video card problem...i think..

[brenor1]

I have a trident TVGA 8900C video card on an unknown mobo. the mobo has a 486/66 on it. it also has the writing:
ASY 01-00383A-(square of white)

and:

SIS 85C407 9448 OT PEA090

the computer keeps on cycling through the recognition of the video card at the power up, and at the recognition of the bios...then it goes back to recognizing the video card. I tried a different video card and the same thing happened, so i'm wondering if it is the motherboard or what...

[brenor1]

amibios american megatrends
486dx Isa bios
AC 2023650

i'm messing with for a linux box..

[Axel]

Is there anything on the MOBO with an FCC number on it? We can track the manufacturer of the board with an FCC number on a .gov web site.

One question I have for you is why tinker with a 486-66?

Off the cuff - without knowing exactly who the manufacturer is, you might try resetting the BIOS back to default by popping the CMOS battery out for a few minutes. Then go through and redo the BIOS settings on re-start.

You've only got about 5 weeks to play with this thing as I'd bet the BIOS won't work after the first of the new year - at least not very well, unless you roll the date back to 1972. Is there a sticker or marking on the BIOS chip - AWARD typically used a gold foil sticker - it'll probably have a serial number printed on it - if it's AMI ( American MegaTrends Inc. ) - you could have different problems. Most of the BIOS chips on something as old as a 486/66 are no longer supported by most of the manufacturers. If it's busted - move on after the burial and don't look back.

[dexmax]

I can Identify the board if you give me the exact Bios ID. Ifyou want to do it yourself, tell me and i will email you a table w/c you can print as a refenrece. The Bios Id is shown when booting your pc. It is usually located in the bottom left of your screen, but not always.

[Axel]

use the <pause> key to stop the boot sequence so you can write down the BIOS string. It typically shows up at the bottom left after the BIOS loads and the RAM check completes. It's a long ugly alpha-numeric that identifies the IO chipset, and the motherboard - combined - it's a key to identify exactly what BIOS you have.

looks something like this:

07/25/96-i430VX-2A59GF09C-00

96 BIOS, intel 430VX chip set for IO, FICA motherboard - AWARD version 4.51PG bios for FICA -
This is typically VERY motherboard specific information and there are a few web sites out there that have a catalog of this information to find exactly what you have. Same thing for the FCC license number printed on some boards, but that's the FCC ID .gov site.

[brenor1]

40-PB02-001470-00101111-072594-SIS471G-0

that is the string...