Compaq Portable III fails POST?

[Josef Chessor]

> I had the same problem with my Portable 386 because the PSU died, when I
> disconnected the hard drive it started up ok. All I've got left of it is a
> pile of spare parts, e.g. mem board, Weitek etc. I don't know how different
> it is from the Portable III. The CMOS battery lasted around 12 years, so I'm
> not too bothered about replacing it with another (although expensive)
> lithium.

I've been fortunate with my P/386...  Found it at a Goodwill, as a
rebranded "Network General Sniffer" box ($20!) with the backpack
containing old thinnet and token ring cards...  After putting the
cards up safe, adding a modern 10bT card, archiving the operating
software (DOS and Network General OEM software), adding a 387, and
installing a Linux CLI (6MB of RAM), it's been a pretty sweet
terminal/compiler/toy box...

*knocks on wood*  My CMOS battery is still good, as is the 40MB Connor
HDD.  Long live the good years of Compaq!

...Josef

PS: And praise the Gods this one still worked after I reassembled it,
not like my last Portable III.
-- 
"I laugh because I dare not cry.  This is a crazy world
 and the only way to enjoy it is to treat it as a joke."
     -- Hilda "Sharpie" Burroughs,
        "The Number of the Beast" by Robert A. Heinlein