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Compaq Deskpro EN


Shaorin

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hi all i just get a Compaq Deskpro EN and i wonder a few things about it..

 

i has pentium 3 800MHz and 512 SD RAM, Sound blaster Live and the some optical drives..

 

that i wonder are:

 

1, are there any point in houting down a P3 1.0 or 1.1 GHz cpu to upgrade, and if so what should i get, i think it was lik 100 or something FSB.

 

2. how can i get the BOIS partition once more? i dont reallt know where to find all of it or even if i can.

 

3. are windows 98SE  version (4.10.2222) the last update? i cant use the unoffical servicepack its not for my laguage.

 

4. what type of grapics card should i get, i think of like Nvida Geforce, but this one only get PCI should i still track one down or look for something else? i heard Nvidia are reaööy good and "just works" im not sure withs one maybe the Geforce 3+ i dont know what are good for DOS and 9x gameing...

 

5. are it anything i need to think about?

 

sorry to be abit noob i ahve an intresstes to learn but i dont know much hehehehe,.

 

thanks alot for the help.

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First you would need to find a user/service manual for your exact model/line of Deskpro since there are many versions bearing this name - I have one myself but it's a Pentium II 400MHz (Compaq Deskpro EN400 SFF). The manual should tell you the supported FSB value(s) and the maximum CPU speed as well as maximum RAM capacity and type.

Alternatively, open up the case, carefully remove any dust inside and read the markings and notes on the surface of the board. There may be a dip-switch block or jumpers that set FSB, CPU speed and/or other settings and from that you can get a rough idea on board's capabilities.

 

A better CPU is always preferrable, provided it matches the board specifications. It all depends on the purpose intended for that machine, as older software and games may not require much CPU power compared to (relatively) modern browsers and other applications.

 

In regard to video, a GeForce3 Ti200 (or Ti400) or GeForce4 Ti4200 would work just fine but I don't know if there ever were PCI versions of those cards. Finding a good, working PCI videocard today may be quite hard. Even if the board had an AGP slot, it would probably require a SFF (Small Form Factor) videocard if you have a desktop SFF case and not a tower case.

 

Apart from that you might wanna check for a BIOS update at the manufacture's site, if available, in case the current BIOS version has a HDD capacity limit (many/most Pentium III machines at the time didn't have LBA48 support so HDDs would be limited to 128/137GB).

 

Can't say much about the BIOS (recovery?) partition as I never had a chance to work with one. I recall Compaq had a set of tools for that purpose that might be available at their site - look through all downloads available for your model. But that would only work if the HDD is the original one that has the hidden recovery partition.

 

Win98SE is the last in the 98 series (not counting Millenium). There have been a lot of official updates/bugfixes/hotfixes in time but they were pulled from the MS site long ago and finding those specific to your language (Swedish?) would be quite hard. Since the unofficial packs (Auto-Patcher for Win98 and uSP3) are both exclusively for the English version of the OS, in using any of them you'd risk at least a mixture of languages if not totally bricking the OS. So you have the alternatives of going on with the system as is in case official updates are unavailable or completely wipe the HDD, find an English 98SE CD and install it, followed by any other available updates for the English version.

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oo thanks alot... ok then i will look at all that... i hope i can get some card atlerast i mean i dont need a super good GPU i think its good with around 64-128, i know the inbuildt one are 32 MB and thats abit to low. but it can be good if i whould ever to try get some voodo 2 sli or something going. but i will look at the nvidia cards and see if there is any think i can get.

 

thanks for the help, if anyone know anything else feel free say.

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  • 2 months later...

hi once more. i was long time seen i posted. 

 

i did buy a GPU a AMD Shapire 9000 something 128 MB card. but the problem i get is this,

 

i think it uses to much Power for when i put it in i get no screen not for it or the inbuilt one... the pc starts up but i dont think it get the like windows or anything.

can it be that for the PSU being 100-120W its so low to drive a PCI card like that or are there any other problems?

 

what else should i look for? thanks for the input im not so good with this older stuff even if its cool and intresting

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The new card may be defective. Inspect it visually, see if there's gonflated capacitors, bad soldering points, broken/burnt components.

 

The BIOS may require a specific look-up sequence for video. See if there's any priority setting for the videocard in BIOS, such as

 

-Built-in

-AGP

-PCI

 

and set it appropriately. If possible, disable completely the built-in video.

 

You didn't say if there is an AGP slot available or only PCI. (actually you said something about PCI only but please confirm that)

 

Please be aware that there are different AGP standards and your card - even if it fits in the slot - may require a different voltage that the board offers and this may even damage either or both motherboard and video card.

 

There are also a few PCI standards I vaguely remember and it's possible the videocard requirements are too high for this board. You need manuals for both motherboard and videocard, see if video requires PCI 1.2, for example and in that case if the motherboard has such capabilities (sometimes can be selected in BIOS).

 

A PCI videocard shouldn't have too much power requirements. To be sure, disconnect the power from all possible consumers such as HDD, CD/DVD, floppy and see if it even tries to display something with the new card.

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hi i ahve tryed to do the things you said but nothing helped. i dont know it the grapics card are bad or not it looks good but you never know.

 

its PCI only. and i took a picture of the system info in BOIS not sure if that will help.

i know there is some deskpro's that had a AGP slot but i think its more uncommon i dont know.and those i think had 2 drive slots for 2 DVD or CD drives.

 

a3855eb2fd.jpg

 

i dont get any other PCI cards to test. and i feel PCI are harder to find stuff for AGP where more used.. but well thanks alot for the help.

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Indeed PCI video cards are much harder to find.

Unfortunately the screenshot doesn't help and neither does the HP/Compaq site (which was to be expected).

Best thing you can do is take your videocard to another computer, preferrably newer to ensure it has support for later PCI versions and test it there, just to make sure it works, because you need that information before messing with BIOS and other possible settings. If the card is fine and works you can then try anything possible on your Deskpro, otherwise try to find another (working) card.

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According to this, you could make a minor wiring readjustment to a standard ATX PSU and have a better one.

http://pinouts.ru/Power/compaq_psu_pinout.shtml

Note the comments about Pin #'s were reversed. Double-check that against this -

http://pinouts.ru/Power/atxpower_pinout.shtml

Used ATX PSU's can be gotten for cheap. Just be aware of it's fit into the case and screw-holes.

 

You're lucky it's not TOTALLY proprietary.

Some HP/Compaq and LOTS of Dells extremely were weird (scroll down)!

http://pinouts.ru/power/

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i see thanks alot i have had the thought of it if it where possiable to change the PSU to something better then 120W i mean i think im good at 200W for only thing i will have in it are my GP sound card and the floppy DVD drive HDD so its not so much stuff^^ but 120W are still to bad.

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As far as I remember the Deskpro series come in slim desktop case. Everything inside is non-standard. This means there is no way to either replace the PSU with a better one or move the motherboard to a standard tower case. This is the main reason why I try as much as possible to stay away from OEM machines such as HP/Compaq, Dell, IBM and the likes. Unfortunately I do have 3 HP, 2 IBM and 1 Compaq that were thrown away by my friends and I can't possibly describe the agravation when something fails and I can't find a replacement.

 

My Compaq Deskpro EN 400 SFF is right under the monitor of this very machine I'm typing on (with other stuff on top too) so I can't open it and recheck the internals but I do remember it has a Slot A CPU mounted horizontally and a FSB/multiplier dip switch that can't take a better/faster CPU. Can't remember if it has any AGP slot, probably it doesn't.  Got no spare keyboard/mouse/monitor for it either.

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hehe i see. but well to be honest i dont really see a problem here if you have the stuff you need and it works then its good. i dont know much about the OEM computers if they are good or not,., sadly for me the old computer market in my country is like dead. so hard to find old parts and going to wbay its just to exuch abut computers to build me own. and i think many of the parts you need will cast abit.

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