Questions tagged [repair]
Retro hardware repair. Use for non-functioning systems; for working systems use [maintenance].
57
questions
11
votes
1
answer
296
views
Commodore 64 breadbin plastic stands repair options?
I have a Commodore 64. The internal plastic stands for the board were all cracked and some were completely destroyed. See pictures
In a futile attempt to fix them, I removed the old broken ones, ...
- 689
11
votes
8
answers
3k
views
Zip drive eject "tool"
So I am trying to manually eject a Zip disk from a Zip drive. This is not a OEM Zip drive, but one made specifically for a Pentium laptop. I went to the dollar store and bought a pack of paper clips,...
- 503
5
votes
0
answers
55
views
trying to debug old 1979 Micropolis 1016-2 floppy controller issue
I have an old IMSAI PCS-80/30 S-100. It runs Micropolis MDOS 4.0.
I have Micropolis 1016-2 single drive (doesn't seem to read or write), Micropolis 1043-2 dual drive (reads sometimes when the moon is ...
- 51
1
vote
1
answer
179
views
Laser fd-100 Stepper motor vibrates
I have a Laser FD-100 that doesn’t work. the stepper motor just vibrates instead of moves. I took it out and greased it and still nothing. There are 3 pins on the board that look broken. What are they ...
- 31
6
votes
1
answer
894
views
Can I use a volume wheel with different specs for the GBA?
I bought a replacement volume wheel for the GBA. There are no other potentiometers available for the GBA. The original one has 30 kΩ as shown on the schematics. The one I bought has 10 kΩ and can be ...
- 4,684
4
votes
1
answer
421
views
How to repair IIgs 3.5 floppy drive?
The Apple 3.5" Drive on my IIgs still reads disks, but eject no longer works. The failure to eject is silent, no errors, noise, or motion. With a paperclip I can get the disks ejected but this is ...
- 2,392
6
votes
1
answer
498
views
Is this SpeedDOS chip mounted right in my C64?
I have removed a chip to reseat it, but sadly I forgot how it was placed on my C64 (breadbin).
I assume its text should be in the same direction of all the other chips on the board, but now I don't ...
- 243
3
votes
1
answer
749
views
Award BIOS error code meaning
I have a faulty Asus SP-97V Pentium motherboard. It doesn't boot, but it definitely takes power and does something.
I plugged a PCI diagnostics card into it, and it shows error codes C0 or C1. It ...
- 483
6
votes
1
answer
318
views
Commodore 1581 crashes during format
I have a Commodore 1581 (800k 3.5" DD) floppy drive which reads and writes data just fine (with DD disks only of course), but it crashes (drive keeps spinning forever, stops moving the head and ...
- 311
6
votes
4
answers
888
views
C128D shorted Composite and Ground
I just did a stupid thing and connected a new cable without inspecting it first. It was from a reputable seller, but has shorted pins 2 and 4.
What is the potential damage it could have caused and ...
- 4,174
6
votes
1
answer
583
views
Macintosh Plus always resets on power up
I have a Macintosh Plus, which as soon as I turn it on shows the floppy icon and then resets itself immediately afterwards. Note that it does so as soon as it needs to power up the floppy drive. For ...
- 219
2
votes
0
answers
315
views
304-Keyboard or System Unit Error -- Compaq Prolinea 4/25s
I've recently got this error: 304-Keyboard or System Unit Error when booting my Compaq Prolinea. I've tested the keyboard on another computer and it's fine. I don't have another PS/2 keyboard to ...
- 939
7
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Modern heat sinks for Commodore C64/C128
The VIC-II and SID chips in the C64/128 are prone to over-heating and are rather expensive to replace nowadays. Some other ICs in these machines may have the same issue.
An unmodified machine includes ...
- 60.1k
4
votes
1
answer
420
views
Reviving a Powerbook 145B, but it still struggles to power up correctly
Some weeks ago I got a non-working Powerbook 145b for 20€ (~23USD).
The first thing I did was to test the power supply, which was giving a good 7.8V.
I saw that the battery was still in place and I ...
- 293
2
votes
3
answers
321
views
Commodore C386SX-LT, what is causing this hissing sound
I'm trying to work out what is wrong with this laptop. There is a hissing sound coming from the power board mid left. The laptop screen remains off and there is no output to external VGA unless it ...
- 4,174
5
votes
2
answers
733
views
CBM PET 2001 garbled screen
I picked up this PET and trying to restore it. Screen is garbeled on boot and stays like that displaying random chars, some of them flashing. Tried to resocket the chips, but it didn't help. I don't ...
- 4,174
1
vote
2
answers
278
views
Compaq Presario R 3000 - turned on a year ago, no longer does
The situation: a Compaq Presario R 3000 that turned on about a year ago, but since then only a little red light comes on with the battery in or out; I am not sure if this model was supposed to turn ...
- 111
3
votes
4
answers
908
views
Where can I find a 26-pin flex flat cable for the floppy drive in a Toshiba T19x0 laptop?
I was trying to take apart a Toshiba T1950ct laptop to replace the slim floppy drive’s belt. Unfortunately, I broke the delicate flat flex cable (ffc), which is a non-standard 26-wire floppy cable. ...
- 336
0
votes
0
answers
198
views
Portable 386 that only ever beeps continuously; no video
I've acquired a late-80s portable 386 with builtin LCD in unknown working state. It only ever beeps continuously on boot, with no picture on either the built-in LCD or an external VGA-connected ...
- 109
8
votes
2
answers
964
views
Fixing an ailing Amiga 500
My old Amiga 500 has been living in its box for the past 20 years and does not function as it should. When turned on initially it seems to work fine, loads the Workbench disk and allows me to open/...
- 861
30
votes
2
answers
5k
views
Zilog Z80 freezes while binary counting up to 65 536 (2^16)
A few days ago, I got Z80A CPU from eBay. So I tried to run it with classic 555 timer as a clock signal generator. I connected the 8-bit data bus of the CPU to the ground to "simulate ROM" (00 for NOP)...
- 533
2
votes
1
answer
526
views
Are there any examples of the use of AI to recreate drivers to resurrect old systems?
Background
I am fascinated by the thought of re-purposing systems with modern OSes. For example, I am running a hacked Android Pie ROM on an old Samsung Galaxy S4. A main reason why this isn't more ...
- 121
5
votes
1
answer
435
views
Finding replacement LEDs for Commodore gear?
Around 1984, Commodore transitioned from using round LED bulbs for power and drive indicators to rectangular ones. Some of these could be quite wide, like the ones pictured for a 1571 disk drive. They ...
- 60.1k
1
vote
1
answer
172
views
Need help with lifted pads/traces on a TRS-80 Model 100 PCB
The worst imaginable thing you can think of happened. I've tried making a minor repair and it all rolled downhill like a snowball and now I have significant damage.
Extent of Damage
The pads got ...
- 561
13
votes
5
answers
458
views
Preventing socketed chip corrosion?
I spent a couple hours repairing an Amiga A3000 that wouldn't boot yesterday. The fix was to remove Kickstart ROMs, clean the DIP leads and sockets with contact cleaner, and re-insert. Apparently a ...
- 60.1k
4
votes
0
answers
96
views
Backlight inverter failure on TI Travelmate
I picked up a TI Travelmate 4000E for free and it worked perfectly using my AC adapter(genuine TI one from another 4000E). The backlight fires up full brightness for about a second, then dies. ...
- 41
5
votes
2
answers
680
views
Commodore PC-1 power supply measurements off
I have a Commodore PC-1 with a busted power supply. I have no desire to fix it as
I don't have the know-how
it is already 30 years old
It is difficult to debug / find replacement components
So I ...
- 151
5
votes
1
answer
534
views
Is is possible to repair a SE/30 with reversed C2 and C11 capacitors?
Shamelessly stolen from BobDenford on Reddit.
I recapped my SE/30 but mistakenly reversed the polarity of the two axial capacitors (C2 and C11). Prior to my error, the machine was fully functional ...
- 18.5k
6
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Is my Japanese Pokemon Red cart fake or damaged?
I recently got this copy of Pokemon Red (JP). After an indeterminate amount of time (anywhere from 30 seconds to 30 minutes), it will cause my GB Player to crash. I have functional copies of Yellow ...
- 169
11
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Possible cause for C128 A/V output containing faintly coloured columns and failing shortly after?
I recently acquired a Commodore 128. It worked fine for about an hour, in both C64 and C128 mode, at the exception of some coloured bars, before displaying garbage and not booting anymore into any ...
4
votes
1
answer
667
views
Commodore C128 MOS 6526A interchangeability?
I have a working C128 desktop that I'm using to troubleshoot a non-working C128D-CR.
I suspected a problem with CIA 2 on the C128D, so I swapped its chip labelled "6526A" with a 1988 year stamp with ...
- 60.1k
2
votes
3
answers
7k
views
Fixing the horizontal size(width) of an old CRT monitor (Zenith ZCM 1390-E)
This is my first post. I looked around on the net for awhile and came across this board - looks to be the most competent, so here goes.
I managed to get my hands on an old computer monitor from my ...
3
votes
1
answer
336
views
Why does my IBM 5154 have an undulating wave?
My IBM 5154 had some blown capacitors in the power supply (the AC line filters). It worked, though I decided I should replace the caps in the power supply just to be safe. I went ahead and replaced ...
- 2,584
3
votes
2
answers
1k
views
3D Printed Replacement Key Caps for Atari 1040ST
How can I replace/repair broken Atari 1040ST key caps using 3D Printer?
Switches are in good condition. Only the key caps are to be replaced. Did Atari followed any industry standards like Cherry MX,...
- 2,728
5
votes
1
answer
208
views
How to diagnose a failed capacitor on the mainboard?
My Fox II 286 mainboard just blew a capacitor. I haven't yet powered it on, so maybe the cap was bad. How can I diagnose this problem, and eliminate other bad caps?
- 1,274
5
votes
1
answer
217
views
What are best techniques for repairing a chemically damaged PCB?
I have rescued many retro computers from the hazards of leaky batteries, and occasionally replaced capacitors that were suspicious. Except for one still unusable Mac SE/30, all my repairs were done ...
- 60.1k
10
votes
4
answers
12k
views
How to renew and re-ink old printer ribbons?
What is the proper way to restore and re-ink old typewriter, calculator, dot matrix printer, and mainframe lineprinter ribbons?
Usually fabric ribbons or open-cell foam sponge rollers were used to ...
- 3,639
10
votes
4
answers
2k
views
What's a safe and easy way to desolder the CPU from C64?
I have probably broken my CPU by connecting 5 V from Arduino (500 mA) to the SENSE Pin of the Casette Port, So now I wonder what would be the safest way to desolder the processor? I have a cheap ...
user6734
1
vote
1
answer
125
views
PCB Black Spot: Leakage?
Photo album, sorry for the hassle
Quick question: Ceramic disk capacitor has leaked? Or a dodgy soldering technique?
This is a quite old calculator, it's an arbitrary model nowhere to be found.
Any ...
- 11
4
votes
1
answer
831
views
Potentiometer rebuild - inexpensive damping grease?
I successfully took apart an Atari 2600 paddle controller, then cleaned and appropriately lubricated the contacts. However, the volume knob does not have the same smoothness as it does on the other ...
- 441
6
votes
2
answers
122
views
Will this Acculite laptop boot without HDD?
First I'd like to ask: Does anybody even know of this laptop? I was surprised to find 0 information about it online. I've was asked to see if I could get this thing to boot, but it was in rough shape. ...
8
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Used PS1 "slim" (PSone) freezes on boot
I got a PSone ("PS1 slim") for $5 off Facebook. Real dirty, didn't have any of the cables. So I take it apart, clean it real good. I take my universal power pack and my PS2 AV cables and plug it in. ...
- 645
4
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Installing hdd on PhoenixBIOS A486 on Gateway 2000 4DX-33
I'm fixing up a Gateway 2000 4DX-33 which came with a Fujitsu hard drive. The CMOS battery was dead after over 20 years without use, and needed to be replaced. This meant that all BIOS settings were ...
- 143
11
votes
1
answer
2k
views
What cleaning/repair can be done to a Mega Drive cartridge slot?
My Mega Drive's cartridges rarely boot. It's to the point where I sometimes don't want to change the current game because it'll mean 15 minutes of me constantly taking out and re-seating the next ...
- 1,020
9
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Replacing Amiga 9 pin D-Sub mouse cable
I have an original Amiga "tank" mouse, the PCBs are good, but the cable is clearly faulty as the Y axis and left mouse click doesn't work when it is tilted to the right.
I need to replace the cable ...
- 2,637
4
votes
1
answer
397
views
How to fix Apricot Xi keyboard
I've got a reasonably large collection of old computers that I've mostly picked up at such things as car boot sales, etc., before I went to University. Now that I'm working, I'm starting to look at ...
- 1,742
10
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Why is my Sega Genesis/Mega Drive II getting frozen?
My Sega Genesis/Mega Drive II get stuck (the image on the screen seems frozen) after some incidents that occurred to it. It doesn't matter when that is happened, which game did I play or even how hot ...
- 201
5
votes
0
answers
450
views
R.O.B can't move up or down
I got this R.O.B (Robotic Operating Buddy for the NES), first time I turned him on his arms wouldn't close, so I took him apart and cleaned him. I put the gears back into place. After turning him on ...
- 645
7
votes
2
answers
654
views
NES only works when I press reset
My aunt gave me her old nes, it was really dirty. I opened it up, cleaned it really good, cleaned the games too. I had to get a new power pack and av cables for it. I plugged everything into my TV (...
- 645
10
votes
3
answers
797
views
Is it possible to bend tension back into Atari 2600 joystick contact domes?
So I got these two Ataris, just got them working. I was testing out the controllers and most of them have problems with the joystick not reacting. I opened them up, cleaned them, still have the ...
- 645