I tried with both viasbcfg (no codec detected) and viafmtsr. No luck either.

One thing to rule out with Via chipsets is whether the chipset drivers are installed. Did you install Via 4-in-1/Hyperion drivers first thing after installint the base OS? If not, try to do so now and see if that helps. WinXP tends to be a bit more forgiving than Win98SE, but worst case you might need to reinstall if you installed other drivers before them...

dionb wrote on 2023-07-04, 07:25:

One thing to rule out with Via chipsets is whether the chipset drivers are installed. Did you install Via 4-in-1/Hyperion drivers first thing after installint the base OS? If not, try to do so now and see if that helps. WinXP tends to be a bit more forgiving than Win98SE, but worst case you might need to reinstall if you installed other drivers before them...

Hello,
Yes, this was the first I installed (well, after filezilla). Also tried with a win98 bootdisk and said utilities for DOS.
Nor does Ubuntu find it. The AC'97 modem is found. I'm leaning towards a bios issue, but I can't seem to find a Award BIOS for this motherboard

what does lspci say? either it exists in pci space or it doesnt. afaik AC97 is in the chipset, so even blown realtek codec wouldnt stop it from showing up (with broken audio output or unable to be set up)

>The AC'97 modem is found

oh, so ac97 stuff is there, might be blown realtek chip, or bad power going to it

rasz_pl wrote on 2023-07-04, 07:49:

what does lspci say? either it exists in pci space or it doesnt. afaik AC97 is in the chipset, so even blown realtek codec wouldnt stop it from showing up (with broken audio output or unable to be set up)

>The AC'97 modem is found

oh, so ac97 stuff is there, might be blown realtek chip, or bad power going to it

lspci does not list it, but shows the modem.
I guess I'll be doing some probin' at some point. Will also have a look at the bios.

that would mean its explicitly disabled somewhere

Using AMIBCP76 I did some poking around in the bios. The only options are AUTO and DISABLED for AC'97 audio.
I tried different IRQ's to no avail. Maybe it's dead? Also flashed a "fresh" Bios image from MSI's site - no help here either.

bios might be smart/universal enough to probe for the codec before enabling, pointing even more fingers at the codec

Dead audio chip usually gets very hot, so put your finger on it while board is running,
also there's a 3 legs 12v to 5v linear regulator near the audio chip, make sure it has 5v on the output.
look for physical damages like scratches on back of the board or knock out smd component.
worst case scenario south bridge chip is faulty.

Did some probin'.
VDCC should be 3,3V, but it's at 5V.
No clue where it comes from. The 7805 next to the chip is AVCC which is allowed to be 5V.
The chip does get hot. I will remove it in the next few days, then I'll see if the VDCC changes.

A schematic would be nice!

https://elektrotanya.com/msi_ms-6309_rev_3.0a … ownload.html#dl

rasz_pl wrote on 2023-07-06, 10:51:

https://elektrotanya.com/msi_ms-6309_rev_3.0a … ownload.html#dl

Wow! didn't know about that site!
The linked schematic is for rev3 board, which does indeed have VCC3 for the audio chip.
There's also a schematic for a rev5 board (which is to my understanding what I have). There it's straight to VCC (5V).
Very odd! And also explains why the chip is fried.

The schematic shows two alternatives; Via 1611 and STAC9721.
The STAC9721 can take 5V on digital, the via VT1612a (as installed) cannot.