gmc@ecsvax.UUCP (12/02/84)
I am in the buisness of providing microcomputers to developing
countries for use in extracting important information from demographic
and population data which can be use to plan development strategies.
More and more frequently, these microcomputers are IBM-PC's. Aside from
the usual problems of eratic power sources and dust in these countries,
often there is no local source for parts or service. Or, if there is a
local IBM service center, the cost of that service is astronomical.
We try to provide basic training in process-of-elimination
diagnostic procedures, as well as a reasonable stock of replacement parts.
Normally this stock includes at least on spare 5-1/4 Tandon floppy drive
and two complete disk drive door assemblies for each two machines (We
all know how great Tandon's door hinge design is, right?). Also, we
provide spare RAM chips. This selection of spare parts is based on our
own in-house experience, and the recommendations of the service
departments at several IBM dealerships. I'm not at all convinced that
it is correct, or complete. Unfortunately, when we provide these parts,
we frequently have very little time for training personnel in-country
in the common-sense procedures required to determine exactly * which *
part is causing the problem.
I am looking for two kinds of information to help with these
problems:
(1) information pointing to a good, simple guide to diagnosing problems,
locating the malfunctioning componant and replacing it.
I haven't seen anything like this in any of the computer stores,
or in any of the book stores which handle microcomputer liturature.
At the Institute of the Sahel, Bamako, Mali (French West Africa),
I found two of their French IBM-PC's down and abandoned because
they ceased to boot. The problems were simple, one broken disk
drive door (thanks Tandon) and on malfunctioning A: drive. The
machine with the bad A: drive had an expansion chassis with two
10 Mb hard disks. Come on folks, with a setup like that you only
need one floppy drive anyway (this setup boots from the A: drive,
not from the first hard disk in the absence of a DOS floppy as
does the XT). All one had to do is make the B: drive the A: drive
and the system was up again. Unfortunately, the people there had
never seen the inside of a PC and were reluctant to touch something
that looks that complicated. They need hands-on training and a good
guide for use after we leave. They are, in most cases, perfectly
intelligent enough to handle these simple procedures.
(2) information suggesting the weakest componants in the PC/XT--those most
likely to fail under normal use and those which are fairly easy to replace.
I don't envision these people attacking a disk controller board
with a soldering iron, but I can see them determining what board
is causing the problem and then replacing the defective baord with
a good one.
Thanks in advance. I really appologize for the length of this item, but
I wanted to make it clear what I was looking for. Please respond
directly to me through Usenet mail or Federal Snail.
Gordon M. Cressman
P.O.Box 12194
Research Triangle Institute
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709