Hi

Been trying to help out a friend. He has an ancient computer running Windows 95 (!). Not sure of the machine’s make but it's low-profile horizontal type closely resembling a Dell Optimax. Has a basic Pentium processor.

Machine was working ok but had a defective floppy drive. We replaced this, taking anti-static precautions, only to find on reassembling the machine that the VDU had stopped displaying, behaving as if not even connected to the PC. Changing the monitor for a known good one made no difference.

Although we have no display, the machine appears not to boot up completely eg no beeps, floppy LED does not light but those on the CD-ROM and HDD do illuminate.
Processor and PSU fans operate ok. There is some HDD activity but only for a few seconds immediately after power-up.

The PC does not have a separate graphics card so the monitor socket is mounted directly onto the motherboard. All connections appear secure and the electronics appear clean and in good condition.

Can anyone suggest the likely problem or a diagnostic route?

I would first undo all that you did. Remove the floppy drive. Verify that the IDE connections are good.

Perhaps reset the CMOS. Reseat the RAM & CPU.

Originally Posted by jephree

I would first undo all that you did. Remove the floppy drive. Verify that the IDE connections are good.

Perhaps reset the CMOS. Reseat the RAM & CPU.

Hi jephree

Thanks. Not sure about resetting the CMOS. I read on another thread somewhere about disconnecting from the mains and then holding the main power-on button in for one minute. Is that what is required? Further thought - could a discharged memory battery cause the symptoms described?

Cheers

Resetting the CMOS: disconnecting from the mains and then holding the main power-on button in for one minute is one possibility. As is removing the battery. In a machine this old a new battery would not be a bad idea. Also there may be jumpers on the motherboard. They would probably be close to the battery: three pins with a jumper that covers two. By removing the battery then changing the jumper from say 1 & 2 to 2 & 3 for a minute then switch back & reinsert the battery.

And again just check that you did not dislodge any other connection during your work.

Originally Posted by jephree

Resetting the CMOS: disconnecting from the mains and then holding the main power-on button in for one minute is one possibility. As is removing the battery. In a machine this old a new battery would not be a bad idea. Also there may be jumpers on the motherboard. They would probably be close to the battery: three pins with a jumper that covers two. By removing the battery then changing the jumper from say 1 & 2 to 2 & 3 for a minute then switch back & reinsert the battery.

And again just check that you did not dislodge any other connection during your work.

Hi again Jephree

Thanks for your help. It turned out to be the battery. Even though it eventually showed 3V on a digital meter it took its time getting there. Taking it out caused a BIOS reset so that the machine forgot the date, time and whether it had a hard drive or not but the parameters were all easily fixed. Now fully functional again - but with a working floppy drive this time. My friend was using my Xp machine to check his email while his was down and is now hankering to upgrade.

Cheers

Sparky