Thinkpads Forum

If this is in the wrong topic, I apologize, but, other that "Off Topic Stuff," I'm not sure where this would go.
I have a few computers of various brands, but also I'm trying to keep my 390X running. It's suffering from speed issues that I am working through with memory, right now, but I'm looking ahead to the next steps. Has anyone ever gotten one of those mainboard testers that pop up on eBay? Is it really useful or even legit? I'm having troubles with the other computers that I think are more likely motherboard, but I'm not afraid to just chuck those. I'm mostly concerned with doing everything necessary to keep this 390X running for as long as possible, even so far as a new mainboard, but I'm more one to open it up than take it to a shop.
Thanks.

Such a mobo tester probably costs more than a new mobo itself.
Also, those tester-boards fit in a PCI slot AFAIK, which your laptop does not have.

According to the Lenovo Support and Downloads page for the 390X:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... SHY-45XN9C

the version of PC Doctor for DOS is the same one that I use for the 600X:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... IGR-495KW2

You can create a boot floppy from that download. I also put that diagnostic program into an .ISO file so it can be burned onto a CD:

http://www.kawakami-ca.com/ibm_600x/dgpcdoc.iso

PC Doctor should be able to test most of the systems in the 390X without any other pieces (hardware) needed. To test the serial and parallel ports you need something called a "loopback plug". Those plugs essentially wire the input and output pins together so that the diagnostic routines can verify that the ports are sending and receiving data correctly. You can either buy pre-made loopback plugs or make them yourself. In order to test the PCMCIA and USB ports you have to use a special cable (which I've never been able to find for a reasonable price, nor get any documentation on how to build one). That being the case, I generally check those two ports by plugging in a mouse or syncing an .MP3 player via the USB port and using a flash memory card adapter for the PCMCIA slot(s).

For those other motherboards you have, I'm assuming that they aren't for Thinkpads. Without knowing exactly how each one is configured, it would be hard to say what diagnostic program you can use. PC Doctor seems to be tailored for each system's specific hardware configuration. I'm pretty sure that you can't run the versions available for downloading from Lenovo's support site on any system other than what it was designed for.

Are those "motherboard testers" you describe that are available from eBay like this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0206342271

If so, then all this board does is give you a visual indication of the POST codes that are being generated when the system boots. If there is a boot error, then normally the code that is being displayed when that happens tells you the test that was being run. You have to match up the POST code with the board/BIOS manufacturer's list. Which leads to the next question... where do you get such a list? My understanding is that each BIOS system has its own codes. You would have to know which BIOS is being used and search the web for the codes, like here:

http://www.bioscentral.com/

Those types of POST diagnostic boards are useful for when you have a system which hangs during boot, and as RealBlackStuff has indicated, also has an ISA or PCI bus slot. I don't know of any general purpose motherboard tester (I'm speaking "hardware" here) which is supposed to check all of the major subsystems; memory, display, disk interface, I/O ports, etc. without any underlaying software. On the other hand, PC Doctor is only useful for when you can get the system to successfully boot from a floppy or CDROM.

Didn't I just reply to your in a different thread? :shudder:

Ya know, the last time I used a PC doctor type of software, it was on my Acer Aspire with a blazingly fast 75MHz Pentium processor, possibly even a Pro, but memory becomes fuzzy with time. I seem to recall 8MB of RAM, which I immediately upgraded to 16 (where PCDoc came in, at the recommendation of a co-worker when it didn't work on the first try) with a phenomenal 850MB HDD. I can't even find an example to post a link to. It beggars the imagination to look back on that, since this 390X seems slow next to every other computer in the house.
Turns out all my fears were for naught, now that she's back up to 128MB of RAM, though. I don't even get script errors when loading cable news websites, like I used to. Now that she's back in fighting trim, I can get the maintenance software, and maybe make some of the switches I usually make, like to Mozilla.
Thank you for the insight, though. I had no idea what those things were, but now I can see they probably wouldn't do me any more good than simply asking the community. Thanks, again.