just threw away all their old equipments and I thought this one would work great for old dos games.
However, I found out that the system doesn't boot up right. It checks the memory okay but then gives me 'wait...' message.
Well I waited long enough, about 30 minutes, but it just stops there. I tired to clear BIOS by removing its battery for a minute and didn't work.
Interestingly when the battery is removed, it gives me an error message that says 'CMOS battery status low' and lets me enter BIOS setting screen.
There I could tweak various settings without any problems but if I choose 'save and exit', it just stops at 'wait...' message again.
But then, if I choose 'do not save and exit' it passes the 'wait' part and goes to next screen and check drives for booting.
I was able to load Windows 98 booting disk and run SETUP from CD-ROM but since my hard disk drive info cannot be saved at BIOS menu, the system doesn't
recognize the hard disk drive. Obviously Win98 setup says there is no HDD to install.
So I am stuck here now. BIOS just doesn't want to keep HDD settings I make. I tired a fresh battery but didn't work either.
I googled all letters and numbers on the motherboard and found out its model name. It is Shuttle HOT-419. I don't think its BIOS is update-able.
If you guys have any clue how to save HDD setting and successfully boot up the system, that would be really helpful. Thanks!