486

D

do50

Big Geek
A family member's beloved 486 acts like the cpu is dead. Does anyone know where I can get a replacement chip? cheap?
 
Thanks for the response, NF!

The symptoms are that when the ON button is pressed, a fan starts, lights on the front come on, and then it all shuts down.
I don't know if it's the CPU, but could it come on for even a few seconds and run the fan if the power supply was dead?

There is no fan on the chip, and the power supply doesn't look like it has a fan. (The inside setup is rather elegant... very tidy looking)

I don't remember hearing anything from the hard drive.

At first I thought it might be the switch, but even if I hold the ON button in, it shuts down. The switch is not trivial to get to.

It used to be a UNIX server (now running win 98) and never crashes.

Any ideas?
 
Could be a bad motherboard. Could me ram, and power supplies slowly degrade over time It sounds like the motherboard is shutting the computer down due to something wrong. Is the CPU fan spinning. My last motherboard would't boot if it didn't sens a fan.
 
There is no fan on the cpu. It's not missing... there never was a fan there. There's a kind of chute that directs air from the one main fan pulling air into the case onto the cpu and then the air spreads out through the case vents and power supply.

I know nothing about motherboards other than to see it and think- yeah - that's a motherboard. Is it easy to check to see if it's ok?

Ram... any (obvious) way to check it? I'm a noob inside the case... and elsewhere :)

It's ancient. Bought used... with the history of being a server. The man loves it because it's always been like a rock... totally dependable.
Thanks for taking the time with this
 
The only ways to test a motherboard is to take it out, set it on a non-conductive surface like cardboard or something flat and sturdy. And test the motherboard with known working hardware.

Ram can be only tested in a known working system. usually if it boots up and you can run some applications the ram is fine.

Could you ask a buddy to test parts?

How long is it until the computer turns off after you hit the power button?
 
Given that it's a 486, I really wouldn't spend a whole lotta time on it. I don't know what the local shops have in your area, but you might see what you can do to pick up a used box instead. You might be able to get a Pentium II 400 box all ready to go for under $100, possibly with monitor, mouse, and keyboard.
 
Agree with BigB, however he did say "beloved", if you are a believe in the old and profound, i would suggest looking in your local ads for one, or having a hunt on the net, there are almost always 486's being offered for nothing.. if not being thrown away..

If you are attached to the 486, go buy or get another one, and throw your old one away.. its not realistic to spend any money on fixing one.. just buy a new one.. (new in the sense that it is old..)
 
what you're saying makes sense. Given that I don't know where the problem actually is... and I don't really know what I'm doing inside a case.... perhaps it's TIME for someone to move on... (He might be just as happy with Win 98 on any computer.)

Thanks for all the input. You guys are great!
Yeah, I may take some boxes to be recycled this weekend instead of beating my head against a wall for the next few weeks.
 
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