cannot restore

[djhelm]

Unable to restore.
NEC Ready 9716
Pentium 200MMX WIN95
32MB ram
3.2 GB HD
16X CDIntel CU438HX Motherboard
FW82439HX chipset (82371SB PIIX3)
When I boot from restore diskette get the following:
"Unable to prepare the hard drive. Your system's hard drive may be defective or the cables may be loose. Placed HD in another computer and is OK. Change cable. No difference.
Booted wit WIN95 startup disk and got: "The following file is missing or corrupted: HIMEM.SYS There is an error in your CONFIG.SYS file on line 2"
Went into setup and IDE devices not installed. They were"Auto Configured." Contacted NEC tech support and the replied I need restore software. The new restore software is on CD only (mine uses diskette and CD) How is this going to work as the IDE drives are not available. If my diskette does not recognize the HD how is the CD going to recognize it not to mention being able to use the CD drive.I discovered that there has been problems with my chipset not recognizing secondary IDE devices. Could it also affect primary IDE? Went to Intel. They recognize problem but I could not find an update or solution.

Battery OK.
Checked all connections.
Reseated memory.
Placed known good HD in computer and no change.
Substituted good memory from another computer and no change.
Will really appreciate much needed help.

[Randy_tx]

Try putting the Hard Drive & CD on the Secondary IDE controller......see if it works....your Primary HD controller may be defective .
I'm a bit confused by your post to begin with.....Do I understand you correctly that you have already had IDE Controller problems in the past??
I'm sure you know this......but if your IDE controller is gone then the motherboard has to be replaced unless you want to put some type of IDE controller card on the motherboard.....which is costly for a mobo that already has problems.
------------------
"As hard as a rock & dumb as a brick"...Windows CEMeNT

[This message has been edited by Randy_tx (edited 03-21-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Randy_tx (edited 03-21-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Randy_tx (edited 03-21-2001).]

[djhelm]

Did not have problems with controller before. I had found information that the particular chipset on my motherboard had history of potential problems.
How do I setup secondary IDE? All are auto configured

[This message has been edited by djhelm (edited 03-21-2001).]

[Randy_tx]

Well.....you have to open the case up......BE SURE you unplug power cord before doing this!!......Then look inside the case and you will see where the cable (hopefully only one IDE cable) is plugged into the motherboard...right next to it will be another socket looking thing or set of pins depending on how your motherboard is set up....it will look just like the other one....unplug the IDE cable from the one it is in and plug it into the other one........that's all there is to it.......now your IDE devices are plugged into the Secondary IDE channel.......try powering up to see if you get it to load Windows........post back what happens. Be sure to touch the side of the case to ground yourself BEFORE you start changing cables http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

------------------
"As hard as a rock & dumb as a brick"...Windows CEMeNT

[djhelm]

Sorry I knew about the mobo connectors but my thinking was still in the setup.
There are two IDE cables used. One for hard drive and one for CD.
Moved HD to secondary left CD disconnected. No change. Does this definitely indicate controller is bad? I have suspected this to be the case, but have been hopeful it wasn't or if it was, there would be a fix.

[Paleo Pete]

Try going into BIOS and manually inputting the hard drive parameters. They are usually printed on back of the drive or you can find out the make and model and check [The Tech Page (http://www.thetechpage.com/cgi-bin/default.cgi) for specs.

If that gets the same results I'd think it's either the chipset problem you mentioned or you had a power surge or lightning strike. Usually if the controller is bad you'll see an error message during boot, if BIOS does not find a working controller. Might be time to go shopping for a new motherboard if that one is not still under warranty.

------------------
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines!
Note: Please post your questions on the forums, not in my email.

Computer Information Links (http://www.geocities.com/paleopete/)

[djhelm]

Manually set drive info. (cyls, heads sectors).
Other Choices:
1. IDE translation mode: (Standard CHS, Logical block, Extended CHS, Auto detected)
2. Multiple sector settings: (Disabled, 4 sectors/block, 8 sectors/block, Auto detected)
3.Fast Programmed I/O Modes: (Disabled, Auto Detected)
1-3 were all set to Auto Detected.
Same result.
Should items 1-3 be set differently?
My HD is a Quantum 3200AT. The label does not indicate size. Six different capacity drives came up.I thought it was 3.2 MB. So used those specs.
I then put an IBM drive that only had one set of specs.
Result the same

[This message has been edited by djhelm (edited 03-22-2001).]

[Paleo Pete]

Deleted the duplicate post, after checking to be sure it was the same...I see you figured out how the accidental frownies got there...

Sounds to me like you have a bad controller or the problem you mentioned woth the chipset. After trying known good hard drives, secondary channel, and (I think) manually inputting drive parameters, you still get the same problem, I don't think it's the drive itself.

Only other thing I can think of is try another known good ribbon cable, if you haven't done that already. Otherwise I think it's looking more like a motherboard or chipset problem. I doubt if both controllers would go out at the same time, unless a power surge or lightning strike had something to do with it.

------------------
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines!
Note: Please post your questions on the forums, not in my email.

Computer Information Links (http://www.geocities.com/paleopete/)

[djhelm]

Placed cable from working computer and put HD on both primary and then on secondary manually configured connections and result is same. No chance of power surge.
I don't want to spend much in reviving this computer so will look for a used motherboard from someone who upgraded. Do you have any suggestion regarding what I should look for that will use my present processor etc. Present board is 9x13 is in a mini-tower case and uses a riser. It has 2 serial, one printer, 2 USB, monitor, mouse & keyboard ports. I am not really all that familiar with the terms. ie AT slot7 etc.....Present board ID in first post. Further ID on motherboard: AA665506-402, U02777939, 2010019
I really appreciate the help I have received here. Much better than the techs at NEC. Seems they just wanted to sell restore software which I felt did no make sense when the IDE devices were not available.

[Randy_tx]

If you want to keep costs down, you might not be able to get too Choosey about the mobo you can find! Make sure it can handle a 200 mhz Intel Socket 7 chip (66 mhz bus, multiplier of 3 and 3.3 volt core voltage). Additionally, you want to be sure you can move whatever type of RAM is in the old mobo to the one you buy.

------------------
"As hard as a rock & dumb as a brick"...Windows CEMeNT

[djhelm]

Thanks again. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif