AST Ascentia 900N
The AST Ascentia 900N is a 486-based laptop, sharing a similar case to the earlier PowerExec, but with an all-black color scheme with green accents, a built in TrackPoint, faster processors, and more.
Specifications
| Spec | Details |
|---|---|
| CPU | - Intel 486DX2 @50MHz - Intel 486DX4 @75MHz |
| RAM | Proprietary - 4 or 8MB Standard - 32MB Maximum |
| Hard Disk | IDE 2.5" - 340 or 510MB Standard |
| Display Options | - Passive Matrix Color @640x480 - Active Matrix Color @640x480 |
| Graphics Chipset | Western Digital WD90C24A - 1MB VRAM |
| Audio | PC Speaker |
| Main Battery | NiMH |
| CMOS Battery | - Soldered Lithium CMOS Battery - Socketed NiMH Varta Reserve Battery |
| Power Supply | Barrel Jack |
| Disk Drives | 3.5" 1.44MB Floppy Drive |
| PC Cards | 2x PCMCIA Slots (2x Type II/1x Type III) |
| Networking | None built-in |
| Other I/O | - 1x Parallel - 1x Serial - 1x VGA Out - 1x PS/2 - 1x Dock Connector |
| BIOS | AST |
| Pointing Device | TrackPoint |
Resources
 Brochure |
|---|
Common Faults & Maintenance
The Ascentia 900N suffers from known failures that affect many laptops from its time, including battery leaks and plastic issues.
Battery Leaks
The 900N has an internal 6-coin-cell battery (roughly in the upper middle-left of the laptop), likely used as a hiberation battery as these also had a coin cell Lithium for backing up the CMOS. Unlike the soldered Lithium cell, these hibernation batteries are NiCad or NiMH (not sure which one in this case). These sorts of batteries are incredibly prone to leaking with time, and a large quantity of 900Ns have fallen victim to corrosion from these batteries. The battery in this unit is placed directly near critical components. This battery should be removed ASAP in any unit to prevent damage.
Brittle Plastics & Hinge Failures
Like nearly any other 90s laptop, the 900N's plastic is quite brittle with age. Most I see show up for sale have stress cracks around the display hinge mounts. You may need to do some ugly epoxy work to keep one of these intact.
Other Notes
Like any other laptop of its time, the screens on the 900N can get Vinegar Syndrome.
I've seen one of these that looked like the top of the trackpoint cap was missing. It likely turned to goo and then fell apart when someone tried to use it, as can be common in certain early TrackPoint caps, as rubber ages. Just something to keep in mind.
Gallery
If you own this laptop and want to help the site, send in some photos!
Page last updated (MM/DD/YYYY): 09/17/2024
Update Reason: pages consolidated
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