Issue running PS/2 Model 50 setup

[cbmeeks]

Evening, everyone.

I finally got the reference disk created for my PS/2 Model 50 Z. The battery that came with it is only showing 2.0V. Unfortunately, I don't have any spare batteries at the moment. I thought about hacking something together with some AA's this weekend. However, I'm not sure if the computer tries to charge the battery.

On a whim, I tried using my bench power supply. I set it to 6.0V with 500mA limit. I powered on the power supply and then I powered on the computer with the setup disk.

I hear the floppy drive accessing the disk (or trying to). But then I get a message onscreen that shows 161 and 163 with the red circle crossed out. From what I read, those codes mean run the setup and dead battery.

The bench power supply is showing no current draw at all.

Any ideas how I can handle this?

FYI, after pressing F1 it will load the built in BASIC.

Thanks again!

 

[Chuck(G)]

50Z uses a 2-cell lithium pack that puts out 6V. WIdely available as a camera battery. Duracell DL223A (generic 223A battery) or equivalent.

 

[cbmeeks]

I guess I will have to bite the bullet and just buy one. lol.

I will do that tomorrow. I was just hoping to play with this thing tonight.

Thanks!

 

[modem7]

The bench power supply is showing no current draw at all.

When the motherboard is powered off, the current draw from the battery will be pretty small. (Try a multimeter.)
When the motherboard is powered on, the motherboard takes over from the battery. (To prolong battery life.)

 

[cbmeeks]

When the motherboard is powered off, the current draw from the battery will be pretty small. (Try a multimeter.)
When the motherboard is powered on, the motherboard takes over from the battery. (To prolong battery life.)

Ah, good point. When the computer is on, I can confirm 6.0V is at the battery terminals. And, of course, I made sure the polarity was correct.
Pardon my ignorance, but is there some kind of different chemistry the lithium batteries provide that a simple bench PSU does not (that matters)?

 

[Chuck(G)]

With the system powered on, you shouldn't see any voltage on the battery terminals (battery removed) at all. There's usually some sort of blocking diode or transistor to prevent applying current to a lithium battery (which would be very dangerous). It's possible that there's no appreciable current (i.e. microamps) available at 6V, which might be okay. That battery is two primary cells, not rechargeable.

 

[modem7]

What I have seen in these forums over the years, is quite a few people with PS/2 diskette drives that do not fully work. And at [here] is someone commenting on same at a different web site.

Replacement of bad capacitors is sometimes listed as the fix.

At [here] is an adapter that allows a 'standard' diskette drive to be used in the Model 50.
Another adapter is advertised at [here], but the web page doesn't include compatibility information, so some research may be required.

 

[cbmeeks]

I bought a new battery and it still didn't help. The next thing I did was pull out the drive and take a close look at the caps. Sure enough, two of the electrolytic caps leaked on the board. I put the hot air gun on it to remove them and immediately smelled bad fish.

On closer inspection, I count at least three traces that are completely severed with large runs completely gone. I mean completely. I have some tantalum's to replace most of them but I don't for the 4.7uF so I will do the hacky thing I don't like and use a radial cap. I don't have a lot of hope for this drive. I will try and repair the traces soon and if that still doesn't work, I will look at those conversion boards for normal floppies as I have several of them.

Thanks everyone.