Dear Nick,
I think you might be looking at some sort of processor problem, but
I'm more likley to believe that there is some significant corrosion
problems with the MB itself. I'd especially re-seat all of the
expansion cards, and examine the slots with a magnifying glass,
to look for gunk and corrosion.
Mouse urine is not a recommended storage medium. I've had a
DEC VT102 terminal that I tried to rescue from the same condition,
some years ago, with no success. Upon opening it, and after
cleaning it out, roughly the same symptoms as you report
occurred. A close inspection of the main board revealed numerous
traces which had been cut. It appeared that mouse claws first
scratched the coating over the traces, then moisture corroded them
away.
You've got your hands full with this, I believe. I'd also suggest a
washing of the entire MB with a mild soap solution, then several
days worth of drying in a very warm, dry environment, to try to
neutralize some of the acids that have been dumped on it.
Good luck,
Anthony Albert
On 11 Oct 2000, at 22:47, Nick Dalzell wrote:
> I just saved an old 486DX/33 with 8MB of RAM from a mouse torture! The
> computer was literally filled to the brim with mouse poopies, litter, and
> insulation! Anyways, I cleaned the PC out, and made everything shiny again,
> but one problem:
>
> Upon first boot-up, the power supply buzzed and no fan action...Suspect a
> power supply you might say???? Wrong! I unplugged the old 125MB HD, and
> the power came on! Then went off and buzzed again...I disconnected power to
> the old floppies, which were covered with mildew and rust, and FINALLY power
> came on, processor fan spun, and keyboard and front panel lights came on,
> signifying that the board had power, but nothing on the screen, not even a
> memory count, or even a BIOS!
>
> This computer is a Trinity, and since they were in Owensboro, KY, I don't
> know if you have heard of them...It's just your average "custom-built
> computer." It does have a familiar AMI BIOS, which I know isn't bad, I
> guess! I think that this computer was once waterlogged, because of the smell
> of the mildew.
>
> One thing might be a clue as to why the BIOS doesn't appear: BAD
> processor...The 486 Chip has "VOID" stamped on it! Does this signify a bad
> processor????? The original processor was an SX...I can easily upgrade it
> to a Pentium Overdrive if this is the case...Any ideas???
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==============================================================
Anthony J. Albert [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Systems and Software Support Specialist Postmaster
Computer Services - University of Maine, Presque Isle
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