When checking motherboards, a special tester called a POST-card provides invaluable assistance to the wizard. Installed in a free slot, this device allows you to get information on faults even in the absence of an image.
Instructions
Step 1
Look closely at the motherboard for a 2-digit, 7-segment LED. If it is present, then the POST-card is already built into the board. Then it makes sense to buy a separate board only if you are going to test other motherboards, or if it is more convenient for you to textual rather than code representation of information about faults.
Step 2
Select the interface through which the POST card will connect to the motherboard. Today the vast majority of these cards have PCI slots. But some industrial embedded computers still use the ISA interface. If you have to deal with both machines, purchase POST cards of both standards.
Step 3
Decide which way of presenting information about errors is more convenient for you: code or text. Boards equipped with a text indicator are more expensive, but do not require the user to memorize codes or search for information about them on the Internet.
Step 4
If you have purchased a card with a code indication, and the reference book on fault codes was not included in its delivery set, go to the following website: https://www.postcodemaster.com/. Do the same if the data on error codes of the motherboard you are checking is not in the database of the board with text indication. On the website, in the list on the left page, select the manufacturer and BIOS version. If the computer cannot be started, and there is no other nearby, use your mobile phone to access the site. To avoid interference, keep it at least one meter from an open computer case, and at least 30 centimeters from the keyboard (it may freeze and require reconnection)
Step 5
Install and remove the POST card only when the computer is de-energized. In this case, the power supply must be physically disconnected from the network so that even the standby power supply voltage is absent. Performing these operations while the machine is plugged in is not dangerous for you, but for the motherboard and the POST card itself.
