I can't see clearly, but I assume there are some jumpers missing. The outer pins of the VRM connector have to be be shorted to power the CPU.

Thanks very much for your suggestion. Please can I double-check something? Looking at jumper J11 (the VRM connector), I see:

1 2
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
. .
15 16

Please can you tell me which pins need to be shorted? You mention "outer pins", but I would just like to double-check exactly what you mean please. Thanks a lot! 😀

According to the manual 1-2, 3-4, 13-14 and 15-16 need to be shorted.
These settings are applicable to all FIC boards that have this VRM header.

Thanks for the info! I shorted those pins, but unfortunately I do not see anything on the monitor when I switch on power. The CPU gets warm. The BIOS chip is cold. What a pity - the mobo looks in excellent condition. I must be doing something wrong. The board was tested before it was sent to me. It was packaged well.

Solved! I tried a POD83 in write-through mode, and I see the BIOS POST on the screen. I am using the VRM, set to 3.45V. I also tried a mobo jumper change. I changed the default "local activity" setting, please see below. It's strange that the VLB slots default to disabled. I am now using JV4 = 1-2 (default: disabled), and JV5 = 2-3 (VLB VGA in first VLB slot SL13)

I notice in the online manual that the 5v option is 2-4 and 13-15.

retro games 100 wrote:

I am using the VRM, set to 3.45V.

But why? The POD83 is supposed to be run with 5v, it's on-chip module lowers it to 3.3v automatically.

At 3.45v the POD83 will be undervolted 😉

Won't the POD "see" the 3.45V setting, and then reduce this voltage down to 3.3V? The maximum voltage setting for the VRM is 4V. Alternatively, I could remove the VRM, and set the mobo voltage jumpers to 5V. I think I read the online manual correctly. For 5V, I close jumper pins 2 to 4, and also 13 to 15. I hope that's right. Any thoughts, anyone please? 😀

I removed the VRM, and I did not add any jumpers to the VRM jumper section. The POD CPU POSTs OK. However, I am experiencing a new problem. I have attached an IDE cable to the integrated IDE pins, and attached a CF device to this IDE cable. The BIOS correctly sees this CF inside the BIOS set up area, but when I boot the machine, after the memory count has finished, the system hangs before any line of text such as "Starting MS-DOS" is displayed on the screen. I guess I will have to mess about with this mobo a bit more, and try to get it to boot DOS...

The new problems are off if they are caused by upping the voltage to 5v. The Pentium Overdrive is supposed to be run at 5v as it's an overdrive chip. They were made this way so they could be used on boards that supported 5v's only.

Solved! I tried a 3 volt Intel DX4-100 CPU. I attached the VRM to the mobo, and set its voltage jumper to 3 volts. The mobo POSTs, and then goes on to boot up DOS. Phew. That's a relief. I must learn about the different types of CPUs you can install. For example, what's a P24CT?

The next problem is the mobo's terrible performance. Speedsys gives a reading of about 11 for this CPU. It should be about 40. I've tried toggling a jumper on the turbo switch, but I still get the same terrible performance. I tried running CTCM (cache check 4) and it hangs. I wonder if there's a problem with the cache?

I ran Speedsys, and it didn't test the mobo's cache, so it could be defective in some way. It's enabled in the BIOS, and I think the jumper settings are OK, but I'll double-check them.

Edit: I changed the TAG chip, but that didn't solve the problem. Unfortunately, at the moment I don't have a spare 8 other cache chips to change all of the other mobo cache chips. I double-checked the mobo cache jumper settings, and they appear to be OK. BTW, this is interesting - the mobo won't POST if you don't attach an external battery to the mobo. The tiny coin cell button battery onboard the mobo must be flat.

retro games 100 wrote:

Solved! I tried a 3 volt Intel DX4-100 CPU. I attached the VRM to the mobo, and set its voltage jumper to 3 volts. The mobo POSTs, and then goes on to boot up DOS. Phew. That's a relief. I must learn about the different types of CPUs you can install. For example, what's a P24CT?

P24CT is a DX4 if this page is correct.

http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/num/80486.htm

"In 1994 the 486DX4 (codenamed P24C / P24CT) was introduced, it tripled the clock rate of the 486 and has doubled the cache (16k). If you had a 33MHz it would make it a 100MHz. Note: there is no 486SX4."

I noticed that webpage too. The mobo manual mentions DX4 and P24CT in 2 different columns. That's why I'm confused.

Also, here is where CTCM (cache check 4) always hangs. It can't seem to find the cache, and also what does 5 mean? Also, this cache check utility has got confused about the cache inside the CPU. It should be either 8 or 16 for CPUs, and 256 for the mobo's cache. Not 256 for the CPU. Maybe I have still got the mobo jumpers wrong? Has anyone got a photo of their mobo, so that I can double-check the jumpers please? Any installed CPU will do. I can find a CPU to match your mobo/photo. Thanks a lot if possible! 😀

Solved! I changed the CPU, again! This time, I put in a crappy SX-25 non-enhanced CPU. Now, CTCM (cache check 4) passes its test, and correctly detects the CPU cache (8Kb), and the mobo cache (256Kb, in write-back mode).

So, I guess I need to be *extremely* careful with the CPU jumper settings. I think that is why I am having so many problems with this board. I don't find reading these manuals easy. Also, the stason webpage for this manual is riddled with inconsistencies compared to the other online manual I am using. I suspect that this problem is because this board might have multiple PCB revisions.

retro games 100 wrote:

I noticed that webpage too. The mobo manual mentions DX4 and P24CT in 2 different columns. That's why I'm confused. […]
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I noticed that webpage too. The mobo manual mentions DX4 and P24CT in 2 different columns. That's why I'm confused.

That's odd?

I did a little searching and different sites claim different things.
However, on one site there appears to be 2 different versions of the POD, one for the older 5v chips, and one for the DX4 (which is always 3.3v unless it itself is an overdrive). But afaik there never was a 3.3v POD for 486 made.

Link: http://motherboards.mbarron.net/glossary.htm
Relevant part:
•P24T - Intel PODP5V (Pentium OverDrive for 486) [Socket 2, 3]
•P24CT - Intel Pentium OverDrive for 486DX4 (3.3v core) [Socket 2, 3]

I wonder if a POD can be modified so it regulates the voltage to a different voltage of, say, 4v instead of 5v?
It would leave more room for overclocking (provided the motherboard can supply enough juice to the POD, the POD83 @ 3.3v already eats like 14W's (though that may be partially caused by the regulators themselves)).

Thanks for the mbarron glossary link. That was very useful -

I have tried various CPUs with this mobo, and I cannot get any of the write-back CPUs to work correctly. Also, if I use a non writeback CPU, the performance is poor. The memory performance in SpeedSys is particularly bad. This is curious, because I tested another FIC VIA-based 486 mobo, and I found that to be a poor performer too. It was the FIC PIO model 3, and I talked about it here.

I haven't flashed this mobo's BIOS yet. In fact, I doubt if you can. There are no flash jumpers on the mobo, and the BIOS chip has that little UV window thing on it. However, FIC have provided the public with the latest BIOS files. They are here. They supply the Award flash utility, but I don't understand why, because surely you would need a UV BIOS programmer device to flash this kind of chip? Perhaps there were other updated boards, with BIOS flash functionality on them?

Browsing the FIC FTP site.

Looks like the mobo has the latest BIOS.

retro games 100 wrote:

Browsing the FIC FTP site. https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_Dop-eDMechk/TdKtZgtpFAI/AAAAAAAABs0/LcaKm5oUgqY/s800/fic1.jpg […]
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Browsing the FIC FTP site.

Lol!

I got an ASUS mobo, the MEL-C. Remember spice girls? 😜

And even Intel let a little bit of humor through one time, their new Pentium flagship was supposed to be the best of the best, man that Pentium 60 was GA-REAT!

...except when compared to Intel's own DX4...not to mention the FDIV bug.
Their Socket 4 motherboard was called "Batman"!!!

Soooo...the first thing they did was rectify lots of the mistakes made with Socket 4 and put it into their Socket 5 board which was called "Batman's Revenge"!!! 😁

Edit: And theres this!!!

🤣