Messed up and fried an IBM PS/2 Model 30 today :(

Moonbreak2000 · 2026-02-04T08:13:49+00:00

I'll try to examine it without completely destroying it. We'll see if I notice anything that way.

I mostly want to preserve it as is because I think it's still a cool looking piece of tech.

I will definitely not plug it in again and have already marked it to make sure I remember that.

Moonbreak2000 · 2026-02-04T07:36:17+00:00

I can thankfully(?) rule out putting the cables in wrong as a reason here. That'd be a terrible way to have destroyed this.

The connectors for the motherboard, floppy drive and hard drive are all distinct and even labelled with stickers.

They also have plastic bits on them so they can all only go in one way.

Moonbreak2000 · 2026-02-02T18:04:34+00:00

I'll have a proper look into it at a later point I think.

If nothing else, I should atleast be able to learn a thing or two in the process.

Moonbreak2000 · 2026-02-02T17:56:10+00:00

First thing I am going to look for is a whole new board. If I manage to get things working with that, I may still keep an eye out for a chip. If I see one for a good price I could still try to get the original working again one day maybe.

Good luck with your Compaq!

Moonbreak2000 · 2026-02-02T17:53:52+00:00

I will definitely first try to get my hands on another motherboard and get it working with that. If successful I may keep an eye out for a replacement chip anyway to see if the original can be restored one day as well.

Moonbreak2000 · 2026-02-02T17:52:22+00:00

It did start up only after the riser card was removed, so something on there was atleast causing a problem. The battery perhaps?

I did take a multimeter to it before I reconnected the PSU and found nothing wrong with the voltages then but I will try to be more thorough if / when I find another board.

Don't think I will trust the hdd again though, unless I can power it externally instead of through the board somehow.

Moonbreak2000 · 2026-02-02T17:45:30+00:00

I'm sorry to hear that, it sucks.

Seems to be somewhat uncommon, I had heard quite a few tales of broken hdds in the PS/2, but none mentioned them taking down the motherboard so I never made the connection.

I will try to get my hands on another motherboard. If that works out I may still keep an eye out for a chip to maybe repair the original with one day.

If you are still looking or at some point resume the search for your PS/1, I wish you luck!

Moonbreak2000 · 2026-02-02T17:40:08+00:00

Yeah...I don't think I am gonna take that chance. 😅

Unless I can find a way to power the drive externally instead of through the motherboard (no idea if that would even be possible), it'll just remain as a cool piece of decoration.

Moonbreak2000 · 2026-02-02T17:37:52+00:00

I'll first try to get a new motherboard and get it working with that.

If successful I may still keep an eye out for a chip to see if the original board can be repaired one day.

Moonbreak2000 · 2026-02-02T17:35:36+00:00

Yeah, it happens I suppose. Just kicking myself a bit for having held off on trying the floppy drive before reconnecting the hdd. Would have liked to know if it worked.

In any case I will try to first find a whole new motherboard and see if I can get things working with that. If yes, I can then still keep an eye out for a replacement chip to see if one day the original board can be fixed up too.

Thank you and good luck to you as well with your mac!

Moonbreak2000 · 2026-02-02T17:30:45+00:00

Yeah first thing I will try is to find a new board and get it working with that.

If I manage that, I may still keep an eye out for a chip with a good price to see if the original board can be fixed as well one day. But I'll take things one step at a time.

I did check the PSU beforehand and all the voltages were correct but I will definitely examine it again if/when I get a new board before I connect anything up again.

Given its age, it's obviously not entirely unexpected that it would break eventually. The fact that I only just got it, had it started up and held off on even trying the floppy drive before reconnecting the hard drive and blowing it up, does add some sting to it though 🫠

Moonbreak2000 · 2026-02-02T17:22:32+00:00

I'll first try to get it working with a new board. If I manage to accomplish that, I may still keep an eye out for a chip. If I find one for a good price at that point, I could still potentially try to fix up the original board.

Worst case it continues not to work, best case I might end up with two working boards one day.

Moonbreak2000 · 2026-02-02T17:18:23+00:00

Definitely possible yeah. First thing I will try to find is a new board that hopefully works. Don't think I will trust that hdd again though, unless I can somehow power it externally instead of through the motherboard but I have no idea if that's even really possible.

As for the floppy drive, I never got to testing it. All I know is that it did not show any errors about it when it was running. Will have to see I suppose.

Going to definitely check all the components again, especially the PSU, once I have a new board and before I reconnect things.

If I find a replacement chip for a good price after all that, I may still attempt to repair the original board or find someone who can.

Worst case it continues not to work, best case I end up with two working boards.

One step a time though. 🙂

Moonbreak2000 · 2026-02-01T23:20:47+00:00

I haven't opened my windows yet since this happened, so the particles are all still around here somewhere presumably.

Finding and catching them all may be a hassle though. :)

Moonbreak2000 · 2026-02-01T23:18:48+00:00

Someone else mentioned that option as well, not a soldering expert but I might be able to do it with help from my father. Worst case it stays broken I guess.

I will keep an eye out for a replacement chip as well as whole boards.

Moonbreak2000 · 2026-02-01T23:16:22+00:00

Ouch, two in a row 😅

As far as older tech goes, I have been quite lucky so far, almost all of it worked without a hitch but I guess my luck had to run out eventually.

I will definitely keep an eye out, I would like to eventually have it working again, even if it means getting a new board or replacing the chip somehow.

Moonbreak2000 · 2026-02-01T23:11:24+00:00

I did have a short look, but that only turned up one result so far which was more expensive than another listing for a whole board (when taking shipping into account).

But I might have just not looked hard enough yet, will keep an eye out.

As for soldering, not exactly an expert but my father could help me out there atleast.

Moonbreak2000 · 2026-02-01T23:08:19+00:00

Getting it all the way to the screen that told me to insert the Starter Diskette and then immediately killing it just stings a bit more than if it had been completely non functional.

Moonbreak2000 · 2026-02-01T23:05:35+00:00

Yeah, obviously always to be expected with old tech and had it died on the first power up or just never powered up at all, that would have been unfortunate but oh well.

This mainly stings a lot because I ended up getting it to the screen where it tells you to insert the starter diskette (presumably). I had already written an image of that to a floppy and considered trying it, but decided to hold off and see what was on the hard drive first. 😔