VOGONS


First post, by ddoyle525

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Hi, I've been having trouble getting two different Intel 440BX boards to work: a Gigabyte BX2000 and an Abit BE6-II RAID - both a re very reputable boards.
Right now they both exhibit the exact same behavior: when I power on the PC the fans spin but the mobo never POSTS, there is just a black screen. No beep codes, nothing. It just sits there. In fact even if I pull the memory there is still no beep codes.
So far I've tried different combinations of three different power supplies, three different CPU's, three different sticks of RAM or no RAM at all, three different video cards (AGP and PCI). I've tried different DIP switch settings. And I tried clearing the CMOS. Nothing I've tried works. and I have run out of ideas.
Any help is appreciated.

"Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." - John 14:6

Reply 1 of 3, by myne

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It's possible their bioses have gone "empty"
All flash loses its values over time.

Personally, I wash anything old and remove/reseat anything removable to remove the possibility that it's some random dust/corrosion causing issues.

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Reply 2 of 3, by dionb

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Abit board from the turn of the millennium...? what do the caps look like?

Dead BIOS EEPROM could definitely also be a thing.

You mention beeps, but do you have a POST card that can give you port 80 POST codes?

Reply 3 of 3, by shevalier

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ddoyle525 wrote on 2025-08-05, 06:12:

Any help is appreciated.

Buy the cheapest ESR meter that can reliably measure capacitors with 20mΩ ESR.

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