New to me BeBox 133

Be, Inc.
1

Hi,
I just acquired a BeBox 133. I knew when I got it that the hard drive was bad. The video would show a Be Boot Loader v 3.2 scanning for a bootable volume. Trouble is now that I’ve got the unit at my house, there is no video. I get the front blinking lights and can hear the computer is on. Just no video.

So I have two questions. Any ideas on getting video back (have tested with two different VGA flat panel monitors and two different VGA cables that all work on other machines). And then, any easy way to load a BeOS on bluescsi or other modern solution.

Many Thanks

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2

Have you already disassembled the machine, to clean slots and connectors ? While doing that, also check if the vga card is correctly seated.

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3

Thanks for the note. I did confirm the vga card is properly seated. Have not yet disassembled. Want to make sure I have a block of time to do it without interruption, so may be a few weeks before I can do that. Appreciate the help.

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4

With the age of the machine I would look to replace the capacitors and check through the system for any components that may be bad.

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5

Thanks. I have that on my list to do. I’ve been trying to find a fixit guide or other help on the BeBox board and what to look for. Appreciate any help anyone can give.

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6

One thing, without knowing where you are from and from where the machine came : check in the power supply if the voltage is correct for your area.

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7

Unfortunately there is no such guide really. They are rare and predate the time that fixit guides became popular.

It might need to be recapped.

I would remove all the RAM and install only one pair check if that helps. The RAM test will be a lot shorter.

I would also check the PSU.

It should be able to use other PCI graphics cards. If you have a Mac one it should be fine and work.

8

Thank you. I am in Palo Alto and have not had a ton of experience with this type of restoration, so taking it very slow. Am practicing with some very common Mac boards.

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Great. Thank you for this. Hoping for a window over a weekend to give this more attention.

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Have you made any progress on this?

I’d be cautious about prematurely pulling the trigger on a re-cap. I recall on my BeBox the hard drive was in such bad shape it was tanking the power supply.
I’d try unplugging the power leads to the hard drive and cd rom drive and see if you get back to that previous state of the display lighting up and looking for the boot loader.

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