You could look at the bottom of the CPU to see if you can find any numbers and check if you can find them at
http://www.cpu-collection.de/

Just putting an unknown socket 3 CPU on a random motherboard may get you some little fireworks if the he CPU is 3,3 or 3,45v (DX/4 and some DX/2) and three motherboard runs 5v. The opposite, 5v CPU (SX, DX, most DX/2) at a 3,3v or 3,45v may get you no posting at all because of a lack of voltage.

Identification of the CPU is mandatory.

Is the laptop beyond repair, or is it just not working for some more simple reason like a busted cap?

waterbeesje wrote on 2020-06-18, 18:37:

You could look at the bottom of the CPU to see if you can find any numbers and check if you can find them at http://www.cpu-coll […]
Show full quote

You could look at the bottom of the CPU to see if you can find any numbers and check if you can find them at
http://www.cpu-collection.de/

Just putting an unknown socket 3 CPU on a random motherboard may get you some little fireworks if the he CPU is 3,3 or 3,45v (DX/4 and some DX/2) and three motherboard runs 5v. The opposite, 5v CPU (SX, DX, most DX/2) at a 3,3v or 3,45v may get you no posting at all because of a lack of voltage.

Identification of the CPU is mandatory.

Is the laptop beyond repair, or is it just not working for some more simple reason like a busted cap?

I pulled the CPU and took off the heat spreader and this thing is a AMD 486 DX4 100 3volt cpu. So this would be jackpot right pretty much in terms of 486's ?

The laptop does not power on at all, the only thing it does do is light an LED on presence of the battery, trying the key combo to turn the power on(some kind of early soft power on ?) results in literally nothing happening. If I cant diagnose it visually(there appears to me to be nothing visually wrong) or by standard diagnostics programs what the problem is then it is beyond my ability to even know what to repair let alone attempt repair.

Look out for CMOS Cell, maybe its dead and that's why its not starting.

matze79 wrote on 2020-06-18, 19:24:

Look out for CMOS Cell, maybe its dead and that's why its not starting.

The CMOS is some kinda tiny soldered on thing, I removed it(with a pair of pliers) because it was corroded a little bit.

The CPU I have has 3 rows of pins on it, and the socket on the mainboard of the laptop is black with 3 rows of pin holes. This does not look like the socket I see on Socket 3 motherboards ?

Posting pictures would be helpful.

Will do once phone is charged..

To me it sounds like the CMOS battery could be it. If it was already corroded you did the right thing by removing it. Replacing it but the very same type of cell could solve it (and maybe not).
To be sure: did you do a CMOS reset? Sometimes that may solve it.

Naming a DX/4 100 the jackpot just depends on your standard but it surely is a good one of the faster generation. To me the 5x86 series would be the jackpot, but the DX 50 is one of my favourites as well.

If you decide to put it on a motherboard, make sure it does support:
+ 3,3v
+ PCI or VLB or both, up to you. ISA only I'd not recommend.
+ Cache! 128 or 256kB is fine, 20 or 25 ns is fast enough for a 33MHz FSB.
+ Barrel battery in tact or removed, and replace(d) with a battery pack. Or if it's a Dallas clock make sure to rework it.
+ Think about expansion: what io card, video, network, HDD/fdd/odd would you need

The socket you regularly see with socket 3 is zif, zero insertion force. A lever to relieve pressure on the pins. What you have may need lif, low insertion force, that lets itself get in and out with a little bit of effort. My socket 1 motherboard is like that too. But photos would make that clear 😀

Here are photos:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/SpZCi7op1ycTQLDQ8

Presumably a Socket 3 CPU will work on both ZIF and LIF sockets ?

Xs1nX wrote on 2020-06-18, 22:26:

Here are photos:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/SpZCi7op1ycTQLDQ8

Presumably a Socket 3 CPU will work on both ZIF and LIF sockets ?

From your pictures, it seems the switches SW1 and SW2 are set for an Intel 486 @ 100MHz, however you have an AMD CPU, so SW1 5-8 and SW2 seem to need adjustment, maybe that's why the laptop does not power on.

aha2940 wrote on 2020-06-19, 04:19:

Xs1nX wrote on 2020-06-18, 22:26:

Here are photos:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/SpZCi7op1ycTQLDQ8

Presumably a Socket 3 CPU will work on both ZIF and LIF sockets ?

From your pictures, it seems the switches SW1 and SW2 are set for an Intel 486 @ 100MHz, however you have an AMD CPU, so SW1 5-8 and SW2 seem to need adjustment, maybe that's why the laptop does not power on.

I should clarify that there are other things wrong with the Laptop besides it not working, the screen hinge is busted for one.. this machine is not in the best of conditions at all. My feeling is this nice CPU would be better served by being in a nice desktop setup.

Also this is infact a LIF Socket 1 it seems on the mainboard of the laptop, so why was a AMD DX 100 fitted in the first place ? as this CPU is a 3.3v one and Socket 1 is for 5v CPUS ? Should be noted I could not see any sign of this machine being opened before I opened it.. so confusing ?

Also I have no idea of the correct orientation of this CPU in this socket, there is no keying nor clear Pin 1 marking on the Socket itself.

The pin 1 is marked on the motherboard, where you can see the A1 note on the silk screen. There you should align the CPU at.
Inserting it otherwise will at least make it fail to boot, possibly damaging both CPU and motherboard due to short circuit.

Socket 3 lif is unusual but not impossible. Also modified socket 1 to support low voltages may be possible. As long as the voltages an supported speed settings correspond it should be ok. Socket 1, 2, 3 and 6 have all the same pinout.

So if you're going to put the CPU on another motherboard, please take care by selecting one. This CPU is above what people call the sweet spot of 486 (DX/2 66mhz, minimum requirements for lots of games) so it would only be happy on a motherboard with extended possibilities (as I described above).
Are you going to put it in s computer case? Along with period correct hardware? Or would it be maxed out with a 512MB SSD and dvd player?

waterbeesje wrote on 2020-06-19, 07:32:

The pin 1 is marked on the motherboard, where you can see the A1 note on the silk screen. There you should align the CPU at. Ins […]
Show full quote

The pin 1 is marked on the motherboard, where you can see the A1 note on the silk screen. There you should align the CPU at.
Inserting it otherwise will at least make it fail to boot, possibly damaging both CPU and motherboard due to short circuit.

Socket 3 lif is unusual but not impossible. Also modified socket 1 to support low voltages may be possible. As long as the voltages an supported speed settings correspond it should be ok. Socket 1, 2, 3 and 6 have all the same pinout.

So if you're going to put the CPU on another motherboard, please take care by selecting one. This CPU is above what people call the sweet spot of 486 (DX/2 66mhz, minimum requirements for lots of games) so it would only be happy on a motherboard with extended possibilities (as I described above).
Are you going to put it in s computer case? Along with period correct hardware? Or would it be maxed out with a 512MB SSD and dvd player?

I have here from bettween 4MB and 64MB RAM available in terms of SIMMS

Sound card I have a ISA Aztec AZT2316 card

Video I have a Matrox Millennium II PCI or a Trident 8900C ISA card.

Also have a ISA IO card (Floppy,IDE,Serial)

So my thinking is I would go for making a nice Dos Box ? As I already have a PIII/Win ME setup..

For a dos box it will be a nice base.

The Matrox card would be quite fast for a 486, as it almost certainly will not be the bottleneck and will give you very clear image.
Getting a S3Trio64 or S3 864 would make it more period correct for a later 486, and those are still quite fast for PCI. And reasonably priced well.

The TVGA... Is called video decelerator because it is sloooooow... Can you see at what speed the memory is rated? It may give you some idea if it's just slow or if you're stuck at 386 gaming.
If you go for VLB it may do until you get a better card.

If you go for VLB you could go to for a S3 of Cirrus Logic as they are not priced too high yet but performance is way better then your Trident.

EISA or Property logic busses (ie OPTI) I'd skip because getting good hardware for that is a bit harder.

Memory: all 72 pin I assume?
There may be some fast page and some Edo ones, and not every 486 may take Edo. Some (like my IBM Valuepoint) are very picky about fast page too. Searching the net for the numbers on the chip itself may tell you if it's Edo or fp.
ISA I/o may be a bit slow for your hard drive, but otherwise it would do I guess.

Sound: I think any ISA sound card will do (some will argue this) to make it bark, but there definitely is a difference in quality.

Yeah id much like a Socket 3 board with PCI and onboard IDE and use the Matrox. But going on prices on ebay these boards may be out of my price range and getting a VLB board and a cheap VLB video card may be cheaper.

Memory wise I have a pile of various 30pin SIMMs (including a nice 16mb x 4 matched set, and a few 4mb and maybe 8mb sets) and a single 64MB 72pin DIMM as well.

For 30 pin Simms keep in mind you need four or eight modules. These are 8 bit wide and your 486 CPU expects 32 bit bandwidth (as with a 386 DX, while the 386 SX and 286 expect 16 bit and can go with only 2 Simms.
72 pin dimms can usually be used single as these are usually 32 bit wide.
Also don't go sky high on memory: your cache is going to be the limiting factor. Only X MB of ram is cachable, and with more memory your performance will drop noticeable. Also on a DX/4 usually 16MB is really enough, for more demanding software the CPU will also be the limiting factor (most Pentium 1 computers still came with 8-16 MB of ram and had no trouble with that)

VLB vs PCI: when set up correctly with the right hardware, the VLB board might in fact outperform the PCI board when the FSB runs at 40MHz. PCI usually has trouble with FSB over 33MHz, unless there is a divider present.

VLB: the Cirrus CL-GD5424 or higher will give you some reasonable performance, also a S3 805/928/864/868/964/968 would be fine.
Trident VLB cards, 9400 and up, also have wide support and performance is okay. Avoid the Diamond Viper, it's VGA performance is far below sub because of the sluggish Oak OTI087 (while Vesa modes are above average with the TSR driver loaded for the Weitek chip)

I am resurrecting this thread as I remembered I still have this CPU and have done nothing with it.

I have found what appears to be the following motherboard for sale at a decent price: https://www.angelfire.com/mn2/daveandkay/z/A- … el1442Gv1_2.htm

Would this be suitable for this CPU ?

Looks like it:

NOTE : * JP18:1-2,4-5 Use 5V CPU Normal CPU 486DX2,DX,SX

2-3,5-6 Use 3.3V CPU ( Example: 486DX4 )

Word of warning though: this requires a VRM to be present on your motherboard. Sometimes a board was produced in versions with one and without one. If yours doesn't have it, it won't do 3.3V and your CPU won't work. You should check the specific board you are intending to buy for the presence of JP18 and the VRM (most commonly identified by a big MOSFET, usually with heatsink on it).

This is a picture of the board: https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/A~wAAOSwqGVhaAeO/s-l1600.jpg