Some old AMI BIOSes need "Ctrl+Alt+Esc" to enter BIOS. Have you tried that?

majestyk wrote on 2022-08-26, 06:10:

Some old AMI BIOSes need "Ctrl+Alt+Esc" to enter BIOS. Have you tried that?

Yep, tried that, but it didn't work.

Shot in the dark--instead of normal Delete key try the . key on the numeric keypad with Num Lock turned off?
You are using an AT and not an XT keyboard (or if a switchable one then it's set to AT?)

The ECS 386A seems to have "external battery only" so any damage due to battery leakage can be ruled out.
You should try with a fresh battery first, some mainboards can act crazy with no battery present.
If this doesn´t help you could try with 4MB RAM populated (try 4 RAM sticks at a time).

This week I had a similar issue - beep sounds and and no response to keyboard commands but at startup it responded to one or two commands. This was caused by a faulty keyboard controller.

jakethompson1 wrote on 2022-08-27, 04:58:

Shot in the dark--instead of normal Delete key try the . key on the numeric keypad with Num Lock turned off?
You are using an AT and not an XT keyboard (or if a switchable one then it's set to AT?)

Still no luck. I'm using a PS/2 keyboard with a PS/2 to AT adapter. Could that be the issue?

andrew_241 wrote on 2022-08-27, 22:51:

jakethompson1 wrote on 2022-08-27, 04:58:

Shot in the dark--instead of normal Delete key try the . key on the numeric keypad with Num Lock turned off?
You are using an AT and not an XT keyboard (or if a switchable one then it's set to AT?)

Still no luck. I'm using a PS/2 keyboard with a PS/2 to AT adapter. Could that be the issue?

No. They are electrically compatible, just not mechanically.
The beeping means that the keyboard buffer is full of received keystrokes and no code is attempting to retrieve them.
Obviously you've tried hitting DEL during the memory test without pushing ESC too?

I have one of these boards, in fact the 3rd image in the RetroWeb page is my own board. Mine works fine, if you press DEL when the message appears, after a few seconds a couple of options appear to run either the basic or advanced CMOS setup.

If I recall correctly it works even without a battery connected. One question: how are the different jumpers set in your board?

Try re flashing the bios?

Try resetting the cmos

Try less/different/smaller ram.

Try different cpu

Try different video card

Got a post card?

Can you humor me and try holding Ctrl-Alt-Del while it is counting the ram. If it does not force a reboot then possible cause are faulty keyboard controller as majestyk mentioned or could be keyboard+adapter issue on an old board.
Just because the board beeps when you press keys does not mean that the KB or adapter are compatible with such an old board.... just a thought 😀

Horun wrote on 2022-08-28, 04:02:

Can you humor me and try holding Ctrl-Alt-Del while it is counting the ram. If it does not force a reboot then possible cause are faulty keyboard controller as majestyk mentioned or could be keyboard+adapter issue on an old board.
Just because the board beeps when you press keys does not mean that the KB or adapter are compatible with such an old board.... just a thought 😀

I just tried what you suggested, and a CTRL-ALT-DEL does not force the board to reboot when counting the memory. So that narrows it down to either the keyboard controller or the adapter?

TheMobRules wrote on 2022-08-28, 01:17:

I have one of these boards, in fact the 3rd image in the RetroWeb page is my own board. Mine works fine, if you press DEL when the message appears, after a few seconds a couple of options appear to run either the basic or advanced CMOS setup.

If I recall correctly it works even without a battery connected. One question: how are the different jumpers set in your board?

JP4 is set to 25 MHz, same as the CPU.
JP1 has 3 and 4 closed because I removed the FPU.
JP5 is set to color, 2 and 3 closed.
JP7 is set to INT, but that jumper is unrelated to the external battery (which tested good.)

The other jumpers I haven’t touched, as they are related to the RAM, and the different combinations of jumpers doesn’t seem to be documented, aside from the fact that all memory seems to require the same jumper configuration according to the PDF at the RetroWeb site.

andrew_241 wrote on 2022-08-28, 05:06:

JP4 is set to 25 MHz, same as the CPU. JP1 has 3 and 4 closed because I removed the FPU. JP5 is set to color, 2 and 3 closed. JP […]
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JP4 is set to 25 MHz, same as the CPU.
JP1 has 3 and 4 closed because I removed the FPU.
JP5 is set to color, 2 and 3 closed.
JP7 is set to INT, but that jumper is unrelated to the external battery (which tested good.)

The other jumpers I haven’t touched, as they are related to the RAM, and the different combinations of jumpers doesn’t seem to be documented, aside from the fact that all memory seems to require the same jumper configuration according to the PDF at the RetroWeb site.

I agree that a POST card (not that expensive) to get access to the last code logged by your BIOS before it hangs is the best move at this point.
So what happens if you don't press DEL?
And you've definitely let it sit a very long time? Like minutes?