Opening up the case and BIOS reset

The Netvista is built to IBM's usual high quality,

With tank like construction. And like most things IBM-ish it is just a little different. The first order of business is to get the case off and see whats going on in there.

Removal of the case is easy once you know the secret. Look on the rear of the case under the power connector, there is a large plastic tab. Lift the tab upward while pulling to the rear, sliding the black outer case away from the plastic latch. The outer case will just slide off from the inner chassis which is attached to the plastic latch.

Once the case is off, Check to see how dirty the inside is. My eBay Netvistas have been in various stages of clean from disgusting to spotless, so I always clean them before doing anything else. If you need to clean up inside, remove the memory module(s) and clean the inside of the case by blowing with canned air or low pressure compressed air from an air compressor. I usually use compressed air at about 40-50 psi being careful not to get too aggressive with the airstream. Make sure to blow the power supply fan off well, and also blow through the power supply vents. This is where most of the dust collects, so pay special attention here.

I usually plug the power cord in, and switch things on to verify that the fan does run and is quiet, you're going to be buttoning this back up soon and it will usually be tucked away and forgotten, so its best to make sure the fan is in good shape while you're in here. The fan is a 60mm X 20mm unit, and is rubber mounted to keep the noise to a minimum. I have never had to replace a fan on any of my Netvistas, but I have had to remove, clean and oil the shaft and bearings on one. If your fan runs, but is noisy or slow, and you're handy with tools, you might try that approach first.

Now that things are all cleaned up and back together, its time to get things into a "known state" This means resetting the BIOS to factory defaults, and resetting the password to allow you to make changes to the various settings.
Begin by un-plugging the power cord, switching the power switch to the "ON" position and then pressing the power button on the front. This will discharge the capacitors in the power supply and prevent damage to any of the components. Next move the "Password Ovrd" jumper to the lower two pins, this jumper is located about one inch below the CPU heat sink near the front edge of the motherboard click here for a closeup picture of the jumper location, or theres a full sized view here. Next, remove the battery on the motherboard. It is a standard CR-2032 and can be removed by sliding the battery toward the front of the chassis and lifting the rear edge to release.
Wait 30 seconds or so, then replace the battery, switch the power switch back to the "off" position, and plug in the power cord. Attach your monitor, keyboard and mouse, and power things up. At this point the green power LED will be flashing. After about 30 seconds with the LED flashing, switch the power switch off again and replace the Password Ovrd jumper to its original position.
Now power the Netvista up again. You should see the Network Station splash screen as shown below in the screenshots, along with an error message showing a configuration error. Press the [F1] key to enter the system setup utility. This will eventually lead to the series of screens asking you to continue, automatically reconfigure the system and continue. Make sure to continue rather than exit or you'll have to start the reset all over again.

Once you actually reach the system configuration screen, there are four things you will want to accomplish.

• Set the Date and Time
• Set the administrator password
• Set the startup options
• Save and exit

The Screenshots below will lead you through the setup changes, One item of interest is that the clock always reports the year as 1905 until you make a change or move between the fields on the date/time dialog. Then it updates to the correct year. (Old BIOS I guess). Also you may want to take a close look at the startup options. I always set the "Keyboardless Operation", and "Power On F1 / ESC Options" to enabled. This doesn't interfere with operation as a thin client, and it will help if you intend on running M0n0wall, because as soon as you have the IP address set, you can run the Netvista headless, and Keyboardless.

System setup screenshots: click image to enlarge

Boot splash, with configuration error	Post startup error Configuration changed	Automatically reconfigure and continue
Configuration Error continue into setup	Configuration/Setup Main menu	Date / Time Strange year behavior
System security Administrator password	Administrator password change	Start Options Workspace on demand