BIOS?? HDD?? boot prob

[bigbruddah]

My daughter has a Compaq Presario 1685 for college. She tried to install an ethernet card, but plugged the card in with the system still on. She continued on with the installation, but after rebooting ended up with a crash. Now when turned on it displays the "Compaq" screen for a couple of seconds, then runs through a NoteBIOS (phoenix v4.0)"Save to Disk Manager" program. This program displays meters showing the progress of conventional memory, extended memory and system information. At the completion of the program it goes to a blank, black screen with a flashing cursor in the upper left corner, as in a word processor's new document. Absolutely nothing brings about any response. I have tried booting from a floppy but it doesn't get recongnized. I have tried accessing a Windows 98 CD, but got the same. I have tried several attempts to enter the BIOS setup, but I'm not sure what the proper key is and I get no information on the screen period, and none of the keys seem to be registering. I get a power light, and battery charge light. There is no HDD light on this notebook. Any ideas will be tried and appreciated. anp@lords.com

[YODA74]

Welcome to Pc Guide Bigbruddah,It really does not sound good can you try a safe mode
1.restart computer
2.During restart hold down the CTRL key until windows 98 startup menu appears
3.choose safe mode from start up menu,and press enter.it should start in safe mode.If this does not work post back. i'll try finding something in the mean while.
Do ya get any beeps at all from the Bios if you do what sequence??

try this web site to http://members.nbci.com/WEB_HQ/bios.html

[This message has been edited by YODA74 (edited 09-14-2001).]

[This message has been edited by YODA74 (edited 09-14-2001).]

[bigbruddah]

I held down the control key after turning it on. It seemed to slow things down a little, but it still went through the same routine. No, there are no beeps at all. I meant to say that in my first posting. Before I posted my problem I read through the BIOS section of PcGuide's online expert. I looked through the beep codes for my particular BIOS, but I found nothing suggested for "NO" beeps.

[bigbruddah]

I checked out the web site you gave and found the BIOS setup key commands for Phoenix. I attempted to enter the setup, but neither ctrl/alt/esc or ctrl/alt/s caused any changes from the routine mentioned earlier.

[mjc]

compaq uses a non-standar key to enter the setup...(f10)


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mjc
Links list:Computer Links

Celts are the men that heaven made mad, For all their battles are merry and their songs are all sad.

[bigbruddah]

Thanks for sharing your wisdom concerning Compaq, but F10 had the same result as all the other attempts... nada. Does anyone think that maybe I could get some help from Phoenix, since they made the BIOS, and it seems to be their "Disk Saver Manager" program that keeps running. I mentioned that it runs when turned on, but I think I failed to mention that it also runs before it shuts down when turned off. Is that significant? I appreciate all the input. I know this is a very unusual situation, one that I hope I don't run into ever again.

[mjc]

No you won't get any help from Phoenix...they make but don't service them, you can also try (f12).

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mjc
Links list:Computer Links

Celts are the men that heaven made mad, For all their battles are merry and their songs are all sad.

[Paleo Pete]

[F10] is usually the BIOS key for Compaq, watch the screen closely while it boots and you should see a larger cursor blink in the top right corner of the screen. You'll have about 5 seconds to press [F10] to get into BIOS.

Unfortunately I don't think anything in BIOS will help, if a card of any type was plugged in while the machine was running it is very likely the motherboard was fried. That's what the absence of a beep is telling you...or not telling you...

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[Whyzman]

Was she under the hood with the engine running when she plugged in the NIC?
The spinning fan blades would cause most to shy away. Gutsy lady!

It might be too late now, but one additional note:

Not sure on this particular MB, but on some (as on my ASUS MB) there is an LED (mounted on the MB) indicating that power is still being supplied to the MB. Even if the puter is shut down (front button) power could still be being supplied to the MB as indicated by the LED. My manual warns that installation of cards could be detrimental to the puter's health if the power supply is not completely shut down(LED off). If you pull the plug to install just be sure that you're properly grounded for the install.

May all your dealings in life be win/win!

Whyzman

Oops, just realized this was in the Laptop section...never mind!

[This message has been edited by Whyzman (edited 09-22-2001).]

[bigbruddah]

Thanks, Paleo Pete. I was afraid that would be the case, but I'm somewhat of an optomist, so was hoping it would be otherwise. I guess that ends this Q/A period. Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions.

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Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad.

[Paleo Pete]

One more possibility we overlooked. Could be the NIC causing problems. If it's still plugged in, unplug it and see if the machine will power up. If it does, go into Safe Mode and remove it from Device Manager, try it again, and make sure it's totally powered down when plugging it in.

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