[blue68f100]

Read the FAQ's on the 4100's will answer some of your question.

The cpu fan is controlled by firmware. It only spins up when it gets HOT.
Boots from flashram.
Have not looked at the PS fan, so I can comment. But if you can open the case you can replace it.
The 4100 were shipped with 2 different ram cap 64m & 128meg. If you run JVM you need 128 for it to run smothly. PC100/133 low density Max cap 256meg.

Unless you have source, and knowledge of BIOS code. Good luck. We if rulled this dead. It may be possiable to load Linux on a a 1100 or 2200 which use a std/modified bios, but have hardware markers/checks. It's beyond my knowledge.

If you want me to look at the FB1 & FB2 areas of your MB you may email them me. The resistor values they added were 10 ohms.

If you need more info, post snap vitals by clicking on the snapAppliance logo.