Abit BP6 - Only Boots on Second Try

[windsor]

I have a computer (Abit BP6) that I upgraded yesterday with a new sound card and second Celeron. It's working fine except for one problem: when booting from cold, it always takes two tries to get it to POST.

When I switch it on, the power is on and the fans are running, but there's no video signal. I have to power off and then turn it back on. Then everything runs perfectly.

I remember some BP6 users on Anandtech had this problem many years ago but I can't seem to find those old threads. I had this problem before in 2001 though I can't remember what I did to fix it. I recall the solution was from this forum; something to do with electrical charge and connecting some pins to ground the motherboard...

I have tried other ways to resolve it: substituting the PSU, checking the capacitors (which are intact), pulling out the sound card, popping out CMOS battery, replacing the power cord and leaving it unplugged for periods of time. None of them work.

Can anyone offer more suggestions? This was apparently a common problem back then.

Thanks for your help.

 

[The Pentium Guy]

Yeah, lots of boards have cold boot issues. I dunno though. I haven't had this problem. What's wrong wtih booting from the 2nd try? . I mean how often do you shut down anyways?

 

[the qwerty]

You may have a defective motherboard. Do you see leaking capacitors on this mb; usually identified by bulging capacitors with brown material leaking out? Abit BP6 mbs were well known for this problem. Not much can be done about this, other than replacing the mb or swapping out the capacitors yourself which is probably not worth the labor cost.

 

[CrispyFried]

My mobo will occasionally bsod on a cold boot. Maybe 1 out of 10. I just figure it cuz its wound up tight and needs to warm up. Its hardly ever off so I dont worry, once on its rock solid.

 

[windsor]

Appreciate all the input. I had checked the capacitors and they seemed fine. It may be because the computer is for my Mom and she doesn't use it too frequently. She'd probably get annoyed if it took that much effort to turn on the machine.

I eventually solved the problem. It turns out that the "connect the pins" idea was really just resetting the CMOS. After 9 times of moving the CMOS jumper a pin up and then a pin down, I finally got video from the first switch-on.

The BP6 is one super-sensitive motherboard and I've had so many problems since I first got it. I'm glad motherboards are a lot more reliable nowadays (or are they?).

Thanks again for your replies.