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First post, by gladders

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Hi everyone,

I have had this board in storage for years but decided to make it this year I use it to build a dedicated WIndows 95 machine. It came pre-loaded with an AMD DX4/100 and 32MB RAM. I have added a coin battery to the conveniently-placed slot for one in the corner, and powered it on yesterday - and got no life.

I have a POST card, and it was showing nothing as well. I've since discovered the CPU was installed the wrong way round, which I've remedied and now I have some activity, but still not normal functionality.

I'm using an S3 VirGE/DX for video, which I bought recently verified working. 50% of the time I attempt boot, the monitor wakes but there's no image. The POST codes are erratic and it tends to switch between several behaviours - the most common are in the pictures attached. I've also included the manual's interpretation of what the errors mean - it's AMIBIOS.

Any ideas what I should do?

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Reply 3 of 18, by gladders

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Alright, so I managed to source a confirmed working Intel 486 DX4-100. I’ve put it in the right way round, checked all the jumpers, and it’s still not working.

The same errors though, which I suppose is a positive sign.

I’ve tried it with 33x3 MHz and 50x2 MHz jumper settings.

What can I do next?

Reply 4 of 18, by zuldan

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gladders wrote on 2024-06-18, 07:48:
Alright, so I managed to source a confirmed working Intel 486 DX4-100. I’ve put it in the right way round, checked all the jumpe […]
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Alright, so I managed to source a confirmed working Intel 486 DX4-100. I’ve put it in the right way round, checked all the jumpers, and it’s still not working.

The same errors though, which I suppose is a positive sign.

I’ve tried it with 33x3 MHz and 50x2 MHz jumper settings.

What can I do next?

It looks like the board is having memory issues. A motherboard can sit at post code 06 if it has bad memory (can’t load the BIOS properly) and D codes usually also relate to memory. I would clean the memory slots and if that doesn’t work try other memory sticks.

Reply 5 of 18, by kheper

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gladders wrote on 2024-06-18, 07:48:
Alright, so I managed to source a confirmed working Intel 486 DX4-100. I’ve put it in the right way round, checked all the jumpe […]
Show full quote

Alright, so I managed to source a confirmed working Intel 486 DX4-100. I’ve put it in the right way round, checked all the jumpers, and it’s still not working.

The same errors though, which I suppose is a positive sign.

I’ve tried it with 33x3 MHz and 50x2 MHz jumper settings.

What can I do next?

Try to POST with as few sticks of memory as possible. (Consult the manual.) Clean both the memory and the slots.

Reply 6 of 18, by mkarcher

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If this is caused by memory problems, make sure you have FPM RAM. Most copies of the HOT-433 are not compatible with EDO RAM. Only the very latest ones might support EDO.

Reply 7 of 18, by gladders

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mkarcher wrote on 2024-06-18, 17:15:

If this is caused by memory problems, make sure you have FPM RAM. Most copies of the HOT-433 are not compatible with EDO RAM. Only the very latest ones might support EDO.

Yes, I think you’re right. I just checked out the RAM sticks and they appear to be EDO, and I’m pretty sure this is an early model of the 433. I’ll try to find some FPM sticks.

Thanks!

Reply 9 of 18, by zuldan

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gladders wrote on 2024-07-10, 14:20:

Damn it. I’ve tried two separate lots of Fastpage RAM and all I get from the board is the POSTcard error ‘C7C5’. What is this?

Please help

Are you able to flash the bios with the latest firmware. Current firmware may be corrupt.

Reply 10 of 18, by kheper

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I had a problem with an AMD Athlon board - KV88. It produced very inconsistent beep codes. I had to clear the CMOS and remove the battery - many times - before it finally POSTed. I spent hours clearing, removing and replacing until it POSTed.

Reply 11 of 18, by gladders

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This is getting worse.

I got a new motherboard - LuckyStar 486-e - that is confirmed working on the sale. But all I get on the POST card with either EDO or Fast Page RAM is ‘C100’

Am I just cursed?

Reply 12 of 18, by i2lgames

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Hello mate. I can tell you the biggest problem with the hot 433 ver.3. You can't just solder a coin cell holder and expect it to work. There are no traces connecting the battery to the dallas chip. You will have to replace the RTC or mod it. It will not work without a live battery!
As for the LuckyStar 486-e, the one I had was very picky with the ram. It did not, whatever i tried, to work with EDO ram. Just with FPM. I always use pairs of memory, if that helps. Also the luckystar was very sensitive to the cache timings. Reset the bios and go for slower timings.

Reply 13 of 18, by gladders

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i2lgames wrote on 2024-07-17, 12:55:

Hello mate. I can tell you the biggest problem with the hot 433 ver.3. You can't just solder a coin cell holder and expect it to work. There are no traces connecting the battery to the dallas chip. You will have to replace the RTC or mod it. It will not work without a live battery!
As for the LuckyStar 486-e, the one I had was very picky with the ram. It did not, whatever i tried, to work with EDO ram. Just with FPM. I always use pairs of memory, if that helps. Also the luckystar was very sensitive to the cache timings. Reset the bios and go for slower timings.

Could it be caused by a faulty PSU, do you think?

Reply 14 of 18, by i2lgames

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Just measure the input voltages to be sure! It is an easy measure with the simplest polymeter. Then try to check the CPU voltage. Dx /4 100's are 3.3 - 3.4v cpu's. It will still post with 5v feed but not with 3v.

Reply 16 of 18, by i2lgames

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Mandrew wrote on 2024-07-17, 13:41:

I'd do what Zuldan suggested, flash the latest BIOS on both boards.
Sometimes it's just rotten luck and you have to try many RAM modules before you find a pair that works.

This is also very suspicious! If you don't have a programmer try to hotflash.

Reply 17 of 18, by gladders

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The Lucky Star was working just fine in the eBay ad, so I don’t think there’s BIOS issues. And I’ve tried three different RAM types - 7 sticks in all - with both boards and I get failures each time.

This must be something I’m contributing that’s causing the problem surely? I don’t have any more RAM to try.

Reply 18 of 18, by mkarcher

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Are you 100% sure your FPM modules are actually FPM and not EDO? Did you check the part numbers of the chips yourself? All symptoms you observe are easily explainable if you got EDO RAM again when you tried to obtain FPM RAM. I don't think someone scammed you intentionally, but sometimes people mix up FPM and EDO because they don't know any better.