VOGONS


First post, by Kordanor

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Hey there,

I have been putting together my new retro machine, but unfortunately I can't quite get over the first step. For the sake of troubleshooting I disconencted all non-relevant devices.
Which leaves:
-A Super Socket 7 Mobo, exact model unknown, but it's extremely similar to M598, attached the manual
(-That Board comes with an Onboard graphics card, meaning an output goes from the mobo to the side of the case)
-K6 350Mhz
-AT Power Supply
-AT Case
-2 X 128 Mb RAM
-AT Keyboard PS2 Mouse

Everything else is unplugged (I left the IDE connectors attached on Board, but nothing is plugged in)
The Board+CPU+RAM have been tested before with the system they came with, and they worked. I did not change any jumper settings or whatnot. However I did remove CPU and RAM and put them back into the same slots.
-The AT Powerplug is (to my knowledge) plugged in correctly, having the 4 Black cables in the center.

When I press the power button, the CPU fan starts spinning, the MHz LED Lights up, the power LED lights up, the yeyboard LEDs light up briefly, but the VGA Monitor does not get a signal, just nothing happens. (meaning I also dont get into BIOS)

I have pretty much no idea what could be wrong here.
Maybe the Case Connectors are connected incorrectly (See Manual). I only plugged in the PC Speaker(1,3,5,7) and the Reset Switch (17,18). There are pins for the power button, but I guess they are only needed if you connect with ATX cases. From the manual it sounds you can put the PC into "suspend mode" with that. Power LED should not be necessary as its taking the signal from the Power Supply (and it lights up).

Also I thought maybe I damaged the ram or its not sitting in correctly. I removed it, same result without any ram installed, and put them back in.

Hopefully you have any idea for additional troubleshooting steps.

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Reply 2 of 9, by cookertron

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It could be a voltage issue. Check the jumper settings to make sure the CPU is getting enough juice. I had the same problem, the K6 I had was rated at 2v but I was sending 0v without realising and the system did pretty much what yours is doing. Check the CPU on cpu-world.com to find what voltage it runs at and then use the jumpers on the board to set it.

Asus P5A v1.06, Gigabyte GA-6BXDS, Soyo SY-5EMA (faulty), Viglen 486, Asus SP97-V

Reply 3 of 9, by Kordanor

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cookertron wrote on 2023-02-05, 22:04:

It could be a voltage issue. Check the jumper settings to make sure the CPU is getting enough juice. I had the same problem, the K6 I had was rated at 2v but I was sending 0v without realising and the system did pretty much what yours is doing. Check the CPU on cpu-world.com to find what voltage it runs at and then use the jumpers on the board to set it.

This board sets that automatically. There are no jumpers for the CPU. I changed the clear CMOS Jumper to clear it, started it, then set it back to normal, but no change here.

Reply 7 of 9, by Kordanor

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Doornkaat wrote on 2023-02-07, 04:47:

At this point you may want to try a POST card to see if anything is happening at all.

Yeah...But in the end it can only be 1 out of 2 components: The CPU or the Board. And I guess if regarding the board there is nothing which can be done with jumpers or anything else I forgot, then either of both is broken.
I now ordered a cheap replacement CPU. Not the one I want to use, but a cheap one to test with. I guess if nothing happens with that new CPU, the board has to be dead.

Reply 8 of 9, by Kordanor

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So, I bought a new CPU for testing. Replaced it and it worked right away. Then I put my old CPU back in and it worked as well.

So either there is some bad contact somewhere, or the CPU wasn't placed in correctly before. I did remove it and reinserted it a couple of times before. So it must have been bad every time before now.

The new CPU I bought had some slightly bent pins on the side, so I had to insert it "tilted", so maybe I also paid more attention now when inserting back the old CPU? I don't know. Anyways, it works now. Thanks for your help though!
I am glad that this way, it was just 20€ for a test-CPU and not like 100€ for a new "good" CPU or Board

Reply 9 of 9, by dionb

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There are more options than the ones you mention. It could be that board configuration had been messed up/become corrupt (BIOS settings or ESCD) and that putting in a different CPU caused whatever was blocking POST to be overwritten. BIOS settings would have been cleared up by the CMOS reset you performed, but ESCD usually requires pressing the ATX power button for about 10 seconds with the system unplugged.