where is the bios

[upup]

Cleaner at work bring this pc to me.
Just before the bios it stops and wait.
I cannot enter the bios.
Just tell the processor speed. 166mhz I think.
I did not open the case yet.
This is not my job, just trying to help.

Any tips.

 

[Drake2007]

Do you hear any beeps and if so describe them here as in 2 short 1 long etc.

 

[Mars]

Does it have all the hardware inside it?
Make sure it has ram, cpu, ect..

Does it display the screen card info?

 

[upup]

No beebs.

Screen-card, no, just American megatrend or something similar.

 

[skusku]

sounds like HDD or cdrom that went. unplug one of the two then the other one and see if it passes the POST screen.

 

[kingrob]

I cannot enter the bios.

To enter the BIOS, you normally press DELETE or F2....varies from motherboard to motherboard.

If you manage to access the BIOS, not sure how that will help you. You can check if the BIOS is picking up a hard disk/CD-ROM/DVD ROM and change the boot order to CD-ROM/DVD ROM first. Then pop in an Ubuntu CD.

But my best guess is that it's an old Pentium MMX....and will only be able to run Windows 98 properly. Or you can use it as a doorstop.

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

My experience with these oldies, be charitable and toss the junker. Then ask around for an old P4. Not worth the pain and suffering (you might end up buying her a PC to just make the pain go away).

 

[Asha'man X]

My experience with these oldies, be charitable and toss the junker. Then ask around for an old P4. Not worth the pain and suffering (you might end up buying her a PC to just make the pain go away).

Amen to that. Had this situation pop up at my work a few times already. A 166MHZ P1 is not going to work for anyone, I can't even think of a usable graphical Linux distro to run on there. Recently someone came to me with a Celeron 460 odd MHZ processor and 384MB ram, wanting it fixed. I can't legally install XP for him, and even if I could, it would so slow it's not even funny. I would throw on a Linux distro, but it won't work for this person.

 

[upup]

remove all the harddrive cdrom and stiffy,

then restart.
same story.

it stops before you can enter the bios.

Everything inside seems as normal but very ancient.

 

[kingrob]

Everything inside seems as normal but very ancient.

It will be a good doorstop and you'll get fresh air in your office.

Like other forumites said, you're not gonna find a recent OS that's gonna run fast on it, so just bin it. It's kapoet.

 

[Hectic]

Remove the ram. Clean the contact points with a pencil rubber. You can for good measure also use a piece of fine sandpaper (metal) and fold it once or twice and clean the contact points of the memory slots on the board.. Just make sure to clean out the slots after using the sandpaper and before you replace the ram. Compressed air works well.
You can also check if the cmos battery is still ok. Some mother boards do not want to complete the POST if the battery is flat.

If there are any other Pci / ISA cards remove them. If this does not help, give it back and say "sorry, can't help"

 

[Draconia2]

youd have to use the pc case as a braai or hamster/critters cage ;D . i think windows 95/98 should work on it , it use to run on my 200mhz pentium lol.

 

[Synaesthesia]

I put XP on my dad's PC, a P2 400mhz with 384mb RAM. It runs just fine.

Amen to that. Had this situation pop up at my work a few times already. A 166MHZ P1 is not going to work for anyone, I can't even think of a usable graphical Linux distro to run on there. Recently someone came to me with a Celeron 460 odd MHZ processor and 384MB ram, wanting it fixed. I can't legally install XP for him, and even if I could, it would so slow it's not even funny. I would throw on a Linux distro, but it won't work for this person.

 

[DJNgoma]

I put XP on my dad's PC, a P2 400mhz with 384mb RAM. It runs just fine.

With SP3?