385XD - Cannot get into BIOS

[dafivehole]

So I get the codes 161 and 163 on start-up... I replaced the CMOS battery and still get the same codes. Everything I've read says to hold down F1 during start-up to get into BIOS... no dice. I've tried every other keyboard option/combo with the same results. I've tried removing the main battery, no change. I've tried removing the hard drive, no change. It let's me enter through the password and I get to the screen that shows the two error codes... once I click OK, it just sits there (and shows a little graphic telling me to look at the manual which I have on PDF but nothing is in there about this).

Any ideas?!?

Thank you,
Roger

[RealBlackStuff]

Instead of holding F1 down, keep 'typing' on the F1 key during boot.
Tried it without floppy drive as well?

[dafivehole]

I've tried holding F1, hitting/releasing F1, etc. I know the KB works because I can type in the password. Last night I pulled the battery, PCMCIA card, hard drive with no results... the only thing left to pull is the floppy/CD combo drive. Will try that today.

Thank you

[dafivehole]

Removing the combo drive did nothing... this thing's a doorstop now 

[SMA]

You could try to remove the memory module - that is, if you have a such.
(385XD also has built in memory so it should be able to start anyway)

[dafivehole]

Tried that too... no change.

Thank you

[Franchute13]

So I get the codes 161 and 163 on start-up... I replaced the CMOS battery and still get the same codes. Everything I've read says to hold down F1 during start-up to get into BIOS... no dice. I've tried every other keyboard option/combo with the same results. I've tried removing the main battery, no change. I've tried removing the hard drive, no change. It let's me enter through the password and I get to the screen that shows the two error codes... once I click OK, it just sits there (and shows a little graphic telling me to look at the manual which I have on PDF but nothing is in there about this).

Any ideas?!?

Thank you,
Roger

Hello
The new battery for CMOS, is it in good condition? What is the voltage?

[dafivehole]

It's a brand new battery and the specs match up to the old one.

Roger

[Franchute13]

It's a brand new battery and the specs match up to the old one.

Roger

But did you measure it with a tester?
It happened to me more than once that new unexpired batteries had a very low voltage

[dafivehole]

The battery tests fine. I don't have any more time or ideas to invest on this so it'll go on eBay... thanks for everyone's help.

Roger

[Phalaris]

Ok, so I guess I'll be taking over, as this appears to be the laptop I just purchased. lol

So, here's what I know.

The system poweres on, counts the ram, then shows text for the 161 and 163 error.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yQwhRb ... sp=sharing

It then displays what looks like a computer, and padlock (Pressing Enter gets you the "OK" and allows it continue the boot process.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wp1C3L ... sp=sharing

It then goes on to show whe graphics screen showing the 161 & 163 error
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UY4z-g ... sp=sharing

And then, when you select either "OK" or "Cancel" it then juset shows the screen with the service manual icon.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1520pW- ... sp=sharing

I've removed the following:
Hard drive.
Extra Ram
CMOS battery
Laptop Battery (tested, shows 3v)
PCMCIA card (56k Modem)

I also shorted the BIOS Password clear, which leads me to beleive that the screenshot that shows the padlock is a Supervisor Password.

I did disassemble the laptop, as I heard something rattling around inside, and found a spring, between the PCMCIA and Hard drive. It didn't appear to be near any electronics. Upon reassembly, there was no change in how it acts.

[Franchute13]

Hello man.
I read your post on reddit. I hope you have success.
Then you tell us what results you had.

[Phalaris]

Well, I'm completely out of luck on everything I've tried so far. I thought I had found a place that had old stock of the 05K3196 motherboard, however, when I inquired about a price, they immediatly denied my quote request, and took the listing off the page. I also found some 380XD 2635-8xx/9xx/Bxx/Bxx laptops on ebay, which use the same motherboard. My hope was that I could find one that was not working, but had a good motherboard. But no luck there. At this point, I'm moving on to what is probably my last hope. I'm going to try the R24RF08 (eeprom reader) and IBMPass (password decoder). From what I've read, the R24RF08 program will read the 24C01 chip.

I'm hoping that will work, as getting the supplies I need for those cost me another $40, the biggest expense is a seiral card, since I don't have any computers that have serial ports. The biggest issue is that the 24C01 is on the underside of the laptop, between the SODIMM socket, and rear edge of the board. I'm hoping that by using the 3AA batteries shown in the schematics, that I can do what I need to do, without actually desolding the chip.

[RealBlackStuff]

It being Xmas, how about watching this video?

[dr_st]

this video?

This is a truly awesome method.