found this in a skip

[jetfire]

but it has Linux on the ide hdd and i ain't got a clue how to format it.

what do i need to press when its booting up so i can get to the command prompt to format the hdd?

if i press f1 it tries to load whatever is on the hdd but gets stuck and just stops after half hour of going beep beep beep testing things.
there was also a SCSI hdd in there but it has been taken out but the pci card is still in there.

also the settings for the CPU are wrong, i tried to reset the bios but just says the same thing,see pic.

its an old p3 cpu with a abit vh6t mobo

[g8ina]

Right - first thing, clear the BIOS.

Take the battery out, its about the size of a ten pence piece on the motherboard. Leave the thing out for a few minutes, then put it back and try F1 at boot again.

See how that goes first.

[Funkstar]

P3 566MHz, 128MB RAM and a 40GB hard drive.

Personally I would have left it in the skip. Or rip the internals out and bin them, then you at least have a rack mount case. The problem with that is it is an AT case and PSU, you will need to do some work to get an ATX power button in there.

[DDY]

The problem with that is it is an AT case and PSU, you will need to do some work to get an ATX power button in there.

It is ATX, note the 20 pin PSU connection.

Clearing the BIOS might not work, from the error message it looks like you'll need to change a few CPU settings in the BIOS. There also may be a jumper on the motherboard that you can use to set the CPU config to auto, it's possibly set on soft settings mode.

[Funkstar]

It is ATX, note the 20 pin PSU connection.

I missed that hiding there. I saw the auxiliary AT connection just in front of that and stopped looking. Also the rocker for a power switch being at the front threw me as well, but I guess that is kind of sensible for a server case.

(I'd still bin the internals, including the PSU, and keep the case)

[jetfire]

(I'd still bin the internals, including the PSU, and keep the case)

psu is ok its 400w and i could do with a spare one. also keeping the case and scsi card and hdd if i can format it.

tried clearing the bios but it needs the cpu settings to be changed in there but not botherd about that as its going back in the bin anyway

[killie99]

i have thrown many pc's better than this in to skips but it might come in handy if you have a door that needs propped open or a boat that needs an anchor

[thomson]

If you want another I have one of a similar kind of quality sitting in the garage ready to be taken to the dump .

Roughly 9 or 10 years old.

I've already hit it's 40gb HDD with a hammer though so you can't have that.

[switchmode]

"Skipware" This expression made me laugh a while ago.

The guts are history but the rack case has merit if you have room.

[KidChameleon]

That case...

Photo Link

From THIS Gizmodo post.

That's the same type of case, isn't it?

[jetfire]

That case...

Photo Link

From THIS Gizmodo post.

That's the same type of case, isn't it?

it is the same case ive just taken out the bay with the CD and hdd out and it weighs a bloody ton.

the hole skip was full of them but could only carry one home went back today but they have all gone walkies

P3 566MHz, 128MB RAM and a 40GB hard drive

the drive in the pic is a 16 gb laptop drive with xp on it.

the hdd that come with it is a 40gb seagate drive but its not in the pic

[Funkstar]

the hdd that come with it is a 40gb seagate drive but its not in the pic

I'm soooo good, I was able to guess the hard drive even though it wasn't in the pic!!

(but the model number was on the BIOS screen)

[kingpotnoodle]

Use DBAN on UBCD to nuke the drive contents.

Try cranking the FSB to 100. Just to see if it can...

[Saracen]

found this in a skip

I hate to be a party pooper, but I hope you had permission to take stuff from the skip, because if you didn't, it's theft. Just because it's in a skip doesn't mean it's for anyone to take. If property is abandoned by it's owner, then it can be taken, but if it's in a skip, it almost certainly still belongs to someone. That someone might be a salvage company, or it might be a local authority who could have retrieved value from it. But if it belongs to someone, and you just take it without permission, it's theft.

Daft as it might sound, people have been prosecuted, convicted and ended up with a criminal record doing exactly this. So, as I say, I hope you had permission, otherwise it's a pretty large risk to take for a pretty small reward, given what damage a theft conviction could do if your record is otherwise clean.

[Funkstar]

I hate to be a party pooper...

I thought about that at the start of the thread, but decided not to be "that guy"

[Saracen]

I hesitated, Funky, but for anyone else reading this thread and thinking 'that's a good idea', and then going looking for skips, it's worth being aware of the potential implications.l

I mean, sure, if it's just going to end up in a landfill it's better for someone to 'repurpose' old gear .... but that's why it's worth asking. Otherwise, the possible implications are something a lot of people may not think of. It may well be that jetfire did have permission, but anyone else thinking about it ought to be aware if the potential for trouble.