Lisa Kachold wrote: > A 300 MHz is going to be a tad slow. The current requirements for > FreeGeek recycled equipment are 500Mhz and the older equipment works > great for most users. After all what are we doing but browsing? > > The best tool in my bag is a Big TACK or twisty wire with the plastic > bitten off at that base, to insert into the tiny CDROM hole and > release the drive bay door. > > It's the "Hal 9000 drive bay door problem"...."I am sorry Dave, I > can't do that..." Arthur C. Clark Actually, I used a 100MHz Packard Hell machine as a firewall - running Mandrake 9, I think - for several years until the Cisco modem I'd attached it to died. Since that was all it was doing, it worked reasonably well. Mainly, I was attempting to avoid buying a new scope card, cheapskate that I am. I think this is the only machine I have left with an ISA interface. Oh well, I got the old power supply back in there, and it has a functioning network card. Would be nice to actually have a normally functioning CD, though. Vaughn > > http://wapedia.mobi/en/Obnosis || > http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/obnosis | Obnosis.com (503)754-4452 > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > > > Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2008 07:42:03 -0700 > > From: vltreude@deru.com > > To: plug-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us > > Subject: Re: OT: hardware question > > > > > > Vaughn Treude wrote: > > > Hello, everyone. Here's an OT question that is at least > > > computer-related. :-) > > > > > > I'm trying to resurrect an old 300 MHz PC I was using to run an ISA > > > scope card, and to run an old test suite that only works on - get > ready > > > for this - Windows 95. (It worked fine for that.) I was having > trouble > > > with the CD-ROM drive. I replaced it with four others from my "old > > > hardware" supplies in my closet, and none appeared to work. The > drives > > > would power up and the BIOS would recognize them but none wanted to > > > eject the tray. (Actually, one one of them, the tray would work a > couple > > > times and then be stuck closed until I cycled power.) Could all these > > > drives be bad, or could it be that the old generic 300W power > supply was > > > flakey? > > > > > > I happened to have a relatively new Antec supply; I'd swapped it > out on > > > a newer machine on which I'd suspected supply problems. Well, the > > > problem wasn't the supply, but I was too lazy to return the new > supply > > > to Fry's, so I kept this one as a spare. So I thought, good > opportunity > > > to test my theory. > > > > > > Turns out that is is an old PC Chips M565 motherboard, sort of an > AT/ATX > > > hybrid. It has both types of power connectors, so was able to hook up > > > the Antec. Then I discovered that the little switch connector on the > > > corner has NO remote power switch pins. It has suspend, reset, turbo > > > LED, etc. But no pins marked power or PS or RPS. I even downloaded > the > > > manual, which was no help. > > > > > > > > Never mind, I re-read the manual. Supposedly the suspend switch input > > can work as a power switch, if you hold it down for several seconds. > > That didn't work, of course. I like to think I'm being frugal by > > reclaiming old PC's, as I did with this one a few years back. But - > > there's a reason computer hardware is cheap. :-) > > Vaughn > > > > > So this is weird. They _have_ an ATX power connector, but no switch > > > pins. The Antec has a rocker switch on the back, but switching > that does > > > nothing, as I expected. Do I now have to swap the old supply back > in and > > > hope the problem was something else? (Like four bad drives? > Perhaps the > > > IDE2 port is malfunctioning and somehow confusing the drive? Maybe, > > > though I was actually able to access the CD during the brief time the > > > tray worked on one of them.) > > > > > > Or is there some sneaky way to make the Antec power up? > > > Thanks for any help I can get from the hardware hackers among us. > > > > > > Vaughn > > > > > > > > > --------------------------------------------------- > > > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us > > > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: > > > http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > --------------------------------------------------- > > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us > > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: > > http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > See how Windows connects the people, information, and fun that are > part of your life. See Now > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > --------------------------------------------------- > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: > http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss --------------------------------------------------- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss