"Graeme" wrote in message
...
In message , Graeme
writes

Rootling around in the loft, I found my Elonex 386, bought in 1992,
running DOS and W3.1, so brought it downstairs and set up, but no go, the
PC itself seems to boot (fan noise, flashing lights), but no video signal
using the original monitor.

Ignore that. Repeated CTL-ALT-DEL seems to have fixed the signal problem,
BUT error message tells me the internal battery (Real time Clock) is
discharged. It seems that the BIOS defaults to boot from drive A (the
floppy), but I can change that to C, but, because the battery is flat, the
change is lost when rebooting, and it again tries to boot from A. No, I
can't find the original boot disc, although it must be here somewhere.

In the meantime, if I leave the PC on, will the internal battery charge,

Some do, some don't. You should be able to see a coin cell if it doesn't.

or is it not rechargeable? PC has probably not been booted for 20 years.

I've reported you to the RSPCTPPGOPC, you'll be soorree...