compaq deskpro mb only boots after cmos reset

[jsyjr]

Still no manual for the mb mentioned in compaq 815 chipset mb.

Have it mounted in a case with PS, CPU, 512MB SDRAM, KB, mouse, CD-ROM and HD. I have not hooked up a power switch. For now I am simply using the switch on the back of the power supply. (This is because the case into which I have installed the board has a single connector terminating all of the random case wires and that connector is larger and laid out entirely differently from the board's header.)

The BIOS is obviously a Compaq home grown affair. The [About] menu choice tells me it is "System ROM 686P0 v2.04". It also mentions "Boot Integrity Services" copyrighted by Intel.

To get the board to boot I have to wait for the big green LED by the power connector to go out (indicating I assume that the power supply is fully drained) and then push the reset CMOS button. (Yes! there really is such a thing on this board, prominently set off from any surrounding components and highlighted by little lightening bolt graphics!) At that point I can apply power and the board powers up. It seems to go through significant gyrations trying to get its bearings. I get prompted three or four times: "<F10 for Setup>". Each time seems to result in some sort diagnostic that flashes for a fraction of second (too brief to read), another restart and a redisplay of a red Compaq logo. Ultimately I do enter the BIOS setup, can configure the board and proceed to boot successfully from either CDROM or hard drive.

I have successfully installed Windows XP and can access all of the integrated devices. Everything is dandy so long as I do not remove power.

Can anyone suggest a reason why this motherboard would fail to start except follow a CMOS reset? Could this be related to the power and/or reset pins being open?

[KachiWachi]

"System ROM 686P0 v2.04" -

http://h18007.www1.hp.com/support/files ... 10496.html

Systems Supported

Family...............Models
Deskpro EX -> C566, C600, C633, C667, C700, P667, P733, P800, P866, P933, P1.0GHz
Deskpro EXS -> C566, C600, C633, C667, C700, P667, P733, P800, P866, P933, P1.0GHz