Fred:
Sorry for the long time to reply--too much life getting in the way of my computer hobby.
Okay, to answer you on contacting directly, I would prefer to correspond here for a couple of reasons-- 1) I can just imagine what I would get in my mail box or what ever else if I posted any personal contact information here, 2) perhaps someone else could learn from our conversations here, I’ve learned lots from reading posts from people trying to solve problems on here and other forums, 3) maybe someone else can contribute to our conversation, and 4) my computer tech knowledge is average at best, most of what I have learned I have read about or have learned tinkering around with my old stuff.
Now with that said, maybe we need to start from the beginning again with your old IBM 300PL-- You say when you turn it on, you get the blue IBM screen, I’m thinking if it does show the IBM screen when you turn it on then the memory is compatible, sorry for the misdiagnosis. I think on the bottom it says "Press F1 to enter BIOS" or something like that. You say pressing F1 nothing happens-- Does the computer hang there on that IBM screen- doesn’t go past that? Normally it should only show that for a few seconds, then automatically boot into whatever operating system is installed. You shouldn't have to press any keys or do anything to boot in to the OS. My old 300 PL originally came with Windows 2000. I've since installed XP on it. Anyway, after the IBM screen it should say "Windows xxxx" whichever operating system it is for a few more seconds (or a minute or two, I forget how long it used to take these old systems to boot) and then show the desktop.
If it stays there on the IBM blue screen, nothing else happens, then there could be a lot of things that could be the problem. Bad motherboard, CPU, maybe power supply, hard drive--is there a hard drive in it?
This computer is really too old to be worth putting any serious money into. I’ve collected a lot of computer junk over the years I got for free or very little from garage sales, thrift shops, or given to me by friends and relatives. Mixing and matching parts from all the old stuff I was able to figure out what was wrong with a few and get them working for very little money. Unless you have that ability, I wouldn’t suggest putting a lot of time or money into it, especially when you can buy a good working basic used system for $50.00-$100.00 these days, with windows XP and a few other goodies installed, or a new system from Best Buy or Walmart for about $300.00 with Windows 7, direct X 10 graphics, 2 GB memory 500gb or more 7200 rpm sata hard drive, etc, etc, the old IBM 300PL would be no comparison in speed and capability to even an inexpensive new system. And what you would spend in parts trying to figure out what is going on you would be best spent towards something newer.
If you are serious about getting it working, you would have to try switching out some parts to see what is going on. Post back here and let me now what it is doing, so we can suggest what to do next. --The Captain
