I need to check my local archives.
Got several Netservers from this generation at home, including LM, LH, LH+ and LHpro.
They probably share the same PS?

eisapc wrote on 2026-01-22, 09:34:

I need to check my local archives.
Got several Netservers from this generation at home, including LM, LH, LH+ and LHpro.
They probably share the same PS?

Sorry for the late reply, waiting for copper bushes for helping the trace discovering.

Some basic info can be found in the following document: https://theretroweb.com/motherboard/manual/hp … 53889106387.pdf

On the page 130 the LM servers mother board layout show different power connector placement (3 PSU connectors) with no designation. One notable difference is the PSU enable connector. Based on these I suspect this product line use a modified PSU, with different power connectors.

What I am curious to know is where the standby voltage goes to the MB? On the front IO panel a standby voltage should be present to sense the PW on button. This standby source should power the SIO custom logic chip. If this trace can be found than the power connectors' standby pin could be identified. Based on this I can modify my custom ATX PSU connector.
Next step would be to trace the PS_ON-PS_GOOD signals between the SIO chip and the power connectors. Measuring these lines could help to figure out the right levels and sequence of handshaking and my custom PSU should be modified based on this. I am sure HP made some trick like inverted levels of handshaking signals comparing to the standard AT,ATX just for fun.

One important step before crawling deeper in this hole: check the cpu and the bios status. Maybe the processor board got all the power and signals but there are other problems.

Time is a scarse resource but I will try.

OK, some progress regarding standby voltage.

Sending high regards for the HP engineer designing this PCB. All the power connectors' pins are designated except for the last two pins of P4. Nothing on the silkscreen just empty spaces. How difficult would be to put the +5VSTBY label next to the GND label.

Anyway. I backtraced the power on switch on the control panel's switch to GND signal to the U21 Altera EP224. Datasheet: https://www.artisantg.com/info/Intel_Altera_E … 19225151830.pdf
This chip is powered by 5V and it was easy to find the last two pins of P4 connected to the EP224 28 pin as VCC.

The possible power on sequence:
- 5V standby on P4 last two pins
- P2 pin1 PWR_OK is High by the PSU signaling the rails are ready
-J3 Power Supply ON Pin3 goes Hi to Low switching the power switch On on the control panel. It seems as standard ATX switch on process.

I am going to modify my custom ATX PSU:
- adding one more trimmed P14 connector with GND and 5V STDBY
- adding a 3 pin connector (fan connector) with GND on Pin1 and PS_ON on Pin3

eisapc wrote on 2026-01-22, 09:34:

I need to check my local archives.
Got several Netservers from this generation at home, including LM, LH, LH+ and LHpro.
They probably share the same PS?

Some progress in the reviving saga....

1. Modified the PSU connectors - added P4 with standby +5V, added J3 with PS_ON connected to PSU
2. Power sequence seems to be working, switch on-off puts the system into standby - power on. No post code on the post card just the usuall four dashes.No IRDY, FRAME led lit up at all.
3. Before jumping into a deep hole I disassembled everything and cleaned all the connectors - CPU card, CPU, cache, memory - with contact cleaner and toothbrush.
4. Viola post codes displayed and the system is posted see the attachement.
5. Cache seems to be not recognized, added to the to do list.Two chips are hotter than the others on the module. It was very difficult to remove, the board bented quite a lot.
6. Config is invalid and it demands Netserver Disc1 to be able to do the config modification. Tried to find it unsuccessfully.
7. Installed a DVD drive on the IDE channel with a copied HP Netserver navigator CD. This version of the navigator supports down to LC3 models but worth a try to generate the diagnostic floppies if it is possible. Unfortunately the DVD drive was not recognized by the LC MB. Later on I learned DVD drive boot started with the Pentium1 era, most likely it is not supported here.
8. For curiosity I booted with the DVD disc on a laptop. On startup the boot hanged up claiming no Netserver was found which is a bad news. It seems in this was I will not able to generate the necessary floppy for sys config.
9. Booting from a floppy works.
10. Booting from a HDD does not work. Attached a post screen, no HDD recognized on the IDE channel. I hope the reason for this is the current config itself and after the change it will be ok.
11. One odd behaviour: after power off within one minute the system starts up automatically. Is there any explanation for this?

If somebody know how to run the Configuration utility or has Netserver Disc1 please share with me. If somebody knows a workaround how to do the config change than please share with me.

You are looking for the Netserver Navigator software?
https://archive.org/details/hp-net-server-navigator
this version should support your system.
You should be able to create setup floppy disks from the CD if CD-Rom boot is not supported.
The Compaq SMARTstart CDs want a Compaq branded CD-ROM to boot from, not sure about the Netserver Navigator?

Edit:
First you may need to install a service partition on your HDD to enable you to run the setup from the HDD, not CD or floppies.
The HDD has to be wiped before that task.
These old EISA servers are somehow different fron usual PCs, making them much more interesting in my eyes.

eisapc wrote on 2026-02-05, 08:29:

You are looking for the Netserver Navigator software? https://archive.org/details/hp-net-server-navigator this version should su […]
Show full quote

You are looking for the Netserver Navigator software?
https://archive.org/details/hp-net-server-navigator
this version should support your system.
You should be able to create setup floppy disks from the CD if CD-Rom boot is not supported.
The Compaq SMARTstart CDs want a Compaq branded CD-ROM to boot from, not sure about the Netserver Navigator?

Edit:
First you may need to install a service partition on your HDD to enable you to run the setup from the HDD, not CD or floppies.
The HDD has to be wiped before that task.
These old EISA servers are somehow different fron usual PCs, making them much more interesting in my eyes.

Thank you your reply, meantime I brute forced the following solution:

1. Download HP Netserver Navigator CD from internet archive. Open it with PowerIso or other program and extract the CF.exe program in utils/ecu/us with corresponding help. Copy the program to a bootable 1.44 disk and boot from this disk, start the program.
2. The program will ask an MB specific .CFG file. Search the net for this CFG file and .OVL file extension as well. I found these on a russian ftp site, worked well. Check the CFG file, it is a simple text file. Look for the scsi section. An internal adapter will be defined like ADP7770 in the scsi section. Search the net for the .CFG and .OVL file with this name. Found these on the same russian site. In my case the following files were required: !HWPC081.cfg, hwpc071.ovl (yes it is different than the cfg name but it was asked) , !adp7770.cfg, adp7770.ovl.
3. Depending on which version of Navigator used these files maybe on the util/ecu/cfgovl directory. But if these files are not in the utils/ecu/cfgovl directory than download from the net. I gave a ZERO chance to find these on the net but surprise surprise!
4. Copy these files to the floppy, boot, run cf.exe - it takes a while dos extender load it all - and perform the steps what the program requires. It is self explanatory. I was very happy to see the utility auto recognized the ide HDD, but the config should be compiled by cf.exe to allow the attached disk usage. Compiled system files were saved to the floppy as a result of the configuration. Keep this disk safe, it is required for config changes in the future.
5. After these steps I was able to boot the HDD to Dos, Windows 3.1 without any problem.
6. I noticed on the initial screen the external cache was not recognized. I had already clean the connector and the edge of the board but the cache module had not worked. The fitness of the module was very tight. I removed - inserted the module about 8 times a row until the insertion force-resistance was acceptable. Do not ask why the module worked after this excercise.
7. Currently the MB has one unresolved issue I am aware of: the front panel reset button is not working, the system is not resetting pushing this button short or long. The front panel reset circuity works: MB recieves a High to Low transition on a net pushing the reset button. This signal connected to U10 7406 open collector inverter output and U12 74als32 4x or gate IC's first gate's input. And the reset story stops here. I do not know how HP did it but I was not able to find the reset circuity traces at all by using copper brush to comb both sides of the panel within reasonable time with a continuity tester.

A) front panel reset circuit output can not be traced further than U10 and U12. Lets try from the other direction - from the chips reset pin.
B) 8042 KBC reset pin leads to nowhere
C) CPU reset pins leads to nowhere
D) PC87332 master reset pin leads to nowhere
E) S82374, S82375 PCI reset pins lead nowhere.

It is a mystery for me. The MB panel uses not through - partial - vias a lot, layers between 6-8 at least, making visual tracing impossible. If anybody has a suggestion how step forward please share with me. I can live with this but it would be good to solve this as well. Maybe it is time to build an RF probe for trace following.

Interesting, the *.cfg and *.ovl filed should have been included on the CD, if your system is listed as supported on the CDs readme.
No need to extract the image, the Navigator-CD should have a tool included to create the bootable Floppies with the EISA configuration setup incl. the necessary cfgs.
If you are looking for any cfg-files, feel free to contact me, or just download the most complete archive from MRslug (registered here as well).
Unfortunately my website is down since I quit my job at the university. I used to have some cfgs there for download.

eisapc wrote on 2026-02-06, 07:12:

Interesting, the *.cfg and *.ovl filed should have been included on the CD, if your system is listed as supported on the CDs rea […]
Show full quote

Interesting, the *.cfg and *.ovl filed should have been included on the CD, if your system is listed as supported on the CDs readme.
No need to extract the image, the Navigator-CD should have a tool included to create the bootable Floppies with the EISA configuration setup incl. the necessary cfgs.
If you are looking for any cfg-files, feel free to contact me, or just download the most complete archive from MRslug (registered here as well).
Unfortunately my website is down since I quit my job at the university. I used to have some cfgs there for download.

I think the pure Netserver LC - I assume it is the first in the LC series - support is limited. The version I downloaded does not have the necessary files. The readme told the LC3 is supported but I hoped the LC maybe supported. The readme stated right, LC is not supported, therefore I was not surprised about the missing files. I was not able to find a navigator version which clearly state the LC support.
Yes I downloaded the necessary files from Mr. Slug.

I had a limitation in the config setup: I do not have CD-Rom drive to run the Navigator CD, only a floppy drive. That is the reason of the steps I did for the configuration.

Thank you your help anyway, it is good to know there are still people with old HP knowledge and experience and willing to share.

I am playing about the idea to use my signal generator and the oscilloscope to put together a "poor man trace detector" schema to figure out where the reset lines go. Checked the 74 series ICs and the PALs and the CPLD but no connection to resets. Life is full of surprises.

Try the Image I linked above, it should contain the files you need, as the LC is listed not the LC3.
Had the problem the other way round, my system was to new for my original Navigator release, so I had to download a later release.
I do not have my navigator CD at hand, but running the Setup on any other PC should enable you to choose creating the necessary setup floppies.

Also maybe worth checking the ECU pack fro HPE... https://support.hpe.com/connect/s/softwaredet … ab=releaseNotes