Hydro thunder with out a clue

atticastate

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Donor 2012
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I just got a stand up hydro thunder.

Powers on but no sound or game play. Monitor is blue.
The LEDs inside on the boards light up if I am reading the manual correct.
The fans on the computer fire up and run.
The boost button on the throttle flashes on and off

I replaced the battery on the game board and the 3 fuses in the cab.

Very clueless on this machine. There is a lot going on inside this thing.

Please help
 
Easy.

I've posted this in the past but here it is again.

If you own a Hydro Thunder machine go on Ebay and buy yourself
an old PCI video card. They usually sell for $10 or less.

The reason is the video card on the Hydro Thunder does not
output VGA so you can't hook up a monitor to see what the computer
is doing.

Plug the PCI card into your Hydro Thunder computer and plug
in a VGA monitor. Power up the machine. Not a lot happens but if
the computer is actually working you will get a POST screen and
then some info when the program starts running. I think there's a little
spinning Asterisk * or something that occurs but it's been a few years.

If you get no video, then your motherboard is bad.

If your motherboard is bad, then a lot of times it can be
restored by replacing the caps. If that doesn't work, then
believe it or not there are plenty of boards on EBay.

If your AGP video card is bad then at one time you were screwed
but now there is another option. Use your search button to
find it here and super thanks to the user who created the fix !

JD
 
I just got a stand up hydro thunder.

Powers on but no sound or game play. Monitor is blue.
The LEDs inside on the boards light up if I am reading the manual correct.
The fans on the computer fire up and run.
The boost button on the throttle flashes on and off

I replaced the battery on the game board and the 3 fuses in the cab.

Very clueless on this machine. There is a lot going on inside this thing.

Please help



Easy.

I've posted this in the past but here it is again.

If you own a Hydro Thunder machine go on Ebay and buy yourself
an old PCI video card. They usually sell for $10 or less.

The reason is the video card on the Hydro Thunder does not
output VGA so you can't hook up a monitor to see what the computer
is doing.

Plug the PCI card into your Hydro Thunder computer and plug
in a VGA monitor. Power up the machine. Not a lot happens but if
the computer is actually working you will get a POST screen and
then some info when the program starts running. I think there's a little
spinning Asterisk * or something that occurs but it's been a few years.

If you get no video, then your motherboard is bad.

If your motherboard is bad, then a lot of times it can be
restored by replacing the caps. If that doesn't work, then
believe it or not there are plenty of boards on EBay.

If your AGP video card is bad then at one time you were screwed
but now there is another option. Use your search button to
find it here and super thanks to the user who created the fix !

JD


I need a mother board for this game.

Betson says they can't get the mother board if bad, which mine is!

two reason the mb is NLA and the software won't work on another mother bd.


where is the MB you are talking about, o E-bay?
 
I need a mother board for this game.
where is the MB you are talking about, o E-bay?


Let me check tonight and see if I still have my "Cheat Sheet" in
the archives.

Basically, look at your motherboard. See that number - E139761 ?
Now look for the bar code label. Find the letters AA. To the right is a
six digit number. I've found that most boards equal to or higher
than that number will work with Hydro Thunder. Make sure the board
has onboard audio. Some of them don't.

The board needs to have an Intel SE440BX-2 chipset and the correct
socket for the CPU.

Again, I'll check at home tonight. I used to have a more detailed
description of what it would run on.

When I say easy, I really mean it. Why should you have to pay
$250-$400 for a board when you can find one for $40 or so ?

JD
 
Last edited:
Easy.

I've posted this in the past but here it is again.

If you own a Hydro Thunder machine go on Ebay and buy yourself
an old PCI video card. They usually sell for $10 or less.

If your AGP video card is bad then at one time you were screwed
but now there is another option. Use your search button to
find it here and super thanks to the user who created the fix !

JD

Just want to make a small correction. Hydro uses a PCI video card, not AGP.
Also I have had some minor issues with various AGP cards and the Pharlap Software not playing nice. But that really doesn't matter if your only looking for the PC to boot.

Working on your Hydro is not hard, and at some time your going to have to get your feet wet with some type of repair, so IMO try it yourself. If you have problems (like not knowing what to order) just ask, I am sure someone will be kind enough to post a direct link to get you on the right path.

Just think of it as a standard PC when your trying to fix it. (because it is)

Replacing a motherboard is Super simple a few screws, ect... Youtube is a great resource for disassembly videos for PC's
 
Yes need another video card to see vga signal


I had a raven video card, so I can use a vga monitor

need to use J8 jumper to go to Bio's

if need to get into Bio's.

Again Betson said the software won't work with a different board.

Which MB is going to be used?

I don't really need one but good to know someone has a replacement MB.
 

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I stand corrected.

JD

Just want to make a small correction. Hydro uses a PCI video card, not AGP.
Also I have had some minor issues with various AGP cards and the Pharlap Software not playing nice. But that really doesn't matter if your only looking for the PC to boot.
 
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