Getting an IBM PS/2 Model 90 Running

[glitch]

Part of yesterday's purchase included a PS/2 Model 90 with a 486DX2-50. It powers on, but it won't do anything aside from display an error number having to do (from what I've been able to find) with RAM. The system has a single 4-slot 74 pin SIMM riser board...one source on the Internet suggested that I really need to have two risers, and fill them symetrically. Does anyone know if this is true?

It looks like a pretty nice machine, and will probably replace my current beige box 486 as a gaming machine. It came with a 2.88 MB floppy, 3Com EtherLink III (BNC and AUI only), IBM cached SCSI card, and SoundBlaster MC (!). The original planar drives had been pulled and drilled, but the SCSI board will make it easy to use something else.

 

[Unknown_K]

You are lucky you have the SB card, very rare and expensive.

Do you have the HD trays? Those are hard to find. My 90 came with both risers but only one had any SIMMs in it, upgraded it to 8x4MB for 32MB total (I think they were 4MB could be 2MB).

Hopefully you have the matching Model M keyboard and mouse, they are built like tanks. A CDROM would be usefull if you can find the correct bezel and tray for one.

The hardest things to find for PS/2 systems (outside of sound cards) are the correct bezels and sleds for mounting stuff in stock machines, also working floppy drives on the older models.