Hello All,
I got a new "old" toy. Compaq Armada 1590, 166 mhz, 80 megs RAM, 2.1 gig HDD, FDD, CD ROM, Sound, running Win 95.
Having some trouble with it, of course. Seems it will not stay connected online for more than a few minutes at a time. Very hard to get updates and fixes, and likes to go black screen on me every few minutes. Doesn't shut down completely as I can touch the touchpad and the screen comes right back.
Things I have already done:
Gotten what updates I could with my big computer, put them on disk and run them on the armada. Modem, system, firmware, diagnostics.
Been into power settings, turned everything off. Screen saver, all energy saving options. Can't find anything on hibernate, I suspect that's what it's doing.
Been into modem settings and made sure it was TCP/IP, and PPP set.
Unchecked diconnect after 30 mins.
Run defrag and scandisk. No errors, no problems.
Can't seem to get into BIOS or Setup, that may be where the problem lies. Tried the F10 at startup and nothing. Have downloaded and printed the manual from Compaq but it's not very concise.
I'm wondering if upgrading the OS would solve most of my problems?
I have disks for ME and W2K. I think it would run ME ok, as much as I don't like it, but I'm right sure it won't run W2K. Doesn't W2K need 2 gig of HDD space all on it's own?
All this toy is for is surfing and email. It doesn't need to play music or movies, it's not going to be downloading anything but updates and patches and such for itself. It won't be doing any gaming. It's really just a fix, as I am a computer addict, for when I don't want to sit in another room at my big computer.
Any suggestions or opinions would really be appreciated.
Thanks very much, LG;)

If you're going to re-install the OS, I'd suggest first making a detailed list of exactly what hardware is installed on that machine. Go to Device Manager and write it all down.
Then start websearching for drivers for those devices, for the OS you choose to install. Chances are good that some hardware component(s) will not be detected properly during installation, and if you don't know what's actually inside that machine then it's really hard to get it working!!

If the BIOS does not support booting from CD then you'll also need to identify a DOS driver for the CD and make a functioning boot disk that gives you CD support. Make and test your boot disk before reformatting :)

Regards to a choice of operating system, Given the specifications I'd use Windows 98 Second Edition. Windows 2000 will want about 1gb of harddrive space. It would be very sluggish with that processor and expecially that amount of RAM. Windows 98 should hop along quite nicely with 80mb RAM.

*** Compaq used to do strange things with the BIOS, like store the information on the HDD? I'd recommend not reformatting until you understand this situation and determine whether your machine does this. Others here know more than I about the older Compaqs.

Actually, what Compaq usually stores on the HD is the setup program for the BIOS.....without it no changes can be made to whatever the settings were when the drive was reformatted. :rolleyes:

One other thing I would check are your Power managemnt settings, not the Windows ones, but the Compaq ones that probably aren't there :rolleyes: (that is the other thing on Compaq laptops that tends to get lost in drive reformat, the control program for this non-windows power management).....it kind of sounds like the screen is set to turn off rather quickly, probably instead of using a screen saver.

Many older laptops had a DOS based power management that worked outside of Windows. On some older laptops, you ended up with three levels of power management, BIOS (very basic), this DOS based one, and from Win95 on the OS based one. You can probably find the needed Sofpaqs by doing a search on the website.

Thank you both so much for the input!! From all the research I've been doing that seems to be the major concern, the drivers. I have been on the compaq website most of last night and pretty much all of today. Doesn't seem to make much of a difference. I did find and install something called Power Management, it installed fine, and runs fine, I can adjust some of the power setting, more than before, but when it comes to the hibernation tab I get illegal operation, will be shut down, you know, the usual. It says in details, invalid page fault. If you think it will help I'll get the exact error and post it. I was so hoping that program would solve the problem. I'm on the laptop now, I babied it and babied it all through an hour and 45 minutes to get it to dl IE 5.01 so at least I can communicate and get the right dl right on it instead of making disks on my big boy and running them on this. What a pain that was, but I am sure learning and actually having some fun. After the 30 day warrenty is up I plan on opening it up and taking a look inside too. I am hoping to keep this running till I can afford to get a copy of Win98SE, that seems to be the favorite of all the people I've talked too.
I wrote down all that I could find on the hardware that is installed on this Sled, but I don't think it will be much help. The CD ROM is about the only thing that has an actual name. Mat****a UJDA120
the disks both say generic disk type65 and generic NEC floppy disk.
Display adapters say, Chips and Tech 68554 PCI
Modem says Compaq Armada 1500 series 336 telephony modem
BIOS say plug and play, what ever in the world that means!!
PCMCIA sockets-2 say Texas instruments PCI-1131 CardBus controller
That's about all the info that I would think is useful, right?
Let me know what you think I should try next and stop laughing at me for getting it!!:D I could never in my lifetime afford anything like what is out now or in the years to come so this is my fun! :p
Take care, LG;)

Ok, I am still on the Compaq. Did you download the softpaqs and use them? I would definitely do that.

I would also maybe try resetting the CMOS to see if that at least takes you back to default power settings which are probably better than what you have now. That is assuming you can't get into the BIOS...

Hi Budfred,
Yeah honey, I've dl and run just about every paq on that web site for my machine and I can't seem to see any difference. I've learned tho that BIOS and diagnostics were stored in their own little partion on the HD and that some people have had some luck using partition magic, which I have a copy of, to put the partition back in. I may try that. I've done that once, partitioned the second HDD on my big computer without loss of the data already there. Worked just fine. I will also try the CMOS reset too. I'm fixing to take it apart and see whats in there any way so may as well pull the CMOS battery and do that. I actually got it to run for a bit tonight and it only disconnected itself once. Seems to be mostly when I'm downloading something that it acts up. I did a little surfing on it and it seems to go along quite nicely, runs faster than what I would have thought. Win 95 is not too bad once you can get the browser updated. Well, back to work on Jr. That's what I've named him:D I'll keep trying. Thanks all very much!!
LG;)

Mat****a UJDA120
Windows 98 should handle this.

generic disk type65 and generic NEC floppy disk
Windows 98 will handle this.

Chips and Tech 68554 PCI
http://drivers.on-line.net.nz/listing/page020.html

Compaq Armada 1500 series 336 telephony modem
http://h18007.www1.hp.com/support/files/armada/us/download/8197.html

BIOS say plug and play
Windows 98 will do it.

PCMCIA sockets-2 say Texas instruments PCI-1131 CardBus controller
Windows 98 will do it -- http://www.sycard.com/h1k_qa.html#Q5

Sleddog, bless you, bless you!!! I would have never even known where to start looking for any of that much less what I was really even looking for!!!! You are a dear to do all that!!!! Wow, I sure feel better. Things are getting better here. I got the info on how to pull the real time clock battery, guess they got to have a fancy name for the CMOS battery, seems there are some special things you have to do. So I got in there this morning and pulled that little devil out and followed all the instructions and so help me it seems to be a little better!! I had tried downloading the power manager from cpaq but I could never get into the hibernation part, kept telling me illegal op. This time however I got the older version and tried it out. I don't know whether it was a combination of every thing I've been trying and all the suggestions here or what but it let me in!!!!!:eek: I was right, that darn hibernation was enabled, I disabled it just as fast as I could get my little fingers to move for fear it would boot me out of it again! It worked, it worked. I've got that bologna disabled, suspend is disabled and darned if Jr. ain't stayed online for well over an hour!!! Now, if I can just find a half price copy of Win98SE somewhere and I will, I'll just be happier than a pig in, well you know. Old southern expression!:D Thank you all so much, we make a devil of a good team you know that!? :cool:
Well, it's off to do the grocery shopping and then back to start my search for a copy of Win98SE. Thanks very much again. LG;)

AHHHHHHH, the sweet smell of success.....

Glad to see it is working now, yep the poer management can be a pain when it set up by someone else...heck, even if you set it up and forget exactly what was done.

I know it isn't Win98SE and it may not happen again, but.... I recently bought a copy of WinME (full install) from Directron for something like $35... If you tweak it down to basics, it runs an awful lot like Win98SE.:) I would check Directron on the weekends since that is when they seem to have the best deals; this was one of their Special Sales.

http://www.directron.com/index.html

Originally posted by LadyGrey
Sleddog, bless you, bless you!!! I would have never even known where to start looking for any of that much less what I was really even looking for!!!!

[Blushes] You're welcome. I would like to leave the impression that I found those resources through much hard work and cleverness, but the truth is I went to google.ca and entered (for example):

"Chips and Tech 68554 PCI" driver

:)

Hi Budfred, I've got an ME disk. I only have two, W2K and ME. While I'm not real happy about ME, who is, it would be an improvement over the 95 that is on there and from what info I can find Jr. should be able to run it alright. By tweaking do you mean doing a minimal install as opposed to a full install? Like I said I really don't want him to do much except surf and email. He did pretty well today. I have noticed that if I sit him up on little coasters he doesn't seem to get as warm and of course runs better. Are notebooks supposed to have fans in them? I don't hear anything running like on my big boy but it could be it's just very quiet. When I took him apart today I was amazed at how tiny everything is in there. Just incredible. I thought the stuff in my desktop was little. Well, if you think ME would do, I'll start doing research on what and how. Sure would save me some money if the disk works, it belonged to my little Brother so not quite sure about it. I'd like to get Jr. running half way decent so I can take my big boy apart for a good cleaning and get his keyboard washed and dried. Takes at least a week to dry the keyboard good, but I can't be without a computer that long I'd go nuts. So let me know what you all think!
Thanks very much, LG;)

Well pooh, just started my research, went to Cpaq and for some reasone ME is not listed in the support for my Armada. They list 2000 and XP which it can't even run, and W95 and 98. Oh well, back to the drawing board! LG;)

WinME uses the same stuff as Win98 generally, so when it says support for Win98, you are probably covered. For installing WinME, I think I usually use a custom install. It has been stable since at least last Summer, so I kind of forgot exactly what I did. I know that as soon as it is installed, I go to the Add/Remove Programs, Windows Setup and do a little more tuning there - like removing the Online Programs and other clutter. I then clear out anything else in File Manager that I deem to be extra or that got stuck in even though I didn't want it. I then go into msconfig and disable almost everything. Once I get all this done, I will install programs that I want and one of the last things I do is install the firewall and antivirus. I wait to the end so the antivirus won't mess up other installs. I generally avoid going online until this point. By the time I am done, I have held on to the minimal improvements that came with WinME and gotten rid of most of the dead weight. You can also check Black Viper's recommendations for more details.

As for cooling a laptop, it is all about keeping air circulating and heatsinks. Fans would draw too much power, so they don't use them. Generally laptops use CPUs with lower voltage so they don't heat up as much, but if you sit with one actually on your lap, it can get pretty uncomfortable.....

If you are only using the laptop at home, you may want to think about using a cooling pad under it or enhancing air circulation to help it live long and prosper. Also, it is real nice to hook it up to external mouse, keyboard and monitor to make it easier to use.

Well, after hours and hours of reading, crossed eyes, and headaches even with my glasses on I have come to the conclusion that I do have a neat little machine, but that I need to take first things first with it. So far I'm getting along quite well with the Win95 so I've put that on the back burner. What I have found is that what I really need to do is get a PCMCIA modem. I found I had not mentioned, stupid of me, that it only has a 33.6 modem. I have done alot of shopping and comparing and have ordered a v90, 56K data/fax card. Comes with the software. Was $28 flat. No shipping, no tax. Is 95 compatable, made sure of that. That could be one of the big reasons for the dropped connections. It has not black screened on me since I was able to get into the power manager. I sincerely think that Budfreds idea about pulling the fancy named battery had an awful lot to do with that. It has only dropped a connection a couple of times since I got it up on little coasters and put a very small desktop fan on it. Thanks Budfred for letting me know that notebooks don't have fans, you may have saved my toy!
When the new modem gets here I'll let you know how it goes and if things get even better. Thanks everyone! LG ;)

Lotsa times the speed of the modem is determined by what's available at the time. I have modems that /updated drivers work quite well. 28.8's that get 50.xxxkbps, 33.6's that get 52.k's no prob., try new drivers first.

Hi All,
Got the new modem yesterday and started on putting it in this morning. Just went as smooth as silk! Install and drivers and all!
I know exactly what FTT means, it does depend on what is there at the moment. I was getting 31.200 on this with the old modem, which I thought was pretty good for a little 33.6, but with this new one this little machine is just flying along!! I'm just amazed at it. It says it's getting 115.200 but even I find that hard to believe, I may not have a setting right somewhere but it is a real improvement from the old one even if that's not the right speed! Thanks all very much for all the help and suggestions, they were just right on the money.
I'm still keeping an eye out for Win98SE, just gonna take some time till I find it at the right price. I thought I heard something the other day about M$ coming out with another new OS? Did anyone else hear something along those lines?? If that's true then Win98 should be dropping in price sometime.
Anyway, thanks again!
LG;)

You're right, that connection speed being reported is the one between the computer an d the modem, not the modem and the internet.

Thanks mjc! I had a feeling those numbers weren't right. Now, how do I find out what the connection speed is between the modem and the internet? When I log onto my ISP is says connected at such and such, that is not the true speed, right? LG;)

You will need to adjust the initialization string sent to the modem prior to a connection. If you post the make/model of the modem perhaps we can figure out an appropriate string.

...go to http://www.pcpitstop.com/ to do an online speed test.

I had a modem on my "Bomb" that reported 115,xxx kbps too. Old thread Here (http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12180&highlight=connection+speed) I find it odd that a newer modem is making the same error as the old 'ISA port' one.

Hi All,
Sorry Sled, didn't get back to you as quick as I wanted to. Donnie had his last variety show this weekend and I had company coming in from all over two states. He sings you know. He won first place in the State of Virginia Yes I Can Competition in 2000 so everyone comes to hear him sing.
Any way, the modem I got is a US Robotics Megahertz 56K PC Card Modem with XJack connector. 56K receive, 33.6 Send/14.4 kbps Fax.
I think the model number is XJ1560J.
So far jr seems to be running ok, got a little trouble with a RUNDLL32 error but I'm pretty sure I can get that fixed. Failing that I may be going and getting Win98SE whether I want to or not:rolleyes:
Thanks again for all the help. Never could have got jr really going without you all!
LG;)

Just an update to let you know that yesterday, with SE bootdisk in one hand and 98SE CD in the other I installed a new OS on the laptop. Win95 was just on my nerves so I ran across a Win98SE OS for 62.00 and got that. Had no major trouble at all with the install. Had a little flutter there when 98 couldn't see the modem but I had the PCMCIA card modem so that was no big problem. Just needed an update from Compaq and all is well. I booted with the disk, chose CD support and then ran fdisk, restarted with the 98 CD and formatted the HDD and setup Win98SE just as smooth as silk. A year ago if someone had said bootdisk and DOS to me I would have fainted!:D Look what you all have taught me in just that year. I'm really very proud of myself, I didn't have to run screaming for help to this forum! Thanks!
LG;)

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