Poser Supply Test

[Doug Holtz]

Group;

My 1997 Pentium Pro 200 Celebris 5000 (PC6400) is acting wierd. It seems
that some or all of the components won't work, as if the power supply was
not producing enought wattage to power everything up. It now just sits at a
boot screen "testing hard drive" and going nowhere. yesterday I couldn't
boot from CD or floppy "some" of the time. Then a second hard drive wasn't
recognized; the BIOS hangs for about a minute when I add or remove a second
hard drive.

Does anyone have any insight into this phenomenon?

TNX

Doug

[Doug Holtz]

I meant POWER supply. Sorry.

Post by Doug Holtz
Group;
My 1997 Pentium Pro 200 Celebris 5000 (PC6400) is acting wierd. It seems
that some or all of the components won't work, as if the power supply was
not producing enought wattage to power everything up. It now just sits at
a boot screen "testing hard drive" and going nowhere. yesterday I
couldn't boot from CD or floppy "some" of the time. Then a second hard
drive wasn't recognized; the BIOS hangs for about a minute when I add or
remove a second hard drive.
Does anyone have any insight into this phenomenon?
TNX
Doug

[V***@SendSpamHere.ORG]

Post by Doug Holtz
I meant POWER supply. Sorry.

That's quite different. If you need a supply of posers, go visit any
one of the myriad Micro$haft news groups. There's a supply of wankers
and tossers there too if you need more than posers.

[unknown]

First, I would change out the C2032 battery, which, when failing or failed, can
cause all sorts of evil.

Next, I would replace the power supply with a standard 200w ATX power supply, if
the system is a tower system. (If it is a desktop system, I can supply one with
the same dimensions, but try a standard one first, connecting it up with the
cover of the case removed.) The DEC power supplies used in these boxes are
nothing special, just decent quality Liteon- or Delta-made. But power supplies
do occasionally malfunction after 8 years or so.

Finally, and more remotely, it is possible that the flash memory has failed.
The flash memory on the motherboard serves two functions. It contains the
static BIOS code. It also contains the very volatile Extended System
Configuration Data (ESCD), also ironically called NON-Volatile RAM (NVRAM). The
ESCD is more volatile than its name implies. EVERY time the system boots
Windows, the brain-dead operating system rewrites the Plug-and-Play (PNP) data
to the ESCD, even if the contents have not changed since the last time the
system booted. Windows also updates the ESCD on other occasions. The ESCD
updates "wear out" the flash memory, which was designed to handle a couple of
hundred thousand rewrite cycles before failing to operate properly.

A few years ago, many of the early Intel-made Pentium boards in Gateway systems
began failing for exactly the same reason.

If you need a replacement motherboard (main logic board), I may still have one.
I'll need its DEC 54-series part number. If you insist on a DEC replacement
power supply, I am more likely to have those. Again, I need the 54-series part
number. Shipping may cost as much as the part itself, many of which I've sold
for electronic scrap to clear space for more modern gear... Ben Myers

Post by Doug Holtz
Group;
My 1997 Pentium Pro 200 Celebris 5000 (PC6400) is acting wierd. It seems
that some or all of the components won't work, as if the power supply was
not producing enought wattage to power everything up. It now just sits at a
boot screen "testing hard drive" and going nowhere. yesterday I couldn't
boot from CD or floppy "some" of the time. Then a second hard drive wasn't
recognized; the BIOS hangs for about a minute when I add or remove a second
hard drive.
Does anyone have any insight into this phenomenon?
TNX
Doug

[Doug Holtz]

Hey Ben, thanks for the reply.

I thought about the CMOS battery; I replaced it once a few years ago I
think. I'll try that and hope.

Also, I'm glad to hear that the power supply is a standard unit.

TNX

Doug

Post by unknown
First, I would change out the C2032 battery, which, when failing or failed, can
cause all sorts of evil.
Next, I would replace the power supply with a standard 200w ATX power supply, if
the system is a tower system. (If it is a desktop system, I can supply one with
the same dimensions, but try a standard one first, connecting it up with the
cover of the case removed.) The DEC power supplies used in these boxes are
nothing special, just decent quality Liteon- or Delta-made. But power supplies
do occasionally malfunction after 8 years or so.
Finally, and more remotely, it is possible that the flash memory has failed.
The flash memory on the motherboard serves two functions. It contains the
static BIOS code. It also contains the very volatile Extended System
Configuration Data (ESCD), also ironically called NON-Volatile RAM (NVRAM). The
ESCD is more volatile than its name implies. EVERY time the system boots
Windows, the brain-dead operating system rewrites the Plug-and-Play (PNP) data
to the ESCD, even if the contents have not changed since the last time the
system booted. Windows also updates the ESCD on other occasions. The ESCD
updates "wear out" the flash memory, which was designed to handle a couple of
hundred thousand rewrite cycles before failing to operate properly.
A few years ago, many of the early Intel-made Pentium boards in Gateway systems
began failing for exactly the same reason.
If you need a replacement motherboard (main logic board), I may still have one.
I'll need its DEC 54-series part number. If you insist on a DEC replacement
power supply, I am more likely to have those. Again, I need the 54-series part
number. Shipping may cost as much as the part itself, many of which I've sold
for electronic scrap to clear space for more modern gear... Ben Myers

Post by Doug Holtz
Group;
My 1997 Pentium Pro 200 Celebris 5000 (PC6400) is acting wierd. It seems
that some or all of the components won't work, as if the power supply was
not producing enought wattage to power everything up. It now just sits at a
boot screen "testing hard drive" and going nowhere. yesterday I couldn't
boot from CD or floppy "some" of the time. Then a second hard drive wasn't
recognized; the BIOS hangs for about a minute when I add or remove a second
hard drive.
Does anyone have any insight into this phenomenon?
TNX
Doug