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Thread: BIOS software or hardware?

  1. #1
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    BIOS software or hardware?

    Hello everyone!
    I have searched the forum and didn't find one quite like this so any help is greatly appreciated.

    System specs:
    Asus TUSL2 w/onboard VGA
    1300MHz Tautalin Celeron
    1 stick Toshiba PC 100 SDRAM in DIMM 1
    2 sticks PNY PC 100 SDRAM in DIMMS 2 & 3respectively
    Seagate 40 Gig HD on (primary)
    Maxtor 60 Gig HD (secondary)
    Optorite CDRW (slave on primary)
    422W generic power supply

    The problem started when I installed an Nvidia TNT2 M64 AGP card into the AGP Pro slot (supposedly backward compatible) and plugged the monitor into it though I hadn't made any changes to the primary VGA BIOS sequence (Yep, that's what I did).

    The protector tab was in place and the card was seated properly.

    When the machine powered up, it emitted the Award BIOS repeating high and low beep code for processor malfunction.

    I didn't know at the time what the beep code meant so I assumed that it had something to do with the AGP card.

    I powered down the machine and reseated the AGP card.

    I powered up the machine and it emitted the same repeating high and low beep code.

    I powered down the machine and removed the AGP card and returned the monitor cable to the on board connector.

    I removed the processor and replaced it with a working Pentium 3 Coppermine socket 370 processor.

    When the machine powered up this time, it emitted a short beep indicating that POST was successful but there was no video display - the monitor did not come on from its standby state.

    There as is no VGA display.

    The floppy drive is also not being accessed so a flash is not possible.

    About 30 seconds after the successful POST beep, the NumLock, CapsLock, and ScrollLock lights all flash once momentarily. Then when the those respective buttons are depressed on the keyboard, the corresponding lights illuminate.

    I benched the board and removed all drives and cables from the board except for ATX power cable, monitor display cable, keyboard, and mouse.

    I have tried booting with only one stick of memory and still get no display but it still emits the one short beep - POST success.


    I have booted with no memory and the board emitted the no memory beep - one long continuous whine.

    I replaced the original processor on the board and when booted, it emits the one short beep indicating a successful POST but still no video.

    I have booted with no processor and the board emitted the bad processor beep code - repeating high and low beeps.

    I placed the same TNT2 AGP card into a Soyo socket 7 board with an AMD K6-2+ processor and the same stick of ram used in the above situation and connected this setup to the same power supply in order to test both.

    This board/video combo completed a successful POST with video display on the same monitor.

    I've also gone through the various procedures with the CMOS battery - removing, shorting pins, starting without, etc. - still no VGA.

    My question: Is my problem in BIOS software or hardware?

  2. #2
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    From what I can tell, no bad caps either.
    Anyone?

  3. #3
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    The one central problem with AGPpro slots is that aligning a non-"Pro" card in the slot is pretty tricky. Most mainboard makers ship a little tab with the board, which goes into the unused part of the slot to help that.

  4. #4
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    Thanks for your reply Peter M.
    When I inserted the card the "saftey tab" was in place with a yellow decal over it stating that the tab must be removed in order to use an AGP Pro card.

    Would an incorrect installation kill the onboard video?
    Should I try to get video through the non-pro agp card instead?

  5. #5
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    It'd certainly be interesting to know whether that system actually fires up at all. So yes, try some old PCI or if you please even ISA VGA card.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Peter M
    It'd certainly be interesting to know whether that system actually fires up at all. So yes, try some old PCI or if you please even ISA VGA card.
    I'll try PCI as there is no ISA slot on this board tomorrow and post the result.
    It does fire up - one short beep=successful POST (Award BIOS) - but there is no video.

  7. #7
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    Peter M.
    You've been around this forum for quite some time.
    Sounds to me like you think the board got trashed so just go ahead and say it.
    I got this board off Ebay in March of this year and it was ok.
    If only I hadn't tried to install that darned non-pro AGP card in that pro slot just to run Micro$oft Flight Simulator.

  8. #8
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    Video came up on PCI card.
    Still can't switch to onboard VGA even after changing the settings in BIOS and rebooting.
    What happened to the onboard VGA?

  9. #9
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    Depending on BIOS implementation, you might need to operate some BIOS control to bring it back. Also, you must have RAM in the 1st DIMM slot to make it work, as far as I remember.

    And yes, it is thinkable that misaligned plugging of an AGP card has toasted the AGP port, and maybe the integrated graphics followed it down the drain. Thinkable, but hard to confirm without hooking the thing to a logic analyzer.

  10. #10
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    Peter M.
    Even when I enable onboard video in BIOS it still does not work so that's that.
    PCI video should be fine as long as I can set it up so as to avoid IRQ conflicts with the three additional PCI devices that I'll be using in this setup.

    Thank you for taking the time to help me with this.
    I'm out.
    Last edited by Kaslu; 07-02-2005 at 12:43 PM.

  11. #11
    Ultimate Member Strawbs's Avatar
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    I didn't read every post - so excuse me if this has been asked\answered before!

    Does the card require a extra power molex to be plugged into it? The beeping on power up is exactly what I hear if I forget to plug up the extra molex.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kaslu
    Peter M.
    Even when I enable onboard video in BIOS it still does not work so that's that.
    PCI video should be fine as long as I can set it up so as to avoid IRQ conflicts with the three additional PCI devices that I'll be using in this setup.

    Thank you for taking the time to help me with this.
    I'm out.
    "IRQ conflicts" among PCI/AGP/onboard devices are an urban myth anyway. Shared interrupts are an integral design feature of PCI itself.

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