Nice ! I never have a problem popping out the back slot covers, have dozens of replacements I can screw in.

I seem to be the opposite. Every time I get a new case 1st thing I have to do is break all the slots covers loose then put them back in.

Now I have the problem you describe with case knockouts but not slot covers. Probably because slot covers can be screwed back in but not knockouts.

Grem Five wrote on 2023-12-11, 02:07:

I seem to be the opposite. Every time I get a new case 1st thing I have to do is break all the slots covers loose then put them back in.

Now I have the problem you describe with case knockouts but not slot covers. Probably because slot covers can be screwed back in but not knockouts.

Yeah, that's my only hesitation, haha. On one hand this machine never had a network card, so part of me wants to keep it intact/stock. On the other hand, having network + sound is really handy, so I want to remove the knockout.

But it is DOOM day and I want to play, and I use the network card for an XT-IDE ROM, so I might just have to do it. 😁

Good news and bad news. I removed the knockout slot cover and installed the Intel EtherExpress 8/16 + SB 2290. It booted but I forgot to plug in my CF card so I powered off, installed the card, and booted again. Afterwards - nothing. No output...

I restored the original config, nothing. Took the NIC and SB out, nothing. Took the IO card out, nothing. Took the VLB VGA card out, nothing. The POST card shows activity on the bus when powered on, it settles at codes 0x13 + 0x12, then 0x00 and 0x13, then does nothing. So... have some troubleshooting to do. I don't have any other VLB or ISA video cards to test with currently.

This resource for the AMI BIOS says 0x13 is "System-interrupt vectors initialized" and 0x00 is "Call the Int19 boot loader". The time between the codes seems to be about the same time as this system takes to check the 32MB of RAM installed. Almost like it's booting but there's no VGA output. Plugged in the PC speaker but no beeps.

Maybe putting the card in a brand new ISA slot, never used for 30 years, somehow broke something? I'll have to check the tantalum caps for shorts, but I assume it wouldn't get this far if the ISA bus was shorted.

Cards installed:
\

Failed POST:

Ouch, sadly this is pretty common with old hardware, the force required to insert the ISA cards can crack solder joints and such, you may want to check continuity across the ISA slots. Since they are all wired up in parallel this shouldn't be a hard thing to check, you might also check to see if all the pins on the ram slots have continuity also.

Stuff like this is like looking for a needle in a ISA slot.

You can sometimes preserve the slot covers by just pushing them away without breaking off from the case (that is, don't keep wiggling them till they break loose). When you remove the card that used that slot, you can bring the cover back into its original rotation.. it could probably take it once or twice before coming loose eventually.

And good luck with the board repair.

Becouse of the usually spaghetti ide calbles mess and the passive cooling of the 486 and even pentiums, I allways remove the slot covers and replace them with these:

Since the case is "pristine" I'd use gloves when working on it to avoid fingermarks oxidizing in the metal over time.

vetz wrote on 2023-12-11, 10:44:

Since the case is "pristine" I'd use gloves when working on it to avoid fingermarks oxidizing in the metal over time.

I think you're joking..... but the thought has crossed my mind, when working on my Lian Li cases after I've cleaned all the untreated aluminium on the inside and they look brand new again. Maybe I should ask for a nice set of white cotton gloves for Christmas 😅

OP - totally with you on the dilemma for preserving originality. I think expansion slot covers are a necessary evil though. I'd probably take them all out and then fit a matching set of covers. Nothing worse than a mis-matched set of expansion slot covers...

i would have taken out the top slot cover with the gameport and the large serial port.
Today i normally use just one serial for a mouse so i dont need a second one for a modem or else... and the sound card has a gameport.

Trashbytes wrote on 2023-12-11, 07:21:

Ouch, sadly this is pretty common with old hardware, the force required to insert the ISA cards can crack solder joints and such, you may want to check continuity across the ISA slots. Since they are all wired up in parallel this shouldn't be a hard thing to check, you might also check to see if all the pins on the ram slots have continuity also.

Stuff like this is like looking for a needle in a ISA slot.

Thanks, it really does feel that way haha. But it's worth a shot. Thanks for the advice.

wbahnassi wrote on 2023-12-11, 10:24:

You can sometimes preserve the slot covers by just pushing them away without breaking off from the case (that is, don't keep wiggling them till they break loose). When you remove the card that used that slot, you can bring the cover back into its original rotation.. it could probably take it once or twice before coming loose eventually.

And good luck with the board repair.

That's a really good idea. I broke this one out before I read your comment, but I could see it working - it really did take some flexing to remove it.

b0by007 wrote on 2023-12-11, 10:40:

Becouse of the usually spaghetti ide calbles mess and the passive cooling of the 486 and even pentiums, I allways remove the slot covers and replace them with these:

The way to go, really. And all-new slot covers always look nice. I have some really shiny matching ones in another rig 😁

Shadzilla wrote on 2023-12-11, 11:39:

vetz wrote on 2023-12-11, 10:44:

Since the case is "pristine" I'd use gloves when working on it to avoid fingermarks oxidizing in the metal over time.

I think you're joking..... but the thought has crossed my mind, when working on my Lian Li cases after I've cleaned all the untreated aluminium on the inside and they look brand new again. Maybe I should ask for a nice set of white cotton gloves for Christmas 😅

OP - totally with you on the dilemma for preserving originality. I think expansion slot covers are a necessary evil though. I'd probably take them all out and then fit a matching set of covers. Nothing worse than a mis-matched set of expansion slot covers...

Agree. If I can get it working again, at least it will have a very nice stock look!

I'll keep track of any updates in a better named thread. Hope to post back here soon with a working rig...

Since a previous owner already did upgrades over the years, in my opinion, it isn't 100% original anyways, so I'd just break away - and maybe get matching covers to fill up ...