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Superorb · (This post was last modified: 2011-07-29, 07:31 by Superorb.)

It finally happened... My 15 year old Pentium 3 XBMC box crapped out. We just moved form NC to CO, and it worked before the move, but it will no longer output a picture from the integrated graphics or the8400GS. Also, the hard drive activity light does not shine after it is powered on like it normally does. When I press the power button, instead of it shutting off during boot, it now turns back on immediately after it shuts off.

Would this be a dead motherboard or PSU?

I was planning on building a new box, but I need to upgrade my main PC which is over 7 years old now so a new HTPC will have to wait a few weeks.

numb7rs · 2011-07-28, 23:48

It may not be dead, it might just be shaken up from the move (literally or metaphorically!)

If you haven't already, you should try:
- Reseating the RAM
- Clearing the BIOS
- Disconnecting all non-essential components

Is there a system beeper that you can use to help diagnose issues?

I've not worked with 15yo motherboards before, so I'm not sure what is/isn't available. How much is different from a standard 'board that you can buy today?

Superorb · 2011-07-29, 00:07

numb7rs Wrote:It may not be dead, it might just be shaken up from the move (literally or metaphorically!)

If you haven't already, you should try:
- Reseating the RAM
- Clearing the BIOS
- Disconnecting all non-essential components

Is there a system beeper that you can use to help diagnose issues?

I've not worked with 15yo motherboards before, so I'm not sure what is/isn't available. How much is different from a standard 'board that you can buy today?

I'll take it apart tonight and reseat all connections/cards, etc. It's similar to the new cards, but it has only PCI slots and then a few ISA slots. I believe that there is a speaker, but I've been sleeping the system forever, so I don't even remember what the proper beeps would even be. Thanks for your help.

Superorb · 2011-07-29, 05:01

Superorb Wrote:I'll take it apart tonight and reseat all connections/cards, etc. It's similar to the new cards, but it has only PCI slots and then a few ISA slots. I believe that there is a speaker, but I've been sleeping the system forever, so I don't even remember what the proper beeps would even be. Thanks for your help.

Ok, so I reseated everyhting even though nothing had moved. No change. I disconnected the HD, CD-ROM to no avail. Still no video output. No beeps either, so I'll have to hunt around for a speaker. I don't think it would matter anyways since I don't have the manual.

darkscout · 2011-07-29, 05:38

Screw getting the Computer to work. I want to know where you got the @#(* time machine.

.. introduced on February 26, 1999 ...

Driver 944 · 2011-07-29, 05:41

From the comments you made -
"15 year old Pentium 3"
"worked before the move"
"I've been sleeping the system forever"

Have you ever replaced the battery for the Bios?
I may be wrong, but I don't think they will last 15 years.........
A few days with no electric and a dead battery.... you get the idea.
It will cost a few dollars to find out.

Superorb · 2011-07-29, 07:25

darkscout Wrote:Screw getting the Computer to work. I want to know where you got the @#(* time machine.

.. introduced on February 26, 1999 ...

So I was a few years off... It was a long time ago either way Wink

Driver 944 Wrote:From the comments you made -
"15 year old Pentium 3"
"worked before the move"
"I've been sleeping the system forever"

Have you ever replaced the battery for the Bios?
I may be wrong, but I don't think they will last 15 years.........
A few days with no electric and a dead battery.... you get the idea.
It will cost a few dollars to find out.

A dead CMOS battery shouldn't cause no video though, I'd assume it would just reset all settings each boot. I tested the battery and it's only reading 0.58v when it's a 3v battery.

I've read several reports so far of systems posting with dead batteries.

I don't have any spare video cards that old to swap out either. No spare PSU's either, although everyhting powers up fine. It is weird that when I pres the power button it doesn't power off like normal. There's a momentary interruption in power, but the power stays on.

DPickles · 2011-07-29, 07:29

I've had issues with a CMOS battery before. I could get my computer to boot but then the screen would just go blank and wouldn't go any further. Sounds pretty similar to me. Just try replacing the battery and see how you go.

Superorb · 2011-07-29, 07:33

DPickles Wrote:I've had issues with a CMOS battery before. I could get my computer to boot but then the screen would just go blank and wouldn't go any further. Sounds pretty similar to me. Just try replacing the battery and see how you go.

My problem is that it does not boot. Nothing happens. The screen remains blank. The monitor turns on when I turn on the PC, but then it just says "no signal" and nothing ever comes up on screen. I've tried the integrated video on the mobo and it still nothing. Tomorrow I'll take the mobo out of the case and try to power it on that way with nothing else connected. I'll also grab another battery from a different PC.

Superorb · 2011-07-30, 00:11

Ok, I picked up a new CMOS battery which didn't help. I did discover that the 2nd set of memory DIMMs are bad. So, now I'm down to only 512MB RAM instead of 1GB RAM. I'm still trying to get the video card to work, and I know it works because I swapped it into my unRAID server which booted up and displayed video fine. That unRAID server is HEAVY to move around the house! I took the Pentium 4 mobo out of the case since I was thinking that something was shorting out the case. Now I get to reinstall it and hope that the video card plays nice inside the case. If not then this mobo is done for; a set of DIMMs and PCI slots not working spells the end of this ancient dinosaur. I'll be sad to see her go, she's served us well for years now.

mach170 · (This post was last modified: 2011-07-30, 01:10 by mach170.)

Normally when I'm diagnosing a computer that is acting like yours I would take out all the cards, disconnect all cables except the power supply and remove the RAM. Then power it on and it should beep because there is no RAM.

If you get no beeps then check the power supply. Does the fan spin when you turn it on?

Unplug the power supply from the motherboard and plug it back in. Since it's an old computer it is probably an AT power supply, so the two plugs only go on one way to the motherboard, don't swap them when you plug it back in (the plugs are keyed anyway to make that difficult to do).

One other thing to check is the voltage switch on the back of the power supply. I've seen several power supplies that stop working, but switching the voltage switch to 220 and then back to 115 gets it working again.

If the motherboard still doesn't beep after resetting the power supply and plugging it back in you might look at the power switch being bad. The test and fix for that depends on your power supply type.

Is your power supply an AT or ATX type?

Superorb · 2011-07-30, 01:15

It's an ATX PSU. Read the post above yours, I did get it to POST and output video on the integrated graphics, but not the PCI card I've got.

I just put everything back into the case and now the PSU isn't turning on. I need to wait til my wife comes home since I'm colorblind and don't want to short out the PSU testing pins.

Superorb · 2011-07-30, 04:15

Ok, the mobo is dead. The PSU turns on when jumping the pins, but it just doesn't work once connected to the mobo.

numb7rs · 2011-07-30, 05:18

Case power button?

I'm trying to think of anything I can to save you binning that motherboard :p

Superorb · 2011-07-30, 05:46

numb7rs Wrote:Case power button?

I'm trying to think of anything I can to save you binning that motherboard :p

I appreciate the help, but I think it's dead. I was even using a jumper to turn the PC on when the case power switch wasn't working. No dice. It gives me an excuse to build a new HTPC though, and given the huge size of the outgoing one it'll be a welcome addition.