IBM PC300GL no video

drasnordrasnor Starship OperatorHawthorne, CA Icrontian
edited February 2006 in Hardware
I've had this IBM PC300GL for about 6 years and it's never given me any crap before. I think sometime around last month the video stopped working. It has two video cards, a built-in Cirrus Logic GD5446 and a GeForce FX5200 in a PCI slot. I can't get video out of either card (monitor stays in power-saving mode) with or without the GeForce installed. Other than that, the machine boots up and operates normally.

System specs:
Pentium 233MHz w/ MMX
512KB L2 cache on COAST module
64MB SDRAM in two 32MB DIMMs
3com 3c905C-TX-M LAN PCI
SoundBlaster AWE64 Gold ISA
3com 56k hardware modem ISA
2x 4GB Maxtor hard drives of some variety (haven't been down there in awhile)
1x Toshiba DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo
Triple-boots Gentoo Linux, Windows 98SE, and MS-DOS 6.2.2

I have a vested interest in getting this machine working again; it's got all of my DOS games on it.

-drasnor :fold:

Comments

  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited February 2006
    Sounds like the motherboard bit the dust.

    I can only think of two things to try:

    1. reset the BIOS and start over with settings
    2. remove all components, including the motherboard, and reassemble

    If those two steps don't accomplish anything, it's probably the motherboard. I'm assuming fans and hard drive spin up when you start the system?
  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited February 2006
    That's the crazy part. It *boots up* normally, just no video. It boots into Gentoo by default where it runs a SSH server. I only found out about the video problem when I checked on it physically recently. I'll try looking for the CMOS reset. OEM PCs hide it well.

    -drasnor :fold:
  • deicistdeicist Manchester, UK
    edited February 2006
    I assume you've checked the monitor on a different PC? Have you tried swapping the VGA cable out for a different one?
  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited February 2006
    I tried it with 3 or so monitors. They all have their own cable.

    -drasnor :fold:
  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited February 2006
    I fixed it. Apparently holding down the power button while screaming expletives was the appropriate fix. This ranks up there with the server that responds favorably to getting kicked :confused:. Oh well. I've had some computers where begging and pleading gets results but with others I've had to take a harder line :mean:.

    -drasnor :fold:
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited February 2006
    Sounds like the PSU is on its way out the door. That's my opinion. :)
  • lemonlimelemonlime Canada Member
    edited February 2006
    drasnor wrote:
    I fixed it. Apparently holding down the power button while screaming expletives was the appropriate fix. This ranks up there with the server that responds favorably to getting kicked :confused:. Oh well. I've had some computers where begging and pleading gets results but with others I've had to take a harder line :mean:.

    -drasnor :fold:

    LOL! ;D
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