24 Apr
2004
24 Apr
'04
1:39 a.m.
On Fri, 23 Apr 2004 15:23:59 -0400
"John Allain" <allain(a)panix.com> wrote:
I just shunted around the whole issue of replacing the battery or the proprietary
AD adapter on an old Compaq 386sx laptop I had that I wanted to bring up for use. I
figured out which of the four leads on the non-standard AC adapter jack were for +12 and
ground, took the whole thing open, and routed in a common connector from the side,
mounting it on a face of the plastic case where there was room for it. It has a new hole
in the case and wires routed oddly through the case, but it's a common 386sx machine
that now is useful for DOS and Minix. There are a lot of old laptops marooned in this
state (no AC adapter, battery dead) for which this is a viable way of salvaging them.
because the
CMOS battery (non-standard dammit)
All I can say is that replacing one battery with one of another shape
(both are two leads) is one of the easiest retrogrades somebody
could do. If you can't find the specs of the old battery then post a
picture...
Now, try getting 4 wires of an unknown PSU matched up...
John A.