Older Mobo Wont Post

ScuffScuff Southwestern, Pennsylvania
edited December 2004 in Hardware
I got two "P6 SET-ML" model motherboards from a local computer show. I hooked all the stuff up in the case and they power up with the cpu fan running and hard drive spinning but nothing comes up on the monitor. I tried the onboard video and a pci video card. Nothing either way. The board is a dual cpu option board . Slot one or socket 370. Jumper 20 on the board differentiates the cpu in use. My questions are 1)how do i get these things to at least post 2)is the jumper on the left always "1" because i see small blocks of white by each jumper (some on the left and some on the right)is this just the side for default jumper settings? and is "1" always on the left.
The board is made by ECS Elite group.
Heres the site for the manual if anyone knows about these

http://www.ecsusa.com/downloads/manual_p6s.html

Thanks
Hope you dont need tylenol after reading this!

Comments

  • Straight_ManStraight_Man Geeky, in my own way Naples, FL Icrontian
    edited December 2004
    Check the timing settings, in manual, as to FSB and if needed as to CPU speed. See if one or both things need to be set with jumpers also. If that age board uses jumpers havign them set wrong will casue exactly this. Also, the right kind of RAM to match FSB and CPU timings has to be in board for it to post. Some boards take multiple kinds of RAM, but need RAM to match CPU timings and FSB settings.

    Is this your first or second build?? I'd like to see what you know and have done to try and fix this so far, what RAM you are trying to use, and what timings you tried. Also, with that old a bord, the CMOS battery might need replacing simply to get it to boot at all. And check the position of the CMOS jumper, the battery might not be inline to CMOS to keep settings, so settings might be scrambled and then also board will not POST. Make sure RAM and video card are seated right if you have not done so, with power to computer off. Unseated video card, if the computer in fact has a speaker in it, should trigger beep codes. Reversing polarity on some of the LED jumpers or speaker connector might also cause this. Does the PSU have valid voltage out on 3.3 V and 5 V lines as well as 12 V (12 V runs the fans and powers the motor that spins the HD up).
  • ScuffScuff Southwestern, Pennsylvania
    edited December 2004
    Well it has onboard video and sound so im trying those mostly.As far as the voltages, I dont know, the stuff spins up and on. I ve put some systems together before and I'm a few steps above moron now. I ve tried several sticks of ram 133, 100 and old 32mb (66?) nothing is working . I did notice that the sdram sockets are kind of loose and weak when trying to seat the memory stick. I moved the cmos jumper to clear and turned it on and nothing powers up then i put it back to normal and then all the noise with no post. I ve also been trying some slot one cpu's and a socket 370 in there neither is firing up. I changed the cmos battery too and nothing
  • Straight_ManStraight_Man Geeky, in my own way Naples, FL Icrontian
    edited December 2004
    Ok, just wanted to get an idea of your knowledge level. IF the sockets for RAM are loose that can be a real big problem, as a total lack of RAM contact, or very poor RAM contact might be your problem cause in the main. IF the BIOS can find no RAM at all, then the POST does not happen, and this is about par for the course with older boards and BIOSs. Is this same thing happening with BOTH boards??? If not, you can try things from non-working board in working board.

    You might try cleaning the RAM socket contacts also, the ones that should spring against the RAM stick, and also clean the RAM stick contacts. Let's start with with what you DO see and drill down by eliminating what you see now if you can. A no-post with NO audible or LED output codes at all is a PITA, you get to try every major thing, one at a time. In this case, to zero in on what is up, a POST card would be the best thing to use, to be honest. POST cards show the BIOS codes on LEDs, typically, as numbers. I would also hook up an internal speaker and see if the motherboard gives any audible codes.
  • ScuffScuff Southwestern, Pennsylvania
    edited December 2004
    Well i hooked a speaker up to the board and there wasn't any beeps. Do the jumpers always start from left to right and top to bottom in numerical order?
    Im surprised no one else has an opinion about this. :shakehead
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited December 2004
    Unless they are marked, usually pin #1 of a jumper is marked by a bold line on the board in the box around the pins. In my cheesy picture, Pin #1 would be on the right:
  • Straight_ManStraight_Man Geeky, in my own way Naples, FL Icrontian
    edited December 2004
    Um, answer is NO, nothing on a motherboard always works the same even from gen to gen and mfr to mfr. The designs are patented, even the jumper structure, connections, and thus the only way to know is the manual and trying positions and looking for the 1 label. IF the 1 label is to right, numbers get bigger to left, if to top, then bigger numbers go down, and if the 1 label is to left then numbers get higher to right, but any jumper versus any jumper may have a different order based on trace routing needs inside board.

    Only universal is that you do not, on a three pin jumper, EVER get pin 1, then pin 3, then pin 2. At elst not on any of the hundreds of motherboards I've seen over the decades. BUT, a ten pin jumper can be numbered almost any way, though most common is odd numbered pins in one row or column and even pins in other row or column (turn board 90 degrees to see why I say this... :D ).

    Problem is, each mfr wants exclusivity in design of a motherb oard, so J1 on one board will do something different on another board, frequently.

    Simple answer, jumpering numbering is more likely to be different than same from board picked at random out of an orphan box when compared to another randomly picked up board. So, only best resource is board manual for each board you work on. If I've got to work on a board I prefer to use manual and the tables on some boards-- which are in open spaces on board, and often not near the jumper they show settings for. Same mfr and chipset boards are more likely to have close to same jumper structure, but quite a few folks will tell me every model board they have seen has different jumper details. Not only are there no jumper standards as to pin position for jumper riser clusters BUT, there never will be.

    Cable connectors, those there are standards for, but watch out for USB as again the pin positions for USB on one board can be different than on another board. So, for connectors that take cable, expect soem standards, though not all mfrs chose to follow all of them if board design constraints or need to make board design unique enough to patent (preferably INTERNATIONALLY patent, not just patent in one country) said another pin positioning on motherboard was easier and cheaper to do. In quite a few cases, I have seen cables that fit on motherboards not work on another mfr's motherboard-- especially USB, and things can get fried if you use wrong USB motherboard to connector cable. Ever seen a motherboard die due to wrong USB riser being used??? I have. And on your gen board, ever seen a serial flat cable from motherboard to riser connector not work on another mfr's board??? I have. If you misconnect or use wrong motherboard to riser cable, you can also get a no-post, with no errors.

    Screw a motherboard flat onto the backplane of a case, you can drain the CMOS battery in less than 3 seconds after the computer is plugged in, and I had a fellow Electronics Tech student manage just that and had to tell him that the little brass risers\mount studs were used partly to keep the CMOS cell from being drained to zero almost instantly among many other things-- that board posted fine once mounted on studs and once it was also given a new CMOS battery after that. BUT, I killed a CMOS battery before I looked at backside of backplane and saw nice chrome screws and no brass stud threads nor nothing or nylon feet tips on board. Now, first thing I check on a no-post is a quick check to see that it is mounted right, IF I know the person doing the build has done very few of them. Did you know there are four kinds of metal studs for mounting motherboards, and at least 4 kinds of nylon mount studs for motherboards??? Use too short a kind, you get a motherboard maybe touching something that should not touch, to a nice GROUNDED metal mounting backplane (IT SHOULD be grounded for safety). Result, no-post at minimum. Possibility of fried or partly fried board from this one issue set alone.
  • ScuffScuff Southwestern, Pennsylvania
    edited December 2004
    I see white shaded areas around the jumpers some on the left some on the right. So should i assume these are 1 or the normal default setting ?
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited December 2004
    Scuff wrote:
    I see white shaded areas around the jumpers some on the left some on the right. So should i assume these are 1 or the normal default setting ?
    That sounds very likely. :)

    I looked at the manual from the link you provided. Too bad they didn't have a photograph...
  • ScuffScuff Southwestern, Pennsylvania
    edited December 2004
    ok I'll see what i can do with these crapoboards. Like take then back to the jerky who sold them to me
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