Calling all old school tech guys

[TangoJuliet]

Someone at my job asked me if I could look at his old computer to see if I could get it to work again. He said its been in his closet for a long time because he was getting an error message. I said I would take a look at it and see what I can do.

Ok, so I'm old but I've never seen one of these before. My first adventure into computing was with a C64 but I was like 6 years old and I wouldn't know the first thing about fixing one.

Here are the pictures of the computer, the internals and the error message that is popping up.

I tried to google "Magnavox HeadStart 300" and I couldn't find anything. So if anyone can help me out here I would greatly appreciate it.

http://i186.photobucket.com/al...ik24/ATOT/IMG_0528.jpg

http://i186.photobucket.com/al...ik24/ATOT/IMG_0529.jpg

http://i186.photobucket.com/al...ik24/ATOT/IMG_0530.jpg

http://i186.photobucket.com/al...ik24/ATOT/IMG_0531.jpg

http://i186.photobucket.com/al...ik24/ATOT/IMG_0532.jpg

http://i186.photobucket.com/al...ik24/ATOT/IMG_0533.jpg

 

[CptCrunch]

so your error is the cmos failure? correct? If that is the case, locate the cmos battery, about quarter in size, remove it, take it to radio shack and replace. Should fix you right up.

 

[TangoJuliet]

I'm guessing that the error message "CMOS Battery/Check Sum Error" is due to the fact that the on board battery is dead. Does anyone know what kind of computer this is and what kind of battery I can get to replace it?

 

[nakedfrog]

Looks like it needs a new battery. If there isn't one on the motherboard, then there's probably jumpers to allow an external battery to be hooked up.
I dunno if any of his floppies will still be readable, though

 

[JDub02]

try a new CMOS battery?

i'm impressed that it even boots that far .. that thing is OLD (as far as computers go)

 

[jlee]

Shoot it FTW?

What does he want to do with it?

 

[TangoJuliet]

Originally posted by: JLee
Shoot it FTW?

What does he want to do with it?

He said he has a bunch of really old games that he wants to play. I told him to search around the internet because theyre probably flash based now. Anyways, he just asked to see if I could get it running again.

I'm looking now for the battery - I got to remove the PSU to see the rest of the board.

 

[JDMnAR1]

Just looks to be an old clone - nice MFM/RLL HD there. You try to locate the CMOS battery and change it?

 

[nakedfrog]

Based on the 45MB HDD, I'm guessing it's probably just an old 286 or 386.

 

[James Bond]

Yep - def CMOS battery.

Pretty crazy though... I don't think I've ever seen one that old. Any idea what year it was manufactured?

 

[Baked]

Originally posted by: CptCrunch
so your error is the cmos failure? correct? If that is the case, locate the cmos battery, about quarter in size, remove it, take it to radio shack and replace. Should fix you right up.

Originally posted by: TangoJuliet
I'm guessing that the error message "CMOS Battery/Check Sum Error" is due to the fact that the on board battery is dead. Does anyone know what kind of computer this is and what kind of battery I can get to replace it?

WHOOSH!

You're not that old if you never seen a machine like that. It's a mid 80s to early 90s machine.

Originally posted by: JLee
Shoot it FTW?

What does he want to do with it?

So he can nuke it from orbit.

 

[JDMnAR1]

Just in case you get it running, you may want to refer to this MS Link.

 

[TangoJuliet]

Originally posted by: Baked

Originally posted by: CptCrunch
so your error is the cmos failure? correct? If that is the case, locate the cmos battery, about quarter in size, remove it, take it to radio shack and replace. Should fix you right up.

Originally posted by: TangoJuliet
I'm guessing that the error message "CMOS Battery/Check Sum Error" is due to the fact that the on board battery is dead. Does anyone know what kind of computer this is and what kind of battery I can get to replace it?

WHOOSH!

You're not that old if you never seen a machine like that. It's a mid 80s to early 90s machine.

Originally posted by: JLee
Shoot it FTW?

What does he want to do with it?

So he can nuke it from orbit.

Yeah, guess you are right. I looked around and found a label that said it was manufactured in 1990. I just got the PSU out and I dont see any battery. It may still be behind the HDD but I'll have to take that out as well.

 

[bruceb]

I have an old Northstar Horizon Z-80 4Mhz computer still at home. Haven't turned it on in years .. and it does not have a Hard Drive, just 2 5 1/4" floppies, 64K RAM & a Black/White Video card ... the power supply alone is about 4 Lbs in weight. Computer used the old S-100 Bus for
the cards, which at the time was the standard. It ran on Northstar DOS & Northstar Basic

 

[RebateMonger]

In that time, many motherboards used four AA batteries in a holder to power the CMOS.

At 12.5 MHz, the CPU is almost certainly a 286. 386's started at 16 MHz.

 

[JDMnAR1]

Originally posted by: RebateMonger
In that time, many motherboards used four AA batteries in a holder to power the CMOS.

...or a single cell battery stuck somewhere on the inside of the case with double stick tape and connected to the mobo via a 2- or 3-pin header.

 

[JackMDS]

Take a look again, you are probably looking for a battery like the one that we are using these days.

Many of these old computers have a Rechargeable NiCd battery, or even a big plastic holder with few AA batteries.

If it is the NiCd you have to cut it out and connect in the same place a regular AA batteries (might be an holder with few of them) to get the correct voltage (most needed 4.5 or 6v).

In any case the RLL HD drives su**d big time when they where new. I doubt that it would work now after it was seating for so long.

P.S. I paid at that time in the past $620 for a 60MB Seagate RLL Drive.

 

[TangoJuliet]

Ok, I got the PSU out and I am having a hard time getting the floppy drives out of the way. I was able to get one removed and I think I found what I am looking for.

http://i186.photobucket.com/al...ik24/ATOT/IMG_0534.jpg

Is that black thing there the battery?

 

[RebateMonger]

The ST157A is an early IDE drive, with standard 40-pin data connector. If you replace it, be sure to identify Pin 1. If you reverse the connections on either the motherboard or the hard drive, you risk destroying the drive controller (I've done it). Early boards didn't have protection against this error.

 

[Billb2]

The Magnavox HeadStart 300 CD is a 12 MHz, 286-based computer with 1 Mbyte of RAM, mouse, 101 AT-Style keyboard, 16-bit VGA graphics, one parallel and serial port, AT and XT expansion slots, and 24-baud internal modem. The computers come bundled with such software packages as MS-DOS 4.01, Q & A Version 3.0, Publish It!, GW-Basic, Prodigy subscription kit, and Microsoft Bookshelf of reference materials. Using stereo headphones provided with the unit, users can listen to audio compact disks, which the HeadStart 300 CD also can play. This unit sold for $1,999.

 

[TangoJuliet]

Originally posted by: RebateMonger
The ST157A is an early IDE drive, with standard 40-pin data connector. If you replace it, be sure to identify Pin 1. If you reverse the connections on either the motherboard or the hard drive, you risk destroying the drive controller (I've done it). Early boards didn't have protection against this error.

Where would I be able to find a good working drive? How much do they go for?

If the HDD is replaced then how would I go about reloading the OS? I'm assuming that my co-worker no longer has any of the installation disks.

Originally posted by: Billb2
The Magnavox HeadStart 300 CD is a 12 MHz, 286-based computer with 1 Mbyte of RAM, mouse, 101 AT-Style keyboard, 16-bit VGA graphics, one parallel and serial port, AT and XT expansion slots, and 24-baud internal modem. The computers come bundled with such software packages as MS-DOS 4.01, Q & A Version 3.0, Publish It!, GW-Basic, Prodigy subscription kit, and Microsoft Bookshelf of reference materials. Using stereo headphones provided with the unit, users can listen to audio compact disks, which the HeadStart 300 CD also can play. This unit sold for $1,999.

Cool, thanks for the info!

 

[JackMDS]

Originally posted by: TangoJuliet
Ok, I got the PSU out and I am having a hard time getting the floppy drives out of the way. I was able to get one removed and I think I found what I am looking for.

http://i186.photobucket.com/al...ik24/ATOT/IMG_0534.jpg

Is that black thing there the battery?

Yap, looks like a recharge.

 

[MadAmos]

flea bay

 

[ZetaEpyon]

Originally posted by: JackMDS

Originally posted by: TangoJuliet
Ok, I got the PSU out and I am having a hard time getting the floppy drives out of the way. I was able to get one removed and I think I found what I am looking for.

http://i186.photobucket.com/al...ik24/ATOT/IMG_0534.jpg

Is that black thing there the battery?

Yap, looks like a recharge.

Might also be a piezo speaker, kinda hard to tell from that image. Then again, I don't remember whether or not motherboards from that era had onboard piezo speakers or not.

Also, it looks hilarious (and cool) to see a 286 hooked up to a large, modern LCD.

 

[AVP]

Haha I wish I could help you but I was in diapers when that thing came out, but holy smokes $167 a Mhz! Just imagine, a 3gz quad would cost 2 million dollars!