It's still alve!

[DR]

Does anyone know how to access the setup on a Magnavox MaxStation 386SX? Know a web site for information?
Also, is this unit so unsupported that the owners should be talked out of spending any money on it? Thanks.

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A biker knows why dogs stick their heads out of windows.

[Darren Wilson]

If it is in your shop for repair or upgrade then the labour cost alone is going to be more than what the unit is worth.

Honestly, tell them it isn't worth spending any money on.

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'I won't deny ya, I'm a straight Ridah, You don't wanna f#@k with me'
Tupac Shakur
'*****ionz as a Ridah'
All Eyez On Me
CD 1 Track 1.

[DR]

Thanks or your reply. It runs OK though I have no base of knowledge of 386's to compare to. I almost laughed when they said they wanted 98 put on it. Had a hard time explaining it wasn't 98 that made other computers faster. Maxtor diagnostic says HDD not set right in BIOS so I wanted to correct that. DOS shows a lot of trash on the drive. Seems to be a lot of old Autoexec.XXX showing. Figure I'll just format and reload 3.1

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A biker knows why dogs stick their heads out of windows.

[This message has been edited by DR (edited March 13, 2001).]

[condor]

well bios setup for old machnies could be many things..


Ctrl+ESC
Ctrl+S
F1 thru F12
Ctrl+Alt+Esc

Shift+S
Shift+Del

and many more..

I would suggest you don't mess around too much with that old machine unless
1. you are a mster in DOS and Windows 3.1x
2. Have all the DOS drivers available
3. know what you're doing with the hardware.

those machnies are from the days when being a Tech was very difficult (not many standards)- you should consider telling the user it's not worth the while.

one hour of work costs a lot more than the entire computer

he'd be better off with an Old Pentium (he can get one for about $100-200 without a screen).


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Computers do exactly what you tell them to do - not exactly what you want them to do ...

[AlienDyne]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by DR:

Also, is this unit so unsupported that the owners should be talked out of spending any money on it? Thanks.

</font>

It depends from the use.
If they just want it to type under MS-DOS or play old DOS-games, I think they don't need to get a new one. Provided of course, that it still works properly!


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"Matter is passive. In spite of its power, it can't be controlled without the human mind." - Sokrates

My Hardware Info, Hardware Media and Computer History page

[Ruslan]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by DR:
Maxtor diagnostic says HDD not set right in BIOS so I wanted to correct that. </font>

You can use Ontrack Disk Manager and correct this problem. Disk Manager in maitenance mode
(with key /m) can set BIOS HDD settings or use own translation algorithm. Of course,it will format hard drive.

But....very old PC...

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Ruslan Khyzha

[Sowulo]

Don't you have an old pentium laying around that you can just give this guy instead of wasting time on a 386?

I'm not trying to be critical--just speaking from a number of experiences like this where I've made very good long-term customers by taking care of them up-front in this manner....not to mention saving myself the aggravation of working on such an old piece of junk...

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Ya never know, ya know?

[Melmac]

Hell, I got plenty of Petiums laying around. If you're in a pinch I could send you one.

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Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it.

[cyberhh]

Please keep in mind that your customer can get an old pentium for less than $100 from a descent classified add and will be happier with it than anything you can do with Win98 on a 386 (not possible), even if you get Win3.11 working it wasn't what they wanted, and even at $25/hr the pentium is not much more than they would pay you.

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Death is lighter than a feather - duty heavier than a mountian.

[DR]

Thanks for all the input. To be honest I'm what's been described as a garage tech. I'm just starting out, changing carrers so I'm working on crap for experience and a little money. I've started my other business in a similar way, slow to start but a steady clientel.
I did not believe I could do them any good but my reputation is not established yet and your comments should help convince them to upgrade. I told them already I could get them something for 100 to 150 that would scream by comparison.
Again, thanks for your help.

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A biker knows why dogs stick their heads out of windows.

[This message has been edited by DR (edited March 13, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by DR (edited March 13, 2001).]