Hey all,
Perhaps there is a better newsgroup to which this question should be posted.
If so, accept my appologies and please point me to the appropriate group.
Otherwise, I'm having a problem installing a motherboard on an older machine
(Celeron 466 vintage). The board itself was an Abit BH6, and I managed to
find the exact same model as a replacement board. I think I have everything
hooked up right, but when I hit the power, it appears that nothing
happens -- the power supply and CPU fans don't even budge. The master power
switch at the back of the tower is on, and I have that one big
multi-coloured boundle of cords from the power supply properly connected to
the motherboard. So, any ideas as to why the machine doesn't go?
A bit of system history might not hurt-
Why was the board replaced? Are you sure the old board was
bad, and if so, are you sure the power supply wasn't
failing, had caused it?
If you have a multimeter, it might be good to take voltage
readings of 5V, 12V, 3V, and 5VSB. Readings should be taken
though the back of the ATX connector while system is in the
"supposed to be on" state. 5VSB only needs AC power cord
plugged in (and live AC of course).
http://69.36.189.159/usr_1034/atx_on.gif
If you're even more daring, you might disconnect the PSU
from AC for at least 10 minutes, then open it and inspect
it- while it's open, blow out any dust, as it's due at this
age. Note whether any capacitors or other parts look
damaged, whether the fan turns freely, etc. Just be sure
you leave it unplugged from AC beforehand, we dont' want
newsgroup participants dropping like files [well, at least
most of them we don't
]
Double-check everything. Sometimes it's the easiest things
one overlooks. For example the power switch might be on the
wrong pins. Sounds silly but once I even forgot to plug the
power supply into a board and didn't notice it for 10
minutes - though it was a cramped case, hard to see behind
the drive bays.
Recheck jumpers. Check the battery voltage. Remove battery
for 10 mintues while AC is unplugged, check the battery
holder for an insulating plastic piece (in the past such
were occasionally used to keep batteries from draining until
the boards were set up). Having the battery out with AC
disconnected will clear CMOS too, another good attempt to
get it running.
Double-check the power supply by leaving it plugged into one
drive and nothing else... then use a paperclip or similar to
short the PS-ON pin to any ground pin (see the linked
picture above). At that point the power supply should turn
on, it's fan spinning, and the attached drive acting lively
as well. At that point you could also take voltage readings
if you have a multimeter, though the readings may be a bit
on the high side due to such a small load. Actually I'd
advise doing this PSU check prior to opening it at all, if
you were to do that... opening it should be one of the last
things to try, unless it really looks like it needs the dust
cleaned out badly.
Also double-check all wiring, cards, memory, etc. Based
upon whether the power supply was turning on, you would take
it from there to only connect a minimal configuraiton of
CPU, memory, video card, then checking whether system will
POST, display video to the monitor.
Any other possibilities? I have that one