I got this motherboard a while back and have been wanting to get it going.
it won't post though.
wondering if maybe the wrong cache module got installed or maybe the wrong plug on the aux power connector. in any case it has never worked since I have owned it. in this thread I will try to get it working. lemme know if you have any ideas.
Those sockets in upper right of pic are also interesting - looks like the SCSI controller is optional and you need to populate them for that.
As for not booting, you say:
wondering if maybe the wrong cache module got installed
Obvious first step: try to boot without cache module.
The slot looks like standard COAST, but most (if not all standard) COAST modules are PLB cache, whereas the i430NX can only use asynch cache. If there's a PLB module in there, that would explain a lot...
My family had a Zeos 386 that I played all the Lucasarts stuff on. P5 must have been the very end for them as a company. Everything after that one would have been Micron branded.
Do you have a POST card? If so, what does it say when attempting to boot?
Also, another double-check: this is an i430NX board. NX only supported FP DRAM, not EDO. Are you using FP? Or could your SIMMs be EDO?
Fp, that may be the issue.
Wasn’t aware of that.
I do have a post card. I forget what it shows. I am going off memory from my attempt to get it working a few months back. Lemme set it up again and try the fp ram idea.
The '4' suggests Fast Page, which is good. Having a bit of trouble decoding the rest (or finding a data sheet). That '2' might indicate low-voltage 3.3V chips, which isn't good on a 5V board like this. But it might not...
Don't you have two bog-standard 4MB SIMMs with 8 (or 9) 4400 ICs on them? That's the gold standard for FP that anything should work with.
The '4' suggests Fast Page, which is good. Having a bit of trouble decoding the rest (or finding a data sheet). That '2' might indicate low-voltage 3.3V chips, which isn't good on a 5V board like this. But it might not...
Don't you have two bog-standard 4MB SIMMs with 8 (or 9) 4400 ICs on them? That's the gold standard for FP that anything should work with.
These are the only other possibilities that I own. I’m pretty sure that top one is what you are talking about
snufkinwrote on 2022-12-02, 13:28:Memory looks to be 3.3V EDO: https://www.digchip.com/datasheets/parts/data … 427809A-pdf.php
Searching for 'CR2032 vertical batt […] Show full quote
These are the only other possibilities that I own. I’m pretty sure that top one is what you are talking about
Looks like the memory you've ordered is suitably overkill. For reference, the sticks in that photo look like a couple of 4MB and a 16MB, I think they're all 5V FPM (417400 datasheet calls it Enhanced Page Mode, which from a quick skim looks like FPM). The pair of 4MB are probably useful for testing. Just noticed that the manual from that RetroWeb link in the first post says the maximum RAM is 384MB. So it's possible that board doesn't support 128MB sticks and might just see them as 64MB.
Manual also says the cache needs to be 3V. Datasheet (https://datasheetspdf.com/pdf-file/537700/All … uctor/AS7C512/1) for the chips on the stick in the photo gives recommended supply voltage as 5V. But it also says that data is retained down to 2V, and any signal above 2.2V is read as '1'. So it might be a good idea to check what voltage the Vdd pins on the socket are. When the manual says 3V SIMM it might just mean the signal levels rather than supply voltage. But as dionb suggested, probably best to get the board started without cache to start with.