(Topic ID: 150386)

RFM battery, fan, power supply replacement

By mamawaldee

8 years ago



Topic Stats

  • 5 posts
  • 5 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 7 years ago by Tickerguy
  • Topic is favorited by 4 Pinsiders

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#1 8 years ago

I picked up a RFM about three months ago. Everything was working fine. Recently I moved it to another spot in the linup and it immediately started losing horizontal sync during play, and if you smack the head it temporarily fixes it. So it's definitely something loose in video chain. So today I re-seated all the external connectors to the computer and also on the monitor chassis. Fire it up and the video appears solid, BUT I notice the power supply fan is not working. Luckily the basement is chilly and I don't think it has been this way for long. The CPU fan is working.

So now I have the computer out of the game to install new fans and figure I might as well replace the batteries in the motherboard and prism card. Question to those who have done it, what needs to be done regarding the bios settings? Will it fire up with the factory defaults, or will it be all messed up/no video? Do I need to set up the computer outside the game and record the present bios settings, or maybe even hot swap the new battery? That covers the motherboard, I assume the prism card battery replacement will only wipe out the game settings and scores, I'm OK with that.

I plan to blow all the dust out of it and maybe add a PCI slot fan in addition to the new PS and CPU fans. I know some guys will replace the power supply altogether but it can be a pain to find the older style supply and I really don't want to modify an ATX.

What do the pin2k owners typically service on the stock computer?

#2 8 years ago

Your current service routine sounds like a good one. However, I wouldn't suggest hot swapping the batteries. Given the somewhat rarity of those motherboards, I wouldn't want to risk shorting something out should you need to get in there with a screwdriver or drop the battery or something else. Really the only thing that is likely to be wonky from the BIOS is the date and time settings after changing the battery. The PRISM card interrupts the boot process immediately after the BIOS and takes over, so not much else there to worry about.

One other thing I'd make sure to check is that you remove the foam on the lid of the P2K computer case. It has a tendency to heat up and drop down onto the CPU fans, which is obviously bad, so look out for that.

Also check for blown or swollen capacitors on the motherboard. Rob Anthony does great board work should something look afoul and you don't feel like doing it yourself.

All in all, sounds like you've got it. I wouldn't let that PSU run for too terribly long without a new fan. They've been known to get a bit toasty, then as you can imagine the problem moves downstream.

#3 8 years ago
Quoted from mamawaldee:

I know some guys will replace the power supply altogether but it can be a pain to find the older style supply and I really don't want to modify an ATX.

I replaced the main power supply and the CPU fan immediately. You can buy these supplies for pin2K on Ebay, easy to find and no modifications needed (plug-n-play)

After I ordered the PSU I found I already had a suitable fan so I used that. The power supply that I ordered came as a package deal including the CPU w/heatsink, so it ended up did not use this part. If you have not already ordered a CPU fan and need a new one, just PM me.

#4 8 years ago

You can also buy an ATX to AT adapter, and you can use most off the shelf modern computer power supplies. They are about $7 for the adapter on Amazon.

3 months later
#5 7 years ago

I picked up a relatively-large stash of motherboards over 10 years ago that work with Pin2k machines *except* they don't initialize the video in CGA mode during initial boot. The only impact this has is that the initial "white-screen" messages don't display on the monitor during game power-up.

I've had to use one in anger in that my SWE1 board failed.... BTW beware bad power supplies; they are the #1 motherboard killer in the PC word and this is no different here as that's just a PC in the box with an unobtanium card (the PRISM board) if you manage to fry it. If the fan is getting wonky replace that supply immediately!

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