stevew@ecn.purdue.edu (Steven L Wootton) (09/06/90)
I need some help. My Tandy 1000 has started giving me this on boot:
[proper BIOS and DOS copyright messages]
Bad or missing \DEV\CON
Command v. 2.11
followed by what looks like a dump of command.com to the screen, over and
over, until I hit the big red button.
This system was working perfectly one week ago. Since then, I've had this
problem on just about every other boot. Today, it crashed every time.
If it helps, this is an original 25-1000, 1.01.00 BIOS, 640K, two 360's.
I get the same error using three different boot floppies, so it must be a
hardware problem of some sort.
Looking through the Tandy DOS manual's error list, I couldn't find anything
like "Bad or missing \DEV\CON." Anybody have any thoughts?
Steve Wootton
stevew@{en,ei,el}.ecn.purdue.edu
stevew@pur-ee.uucp
stevew%ecn.purdue.edu@purccvm.bitnetCC65SRAD@MIAMIU.BITNET (09/12/90)
The CON device is the console. The console is basically the keyboard and monitor. the error you have may be similar to the Keyboard Error on AT class machines. The Tandy 1000 has a chip in the keyboard and a chip in the CPU that talk to each other to determine what keys you press. While the one in the keyboard is pretty tough, the one in the computer is quite static-sensitive. While working for Tandy, I saw several systems that had to have this chip replaced doue to static shocks proceeding through the key contacts into the CPU. The only way to fix it is to send it to Tandy Consumer Service. Expect about a 5 day turnaround time if they have the parts there. If not, add another 3 for parts. Either way, if the problem is in the hardware, you will need to have it serviced. Last I saw, the labor rate on a 25-1000 was $65. -Chris