I found this ISA RealMagic EM8010 mpeg decoder card and randomly I stumbled upon the correct cable! 👍👍
I've just got to give it a quick clean and also sort out the bracket.

One of the threads had snapped off inside, and wasn't easy to get out.

Good to go!
REALmagic EM8010 ISA MPEG Audio/Video Accelerator - Net stream 1 (53-000517)

Although this card is a little too old for this system, more suited to a 486 or older, I want to test it out and maybe use it on another older machine (like my favourite 386). Hopefully it works ok.

I've recorded a 12 minute update video, I can't upload it here as it's too big, so here's the link:
>Gateway 2000 Refurb / Rescue Update - Soundblaster 128 PCI in MS-DOS and next steps<
https://youtu.be/Xfpwz9k3cMo?si=h1vbypYcaCSFscLq

Good evening folks, if you haven't wanted my update video, reverting the BIOS did the trick!
I've now got a Soundblaster 128 PCI fully working in MS-DOS.
Here's the Windows 98 startup sound to celebrate 🎊

One of my all-time favourites:
Descent II, can't wait to properly play this, like I did back in the day! 🤘

Heretic sound test in MS-DOS:
SFX: Soundblaster
Music: General Midi

NEC D720101 - Windows 9x compatible USB 2.0 card for, bought for £1! 👍

The USB 2.0 card is working in Windows 98! 👍
Excellent result, oh and the sound is still working in MS-DOS too. W00t

I have a full backup image of the system with everything working, using Ghost....

I've now started stripping the system down, board, drives, PSU is out.

Plastic base and front panel is off.

"Dead things, Mikey, DEAD THINGS!"

Behind the front fans, be rust!

That's it, everything that can be removed (not riveted) is out, ready for a full deep clean.

Rub-a-dub-dub, the Gateway's in the tub 🫧🪥🚿🧼🧽

I've decided to keep the original 6x CD-ROM, it's going to need some TLC inside, grease, laser clean etc. but it works.
It shows it's early, before they kind of standardised the front bezel design, there's a small PCB mounted to the front. It doesn't even have a manual eject hole

Before cleaning shot, a piece of A4 behind, so we can see the original colour:

Another one, with the CD-ROM bezel against A4 paper:

As we're having a heatwave in the UK and this bezel being huge, I'm going to Retrobright using Sunlight, this method is supposed to be longer lasting than using Hydrogen Peroxide and I have days of sun to use, so why not! ☀️ 😎
I've laid out silver foil to maximise coverage.

Decided to test out some rust removal gel on this I/O plate, worth a go first.

The top was after a few coats and about 5 hours, not exactly spectacular results, quite underwhelming, but it did remove a bit.

I'm so glad I never attempted to use the original PSU, the voltages are all over the place:
+12v is 3.5v
-12v is -1.2v
+5v fluctuates between +3v and +9.1v 😬
I have an ATX PSU with the wires cut off, that actually does -5v, so I'll solder in the AT cables, plus the power switch.

So after being in the 30°C sun today, I can see quite a big difference, I'm actually shocked how well this worked.
After
/
Before

Looking good, the top half was a different colour previously, it seems to have all equalled out and it certainly looks better 👍

I decided to go nuclear on the internal frame, the only bit you will see is the rear, but there's rust everywhere.
I've used Direct to Rust Metal Spray Paint, it should have a nice and clean look after.

I masked the original Gateway labels off before painting, as I thought it would be nice to keep them.
It's still got a while to dry, but this is what it will be like with the cover on:
Before
/
After 👇

There's not really an easy way to photo black paint in direct sunlight because of shadows and reflections, but here's the inside. 👍

It's starting to come together now! 👍

I like the contrast the black frame / beige outer shell gives it, not that you'll see it when the cover is back on! 😀

I mean, it's not perfect, but at least it didn't peel loads of paint off when I took the masking off.

I need to clean up the Matrox card and try to remove as much rust as I can!

The bracket is looking loads better now! 👍

Only one thing for this card, is to deep clean it. The memory module had some corrosion on the connectors, so it all needed a really good bath, scrub and polish 🫧 🪥

That connector is looking so much better now!
This will be left to dry out for a few days or so, then we're good to go!

So, I forgot to spray the HDD bay, quickly did it and now it's dried. I'm starting to run out of black screws though 😳

I've connected the main power switch to the new PSU and also, as I'm not using the SATA power connectors modified one to connect up an additional case fan, that can be unclipped if needed.

The PSU, fans, LEDs and power switch is now installed.