Date: Sun, 18 Oct 1998 22:27:32 -0700 (PDT) From: Jim Shankland <jas@flyingfox.com> To: clash@tasam.com, kpielorz@tdx.co.uk Cc: hardware@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: ATX boards and restart after power failure Message-ID: <199810190527.WAA28219@biggusdiskus.flyingfox.com> In-Reply-To: <009c01bdfb0d$04650d80$f10408d1@bug.tasam.com>
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When we discussed this subject a week or so ago (ATX boards that don't have a BIOS or other switch to cause them to boot up automatically when power is restored after a power failure), I said I'd summarize briefly what I've learned. So: It's polymorphically perverse. Some boards have BIOS settings; there was one report of a motherboard with a jumper you could add or remove. Many Socket7 ATX boards have neither. One suggested fix was to ground the power supply's PS-ON line; this worked on the Tyan S1572 motherboards we've been using, so that's our solution for now. However, I'm told by the hardware guys that it did *not* work on the Asus P5A board they evaluated. There were also reports that jumpering the "soft power on" button that the user is supposed to push works on some boards. It didn't work for us, with the two boards mentioned above. Finally, it is possible to design a simple circuit that simulates pushing the soft-power-on button for half a second or so when power is applied. We haven't attempted this. (I suppose there's a market for a solenoid gadget that you velcro to the front of your computer, and that presses the "on" button briefly when the machine is powered up.) It's alleged that none of this is a problem on Pentium II boards. The other conclusion I've reluctantly reached is that people who design motherboards for a living seem to be muttonheads. Many thanks to those who responded with suggestions and information. Jim Shankland Flying Fox Computer Systems, Inc. To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-hardware" in the body of the message
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