I put my paws back on the MB 486, SMT Terminator PCI/ISA, it is the only 486 card with PCI slot that I have, I have never tried it, because it has some work to do, for now I have limited myself to looking at the microscope, in the back there are several very corroded tracks, and some that seem interrupted, from the top, there is some very corroded traces near the battery holder, but above all there is a lot of oxide in one of the ALI chips (chipset), and also in the sockets of the cache chips, in addition to the 72 pin RAM sockets, beyond this there is a lot of microdirt.

Some welds should probably be renewed, I don't know if the previous owner had tried to clean the board, and this would explain both the oxide and the very dark welds, I would think that he did not dry the board, and left it for a long time in a humid place.

For the initial tests, I will use a CPU that does not need a heatsink, like a 486 SX or DX, if after some work, I get the resuscitation, I will switch to the 486 DX4, or possibly to the 5X86 133-P75 from AMD, 1 MB S3 PCI video card, ISA sound card, a couple of RAM probably 8 or 16 MB each, memory card with Windows 95, capacity of at least 512 MB, but first I have to do the usual DOS bench with the card I usually use.

Working on the two MB Olidata OLI-BX, I took note of the type of BIOS chip that is present (in the working one), I imagine it was the same in the one that is not there (?), as a substitute I have a Winbond chip that should be ok, I should check, but I think there are no differences in pin between the ATMEL chip (original) and the Winbond (in replacement).

I think I would also have the answer from the list, of chips included in the programmer, in which we find all the chips that can write, if there are not both, it would mean that one could differ in something.

Having other MB Slot1 between my paws, I looked at an ASUS P2B-F that I have been repairing for a long time, well it uses the same ATMEL chip, and I think that apart from some difference in detail, the BIOS is the same as the OLI-BX = P2B.

Since I'm now working on multiple Slot1 motherboards, I have this Matsonic MS7070S to try, I had already selected both the RAM and the CPU, two CL2 PC100 banks of 128 MB each, and a P3-500 Slot1, so I decide to do some preliminary checks and try to see if it starts (?).

Soon I should have the answers that I hope to have (positive), we'll see how it goes...

Unfortunately the signs of life are not there, or at least it turns on but does not start, no post code and no flashing led keyboard.

Sometimes I happen to have some cards that initially have the same symptoms, but after some tests, sometimes you can find the right hw combination, here unfortunately there are no jumpers for the FSB and the multi, I think you can change from the BIOS, here you don't get to the screen, so you can't do anything.

I would still do ️ some tests, but at this point, I temporarily put it aside, and try to recover the second OLI-BX, if I can write the chip and it is 100% compatible, I could have a good chance of recovering that one too.

I tried to do some other tests, with the Matsonic, unfortunately nothing has changed, I thought the problem could be oxide in some pin, so I start cleaning the contacts, I remove the BIOS chip, to see if there is dirt underneath or something that can create problems, the contacts all seem ok, then I try to spray some deoxidizer, I'm here too ok, I look at the back in search of interrupted or suspicious traces, maybe there is one or two, I'll see them better under the microscope.

Anyway, looking and looking at it, I noticed a big problem, in the AGP slot area, which at the moment I didn't even use, since I had a PCI VGA, however it's two or maybe three exploded resistors, in particular R169 and R170, they almost vanished, the marks are visible on the edge of the AGP slot, R171 only seems covered with debris, honestly I don't think it's the area needs to be cleaned, because it seems to me that very little can be done, unfortunately I think an unsuitable VGA was used, and this must be the result (!!!)

Among the other cards I have I have an S.7, a Compaq motherboard, a Camaro produced by Mitac, unfortunately despite the use of different hardware, I can't make progress, the BIOS stops on the codes visible in the post card, 2F and 2E of the BIOS Award, understanding what causes the problem would not be difficult, but I don't think there is a HW failure, maybe it could be a problem due to an incorrect BIOS update, but unfortunately the BIOS chip is soldered, I should do a BIOS Recovery, with the trick of the two short-circuited pins (as in the P2B-F chip), I will inquire if those pins are in the same position as the PLCC32 chip, but I have to be sure, because otherwise I could create other problems.

Making other attempts with the Mitac Compaq Camaro, yesterday I came up with the idea of connecting a 3.5" floppy reader, I used an old cable, one of those that you can also connect 5.25" floppy discs, and fortunately I used a reader with reading problems, just to make the PC understand that it was present.

Honestly, I didn't quite understand what happened, but after a few attempted starts, always with the same result (blocking the post codes), I saw some smoke escaping, something burned (!!!)

I have no idea if the Floppy disks of the Compaq PCs have a priority pinout, and therefore by connecting a very normal reader, this is the result.

I'm pretty sure it's not worth connecting another reader, unless it's in very bad condition, but I wonder if it was a coincidence, due to that reader (???)

Given the impossibility of using the floppy, the idea of short-circuiting two pins of the BIOS chip, is now to be discarded, the only way to rewrite the BIOS is to unsolder it, or alternatively use the double ECS sockets, or auto build them.

So with the Mitac Compaq Camaro, I could use the method, which they usually use in these cases, that is to remove the chip, it is usually done with hot air solders, honestly I don't know if it is possible to remove it with one or two traditional soldering irons, but I don't think the problem is to detach it, but to reattach it and honestly it would be much better to weld a socket.

There would be an alternative to disconnect it, but it could destroy the chip, cut the pins almost flush with the MB, then remove the pins one by one, it would be quite simple, welding a socket I think can be more complicated.

But I have other S.7 between my legs, for example a FIC PA2010+ (at least if I can remember correctly), some time ago I fixed some problems, changing a capacitor and a diode (of the transparent ones), an SMD would be missing (lost), I didn't quite understand what it is (?), because capacitors have the C screen printing followed by a number, here instead nothing, ditto in other SMDs present in the MB.

But it would need a good clean, I will try with a fairly free area, I will try to use various products, maybe I will find one that cleans better than the others, in that case I should continue, in all the areas where you can see the dirt.

Today I tested the FIC PA2010+ motherboard, I decided to see if it showed any signs of life, I think the most important faults I solved, changing the swollen capacitor and the transparent diode, I checked the rest under the microscope 🔬, some traces marked, but none seem interrupted, so I decide to try a boot, but first I note down the values ​​of two tantalum capacitors, just to be safe.
I add the hardware necessary for a first start, after checking the power lines, which are fine, as a CPU I use a P133 set to 100, I add a CR2032 battery, a 2 MB PCI SIS video card, a 32 MB SDRAM MB, the usual ISA PCI post card, I connect the keyboard and ATX power supply, I try to turn on, and it starts normally, except the post codes are absent, the card only displays -- --, even without RAM and CPU, making repeated attempts to turn it on, a couple of codes are displayed, but I don't think they are very reliable, because it shows them even without RAM and CPU!
The only thing to check carefully is a strange jumper FP1 and FP2, which must be placed in different positions depending on the BIOS chip used, in this one I have there is a Winbond W29EE011-15, and the BIOS is AMI.

Today I made a further upgrade to the Olidata OLI-BX motherboard, I replaced the CPU with a PIII 500 MHz, because I need the PII 400 to test other MBs, and I'm sure it works, but another reason, which led me what changes it is that I have to make a direct comparison with a user's configuration, in practice we will run some bench software, and we will see what comes out, I should get lower scores at the start, but it will be like this (?) Unless surprises, yes, why I have a different VGA, I have less RAM (256 instead of 384), for RAM I could add another 128 and break even, or add one of 256, and get 512 MB total.
In the meantime I saw that it works, I did the QTPRO bench, to do others I have to change the CF card, but I would have to install Windows on a disk, I don't think I have one, alternatively I should use a CF or an SD of several GB.

Now that I have a PIII 500, I noticed an error that I don't quite understand what it refers to, in the second BIOS screen a line is visible (which I highlight), there is something written referring to a date, however if by chance you know what does it mean or how to eliminate it, I hope we can eliminate that problem, anyway thanks if I get a suggestion, I really appreciate it.
Since I updated this PC to 500 MHz, I have a series of notes on Phil's benches, some of which I didn't make because the PC is too fast, unfortunately I'm writing them here without making any graphics, I hope they can be interesting anyway.
I have three different configurations on this MB, the first P2 400 and SIS 6215 PCI 2MB, the second P2 400 and GF2MX AGP 32MB, the third P3 500 and GF2MX AGP 32MB, so I separate the values ​​with a "/", here it is:
2) 153.9 / 271.4 / 319.7
3) 110.6 / 262.5 / 300.6
4) 43.1 / 54.9 / 64.3
5) 76.8 / 117.0 / 140.4
6) 33.4 / doesn't work with the GFMX
a) 313.82 / 401.56 / 436.78
b) 74.02 / 104.90 / 116.34
c) 66.9 / 94.0 / 111.8
d) 26.9 / 40.5 / 47.6
e) 28.6 / 19.4 / 22.2
k) 1002.9 / 1002.9 / 1253.7
l) 3846.59 and 6280.38 with P2 / 4808.26 and 7830.08 with P3
n) 455.87 / 455.87 / 571.52
This is all from DOS, I'll be benching with Windows soon.

After a long time I have a motherboard in my hands, a Fujitsu-Siemens model D1120, with Intel Celeron 566 CPU (Coppermine), the card initially worked, it has integrated video (i810), then suddenly after a few starts, it no longer started !
With the PCI Post Card (the ISA isn't there), you don't see any post code, just -- --, nothing strange except the Reset LED stays on, and I think that's what's preventing the startup, naturally there is no switch connected, in short no reason for the LED to light up, I don't know exactly what the pins connect to where the reset cable is connected, there could be a problem there, or it could just be a causal block ( ?), in short, it wouldn't surprise me if there isn't If there is any fault, the BIOS chip is soldered, so I can't try another one, in case the file has deteriorated.
Just to clarify, I made several attempts, with no CPU RAM, and nothing changed.
Suggestions and what can be done or checked would be very useful to me, I don't have any equipment to check the frequencies, but perhaps I suspect that some electrolytic capacitor (or other type) may be faulty, visually there is nothing wrong strange, but being over twenty years old maybe... they could now be at the end of their life cycle.

Searching for solutions for the Siemens D1120 and other MBs, with a soldered PLCC32 BIOS chip, I found a SAVIOR BIOS, which is used to create a duplicate of the BIOS chip, if I understand correctly, but looking carefully, it is equipped with an M socket and a F, exactly what is needed to connect a programmer to the soldered BIOS chip, I'll explain better, the F socket goes on the soldered PLCC32 chip, the M socket goes into the programmer, honestly I don't know if it is equivalent to an extension cable with a very short cable (practically an almost contact direct), or there is some difference in the pins, i.e. if they correspond, 1 with 1, 2 with 2, up to 32 with 32, if so I should get one, or alternatively if it is not possible to find it, I should have someone make it .
Finding one is certainly the simplest solution, but I think it is also the most difficult, because if you forget about finding it, then what price will it have (?), I don't think it costs little (!!!)

Today I did another update step, on the Olidata OLI-BX (ASUS P2B) PC with P3-500, I tried installing Windows 98SE, unfortunately at some point it stops, even if the PC is not locked, to avoid wasting more time, I loaded Windows XP SP3 (Home?), on a 4 GB CF.

There are drivers to load for the SB 128 PCI, and for the rest it's quite good, I've done some bench with Windows programs, it works for sure, the results are probably quite in line with PCs of this type, I put here the benches of CPU-Z and SuperPI.

I would also like to run those for DOS, but in Windows they don't work, I'll look if there is a system to start DOS exiting Windows.

So after installing Windows XP, I solved a problem by having the sound card recognized, I had to move it one place, in the nearby PCI slot, because it created problems, and when I connected the speaker plug the PC restarted, now the audio works!!!

However, there is a problem that I can't solve, at least for the moment, when it starts, it stops on the Windows XP screen, looking for something, only after pressing control alt cancel, it enters and displays the desktop, maybe it's looking for some HW, maybe the ports? I also waited for minutes, I don't think it was necessary to wait any longer, honestly I don't understand the problem of serial ports, from the BIOS everything seems ok.

I solved the problem of blocking when starting Windows XP, now everything is ok, except for the serial ports, which I don't use at least for now, so it's a problem, but not big for the moment, I'll see to understand the reason, or why they create this problem!

Now the startup is quite fast, let's say that in about a minute the PC arrives at the desktop, now I'll see if I can load some other bench program, I've already run other programs beyond those seen previously, I'll put the images, I hope they serve for comparison with other similar PCs.

I'm trying to configure the best, this Olidata PC with OLI-BX and P3-500, for the serial talk and the problem in XP, I did some tests, including the use of a different adapter, an IDE SD (instead of IDE CF) with 8 GB card, and I installed Windows 98SE, everything works except audio and video (lack of drivers), solvable problems but not soon, we'll see later to load them, I'm interested because from Windows 98SE you can use DOS programs, without resorting to emulations.

In the remaining time, after installing Windows 98SE, I put back the 4 GB card with Windows XP, to do a couple more benches, one is the W95 version of CPU-Z and the other is a program called BMX.

They are two programs that I have used other times, so it would be possible to make a comparison, but soon I think to try these and others on the K6-233 MB M550, they will clearly do less.

I've had these three motherboards aside for quite a while now, personally I like them a lot, the S.7 the one with P5F76, at first it worked with an AMD K5-100 is a couple of SIMM 72 PIN of 8 MB each, the quantity was however too low for Windows 98SE, also because I would have changed CPU, but it stopped working when I put an SDRAM, instead of the two SIMMs, the card seems to be in excellent condition, no visible signs, and can support 2.4V CPU, but only in theory, because the linear regulators would end up roast with a K6-3-400!!!

More likely that voltage is needed, for Intel MMX CPUs for laptops, if I'm not mistaken the required voltage was 2.45V, I think those are fine

With this card I have to make a few attempts, I don't think unless it's miracles, to be able to recover it, but maybe I'd like to take a look at the BIOS chip, and check the content, if the problem was there, I shouldn't have difficulty bringing it back to life.

The Slot1 SuperMicro card is a particular (and rare?) Card with i820 and SDRAM, it works, but by heart I remember that at a certain point it crashes, do I have to check it again to see what the problem is?

The last of this group of boards, is a QDI to which I have to change electrolytic capacitors, they are swollen and before making boot attempts, I want to change them, when the work is finished, I imagine that the board works (let's hope well).

Unfortunately I couldn't do anything with the MB, because I took care of other HW, however I finished the Office PC, a Core2 Duo E4600 @ 2400, MB Abit IP35, GF GT620 2 GB 🇬🇧, HD Seagate 500 GB SATA, Enermax Coolergiant 600W, 4 GB DDR2 CL4-5.
The PC has always had a strange defect, when turned on it turns off immediately, and then starts normally, honestly I don't know what problem it has, and I have no idea 💡 how to eliminate this strange defect, besides the PC works quite well 😌, and you can overclock interesting 🧐
I never felt the need to replace the CPU, if I wanted to I would have better CPUs, both dual core and quad core, for RAM instead I initially had 8 GB 🇬🇧 CL6, but I preferred 😻 these 4 GB (also aesthetically) CL4-5.

A MB that I took out recently is an ECS S.939 nForce3-A939, with Athlon 64 3700+, the RAM I don't remember if it's 1 GB 🇬🇧, however I should review it, as a VGA I have a GF GT6800 AGP available, which should be adequate for that PC, some suggest using an SB Audigy 2, instead of the integrated audio.
Since I freed up a place in the bench, and I recovered a FSP power supply of about 300W, I think that soon I could do some bench, even Windows 98SE could be tried, assuming that there are drivers that support that HW (?)