ummm, i think i've found the problem.
my apollo card's battery had corodded
it seems to have leaked as well but there was a plastic protector thingy which seems to have kept in all of the "juices". i've removed the battery and the clip and if i can be bothered i might replace it one day.
when i insert the card, it gets as far as:
dwioooouuuuuuoiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
(hard drive spinning up)
drrrrrrrrrrrr dri
(hard drive reading to load up workbench)
and then instead of going:
clun-clunk (the two floppies checking for anything)
it just stops there, any idea's/any else had the same problems?