cannot locate main drive on Presario5220

[bartman4]

I just got back (Friday) my Presario 5220 from Compaq repair;
orginal problem was that pc would not powerup-ie dead!!
COMPAQ replaced (1) the power supply, (2) the hard drive (20GB Now)
(3) the floppy drive (total $391.06) I contacted Compaq and was told that
I needed a new motherboard (since I was unable to run a quickrestore)
and that it would be $190.00 exchange . does any one have any suggestions?
any help appreciated!!

[Whyzman]

Hello bartman4,

Welcome to http://www.pcguide.com/ubb/pcgubb.gif Forums!

Egadzooks Bartman!! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/frown.gif http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/eek.gif Are you out of warranty? "Smack" "Bang" "POW" and a really hefty "ARGH!" What in the world...

From the Compaq owners I've encountered here on PC Guide Forums your experience is quite unexpected. Am I getting this right? Was the $190.00 part of the $391.00 total you mentioned?

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May all your dealings in life be win/win!


Whyzman
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Reserved for Punishing Humor...A Pessimist's blood is always B-negative!

[YODA74]

bbbuurrppp Another 200.00 bucks you could have built yourself one.

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Death has come to our windows.

-- Jeremiah 9:21
(undoubtedly a Biblical reference to a Microsoft product!)

YODA74@carolina.rr.com

[alex666]

I'm confused too. Does your computer work? Have you simply not been able to get the quickrestore to work, and Compaq told you that you need a new motherboard? Can you boot up using an emergency dos disk in your floppy drive? If you go to the Presario support site, you'll read about a lot of people who have had problems with the quickrestore. If that is the problem, and you can boot up using an emergency dos disk, you might try to find someone local who is proficient with Compaq Quickrestore before concluding that the mobo is screwed. Some say you cannot do a Quickrestore on a hdd larger than the original hdd, but that is not true. It's probably fair to say that Compaq support is not always accurate in their troubleshooting and the advice they dispense. I own (am currently using at this moment) a 5220 that I have thoroughly upgraded over the past couple of years, replaced just about everything but the motherboard: hdd, I pulled the original k6-2 380 and replaced it with a k6-3+ 450 that's more or less overclocked to 550, et al. I've had incredible luck with the mobo on my 5220, it's been amazingly versatile, even for a Compaq integrated motheboard, has done at least one thing that a Compaq tech said it was not supposed to do (inserting an ata/100 pci add-in card), and in my experience it's been worth holding onto, but I'm not sure it's worth spending another $190 just to get the computer back to its original state. I'll be curious to find out what happens. Best of luck.

Marty
Verona, VA

[This message has been edited by alex666 (edited 03-10-2002).]

[Whyzman]

Just happened upon THIS (http://www.cpusolutions.com/) site. Take a look at the Barebones system with the ECS K7S5a MB with 800Mhz processor and cooler, midtower case with 300W power supply, for $139.99.

So, if you haven't popped for the MB exchange...you might want to consider bailing and getting into something you have more control over! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/wink.gif

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May all your dealings in life be win/win!


Whyzman
----------------------
Reserved for Punishing Humor...A Pessimist's blood is always B-negative!

[alex666]

Whyzman, nice link. Never seen that barebones system before. I've been eyeing the ECS K7S5A as I contemplate assembling my first built-from-scratch system. It has gotten excellent reviews, pretty easy, and new durons that far surpass the k6-2 380 (and probably my k6-3+ 450 too) are almost free nowadays. Plus, you can add an XP Athlon later when they're a bit cheaper. I wonder if the case, power supply, and fan/HS in that barebones system are any good. Will have to look into that a little more.

[This message has been edited by alex666 (edited 03-11-2002).]

[This message has been edited by alex666 (edited 03-11-2002).]

[bartman4]

First of all; thanks for all the quick answers!!
now to answer some questions- It is 3yrs old(5 Mar)No The $391.06
was for the replacement I mentioned (plus $95.00 svc fee)
the top Q&A Is:I canot do a reboot using floppydrive because the computer can only Locate the "regular Floppy drive" as well as the ZIP 100 DRIVE
AND IT READS THEM AS NOT HAVING NO SPACE AVAIL. it cannot locate the cdrom drive or I could use it to run the QR. the hard drive now has been upgraded
to 20GB(was8) and it has a 164ram upgrade that I added a while back.
so the bottom line is: pc reads only a drive, which it sez is too small for qr. ( I was told by compaq that I had to run it upon from repair--- they did not have one!!) I really like this Pc, I also like the HP6545c
I am using now.
I really do not want /need to replace the MB with a compaq one, esp since I will have to send it out for repair. does anybody know what i can replace it with for less $ ? BTW, did I mention that itCANNOt locate any hdI think that is why Compaq said I needed a new mb- Thanks again for the help-- I await some more answers Thanks

[alex666]

Did Compaq mess around with your bios settings? I have to wonder if some settings were changed. Granted, Compaq limits the choices you can make, but it is possible to disable the primary and secondary ide controllers, which you do not want. Also, you are given a choice as to what type of floppy drive you have. My 5220 came with the LS-120. The bios specifically gives you a choice as to what size floppy, and some of the settings are for a 720 kb floppy!!! That could be affecting whether you can boot up with a win98 startup floppy disk. In any case, you might want to check out your bios settings and see what the settings are. Also, what bios version do you have? There was a major upgrade dated 10/19/1999, it was a really good upgrade, allowed for hdds up to 30 gig without drive overlay software. I would be happy to pass on what my settings are. Good luck.

[bartman4]

this maybe a very dumb question---But how do i check any system when i can
not get the system up past the compaq screen?
so how do I check the BIOs are any thing else??

[alex666]

On the Presario 5220, as soon as the Compaq screen comes up, start tapping the F10 key, about once a second for ten seconds or so until you hear a beep, then stop. You soon will be looking at a screen that lets you choose a language. Choose English, unless of course being from Louisana you opt for French, and then you will see the opening bios screen. Hmmm, have you ever gotten into a bios? It's not hard, you'll figure out how to go from screen to screen, there will be a screen for storage, one for communciations, I forget the other ones, and there will be an exit screen. You can exit at anytime, either with or without making any changes. I'd go through your screen and see what's there, what do the different screens say, without making any changes. Maybe write down what they say and come back. AS I stated earlier, the compaq/presario bios is limited, so there are not that many items to record. I'll be up for a while tonight, I have work to do, but I'll be checking in.

[This message has been edited by alex666 (edited 03-11-2002).]