Deksor wrote on 2021-02-22, 10:56:

My hp Vectra has been working ok with a cr2032 battery for at least 10 years so I don't think it's the problem.

That's interesting. I remember mine having odd issues with the settings getting corrupted until I used a BR2325 instead of a CR2032.

thepirategamerboy12 wrote on 2021-02-25, 16:13:

On my HP Vectra VL2 4/66, there's a jumper on the mobo to enable/disable the on-board graphics. Would yours happen to have that?

Yup. Checked that according to the manual, and it's set to be enabled

Bernkastel7734 wrote on 2021-02-22, 19:05:

Deksor wrote on 2021-02-22, 17:28:

You have the manual for this computer ? 😮

I never had it !

Yupp, found it somewhere online

Can you give me a link please ? 😁

thepirategamerboy12 wrote on 2021-02-25, 16:17:

Deksor wrote on 2021-02-22, 10:56:

My hp Vectra has been working ok with a cr2032 battery for at least 10 years so I don't think it's the problem.

That's interesting. I remember mine having odd issues with the settings getting corrupted until I used a BR2325 instead of a CR2032.

well the CR2032 is slightly thinner iirc. Maybe it doesn't make a good contact thus causing corruption ? In my case it didn't, but I can see that the holder is too big

Deksor wrote on 2021-02-22, 17:28:

Can you give me a link please ? 😁

https://pdfslide.net/documents/1995-hp-compan … vectra-pcs.html
It's not much, but at least it got jumpers info

Thanks !

Actually that's the manual I found recently but anyways

Deksor wrote on 2021-02-25, 17:12:

well the CR2032 is slightly thinner iirc. Maybe it doesn't make a good contact thus causing corruption ? In my case it didn't, but I can see that the holder is too big

The numbers indicate diameter (in mm) and height (in mm*0.1).
CR2032 is 0,7mm thicker than BR2325.
BR2325 is 3mm larger in diameter than CR2032.

Deksor wrote on 2021-02-25, 17:44:

Thanks !

Actually that's the manual I found recently but anyways

You're welcome 😀

So, I got that POST card. For most of the time, it just shows no code ( Pic 1). Once I got codes 3230. What, according to manual, means some memory writing/reading tests passed. I guess that card can be broken, since as far as I know there is no 3.3V voltage in ISA slot.

Well, since I get no code I guess that motherboard is totally dead one. Sadly. Edit: I got to the point where for every couple of boot attepmts I got different codes. Once about keyboard initialization, once about memory check passed and once about video initialization. So, well I guess that mobo is dead.

"Spent several hours cleaning up that"

Did you try it before or after the cleaning? Maybe something was damaged during cleaning.

Miphee wrote on 2021-02-26, 10:50:

"Spent several hours cleaning up that"

Did you try it before or after the cleaning? Maybe something was damaged during cleaning.

It was so dirty that I was affraid to power it. Actually the seller succeeded in booting it. Well all I did to electrical parts was wiping them with really soft makeup brush. Most of the time I spent cleaning the case and psu from old, sticky mixture of cigs smoke and dust. I don't really know if it could got damaged from makeup brush and isopropyl alcohol. Well, maybe I should have checked that.

Don't feel bad, happens to everyone in the retro biz.
Remove all components from the case and try the mainboard without any special components attached.
Only the mainboard, the riser card, the PSU and a monitor.

Miphee wrote on 2021-02-26, 11:03:

Don't feel bad, happens to everyone in the retro biz.
Remove all components from the case and try the mainboard without any special components attached.
Only the mainboard, the riser card, the PSU and a monitor.

Sure, will try that as well.

Well, according to the manual and the seller of that ISA POST card it's a chipset issue. So I guess that PC is unfixable. Sadly. Anyways, I want to thank everybody for your help.

I say it's too early to give up on that machine.
You could try different RAMs, different CPUs, different jumper configurations.
What about all those unpopulated sockets?
Any damage on the underside or parts that are touching accidentally (even inside the expansion slots)?
Unfixable 486 boards are quite rare and I've dealt with a lot.

Miphee wrote on 2021-02-26, 12:13:

I say it's too early to give up on that machine. You could try different RAMs, different CPUs, different jumper configurations. […]
Show full quote

I say it's too early to give up on that machine.
You could try different RAMs, different CPUs, different jumper configurations.
What about all those unpopulated sockets?
Any damage on the underside or parts that are touching accidentally (even inside the expansion slots)?
Unfixable 486 boards are quite rare and I've dealt with a lot.

Well, the problem is that I don't really have any spare parts that old. Check one RAM I have, nothing changed, but I don't know if it's working tho. Next I'll check all the connections and elements as suggested. These unpopulated sockets are for additional cpu cache and video memory, as far as I know. Well, I have really bad luck, so I guess I won't be able to fix it.
Do you think that washing that motherboard with toothbrush and alcohol is a bad idea?

your POST card is fine, they just re-purpose "3.3V" as "-5V" when used in a ISA slot.

Unfixable 486 boards are quite rare and I've dealt with a lot.

sadly I can't agree with you. What would you do with the boards with lots of battery damage and the boards which simply output "----" on POST cards like this one ? I even have boards which used to work fine and had no physical damage, come back few months later and it does nothing anymore.

Now @Bernkastel7734 if your board managed to output a POST code at some point there's still hope in my opinion. Maybe there's a cracked solder joint somewhere for example ? Check the simm slots for bent pins. Try to press on the chipset with one of your finger too just in case the chipset has broken solder joints.

Deksor wrote on 2021-02-26, 18:13:

sadly I can't agree with you. What would you do with the boards with lots of battery damage and the boards which simply output "----" on POST cards like this one ?

Although battery damage is also fixable in many cases I mostly meant undamaged boards like this one.
This board looks fine.
I get the "----" on some boards that don't have the correct memory type installed. Some boards are really picky when it comes to RAM.
OP needs a working CPU to make sure it's not a dead CPU issue.
There could be something wrong with the BIOS chip contents or the chip itself. OP should get a TL866 with a chip adapter to diagnose it.
Something could have happened during shipping, maybe some components are short-circuiting. OP should remove the board and try it outside the computer case.
Of course I know these things aren't cheap but this computer should be working if the seller sold it as working. Let's assume the seller didn't scam OP.
OP should also check the QFP chips for bent pins.
There are so many options but OP needs more (confirmed) working parts before it's safe to say that this computer is dead.

Guys, I have noticed that it gives POST codes once for a couple of restarts. But the codes variable a lot. Sometimes they're just blank ones, I mean manual says ' reserved'. Once it's about memory write/read test passed. One time I got loop of memory test. Sometimes it's POST code about initializing keyboard and/or video display. Once I got a POST codes for' Initializing Keyboard' and' No critical error, outputting video in VGA mode' But monitor still didn't show any screen.

It has a generic AMI bios, you can use this site as a reference too http://www.bioscentral.com/postcodes/amibios.htm

@Miphee I wish I was this lucky, especially with battery acid 🙁