The Mother Board

[muskrat]

Hi everybody,
I have come into posession of a Gigabyte S478 OEM board GA-8SIMLNF, which I believe was used in Packard Bell PC's. There is a group of pins for the front panel but they have no identification on them. I have been to the Gigabyte website and they dont list it, the nearest model number is GA-8SIML. For photos go here:-

http://gigaboardfpanel.mypicgallery.com/

Any ideas?

Thanks in anticipation of any help

[Karlsweldt]

Couldn't find a manual link to check for the pinout. But go here and see if there is a model close to that one you can use. You will need to know the chipset type used.. that can narrow the field a lot.
If the board were made by Gigabyte for another brand, then they would have no info on it.. only the third-party supplier. If a similar board has the same "looks", then the pinout may be the same, also.

[muskrat]

I've sussed it and got it booting to bios after I clear cmos. I have a new problem now, it wont reboot after running setup, I just get 'No signal' and screen shuts off. I am getting a low battery warning for a known good battery ( I have tried 3 and they all reporting same) If I clear cmos and start again i can select F2 to run setup again, or F1 to load defaults and carry on which it will try and do, but I cant set it to boot from cd then to install OS.

Any ideas?

[ajrox]

you might look for a bios update from the mfg. you might also look for a working bios for that board from the mfg. i had an ASUS board a while back that i had to flash to a previous version to get it to work properly.
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[Karlsweldt]

Use a digital multimeter to see if there is voltage present from the battery holder. The chassis or any black wire would be the negative, and the battery top is positive. Test from the retainer clip of the battery's top to see if you have the same voltage. Might be some contaminants on the retainer or terminal contacts. Do so with the line cord pulled.
If that photo link you posted compares with what you have, then the green jumper just above the front-panel pins would be for the CLRCMOS process. Note at the base of the pins, there will be a bold marking denoting the #1 pin of the set. The jumper needs to be on pins #1 and #2 for "normal" CMOS action. On pins #2 and #3, that is the "clear" position. You will never be able to save the settings, if that jumper is in the "clear" position.

[muskrat]

hi,
the photo is an actual picture of my board, you are right about the clrcmos jumper, I have to clear the cmos to make it try and boot, if the jumper is in the wrong position it doesnt even try and start. I am not now overly bothered about the board, (I have aquired a couple of marginally better ones) but I will put a picture of the pin arrangement for anybody searching the net with my problem.

[boheemee]

Redundent Link?
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[muskrat]

Thats fantastic for anybody else thats searching, nice one. It doesnt have a '-' on the board, you did well to find it. Might have another go with it now I can flash the bios.
Just to make it clear for anybody looking at this, click the ' Redundant Link' above.

Thanks

[evasive]

GA-8SIML-NF7 reference but the board marking is GA-8SIMLNF. Gigabyte has a habit of doing that, marking their boards slightly different from the actual model number. I hate them for that, it's a PITA trying to find info sometimes...
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