I have a system that is simular, but not exactly the same. When I pull a RAM stick and power it on I get 3 low pitched (sad?) beeps followed by a short pause repeated ad infinum.
Dorunkāku wrote on 2025-04-18, 06:31:I have a system that is simular, but not exactly the same. When I pull a RAM stick and power it on I get 3 low pitched (sad?) beeps followed by a short pause repeated ad infinum.
Yes thats what happened.
It took a while, 5 minutes or so but yes thats what happened.
If I was to get some replacement RAM how many sticks would I need to test it?
SIMMs need to be populated in pairs or would I need 4 sticks to fill up bank 0 on this board?
You need bank 0 populated with 4 sticks.
battery corrosion on the leg 🙁
On leg of what? also, that sent me looking at the area around it. make sure that JP8 is present on pins 1-2 CMOS normal, as if it's dropped off, boards with a normal / clear jumper may do nothing if it's missing altogether
ElectroSoldier wrote on 2025-04-17, 13:27:So Creative sound cards were never very good then?
More like they are overrated, especially based on current retro prices. A lot of what people pay for is the nostalgia factor, not practical value.
ElectroSoldier wrote on 2025-04-18, 09:27:battery corrosion on the leg 🙁
Battery corrosion is a pretty common issue for hardware of that era. Best thing to do is a full motherboard inspection, look for any signs of corrosion, test for continuity, shorts, etc.
Matth79 wrote on 2025-04-18, 13:52:On leg of what? also, that sent me looking at the area around it. make sure that JP8 is present on pins 1-2 CMOS normal, as if it's dropped off, boards with a normal / clear jumper may do nothing if it's missing altogether
Leg of the battery. Small amount of corrosion. Doesnt look like its leaked anywhere yet.
This is the battery and the jumpers as they are now.
Is it possible to replace that battery like for like?
Ive been looking for it on google but I cant find it, at least not one that looks like that in the blue wrap?
If not what can I replace it with?
Going by the picture of the RAM and the motherboard is the RAM actually compatible with the board?
I was looking on ebay and it seems some is parity RAM and some isnt and Im not sure what this board needs to work.
Is there any chance an admin can mi e this to the General hardware board as I think it will stray into that topic rather than general chit chat
ElectroSoldier wrote on 2025-04-19, 14:47:Going by the picture of the RAM and the motherboard is the RAM actually compatible with the board?
I was looking on ebay and it seems some is parity RAM and some isnt and Im not sure what this board needs to work.
Most boards can use either, may need jumper setting, and if parity and non-parity are mixed, then it will all be non-parity. Some boards don't like 3 chip (parity) or 2 chip (non parity), only working with 9 chip (parity) or 8 chip (non) - but this was supposed to have been posting as it stood, with the reported amount being correct for a full set of 512k, minus the reserved
No, according to the picture earlier in this thread the board came with eight 1MB SIMMs. Four with parity and four without. In the POST screen in the Ebay listing you can see that only 4MB is detected.
Have you tried only the four 3 chip sticks in bank 0? And if that does not work, only the four 2 chip sticks in bank 0?
If you want to find a replacement for the battery, search for "3.6v 80mah". Nowadays they wrap them in green plastic instead of blue, but that doesn't matter.
Matth79 wrote on 2025-04-20, 23:00:ElectroSoldier wrote on 2025-04-19, 14:47:Going by the picture of the RAM and the motherboard is the RAM actually compatible with the board?
I was looking on ebay and it seems some is parity RAM and some isnt and Im not sure what this board needs to work.Most boards can use either, may need jumper setting, and if parity and non-parity are mixed, then it will all be non-parity. Some boards don't like 3 chip (parity) or 2 chip (non parity), only working with 9 chip (parity) or 8 chip (non) - but this was supposed to have been posting as it stood, with the reported amount being correct for a full set of 512k, minus the reserved
I see... so different RAM might help you think?
Yeah my main problem is it doesnt do what it was supposed to have been doing.
Dorunkāku wrote on 2025-04-21, 08:21:No, according to the picture earlier in this thread the board came with eight 1MB SIMMs. Four with parity and four without. In the POST screen in the Ebay listing you can see that only 4MB is detected.
Have you tried only the four 3 chip sticks in bank 0? And if that does not work, only the four 2 chip sticks in bank 0?
If you want to find a replacement for the battery, search for "3.6v 80mah". Nowadays they wrap them in green plastic instead of blue, but that doesn't matter.
I have tried both of the sets in just Bank 0 with the same effect. Nothing happens at all. The monitor doesnt turn on, just nothing, as though there is no video output.
