Netgate Discussion Forum
    • Categories
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Popular
    • Users
    • Search
    • Register
    • Login

    Intel PRO/1000 PT Dual Port PC Not Booting

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Hardware
    2 Posts 2 Posters 526 Views
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • M
      maxtim
      last edited by

      I've just installed pfSense to my old PC that I would like to turn into a router. I went ahead with the installation despite my inability to get the NIC to work. I have four PCI slots: two x8, one x1, and one x16. The latter is the only one I can successfully mount the Intel Pro/1000 PT dual port NIC. The slot, however, is typically reserved for a graphics card. Upon booting, the error beeps from the motherboard reflect this issue.

      Is there a way to force the motherboard to recognize the slot as anything other than the graphics card? I have tried going to BIOS and forcing it to use the onboard graphics chip. I have also read something about using a master/slave configuration with PCI. I might be confused about this idea and there are no option for such a configuration. There is an option for IDE master/slave, but I figured that would be irrelevant.

      The motherboard is quite old, so I thought one work-around might be to update the BIOS. I can't find a BIOS update. Maybe I've been looking in the wrong place.

      Any help would be appreciated, but, to be honest, I'm not really expecting much as this is a very specific issue.

      Build specifics:
      Motherboard: ECS build MCP73VT-PM
      BIOS version: American Mega Trends P01-A1 circa 2009
      NIC: Intel Pro/1000 PT dual port
      Original PC build: eMachines ET1831-07
      Processor: Intel Pentium E5400

      I think that's all the pertinent information. If you require more info, I'll update this post.

      Thank you in advanced for any help.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • D
        dreamslacker
        last edited by

        That chipset doesn't support what you are trying to do.

        Specifically, using the PCIe x16 slot will disable the onboard graphics.

        You could in theory do so if you add a PCI graphics card to keep the board happy.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • First post
          Last post
        Copyright 2025 Rubicon Communications LLC (Netgate). All rights reserved.