retro games 100: There's a warning sticker on the PSU saying "This equipment must be earthed". Is this warning relevant to how I have 'rearranged' this PSU?

I think it only means that you have to put the power plug in a wall-socket with an earth pin/lip.

Many people ingore this advise, but in my experience you can get a nasty shock when touching the case of an unearthed PC.

(Where I work most wall sockets are without earthing, so I attached a yellow+green wire to the computer casing on one end and any heating radiator on the other end, where it has a bare metal contact area. So I earthed the computers through the central heating system instead.)

Thanks a lot - I reckon I'm nearly ready to test out my first 486, which is pictured below. I don't know anything about it. I bought it months ago, and have completely forgotten what it was I was buying. It seems to have come with some added nik-naks: a chip (spare BIOS?) and some tiny clip-on board (a voltage regulator?)

It's got "VIA" written on the big chip. So I do know something about this board after all. It's a VIA board. 😜

It's an FIC 486 GIO VT2

Here's mine

http://picasaweb.google.com/jivemaster2005/48 … 730561775979026

Is it working? I see you removed the VRM

There's a warning sticker on the PSU saying "This equipment must be earthed". Is this warning relevant to how I have 'rearranged' this PSU?

This could also be related to the 5th cable that goes to the power switch, it has to be screwed to the case.

Amigaz wrote:

It's an FIC 486 GIO VT2 […]
Show full quote

It's an FIC 486 GIO VT2

Here's mine

http://picasaweb.google.com/jivemaster2005/48 … 730561775979026

Is it working? I see you removed the VRM

I haven't switched it on yet, but I hope to do so ASAP.

I haven't removed anything from the board. I am guessing a VRM is that tiny clip-on board I mentioned. The seller seems to have included a spare, which can be seen on the right of the photo. To the left, on the board itself, is another one.

Your photo shows the "yellow things" on the mobo in good condition, without black spots on them. On my mobo, these "yellow things" have black spots on them. Is this something bad, and to be concerned about?

Thanks a lot for any info.

h-a-l-9000 wrote:

There's a warning sticker on the PSU saying "This equipment must be earthed". Is this warning relevant to how I have 'rearranged' this PSU?

This could also be related to the 5th cable that goes to the power switch, it has to be screwed to the case.

I've left the power switch screwed in to the case, so I guess I'm safe! 😅 😀

Edit: The power cable from the Packard Bell splits in to 2 connectors, labelled PS-1 and PS-2. I don't know which way around they are supposed to go, when plugged in to the FIC board.

On the PB mobo, you can see labelling like: +5V +12V ... GND GND ... -5V +5V ...etc etc written next to all of the power connector pins. But on the FIC mobo, there isn't anything written next to its power connector pins.

Amigaz wrote:

It's an FIC 486 GIO VT2 […]
Show full quote

It's an FIC 486 GIO VT2

Here's mine

http://picasaweb.google.com/jivemaster2005/48 … 730561775979026

Is it working? I see you removed the VRM

OK, I got the power cable correctly fitted to the mobo, and switched on the power. Black screen. I will try another video card.....

Edit: Tried a 2nd VLB graphics card. Black screen. Nothing happens. Power seems to be OK. Hmmm...now what? 😕 😒

Edit 2: Tried a 3rd card. Black screen. OK, so I guess it's not a problem with the graphics card! 🤣

retro games 100 wrote:

OK, I got the power cable correctly fitted to the mobo, and switched on the power. Black screen. I will try another video card […]
Show full quote

Amigaz wrote:

It's an FIC 486 GIO VT2 […]
Show full quote

It's an FIC 486 GIO VT2

Here's mine

http://picasaweb.google.com/jivemaster2005/48 … 730561775979026

Is it working? I see you removed the VRM

OK, I got the power cable correctly fitted to the mobo, and switched on the power. Black screen. I will try another video card.....

Edit: Tried a 2nd VLB graphics card. Black screen. Nothing happens. Power seems to be OK. Hmmm...now what? 😕 😒

Edit 2: Tried a 3rd card. Black screen. OK, so I guess it's not a problem with the graphics card! 🤣

Using the right type of memory? maybe the memory needs to be in certain sockets..in pairs etc

Maybe you'll find some useful info out of this ftp://ftp.fic.com.tw/motherboard/manual/486/486-gio-vt2/

It was the graphics cards!!! I'm not kidding! I tried a 4th and then a 5th card, and they both worked. (I haven't tested any of my VLB graphics cards, and so I don't know if any of them work.)

Or perhaps the first three need cleaning / didn't make proper contact with the mobo. I'll try 'em again...

Edit: I tried the 3 "dead ones" again, twice in fact. Every time I boot up with them, I just see a blank screen. I've also successfully tested 3 other VLB graphics cards, which do seem to work in the same mobo.

Looks like I've got 3 dead cards and 3 living ones. That's quite a high percentage of dead VLB graphics cards. (Although I haven't given the gold contacts a clean yet - I'll need to do that before I bin them.)

Try the other VLB slot.

retro games 100 wrote:

It was the graphics cards!!! I'm not kidding! I tried a 4th and then a 5th card, and they both worked. (I haven't tested any […]
Show full quote

It was the graphics cards!!! I'm not kidding! I tried a 4th and then a 5th card, and they both worked. (I haven't tested any of my VLB graphics cards, and so I don't know if any of them work.)

Or perhaps the first three need cleaning / didn't make proper contact with the mobo. I'll try 'em again...

Edit: I tried the 3 "dead ones" again, twice in fact. Every time I boot up with them, I just see a blank screen. I've also successfully tested 3 other VLB graphics cards, which do seem to work in the same mobo.

Looks like I've got 3 dead cards and 3 living ones. That's quite a high percentage of dead VLB graphics cards. (Although I haven't given the gold contacts a clean yet - I'll need to do that before I bin them.)

Don't be too sure they are dead.
I've got some VLB gfx cards that just work in certain motherboards and doesn't work in others
Remember we are dealing with unreliable stuff from the "crap-hardware-era"
😵

Some VLB cards have a jumper for the CPU bus speed.

OK! I won't throw them out! 😀 I need to do a lot more testing with this VLB stuff!

I'm going to take a break, and tomorrow, clean them up and test them out with a couple of other mobos. I might also take a group photo of the ones I can't get to work, and post it here. Perhaps you veteran retro gods can point out something I've missed!

Thanks! 😀

Edit: I couldn't resist messing about with this a bit more. I tried a different mobo (see pic), and I got 7 VLB graphics cards to work (all cheapo thrown-in-a-bin ones). Only 1 card wouldn't allow the PC to boot, and it's shown to the side of the mobo.

Edit 2: I noticed, too late in fact, that the "dead" VLB card pictured below had one of its feature connector pins bent so that it was touching its neighbour. I have since pushed this pin away from the other touching pin, but would something like this destroy the card?

Yeah, VLB cards tend to be quite unreliable because of their awkward connectors. It's not easy to install VLB cards without putting a lot of strain on both the card and the mainboard. Besides, many cards and boards don't match the physical and electrical specifications very closely.

retro games 100 wrote:

I noticed, too late in fact, that the "dead" VLB card pictured below had one of its feature connector pins bent so that it was touching its neighbour. I have since pushed this pin away from the other touching pin, but would something like this destroy the card?

Possibly yes. But the card seems rather fragile by itself. Just look at those RAM chips & sockets going on for miles, think of all the necessary connections and what can go wrong with them... 😵

I very much agree with your comments.

Also, I just noticed on the underside of this "dead" VLB card pictured above, there's a small break in the "lines" on the PCB. It looks like it's taken a knock. Perhaps it's a fatal wound?

Amigaz wrote:

retro games 100 wrote:

OK, I got the power cable correctly fitted to the mobo, and switched on the power. Black screen. I will try another video card […]
Show full quote

Amigaz wrote:

It's an FIC 486 GIO VT2 […]
Show full quote

It's an FIC 486 GIO VT2

Here's mine

http://picasaweb.google.com/jivemaster2005/48 … 730561775979026

Is it working? I see you removed the VRM

OK, I got the power cable correctly fitted to the mobo, and switched on the power. Black screen. I will try another video card.....

Edit: Tried a 2nd VLB graphics card. Black screen. Nothing happens. Power seems to be OK. Hmmm...now what? 😕 😒

Edit 2: Tried a 3rd card. Black screen. OK, so I guess it's not a problem with the graphics card! 🤣

Using the right type of memory? maybe the memory needs to be in certain sockets..in pairs etc

Maybe you'll find some useful info out of this ftp://ftp.fic.com.tw/motherboard/manual/486/486-gio-vt2/

My board doesn't seem to match up with the online documentation. I'm looking at their mainboard layout .pdf diagram, and it doesn't seem to match up with my mobo. For instance, I cannot locate jumper J7 "password clear" because when I go in to the BIOS set up, it asks me for a password that I do not know. I have tried clearing the CMOS by shorting a CMOS CLEAR jumper, but that didn't help.

Any help would be most welcome! 😀

retro games 100 wrote:

Amigaz wrote:

retro games 100 wrote:

OK, I got the power cable correctly fitted to the mobo, and switched on the power. Black screen. I will try another video card.....

Edit: Tried a 2nd VLB graphics card. Black screen. Nothing happens. Power seems to be OK. Hmmm...now what? 😕 😒

Edit 2: Tried a 3rd card. Black screen. OK, so I guess it's not a problem with the graphics card! 🤣

Using the right type of memory? maybe the memory needs to be in certain sockets..in pairs etc

Maybe you'll find some useful info out of this ftp://ftp.fic.com.tw/motherboard/manual/486/486-gio-vt2/

My board doesn't seem to match up with the online documentation. I'm looking at their mainboard layout .pdf diagram, and it doesn't seem to match up with my mobo. For instance, I cannot locate jumper J7 "password clear" because when I go in to the BIOS set up, it asks me for a password that I do not know. I have tried clearing the CMOS by shorting a CMOS CLEAR jumper, but that didn't help.

Any help would be most welcome! 😀

Maybe you have another model after all or revision
Check here also http://stason.org/TULARC/pc/motherboards/m486_t.html
sometimes the cmos clear jumper have to be closed for some time...

I can't seem to get rid of the BIOS password. I closed the CMOS CLEAR jumper for several minutes. I even removed the CMOS battery. Whenever I boot up, it complains about incorrect floppy drive settings, because it thinks there should be a floppy drive on B: which there isn't.

Do I have to close the CMOS CLEAR jumper, and then switch on the PC? In the past, whenever I have cleared the CMOS on more modern mobos, I have always done this without switching on the power.

Thanks a lot for any help! 😀

Edit: Solved:

http://www.fic.com.tw/support/motherboard/faq … type=486#qid410

You cap the CMOS CLEAR jumper, then turn the machine on!

OK, I've got a bit further! 😀 I've got a HDD connected to the local IDE port, and I am now at the DOS prompt.

But something isn't right, because when I switch on power to the machine, I still get a blank screen to begin with. I switch off power, then switch the power back on again, and I get the BIOS POST on the screen. This is why I was incorrectly concluding that so many of my VLB graphics cards were defective! All I have to do is turn on the power either twice, sometimes three times (in a row), and I get something to appear on the screen.

Obvious question - why is this happening? Why can't I get the BIOS POST message on the screen the first time I switch on power to the PC?

Thanks a lot! 😀