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Everex Step Mega Cube

S

Shadow Lord

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
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Hello All,

If you have by any chance followed my, incorrectly named, thread: "Looking for info on an OLD AST Computers desktop/server system" then you know I have been looking for a vintage computer from the 1990s that is cube shaped. Of course all these years I've been barking up the AST tree :stupid: where what I really needed was the EVEREX Step Mega Cube! As luck would have it I finally found the system for purchase at a retailer. :D Unfortunately, the retailer states the system does not power up. I am getting the computer tomorrow and will begin by doing a complete cleaning first and hoping for an obvious problem.

Unfortunately, the system does not come with any disk, CDs, or manuals. So I am looking for any and all info you guys can give me regarding these systems.

In the bit of research that I have done it seems these system were all EISA. This will be my first, last, and only EISA system ;). I had always assumed that EISA worked just like ISA. You plug in the card and boom as long as IRQ/Address/etc. is correct you are good to go. However, it seems I need to use a utility called the EISA Configuration Utility to setup the MB and add-in cards. I found some old threads on this board, through google, where people had mentioned having the utility and config files. If any kind soul still has these and would like to share I would very much appreciate it!

I am of course not above any wisdom, knowledge, or linkage to knowledge you guys can provide as well... Yes currently I feel like a kid at :xmas:!!!!
 
You are in for some fun then. First off find out what battery is holding your EISA config (should be one for the CMOS and one for EISA and they tend to be Dallas RTC chips). After that you need a ECU utility to set up your motherboard and every single EISA card in ther system (no jumpers to play with). each card/board has a !xxxxx.cfg file associated with it and the ECU program will ask for a specific file you either have with the program (for common cards) or need to hunt down on the internet.

I went through this with some EISA 486DX50 server boards and misc cards and so far found what I needed to get things running. I can email you the ECU utility, but finding the config files will be hard. If you are lucky the system still has a good EISA battery and the info is in there (probably not) or the HD in the system still has the configuration utility and the files needed to set it back up (actually you can run the util from a bootable floppy).

I did a quick search and somebody was looking for the drivers of a megacube back in 2003, board was EV-18113 with 10 EISA, 1 ISA, and one 32 bit RAM slot. The file for that board is !evx0101.cfg
 
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Unknown_K,

Thanks for the offer. I will probably have to take you up on the ECU utility offer. I have not been able to find the Everex utility at all! I also found the thread you mentioned and I PMed one of the members who had the Everex utility but he has not been around since Jan so maybe he is not checking the forums anymore. I will get the box today so I will have more info as to what is going on. But just looking at pics it looks like there is a Adaptec AHA-1742A or maybe a 1740 controller in there. Also a network card w/ token ring and Ethernet connections.

I had one question: if there are no IRQs then do ISA cards also get configured through the ECU? Or is that just for EISA cards?
 
The ECU is pretty much for EISA cards since it needs config files that do not exist for ISA cards. I guess the EISA cards are setup first and whatever is left can be used by ISA (kind of how PCI worked), or the ISA bus is completely different from the ISA one. Never realy looked into that to tell you the truth.
 
Not good...

Not good...

O.k. got the computer.

The Good:
1. Some cosmetic damage. Nothing that can't be fixed though....
2. It uses the same Everex EV-18113 EISA board as the other system on this forum
3. The system has a random Everex ISA floppy controller, A gateway communication g/Ethernet 32EB EISA 10MB NIC, a random ISA token ring NIC, ISA serial and parrallel port card, Adaptec AHA-1742 EISA SCSI-2 Controller, and the Everex 18127 Memory card.

The bad:
1. There is no HDD so no possibility of getting the CFG files or the ECU
2. No video card

The Worst:
1. The system will not POST! Hitting the power key briefly flashes the lights on the front panel then nothing. No fan's spinning up (not even PSU). The PSU uses a proprietary connector so no idea what's what on it. Power seems to briefly enter the system because when the HDD front panel light is connected to the led pins for the Adaptec controller it also lights up when the system is turned on. I get no beeps so nothing to go on.

Things I have tried already:
1. Made sure all the wires are firmly seated, disconnected and reconnected wires.
2. Checked jumpers per the stason.org directions. I have disabled/enabled PW and ECU. Tried different BIOS types, and CPU speeds.
3. I've also removed all the cards to make sure they are not the culprit and disconneted the powet to the floppy and included tape drive.

Any ideas guys? Anything you can think of to try? The only time I had a similiar problem with a MODERN MB was when the CPU was bad. Although in that case I think the fans DID spin up but no POST beeps! I am really hoping this MB is good! CPU is easy to rplace, MB not so....
 
Stick an ISA video card in and see if that does anything. Is the speaker hooked up in case there is a beep error code going on?
 
Unknown_K,

As I stated there is no beeps. But this is w/o video. I am going to dig thorugh my stuff and see if I can find my Trident 8900 ISA card. Will report on any changes after I stick in the ISA card.

EDIT: Found my Trident card. It is PCI! I don't think I have an ISA video card around here at all. So my options are to order one from e-bay and wait. Anything else I can do in the mean time? Thanks!
 
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Shadow Lord said:
Unknown_K,

As I stated there is no beeps. But this is w/o video. I am going to dig thorugh my stuff and see if I can find my Trident 8900 ISA card. Will report on any changes after I stick in the ISA card.

EDIT: Found my Trident card. It is PCI! I don't think I have an ISA video card around here at all. So my options are to order one from e-bay and wait. Anything else I can do in the mean time? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Well, if you'd shared your location with us (at least what continent you're on) then someone here might well have offered to send you one...
 
Tiberian Fiend said:
Like you said, it sounds like a CPU or mobo burn-out. You might want to look for a POST tester card on eBay; I hear they help a lot.
Click to expand...

I thought about that except will the POST testers work if the system is not POSTing? i.e. wouldn't I have to hear the PC Speaker beeps to indicate the POST is being done for the POST tester to work?
 
First order of business is to check out the power supply. Disconnect it from the motherboard and attach a hard drive or three to it (if you have a 5.25' hard drive, so much the better). Power it on--does the hard drive spin up?

If yes, it sounds very like a shorted capacitor, very likely on the motherboard. Pull the motherboard, blow the dust off and do a visual inspection of the electrolytics on the board. Do any bulge? If so, replace them. Using a DMM set to its lowest setting, check for shorts between ground and +12, +5 and -12 power supply lines to isolate which one is causing the problem.

FWIW, CPUs in PCs going bad (unless abused with overclocking) is an extremely rare happening.
 
With a newer system, that typically means one of two things:

- BIOS is bad.
- PSU isn't plugged in tightly.

Since you checked the PSU wires (I presume you fully unplugged and replugged, not just pushed on it - right?), check the BIOS chip and try reseating it if it's one of those socketed suckers.

Edit: Wow, just checked out the pictures - that thing is badass! What's in the secnod half of the case - the half that isn't for expansion cards and mobo? HDDs? If you end up hunting down another one of these and find yourself with a spare case I'd consider buying it from you to try to mount a traditional board in.
 
Raven said:
With a newer system, that typically means one of two things:

- BIOS is bad.
Click to expand...

ShadowLord said:
1. The system will not POST! Hitting the power key briefly flashes the lights on the front panel then nothing. No fan's spinning up (not even PSU).
Click to expand...

Okay, I have to admit that I'm confused. How will a bad BIOS cause the power supply to kick out?
 
Chuck(G) said:
First order of business is to check out the power supply. Disconnect it from the motherboard and attach a hard drive or three to it (if you have a 5.25' hard drive, so much the better). Power it on--does the hard drive spin up?

If yes, it sounds very like a shorted capacitor, very likely on the motherboard. Pull the motherboard, blow the dust off and do a visual inspection of the electrolytics on the board. Do any bulge? If so, replace them. Using a DMM set to its lowest setting, check for shorts between ground and +12, +5 and -12 power supply lines to isolate which one is causing the problem.

FWIW, CPUs in PCs going bad (unless abused with overclocking) is an extremely rare happening.
Click to expand...

Chukc(G),

I am not sure I follow you. My experience is mostly with ATX systems. On these systems you can't just turn on the power supply. You have to short two pins on the MB as well (or directly at the PS connector). Can I just connect a HDD and turn on the PS at the button since the powerbutton directly connects to the PS (not through the MB)? Also why isn't the PS fan or case fan spinning up? Not enough load on the PS to get it going?

The other issue is that this is a non std 400W supply. According to this link the AT PS connector looks pretty much like the ATX one. However, the one I have on this board is a square shaped, multi-row connector.


As for CPU failures, the only time it happened to me was on a new CPU. Come to think of it I also had a brand new ASUS MB fail on me to with the smae behavior...
 
Raven said:
With a newer system, that typically means one of two things:
Edit: Wow, just checked out the pictures - that thing is badass! What's in the secnod half of the case - the half that isn't for expansion cards and mobo? HDDs? If you end up hunting down another one of these and find yourself with a spare case I'd consider buying it from you to try to mount a traditional board in.
Click to expand...

Sure, as long as you pass on any extra Roland SCD-15s u find ;)
 
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