I think this one is on-topic. I got a Compaq Portable
III
dumped on my doorstep (more or less literally, actually), and
while I don't really collect PCs, this one's form factor
fascinated me. However, it seems like it's failing POST or
its equivalent -- when I turn it on, the caps lock light on
the keyboard (literally hanging on by a few threads) blinks,
then the three lights on the front bezel and the 5.25" floppy
light blink three times accompanied by three beeps from what
appears to be the power supply?, and it just sits there,
doing three beeps pause three beeps pause ..., until I turn it off.
Nothing else spins up and nothing shows on the screen, even
with me messing with the contrast. Any suggestions, or is
there a troubleshooting manual to give me some starting
points to see if I can refurbish this? Is the fact that the
keyboard is probably incompletely connected to blame?
I had the same problem with my Portable 386 because the PSU died, when I
disconnected the hard drive it started up ok. All I've got left of it is a
pile of spare parts, e.g. mem board, Weitek etc. I don't know how different
it is from the Portable III. The CMOS battery lasted around 12 years, so I'm
not too bothered about replacing it with another (although expensive)
lithium.
Anyone in the UK who has one they don't want...
It's a fun (small) way of having a 386DX PC, with the expansion box you can
have SVGA, SCSI and Ethernet connectivity. Mind you Netscape/IE3.31 on Win
3.11 is like watching paint dry in the rain.
Dave ;)