Post-Probe online e-book

The Post-Probe

The description given above applies to all post-reader cards, of which there are several. The Micro 2000 Post-Probe though is unique in several ways.

Both ISA and PCI connectors are available on the same card. All other post readers can be used in either the ISA bus or the PCI bus. This requires the field technician to carry two cards, or take a gamble on being able to use the right bus.
The codes are displayed on both sides of the card. Some computers have the bus slots on a riser card rather than directly on the motherboard, which means the post reader could be upside down with the display hidden. Having a second display on the back side eliminates this problem.
There is a stepping switch to retrieve the sequence of codes. If the BIOS is corrupt it can execute the instructions out of sequence, and the boot-up could fail for this reason rather than failure of the hardware indicated by the last code. This is nearly impossible to detect without the Post-Probe's stepping switch.
A separate set of LEDs give a direct indication of several of the key bus signals and whether the power supply voltages are within tolerance, making it possible to diagnose many problems at a glance.