VIA EPIA-LN VGA Issue

**Allinger** · 06-19-2009, 07:37 PM

Second post... And it's a bit wordy. Sorry...

>Executive summary< VIA EPIA LN10000 won't show VGA. Please read on.

I've been searching high and low (including here) on a nasty little error that my "on the fly, cheapest in the bin"-board is displaying. After having decided that my Defender was missing a carputer I started rounding up stuff. First of all a geek has to have a motherboard.

Search and find and viola - a VIA EPIA LN 10000 board turns up. Now, had I been a bit more diligent I'd realised that I'm like the only one in the known universe that bought one (or, all the other MBs worked like a charm, made their owners billionaires and paired them with supermodels. And relieves hangover...).

That said, mine's a dud (seems like one at least) - as I got it I was waiting for a car specific PSU and other stuff and so thought it a good idea to start installing OS and configging to the setup etc. Given, the board started up well enough when hooked up to a generic CXXPAQ psu, although installation of the OS didn't work out as a charm.

Backtracking a bit (for those of you that are still around) I'm trying to accommodate for the fact that this PC is going to encounter stuff that PC's in general are spared from. Thus the 10mm rubber spacings from the backing plate, the 2.5 HDD and most importantly, the CF boot card. Again, this thing has to hold up when things turn ugly. And to my Oz friends, Yes - your corrugated roads are longer than ours! Should you happen to pass by though, I'll be more than happy to provide a taste of the Swedish version (complete with potholes and all...). All in all, it's a minor explanation as to why I've opted out of the Eee- or the "in a box"-solutions.

Background done - here are the bare, nasty facts: if anyone is able to give specific advice I'd be more than happy!
MB - VIA EPIA LN-10000
RAM - Kingston 9905431-013.A00LF
Flash - SANDisk Ultra II, 2GB (bought over disk at a reputable retailer)
PSU - generic HP/Compaq
And no other boards etc. After having booted up nicely over my "waiting for the other kit" period, although giving me a spot of trouble with regards to installing to flash memory, I today decided to give a final go at getting the flash boot in order and realise that I don't even get bios, 'cause the effin' VGA out refuses to fall in place.

As remedy so far I've done a 15-minute CMOS reset, and am working on an overnighter. If anyone else has a clue, I'd appreciate any and all constructive input. Along with any ideas on fanless boards... Or the proper load for keeping a MB alive for the longest time on the shooting range...

Br and happy to be here,

/F

**tempgp** · 06-28-2009, 07:23 PM

so to make it shot
you boot the board and you see nothing on the screen?
a) where u trying to flash bios before board died?
b) do you hear any sounds? (POST Beeps)

**Allinger** · 06-29-2009, 02:21 AM

As I try to boot I get nothing. Absolutely nothing... No bios screen, no beeps - it's completely blank. I can see the light on the CDrom go on and then nothing. And as the board is fanless I don't even get the satisfaction of hearing the fan spin up...

And no, no BIOS flashes attempted. However, I am guilty of having messed around with the BIOS settings in order to get the board to accept the CF card as a master boot device. But after having done a bit of research and realised that VIA boards seems to have a bit of issues with the VGA connection, I have done a full CMOS reset. To no avail.

Unfortunately I think I have to face the facts and realise that this board is shot and get a new one. Even though this sets my project back a bit...

Thanks anyway!

**tempgp** · 06-29-2009, 11:49 AM

welll via has most reliable vga chip which is also self configurable.
a) try to remove battery
b) try to connect to different monitor

if that doesnt help then u screwed