Maybe the capacitors are dying ? If you leave it alone for a while (like one day) and retry it maybe it will work again ?
If it does it's definitely a capacitor problem. If it does'nt, it can still be that problem but there's no way to be sure.
The PSU of my 8088 was crashing the computer after a while. And if I used it for too long, it didn't post anymore. Waiting a few hours and the computer was POSTing again. I replaced all the caps and now it works flawlessly ! Sure this isn't a psu problem there, but since that board was released close to the capacitor plague, yours might have some dead ones (even if they aren't bulgy)

Can you make a photo of the capacitors please ? 😀

Did you reset the bios via the bios itself or whit the jumper?

And did you tried another power supply?

Do you hear any peep codes?

Small update... I tried a another PSU, this time a brand new Corsair vx550... still a no go.

As far as using the jumper to reset the BIOS, it looks like this board doesn't have one? Trust me I looked about 5 times for the jumper, but i don't believe it exists. The manual DOES mention shorting 2 little empty soldier points on the board labeled "CLRTC" to erase the real time clock. Is that the BOIS jumper? it's just 2 little very small soldier points. Is it safe to short this, and how can i do that safely?

As for post beeps, this board does not beep when it boots (even when it DID post correctly those few times). Would I need a PCspeaker plugged in to hear the beeps? I haven worked on a board this old since it was contemporary 😵

I've uploaded some pics of the motherboard.

thanks guys, really hoping we can bring this beast back to life

Retromangia wrote:

Small update... I tried a another PSU, this time a brand new Corsair vx550... still a no go. […]
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Small update... I tried a another PSU, this time a brand new Corsair vx550... still a no go.

As far as using the jumper to reset the BIOS, it looks like this board doesn't have one? Trust me I looked about 5 times for the jumper, but i don't believe it exists. The manual DOES mention shorting 2 little empty soldier points on the board labeled "CLRTC" to erase the real time clock. Is that the BOIS jumper? it's just 2 little very small soldier points. Is it safe to short this, and how can i do that safely?

As for post beeps, this board does not beep when it boots. Would I need a PCspeaker plugged in to hear the beeps? I haven worked on a board this old since it was contemporary 😵

I've uploaded some pics of the motherboard.

thanks guys, really hoping we can bring this beast back to life

Asus motherboards from late 90s and early 2000s really like to play dead, it's like their special trick.

First try to short the clear BIOS solder pads with the power disconneced, thats the first thing to do when a motherboard dosn't want to start.

Another thing to try is to change the memory configuration. Move the memory stick you have in the first slot to the last slot, you can also try to change the CPU for another model. The important thing is that the hardware configuration is changed as this often help with resurrecting "dead" Asus motherboards.

If this dosn't work try to remove the battery and short out the battery socket, leave the board like that for an hour or so with the power disconnected.

1. Unplug power cord.
2. Remove CMOS battery.
3. Short the Clear CMOS soldering points with a flathead screwdriver.
4. Insert battery and plug in power cord.
5. Start the computer with the PCI card in slot 1.

alright guys,

I'm feeling like it' time to throw in the towel.

I just came back from Radio Shack (man haven't said that in years), with a brand new CR2032 Battery and PC Speaker.

I shorted the CMOS soldier pads, I replaced the battery with a brand new one. I removed and re-seated the CPU. I also hooked up a PC speaker. Unfortunately no matter what I do, I get no picture or beep codes of any kind.

Hell I even tried plugging the power cord into a different wall outlet, and tried a different power cord as well.

Really loosing hope with this one.

-Retro

I just remembered, I think i have an old P2 Celeron 300 in the attic. Going to throw that in and cross my fingers..

Well Holy shit!

SHE LIVES!!! 😁 (screenshot included)

I was just about to give up.... Seriously, was just about to email the guy who sold it to me. Man does it pay to be SUPER patient.

So here's what i did...

First I put in the P2-300 (non-celeron). I then changed all the jumpers for FSB, Multi, and AGP divider.

hit power...nothing. I then popped in an AGP card instead of PCI... Nadda.

Finally, I swapped out the original 256MB RAM Chip (again) for a different 64mb chip... and LOW & BEHOLD... SHE CAME ALIVE 😉

What do you guys think it was? bad CPU, bad RAM? I swear I already swapped the RAM a bunch of times.

Anyhow, very happy indeed... but I'm leaving it on now and never want to turn the damn thing off..

My question to you guys is... what now? I'm thinking I should update the BIOS first? It's running a very old version.

I'd like to eventually try putting the old P3-500 back in, but for now I'd like to give the motherboard a nice tune up while i still can.

let me know what you guys think i should do next.

thanks again for all the help!

Man, what a freakin adventure this has been. I think from now on, I'll just supe up pre-built systems that work already 🤣.

anyway, it seems there's light at the end of the tunnel...

After hours of troubleshooting tonight... i finally have this working and under control... but man what a bumpy ride it was getting here.

So i finally got it working well with the old P2-300. I updated he BIOS usng a floppy disk.

Took a while to get the Hard drive recognized... I tried 3 different IDE cables before it worked right.

I actually tried again with the P3-500, but no luck. It had no sign of life when using the faster chip.

So i put the old P2-300 back in, and she was up and running well outside the case.

I then installed everything inside the case -

I had the mobo, video card, HD/CD-ROM drives all installed inside the case. It was up and running, no problems at all.

This is where it gets ridiculous. I turn off the machine, and install an SB Live PCI sound card, and a D-Link Network card. Then all of a sudden, It doesn't turn on anymore. No fans, no beeps, nadda. Something is going on with this PC case.

Thank god, I removed everything from the case and everything started working again. 😊

I have a feeling this case is shorting out the motherboard. I'm surprised because this is a quality case, or so I thought. It's made by Silverstone, it sits horizontal for use in a home theater setup, although its quite roomy inside. I should of known better,

I noticed when installing any kind of PCI/AGP card into the case, I actually have to use a screw driver on the bottom of the brackets of the PCI cards to squeeze them all the way down into the case.

Is it possible this case killed the P3-500 CPU?

right now i have it outside the case, formatting drive C:

😊

if its short circuiting, all you have to is properly ground it. however this should not be possible at all, there is something wrong on your mobo causing this. To start I suggest using some rings to screw down the mobo and every screw attached to it, but I believe there is something damaged on the mobo that might cause it.

Retromangia wrote:

I noticed when installing any kind of PCI/AGP card into the case, I actually have to use a screw driver on the bottom of the brackets of the PCI cards to squeeze them all the way down into the case.

If the motherboard has cracked traces, having to squeeze the bottoms of the brackets into place with a screwdriver might cause the traces to disconnect.

Perhaps you can revive the P3-500 by cleaning the contacts the same way you clean AGP contacts. I've revived several Slot 1 CPUs that way and also memory modules and graphics cards.

Have you tried another case? It may not be a good fit for your board. Have the standoffs of the case perhaps been replaced or are they perhaps not the same height?

And don't worry about having to troubleshoot for hours on end, it comes with the territory and I'd suggest you start to like it that way or you may be in for a world of hurt down the road 😜
But well done anyway 😀

After a bit of hard troubleshooting work, a pint of beer may help relax, take a day off (or a week if it has been really troublesome 🤣!), enjoy your previous retrocomputer fiddling victories and have fun! 😁

ok.. we have the official update..

LoL @ Tetrium... so true man. This weekend really made me appreciate current computer systems we use today 🤣. .. however, I wouldn't stop until I had success!

Man what a learning experience this has been... Definitely treated myself after this was all finished 😁

so here's the news.

Last time I checked in, I had the P2-300 up and running outside the case. At this point I thought I had killed the P3-500 chip.

I tried installing the motherboard into the case one last time, but again no luck with that. This case is going bye bye.

So I then pulled it outside the case, and had it all up and running. Installed Windows 98, drivers, everything is kosher with that (thank god).

However, being the persistent guy that I am, I tried using the P3-500 chip again that I thought I had killed.

as it turns out... IT'S ALIVE! 😀 mostly...

The reason why it wasn't working the last few attempts, is because the system will NOT BOOT when the jumpers are set correctly for 100mhz FSB!.

The P3-500's default specs are (100 FSB, 5x Multi, AGP 2/3). When I set the motherboard jumpers to those settings, it will not post.

The only way it will post is if I set the FSB to 88mhz (thus giving me a CPU speed of 416mhz). If I set the FSB to anything higher than 88mhz, it will not post. changing the Multiplier doesn't have any effect. That's why the old P2-300 worked correctly, because I was setting the FSB to 66mhz.

What do you think might be causing this?
- Lack of CPU voltage
- RAM not fast enough (I've tried many different PC100 sticks)
- Incorrect BIOS settings

I was able to post ONCE at the Full 100mhz FSB when I first started toying with the system (very first screenshot). However 10 minutes in, I rebooted the machine, and it never worked again.

Any idea's would be much appreciated! 😕