Upgrade CPU options help

[BILL S]

Hi
I am looking for CPU possibilties for the following:

Over the New Year got a computer free from a friend, and hoping for some tech advice, here's the details I already typed up:
I got a donated free mid-1990s tower PC from my friend Rob and have been mucking about with it for the past 2 days, it's an artifact to be sure, but helping me salvage my 20 GB HDD that had crashed. I thought all was lost there, and that's never a good thing!! I am having success at reloading Windows 98SE with the programs intact still, thus far.

This MASSIVE PC (the size of 20" TV set! hahaha) is powered by a meak 233MHz Pentium MMX chip, one of the original Pentiums sadly, my Celeron 700MHz chip won't mate to the board, but the PC has an HP CD RW drive and a Creative CD with Soundblaster 16 board, and a AGP(x4) slot SiS graphics board I replaced with one I bought (SiS also, with 3D and TV outs) that won't mate to my own PCs as they only have dated PCI slots. If that's all a tech nightmare to you, suffice to say, computers don't often like to share parts from other PCs but I seem to have gotten pretty lucky for the most part!!

If you know of what CPUs I can upgrade on a dated machine like this, I'm interested. The name on the cabinet is Pro Computer Design and a FCC label in back has a line stating Asia Island underlined. This PC is one of the units with a 'Turbo' button and LCD display with the processor speed up front. I have used a more current Samsung HDD from a failed computer running a P3 at 700/750MHz. The card in the computer is DVD ready as I bought it for my own computer, mentioned above. At present moving the drive to my book PC is not something I think will be successful, something unknown caused the computer to crash.

BILL S.

[BILL S]

Update, Still booting in Safe mode and saying Windows never completed installation. When I shut down for the night, it was actually the computer doing a 'restart' to set the color/monitor settings higher then the lowest SAFE mode ones. I was able to get a low res desktop at that time, but now, it is loading a few icons on the screen, or half of a graphic and stalling with periodic LED flashes for the HDD. It maybe the HDD's size itself on a dated machine like this, but also was a symptom I had before with the prior PC... Safe mode would initialize and then nothing else happened. I noted the 233MHz chips on eBay are selling at $5 to $13 plus shipping, the two I noted. They all appear to be a 'socket 7' so anything that would work on the MoBo with that is what I was wondering. It appears the whole mo-bo could be of no real use to me. I just ran a test on my new (latest PC) computer showing memory problems and just under 200 Registry errors as well. A trial program only cleared 20 out of those!
BILL

[Coconut Monkey]

Unless the motherboard is a super socket 7 type, I'm afraid you've hit the end of the road.

If it is a super socket 7 board, then you can try and find some AMD K6-2s or K6-3s.

[BILL S]

OK, This PC (branded Pro Computer Design on case) has the Pentium MMX 233MHz and it looks like the original socket7 and not the Super version, but I did find a CPU board in this regard on eBay WITH the AMD K6, supposedly set for 600MHz which would facilitate video processing for DVDs and VCDs I think.

Since then, I picked up a Goodwill $20 Micron PC based on Intel's AN430TX and as a smaller form factor (always preferred!) I opted to put my max memory into it along with the 233 chip, but upon booting again, still reporting 200MHz! It appears a 'flash' of the BIOS is needed for the board to be updated.. It's been a bit of time since I looked at Intel's site info but it may be fixable via some jumper settings. I plan to use two 128MB PC66 chips in the slots avail. It came with two 32s instead and now is using the bank1 under my old PC100 eMachine 64MB RAM, and registering it fine. I have Windows 95 on this as it was bought and a 4 GB HDD, Seagate ST34342A.

The floppy drive's molded contact button for the case is missing and I'd love to find one as well so I can fore go using a pen to eject disks! (It's a 1996/97 Micron Millennia MMe)
The reason I opted to use Win95 for now is it ALSO came with Office 97 as supplied with this Micron PC it appears from reviews found on line, also stating the original price at over $2,000! If jumpers aren't associated with the above correction, I need info on 'flashing' the BIOS to update, I have no real idea on this as I never needed to go that route.
BILL

[BILL S]

A ha! I found a link to the jumper after digging about more on Intel's site. Luckily there were a few helpful resources...some with dead links, on BIOS and how codes relate to the machine, specs and time of build.
Here's a quote Intel provides and it appears thanks to jumpers, no need to flash the BIOS and endanger anything in the process...
-Bill
What Intel® Pentium® processors are supported on the Intel® AN430TX Motherboard?
The Intel® AN430TX Motherboard supports Pentium processors at 90, 100, 120, 133, 150, 166 and 200 MHz, as well as Pentium processors with MMX™ technology running at 166, 200 and 233 MHz. Changing the processor requires changes in several jumper settings.
Changing the processor requires changes in several jumper settings.

Warning: Processors not specifically listed by type and rated speed may have requirements that are not supported by the motherboard's design. Use of these processors may result in improper operation, damage to the motherboard or processor, or reduced product life.