My desktop is dead. I have a PII-350mhz with 128mb RAM running (or at least it used to run) Win 98. The problems started when the CD-ROM stopped working. It was spinning the disc around, but apparently unable to read it. No biggie, really, since I rarely use it.
Then I tried to set up a network between the desktop and my laptop. Laptop worked fine, but the desktop couldn’t see itself or anything else on the network. I rebooted. Nothing. A day or two (and several reboots) later, the network suddenly worked fine. No settings had been changed and all the cabling was secure, just like it had been the whole time. A couple hours later I rebooted again. Now the laptop could see itself, but not the notebook. I was able to send data from notebook to laptop, but not vice versa. The next time I rebooted, the network didn’t work at all. Not only that, but the cable modem didn’t work with the network card.
So my PC had no connectivity for a few days. During those days, I rebooted a few times, didn’t change any settings, and didn’t install any software. One day, I just turned the computer on and … Hard Drive : not recognized , Floppy Drive : not recognized. Neither was the CD-ROM or the NIC or anything!
You have some software that’s hoarding IRQs for its device, instead of sharing with other devices. Easily fixed–prevent the software from loading at boot. Because your hard drive is now not being recognized at boot, I doubt that this is the case.
Your CMOS battery is faulty, but not totally dead. If so, the computer could be forgetting what hardware you have (CD-Rom, network card, whatever,) then poorly reassigning the hardware on boot.
You have been infected with a bootsector virus. An up-to-date virus scanner should find it. Won’t do you much good though, until you get it booted.
Your IDE controller (or possibly the entire mother board) has gone screwy. You may need to replace some hardware to correct this.
Here’s something you can try:
Power down the machine, and unplug it.
Wait 60 seconds for the stored electricity to be discharged.
Remove the case from the machine.
Find the Battery jumper (assuming you have jumpers on your board.) It’s usually right next to the battery, but check your Owner’s Manual to be sure.
Pop the jumper off for 30 to 60 seconds, then put it back on EXACTLY like it came off.
Put the case back on.
Plug the machine in, and power up.
As always, follow standard procedures for both your safety AND the computer’s safety. If you’re unsure about any of this, seek qualified assistance.
Step #8: If it boots after doing that, check your CMOS settings.
If the settings for your hard drive are totally wrong, then I’d bet on it being the battery. If you’re comfortable with changing your settings manually, you can try that first, just to see if it’ll work.
If the settings are correct, then I’d say it’s probably a hardware problem.
You can also try removing everything except the hard drive, then adding components one at a time until you find the one that’s causing the trouble.
If you are able to isolate a component as being the problem, it could be bad hardware. Or it could have a bad controller. Or it could simply be a faulty driver.
Network connectivity problems could be caused by file sharing or password administration etc issues and is not necessarily related to BIOS having a heart attack. Soulfrost list covered issues pretty well.
You might also want to try removing all the ISA/PCI/AGP cards and memory SIMMS/DIMMS and drive cabling from socketed connections in machine and firmly re-attaching and installing. This would tell you if a loose or poor connections is the culprit.
Also try removing the desktop network card by itself and operating the machine without it.
Thanks for the advice. I’ll give it a try when I get some spare time. I’m inclined to think it’s the battery. When it still worked, I’d power down and the damn thing would never come back on when I tried to power it up. I’d have to yank the plug, wait five minutes, plug it back in again, wait another five minutes, and then it would boot fine. (It took me about a month of trial and error to figure that system out. If waited ten minutes instead of just five, it wouldn’t work. It’s weird that way). Could that be a symptom of a faulty battery?
I’m not really too well-versed when it comes to computer hardware. I’m proficient on the software end, but when I open up that case and see a mess of wires, I don’t know where to begin. I think it may be about time to purchase a book on the subject.
Desktop Computer batteries are usually button Lithium 2032’s that you can get easily & put in yourself. try unplugging it from the modem if you have ext modem, & the network before turning it on.