Old, DOA Gateway .. .. need advice .. ..

On Sun, 05 Aug 2007 21:01:07 -0400, __ Bob __ wrote:

A lady at my church asked me to "look" at her old computer .. .. said it
won't boot, shows funny garbage on the screen at bootup, then hangs.

I picked it up and started it .. .. the POST screen started to display
normally, then, it suddenly began displaying all kinds of weird ASCII
characters in different colors, "wiggling" all over the screen. Wouldn't
progress any further. I cleared the BIOS and restarted it .. ..
everything looks fine, EXCEPT .. .. it says the BIOS is incorrect
(nothing wrong with THAT .. I expected it) and to PRESS F1 to enter
SETUP. Problem starts here .. .. the motherboard has NO PS-2 ports for
keyboard or mouse .. .. USB ONLY !! !!.. .. and the BIOS has not yet
"seen" the USB legacy drivers needed to access the k'board/mouse.

Does anyone here have a clue how I can get into the BIOS to set it up
correctly ?? ?? ?? A call to GateWay was, of course futile .. .. after
listening intently to the whole explanation, the "technician" said all
we can do is send it in for "repairs - nothing's broke !) for a flat
rate of $188.00 + shipping. Being an old 700MHz Celeron, I know she
has no intention of having them "repair" it at that price.

The motherboard is an MSI N1996, that was "customized" for GateWay by
leaving off the PS-2 ports. HP, COMPAQ, and everyone else who used
that board seemed to have left the hardware on it alone, but GW just HAD
to have it modified.

Oh well .. .. .. any ideas out there ?? ?? ??


thanx .. .. ..

Bob,

Yes, you could download and run a Live CD Linux, SimplyMepis 6.5.02 32-bit
version that I installed in one of these gateway USB keyboard & mouse
systems... www.mepis.org/node/68

SimplyMepis has great hardware recognition, and it installed easily... not
a cutting edge Linux Distro, but a stable one that is dependable and
“works out of the box, so to speak”...

Bob running the Live CD, will allow you can easily test the USB ports
without using a soldering iron...

Just a suggestion...

JR the postman

On Tue, 14 Aug 2007 22:11:56 -0700, Postman Delivers wrote:

On Sun, 05 Aug 2007 21:01:07 -0400, __ Bob __ wrote:

A lady at my church asked me to "look" at her old computer .. .. said
it won't boot, shows funny garbage on the screen at bootup, then hangs.

I picked it up and started it .. .. the POST screen started to display
normally, then, it suddenly began displaying all kinds of weird ASCII
characters in different colors, "wiggling" all over the screen.
Wouldn't progress any further. I cleared the BIOS and restarted it ..
.. everything looks fine, EXCEPT .. .. it says the BIOS is incorrect
(nothing wrong with THAT .. I expected it) and to PRESS F1 to enter
SETUP. Problem starts here .. .. the motherboard has NO PS-2 ports
for keyboard or mouse .. .. USB ONLY !! !!.. .. and the BIOS has not
yet "seen" the USB legacy drivers needed to access the k'board/mouse.

Does anyone here have a clue how I can get into the BIOS to set it up
correctly ?? ?? ?? A call to GateWay was, of course futile .. ..
after listening intently to the whole explanation, the "technician"
said all we can do is send it in for "repairs - nothing's broke !) for
a flat rate of $188.00 + shipping. Being an old 700MHz Celeron, I
know she has no intention of having them "repair" it at that price.

The motherboard is an MSI N1996, that was "customized" for GateWay by
leaving off the PS-2 ports. HP, COMPAQ, and everyone else who used
that board seemed to have left the hardware on it alone, but GW just
HAD to have it modified.

Oh well .. .. .. any ideas out there ?? ?? ??


thanx .. .. ..

Bob,

Yes, you could download and run a Live CD Linux, SimplyMepis 6.5.02
32-bit version that I installed in one of these gateway USB keyboard &
mouse systems... www.mepis.org/node/68

SimplyMepis has great hardware recognition, and it installed easily...
not a cutting edge Linux Distro, but a stable one that is dependable and
“works out of the box, so to speak”...

Bob running the Live CD, will allow you can easily test the USB ports
without using a soldering iron...

Just a suggestion...

JR the postman

Bob,

Sorry I forgot the specifics
Model number: ESSENTIAL 933C
serial number: 0022214654

JR the postman

Postman Delivers wrote:
On Sun, 05 Aug 2007 21:01:07 -0400, __ Bob __ wrote:


A lady at my church asked me to "look" at her old computer .. .. said it
won't boot, shows funny garbage on the screen at bootup, then hangs.

I picked it up and started it .. .. the POST screen started to display
normally, then, it suddenly began displaying all kinds of weird ASCII
characters in different colors, "wiggling" all over the screen. Wouldn't
progress any further. I cleared the BIOS and restarted it .. ..
everything looks fine, EXCEPT .. .. it says the BIOS is incorrect
(nothing wrong with THAT .. I expected it) and to PRESS F1 to enter
SETUP. Problem starts here .. .. the motherboard has NO PS-2 ports for
keyboard or mouse .. .. USB ONLY !! !!.. .. and the BIOS has not yet
"seen" the USB legacy drivers needed to access the k'board/mouse.

Does anyone here have a clue how I can get into the BIOS to set it up
correctly ?? ?? ?? A call to GateWay was, of course futile .. .. after
listening intently to the whole explanation, the "technician" said all
we can do is send it in for "repairs - nothing's broke !) for a flat
rate of $188.00 + shipping. Being an old 700MHz Celeron, I know she
has no intention of having them "repair" it at that price.

The motherboard is an MSI N1996, that was "customized" for GateWay by
leaving off the PS-2 ports. HP, COMPAQ, and everyone else who used
that board seemed to have left the hardware on it alone, but GW just HAD
to have it modified.

Oh well .. .. .. any ideas out there ?? ?? ??


thanx .. .. ..


Bob,

Yes, you could download and run a Live CD Linux, SimplyMepis 6.5.02 32-bit
version that I installed in one of these gateway USB keyboard & mouse
systems... www.mepis.org/node/68

SimplyMepis has great hardware recognition, and it installed easily... not
a cutting edge Linux Distro, but a stable one that is dependable and
“works out of the box, so to speak”...

Bob running the Live CD, will allow you can easily test the USB ports
without using a soldering iron...

Just a suggestion...

JR the postman
Thanx .. .. I'll try that .. ..

;250193 Wrote:
Postman Delivers wrote:
A lady at my church asked me to "look" at her old computer .. .. said
it
won't boot, shows funny garbage on the screen at bootup, then hangs.

I picked it up and started it .. .. the POST screen started to
display
normally, then, it suddenly began displaying all kinds of weird ASCII
characters in different colors, "wiggling" all over the screen.
Wouldn't
progress any further. I cleared the BIOS and restarted it .. ..
everything looks fine, EXCEPT .. .. it says the BIOS is incorrect
(nothing wrong with THAT .. I expected it) and to PRESS F1 to enter
SETUP. Problem starts here .. .. the motherboard has NO PS-2 ports
for
keyboard or mouse .. .. USB ONLY !! !!.. .. and the BIOS has not yet
"seen" the USB legacy drivers needed to access the k'board/mouse.

Does anyone here have a clue how I can get into the BIOS to set it up
correctly ?? ?? ?? A call to GateWay was, of course futile .. ..
after
listening intently to the whole explanation, the "technician" said
all
we can do is send it in for "repairs - nothing's broke !) for a flat
rate of $188.00 + shipping. Being an old 700MHz Celeron, I know she
has no intention of having them "repair" it at that price.

The motherboard is an MSI N1996, that was "customized" for GateWay by
leaving off the PS-2 ports. HP, COMPAQ, and everyone else who used
that board seemed to have left the hardware on it alone, but GW just
HAD
to have it modified.

Oh well .. .. .. any ideas out there ?? ?? ??


I realize this is an OLD thread but......those mobo's are notorious for
blowing the caps. I've replaced them before on the one I have now
(still).


Just a thought.

JohnF