reg@vaxine.UUCP (Rick Genter) (06/19/85)
Two months ago I posted a note about problems I was having with my PC.
Basically, my PC would run for a while, then get "Memory Parity Error 1" and
die. Eventually it died and never came back.
I thought that perhaps my RAM had gone bad or that my 8088 had gone bad.
I ended up trying to swap the 8088, and it worked fine in other systems. I
tried various RAM configurations and nothing seemed to help.
As I don't have oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and other necessary
digital debugging tools at home, I finally brought my PC to Bedford Computer
Systems, Inc. in Bedford, MA. Naturally, when I brought it in, it worked just
fine.
The guy at Bedford kept the PC for a couple of days and sure enough it
failed on the second day. After some diligent troubleshooting he found two
things wrong:
* A bad RAM chip (fortunately, not in the soldered in bank), and
* A bad bus controller (8288).
The bus controller was sensitive to heat, which with my third party hard disk
and 8087 there was plenty of. I have since ordered an XT power supply/fan from
PC's Limited in Austin, TX (only $95! - Bedford suggested I go with them since
they said if they went and ordered it it would come from IBM and be $250).
Thanks to everyone on the net for their useful suggestions. If you are in
the eastern Massachusetts area and are in need of service, I heartily recommend
Bedford Computer Systems Inc. They were friendly and thorough and did an
overall fine job. Their number is (617) 275-2037 or 275-2149. No, I don't
work for them. I was just impressed with their service.
Rick Genter
Automatix Inc.
...!decvax!encore!vaxine!reg