rwp@cup.portal.com (Roger William Preisendefer) (05/24/89)
My new Packard Bell '286 machine is showing an odd flaw. After it has been off for a while (t > 6 hours) it will refuse to boot from the hard drive. It will boot perfectly from floppy, and has no trouble accessing the hard disk. If on for more than 1 minute, it can be rebooted from the HD without difficulty. Anyone with a similar experience (and possible fixes) please reply. Roger Preisendefer rwp@cup.portal.com "How come I get all the hard questions?" (O.. North)
ellisond@gtephx.UUCP (Dell Ellison) (06/02/89)
In article <18718@cup.portal.com>, rwp@cup.portal.com (Roger William Preisendefer) writes: > My new Packard Bell '286 machine is showing an odd flaw. After it has been > off for a while (t > 6 hours) it will refuse to boot from the hard drive. > It will boot perfectly from floppy, and has no trouble accessing the > hard disk. If on for more than 1 minute, it can be rebooted from the > HD without difficulty. Actually, I have been having the same problem with my Packard Bell computer (not a 286). It came with a 30 meg. hard disk drive. I hadn't linked it to the greater-than-six-hours thing, but now that you mention it, that's what it seems like, I think. I was just going to call Packard Bell and insist that they replace it, but that might not fix the problem if other people are having that same problem. Have you heard any more about it? Dell Ellison
abcscnge@csuna.csun.edu (Scott "The Pseudo-Hacker" Neugroschl) (06/03/89)
In article <43939203.190fc@gtephx.UUCP> ellisond@gtephx.UUCP (Dell Ellison) writes: ]In article <18718@cup.portal.com>, rwp@cup.portal.com (Roger William Preisendefer) writes: ]> My new Packard Bell '286 machine is showing an odd flaw. After it has been ]> off for a while (t > 6 hours) it will refuse to boot from the hard drive. ]> It will boot perfectly from floppy, and has no trouble accessing the ]> hard disk. If on for more than 1 minute, it can be rebooted from the ]> HD without difficulty. ] ]Actually, I have been having the same problem with my Packard Bell computer (not ]a 286). It came with a 30 meg. hard disk drive. I hadn't linked it to the ]greater-than-six-hours thing, but now that you mention it, that's what it ]seems like, I think. I was just going to call Packard Bell and insist that ]they replace it, but that might not fix the problem if other people are ]having that same problem. Have you heard any more about it? ] My parents have a similar problem with their XT clone (no name -- I can't find ANY mfgr markings!). Anyways, on cold boot (power up after several hours), it won't boot from the HD. Sometimes it'll hang, other times it'll give a 1701 error (The true-blue IBM manuals say "call your dealer"). If you either ctrl-alt-del or power cycle, it then works normally. Also, given a no-name, how would you look for a identifying mark in the BIOS? At boot, this machine displays: COMPUTER XT (C) 1985 (or something like that -- no names) The only identifying mark I can find in the BIOS is the string "DNA" (talk about "clones"!!!). Norton finds the Western Digital HD BIOS at C800. Suggestions of where to look will help! -- Scott "The Pseudo-Hacker" Neugroschl UUCP: ...!sm.unisys.com!csun!csuna.csun.edu!abcscnge -- Beat me, Whip me, make me code in Ada -- Disclaimers? We don't need no stinking disclaimers!!!
mvolo@ecsvax.UUCP (Michael R. Volow) (06/07/89)
[deleted stuff about failure to boot from HD's] Sometimes intermittent failure to boot from HD (with 1701 error) can be due to power supply problems. The white power connectors from the supply to the HD often have chintzy sockets whose leaves spread after a while, causing poor contact. Swapping a power connector with one from one of the floppies will often solve this problem. The reason for the problem is, if the HD does not get up to speed in a criterion time, then the HD goes unrecognized. The symptoms are (besides the 1701 error) the HD light staying on, but more faintly than usual during bootup. Sometime the power supply itself can be defective. Hope this helps someone. M Volow, VA Medical Center, Durham, NC 27705 mvolo@ecsvax.UUCP 919 286 0411
rwp@cup.portal.com (Roger William Preisendefer) (06/08/89)
>> My new Packard Bell '286 machine is showing an odd flaw. After it has been >> off for a while (t > 6 hours) it will refuse to boot from the hard drive. >> It will boot perfectly from floppy, and has no trouble accessing the >> hard disk. If on for more than 1 minute, it can be rebooted from the >> HD without difficulty. >Actually, I have been having the same problem with my Packard Bell >computer (not a 286). It came with a 30 meg. hard disk drive. I >hadn't linked it to the greater-than-six-hours thing, but now that >you mention it, that's what it seems like, I think. I was just >going to call Packard Bell and insist that they replace it, but that >might not fix the problem if other people are having that same >problem. Have you heard any more about it? I have been dealing with Packard Bell for the last month, trying to get the problem fixed. They are very helpful. When you call technical support, if the lines are very busy, they will call you back! They will lead you through different things to try to diagnose the problem over the phone. I have been led through checking the ROM'd setup file (the computer was a store demo and the salesmen had it configured wrong.) I then tried reformatting the HD, following the step-by-step instructions of the tech (though I had already done it correctly.) All to no avail. Packard Bell suggested shipping it back or taking it to a local service center, and provided the numbers for all of these in my area. Since it has a one year warranty, I think I'll wait to see if it goes away (or more likely gets worse.) Moving the controller card seems to have fixed it, but the problem is intermittent, so I'll wait and see.... I suggest giving them a call if you're having the same problem. The number is 1-800-733-4411. They seemed very interested in making it right... Roger Preisendefer rwp@cup.portal.com >> It will boot perfectly from floppy, and has no trouble accessing the >> hard disk. If on fo
rwp@cup.portal.com (Roger William Preisendefer) (06/08/89)
>> My new Packard Bell '286 machine is showing an odd flaw. After it has been >> off for a while (t > 6 hours) it will refuse to boot from the hard drive. >> It will boot perfectly from floppy, and has no trouble accessing the >> hard disk. If on for more than 1 minute, it can be rebooted from the >> HD without difficulty. >Actually, I have been having the same problem with my Packard Bell >computer (not a 286). It came with a 30 meg. hard disk drive. I >hadn't linked it to the greater-than-six-hours thing, but now that >you mention it, that's what it seems like, I think. I was just >going to call Packard Bell and insist that they replace it, but that >might not fix the problem if other people are having that same >problem. Have you heard any more about it? I have been dealing with Packard Bell for the last month, trying to get the problem fixed. They are very helpful. When you call technical support, if the lines are very busy, they will call you back! They will lead you through different things to try to diagnose the problem over the phone. I have been led through checking the ROM'd setup file (the computer was a store demo and the salesmen had it configured wrong.) I then tried reformatting the HD, following the step-by-step instructions of the tech (though I had already done it correctly.) All to no avail. Packard Bell suggested shipping it back or taking it to a local service center, and provided the numbers for all of these in my area. Since it has a one year warranty, I think I'll wait to see if it goes away (or more likely gets worse.) Moving the controller card seems to have fixed it, but the problem is intermittent, so I'll wait and see.... I suggest giving them a call if you're having the same problem. The number is 1-800-733-4411. They seemed very interested in making it right... Roger Preisendefer rwp@cup.portal.com