how to test a motherboard / memory slots

  • Thread starter Thread starter Tanya
  • Start date Start date
T

Tanya

hello,
is there a way to test a motherboard and memory (?chips?) and banks with
a voltmeter
(briefly: no manual; amiBIOS (95) p54c (100 mhz) *HAD* 32 mbs ram
removed and replaced a chip and wouldn't boot)
currently: no post; hd light comes and stays on; cdrom and a-drive
lights are NOT on; no video (but monitor works) cpu and power supply
fans come on
(have reseated cables etc)
thanks!
 
hello,
is there a way to test a motherboard and memory (?chips?) and banks with
a voltmeter
(briefly: no manual; amiBIOS (95) p54c (100 mhz) *HAD* 32 mbs ram
removed and replaced a chip and wouldn't boot)
currently: no post; hd light comes and stays on; cdrom and a-drive
lights are NOT on; no video (but monitor works) cpu and power supply
fans come on
(have reseated cables etc)
thanks!
Click to expand...


I don't understand what you hope to gain with this... the time, skill,
and expense isn't worth the end result- a system worth almost nothing
but old enough that it could have multiple additional failure points
at any time.

Try cleaning the memory slot contacts, unplugging the power supply
from the motherboard but still attached to a hard drive and use the
voltage meter to check the voltage levels. You can use the voltage
meter to check the memory, bus card slots, CPU socket, anything you
like, just do a Google search for the appropriate interface's pintout.
I'm not so sure that's going to help though, unless the board is
physically damaged you may still get good readings. If the capacitors
are gone (easily they're old enough if electrolytic) then you'd need
to remove them from the board to check, though all of this seems a
wasted effort for a system that old. Local mom-n-pop PC shops throw
away newer equipment than that, perfectly working. If you offered to
pay them $10 they might keep one and call you the next time they have
one.

Then again there seems to be some info missing from your post, like
why the memory was removed and why it wasn't retried with that memory,
or if it was, and what "replaced a chip" means.

You might try clearing the CMOS, via jumper or remove the battery for
10 minutes while system is turned off if an AT, or unplugged from AC
if it's an ATX (power supply).


Dave
 
hello Dave,
thanks very much for the reply...
[...below...]
I don't understand what you hope to gain with this... the time, skill,
and expense isn't worth the end result- a system worth almost nothing
but old enough that it could have multiple additional failure points
at any time.
Click to expand...
Try cleaning the memory slot contacts,
Click to expand...

that's what i was trying to do...
unplugging the power supply
from the motherboard but still attached to a hard drive and use the
voltage meter to check the voltage levels. You can use the voltage
meter to check the memory, bus card slots, CPU socket, anything you
like, just do a Google search for the appropriate interface's pintout.
Click to expand...

i'll follow that advice
I'm not so sure that's going to help though, unless the board is
physically damaged you may still get good readings.
Click to expand...

i want to rule out a damaged board or mem slots
i want to know what / if i did something wrong unless the capacitors can self
destruct...
If the capacitors
are gone (easily they're old enough if electrolytic) then you'd need
to remove them from the board to check, though all of this seems a
wasted effort for a system that old. Local mom-n-pop PC shops throw
away newer equipment than that, perfectly working. If you offered to
pay them $10 they might keep one and call you the next time they have
one.

Then again there seems to be some info missing from your post, like
why the memory was removed and why it wasn't retried with that memory,
or if it was, and what "replaced a chip" means.
Click to expand...

i'd put the pc together (win95B) it did run; gave no *classic* mem errors
aside from a long time from say dbl clicking a program to opening it and ran
slowly (but no spont reboots / brownOuts etc...) so wanted to clean slots,
and try 2 8 mb simms from another system... i did try again with the original
2 (not all 4 though)
at some points it did register 16 (not 32) mbs
i realize the future of the system has likely passed... :)
You might try clearing the CMOS, via jumper or remove the battery for
10 minutes while system is turned off if an AT, or unplugged from AC
if it's an ATX (power supply).
Click to expand...

i did that -- i'll reseat cables again and do as you suggest
and THANKS AGAIN for the reply and the information and tips!
sincerely
Tanya
 
that's what i was trying to do...
Click to expand...

Also clean the memory... if they are dissimilar metals (gold contacts
on the slots and tin on the memory (or vice-versa) they will need
cleaned more often. Generally it's best to pair same-metals for
long-term use.

i want to rule out a damaged board or mem slots
i want to know what / if i did something wrong unless the capacitors can self
destruct...
Click to expand...

It's not necessarily a self-destruct situation at this point, all
electrolytic caps gradually wear out with use, or even sitting unused,
albeit slower, till they no longer meet the minimum spec needed to
keep the circuit functional. A sudden failure might be visible as
buldging or vented/domed top, leakage or dried residue underneath, but
from old age they can look fine.

Don't forget to check the battery.

i'd put the pc together (win95B) it did run; gave no *classic* mem errors
aside from a long time from say dbl clicking a program to opening it and ran
slowly (but no spont reboots / brownOuts etc...) so wanted to clean slots,
and try 2 8 mb simms from another system... i did try again with the original
2 (not all 4 though)
at some points it did register 16 (not 32) mbs
i realize the future of the system has likely passed... :)
Click to expand...

Memtest86 is a good memory testing software:
http://www.memtest86.com

Not knowing the history of the system, it could be almost anything,
from bad IDE cables to a failing HDD, highly fragmented HDD, or an
overgrown windows installation or ???


i did that -- i'll reseat cables again and do as you suggest
and THANKS AGAIN for the reply and the information and tips!
sincerely
Tanya
Click to expand...


I have a bunch of old Pentium CPUs/motherboards/etc lying around, if
you REALLY want one or two or more, they're yours for the price of
postage, but you're in Canada? Don't know if that's reasonable
postage or not.


Dave
 
hello,
thanks again for the reply
[...below...]
Also clean the memory... if they are dissimilar metals (gold contacts
on the slots and tin on the memory (or vice-versa) they will need
cleaned more often. Generally it's best to pair same-metals for
long-term use.
Click to expand...

thanks for this info...
currently it has the same chips as before (when it was booting / running...)
It's not necessarily a self-destruct situation at this point, all
electrolytic caps gradually wear out with use, or even sitting unused,
albeit slower, till they no longer meet the minimum spec needed to
keep the circuit functional. A sudden failure might be visible as
buldging or vented/domed top, leakage or dried residue underneath, but
from old age they can look fine.
Click to expand...

it *was* sudden...
but no visible signs

Don't forget to check the battery.
thanks...



Memtest86 is a good memory testing software:
http://www.memtest86.com

Not knowing the history of the system, it could be almost anything,
from bad IDE cables to a failing HDD, highly fragmented HDD, or an
overgrown windows installation or ???
Click to expand...

i ran scandisk and defrag (which read 1% before running it) before dealing with
the hardWare



I have a bunch of old Pentium CPUs/motherboards/etc lying around, if
you REALLY want one or two or more, they're yours for the price of
postage, but you're in Canada? Don't know if that's reasonable
postage or not.
Click to expand...

not sure what the postage would be....
also not sure whether the board / slots are damaged or whether reseating
everything would help etc....
(it's my friend's pc -- at their house)
could you email me privately?
thanks very much again!
sincerely
Tanya
 
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