Hi, I'm new here, and I have a doozy of a question...

  • Thread starter Thread starter Charles Densem
  • Start date Start date
C

Charles Densem

First off, I would like to apologize for the use of the word "doozy".

Now, my problem.

I have been assigned the task of restoring a very old server. We are
talking late 80's-early 90's, 486 processor old. It seems to be an
amalgam of differently branded components, each more obscure than the
last. It also has the very <i>special</i> quality of being of a brand
that not only has no one I physically speak to heard of it, but the
great oracle (Google) has no memory of it either! I hate to "laundry
list" my post here, but it is late, and it seems fastest. Here goes:

1. Hard drives. It came with one, but seems to have disowned it. BIOS
is no help, one has to manually configure it, and that is no easy
task...

2. "HDD controller failure.
Press <F1> to resume."
I <i>hate</i> this message. It is by far the most prevalent, but it is
not a constant. It feels like the computer is saying "Ha-ha-haha-ha-
ha! You screwed up the settings somewhere, and you will undoubtedly
bollox up something else in the two hours you will spend tracking it
down! Ha-ha-haha-ha-ha!" Perhaps related to #1? Also, it seems to have
two HDD controllers.

3. "FDD controller failure
Press <F1> to resume."
Granted, I only saw this once. But why? Also, I cannot get it to read
disks. Which brings me to number

4. "DRIVE NOT READY ERROR"
Please insert bootable disk.
Press any key when ready.

This is what I get when everything else is on a temporary truce with
me, and I try to boot off of a floppy. (Yes, the floppy is bootable.)

These are the major problems. Any questions, please ask, any answers,
please be forthcoming.

Thank you,
Charles Densem

P.S.: The brand of the server is "Doucette".
 
First off, I would like to apologize for the use of the word "doozy".

Now, my problem.

I have been assigned the task of restoring a very old server.
Click to expand...

What is the ultimate goal? Is this a museum piece, does it
have to stay vintage, or just a
get-it-running-we-need-to-use-it, scenario? If the latter,
it begs the question, what does it need to be used for?

Before even considering anything else, it would be good to
take a strong flashlight and examine all mechanical
contacts, make sure the dust is blown out, the fans
operational, and try to assess the fitness of the PSU as it
is about at the end of it's expected lifespan. In other
words if you are getting this system ready for another tour
of duty it could have other failure points about to happen
or multiple things working against you and that is a harder
scenario to troubleshoot.

You might need a new battery at this point, I would assume
you do. If it's a Dallas RTC module, you'll have to see if
there is a separate pin header for an aux battery to be
added. If not, you are left to desolder the original and
hunt down new (not old, since the battery will be aged in it
too) stock replacement.

We are
talking late 80's-early 90's, 486 processor old. It seems to be an
amalgam of differently branded components, each more obscure than the
last. It also has the very <i>special</i> quality of being of a brand
that not only has no one I physically speak to heard of it, but the
great oracle (Google) has no memory of it either! I hate to "laundry
list" my post here, but it is late, and it seems fastest. Here goes:

1. Hard drives. It came with one, but seems to have disowned it. BIOS
is no help, one has to manually configure it, and that is no easy
task...
Click to expand...

What type of drive? Make/model/capacity/interface.
What does "disowned" mean exactly? Remember that we need
specifics of what you observe, or don't but have an
expectation that you would.


2. "HDD controller failure.
Press <F1> to resume."
I <i>hate</i> this message. It is by far the most prevalent, but it is
not a constant. It feels like the computer is saying "Ha-ha-haha-ha-
ha! You screwed up the settings somewhere, and you will undoubtedly
bollox up something else in the two hours you will spend tracking it
down! Ha-ha-haha-ha-ha!" Perhaps related to #1? Also, it seems to have
two HDD controllers.
Click to expand...

What HDD controllers does it seem to have?
Do you "need" to use the original drive or would a
replacement drive, and a PCI controller card if required,
suffice? Unless this is a museum restoration effort, you
might as well assume you need to replace the hard drive
anyway, and since anything modern will (likely) far exceed
the capacity it can support, you'd need an add-on controller
w/bios capable of handing that capacity.


3. "FDD controller failure
Press <F1> to resume."
Granted, I only saw this once. But why? Also, I cannot get it to read
disks.
Click to expand...

It might be a silly question but are you sure the disks are
working and the drive isn't out of callibration? You might
try swapping in a different drive, one known able to read
the disk you're trying to use.

Before you get too far along, think about replacing the
battery or Dallas RTC, I think that might be priority #1.


4. "DRIVE NOT READY ERROR"
Please insert bootable disk.
Press any key when ready.

This is what I get when everything else is on a temporary truce with
me, and I try to boot off of a floppy. (Yes, the floppy is bootable.)

These are the major problems. Any questions, please ask, any answers,
please be forthcoming.

Thank you,
Charles Densem

P.S.: The brand of the server is "Doucette".
Click to expand...

"Server" can mean a lot of things, describe a bit more if it
depends on a SCSI card or if you'd checked the battery, etc.
Also you might write down any settings and clear CMOS. Try
different cables, IDC ribbon cables can go bad after enough
years have passed. What was the general condition of the
system, was it clean inside or damp/dusty/inhabited?
 
1. Hard drives. It came with one, but seems to have disowned it. BIOS
is no help, one has to manually configure it, and that is no easy
task...
Click to expand...

Part #'s? Manufacturer? ANY label on the drive at all? Markings on the
PCboard?

You need a battery to remember the settings most likely. You'll still need
to figure them out though.
 
My thanks to everyone who responded.
I did post earlier, but Google seems to have eaten it...
I will try again.

What is the ultimate goal? Is this a museum piece, does it
have to stay vintage, or just a
get-it-running-we-need-to-use-it, scenario? If the latter,
it begs the question, what does it need to be used for?

Before even considering anything else, it would be good to
take a strong flashlight and examine all mechanical
contacts, make sure the dust is blown out, the fans
operational, and try to assess the fitness of the PSU as it
is about at the end of it's expected lifespan. In other
words if you are getting this system ready for another tour
of duty it could have other failure points about to happen
or multiple things working against you and that is a harder
scenario to troubleshoot.

You might need a new battery at this point, I would assume
you do. If it's a Dallas RTC module, you'll have to see if
there is a separate pin header for an aux battery to be
added. If not, you are left to desolder the original and
hunt down new (not old, since the battery will be aged in it
too) stock replacement.
Click to expand...
I am restoring it for a class I am taking, therefore it will never see
heavy use. Loading an OS would be nice.
I never did find a CMOS battery, however I did find the chip.
What type of drive? Make/model/capacity/interface.
What does "disowned" mean exactly? Remember that we need
specifics of what you observe, or don't but have an
expectation that you would.
Click to expand...
Cannot access the drives via the BIOS setup.
Specs here:
http://chemeng.p.lodz.pl/zylla/maxtor/lxt340sy.txt

What HDD controllers does it seem to have?
Do you "need" to use the original drive or would a
replacement drive, and a PCI controller card if required,
suffice? Unless this is a museum restoration effort, you
might as well assume you need to replace the hard drive
anyway, and since anything modern will (likely) far exceed
the capacity it can support, you'd need an add-on controller
w/bios capable of handing that capacity.
Click to expand...

It uses SCSI controllers. I don't need to use the original drive, but
it would be hard to procure a new one.
Also, an antiquated PCI IDE/PATA controller would be out of my
(jobless student) price range, not to mention hard (impossible?) to
find without a raid on Mountain View, CA.

It might be a silly question but are you sure the disks are
working and the drive isn't out of callibration? You might
try swapping in a different drive, one known able to read
the disk you're trying to use.

Before you get too far along, think about replacing the
battery or Dallas RTC, I think that might be priority #1.
Click to expand...

The disks that I am using are (reasonably) new 3.5 inch floppies, and
I do not have a spare SCSI floppy drive. I cannot buy one, for reasons
stated above.

Also, I am reasonably sure that the battery is fine, as the CMOS RTC
keeps excellent time.
"Server" can mean a lot of things, describe a bit more if it
depends on a SCSI card or if you'd checked the battery, etc.
Also you might write down any settings and clear CMOS. Try
different cables, IDC ribbon cables can go bad after enough
years have passed. What was the general condition of the
system, was it clean inside or damp/dusty/inhabited?
Click to expand...

I will attempt to get new cables, they are relatively cheap ;) .
When I first opened up the system, it was slightly dusty, completely
dry, and very much critter-free.

Once again, I hope this helps, and I look forward to future responses.

Wish me luck on getting <i>this</i> post through.

P.P.S. I know HTML tags do not work, they are to give the impression
of italics, even if they do not make the text italic.
 
Yay! It worked! Forgive me if I seemed a bit terse/silly, but it is
past midnight here, and I am slightly punchy/grumpy.

Therefore, I will not be able to post again until I wake up in *ugh*
six hours.

Thank you once again for all of your help so far, and all that yet to
come.

With our collective brainpower, we'll get this server running yet!

<grin> </grin>
 
Yay! It worked! Forgive me if I seemed a bit terse/silly, but it is
past midnight here, and I am slightly punchy/grumpy.

Therefore, I will not be able to post again until I wake up in *ugh*
six hours.

Thank you once again for all of your help so far, and all that yet to
come.

With our collective brainpower, we'll get this server running yet!

<grin> </grin>
Click to expand...

well in the future, recognise that this is an archive of problems and
solutions. And discussion of solutions. And next time post the
solution, and have a more informative subject.
 
Charles said:
.... snip ...

P.P.S. I know HTML tags do not work, they are to give the impression
of italics, even if they do not make the text italic.
Click to expand...

Try using _word_ and *word*. These are Usenet text conventions.
 
Charles Densem wrote:

... snip ...


Try using _word_ and *word*. These are Usenet text conventions.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip, Chuck! I'll try to remember that.
Chuck F (cbfalconer at maineline dot net)
Available for consulting/temporary embedded and systems.
<http://cbfalconer.home.att.net>
Click to expand...


well in the future, recognise that this is an archive of problems and
solutions. And discussion of solutions. And next time post the
solution, and have a more informative subject.

Thank you as well. As you may have noticed, I have changed the subject
to something more descriptive. As I have said, I am relatively new
here.
 
Thanks for the tip, Chuck! I'll try to remember that.


well in the future, recognise that this is an archive of problems and
solutions. And discussion of solutions. And next time post the
solution, and have a more informative subject.

Thank you as well. As you may have noticed, I have changed the subject
to something more descriptive. As I have said, I am relatively new
here.
Click to expand...

Sorry for this, but

BUMP
 
Charles said:
obligatory


BUMP
Click to expand...

Charles! BUMP only works for Google groups and leeching web forums. Most of
the people reading this are using _real_ newsreaders and NNTP servers. Your
BUMP posts are annoying and not needed.
 
~misfit~ said:
Charles! BUMP only works for Google groups and leeching web forums.
Most of the people reading this are using _real_ newsreaders and
NNTP servers. Your BUMP posts are annoying and not needed.
Click to expand...

You mean it actually means something? What? I am tentatively
retracting my Densem PLONK.
 
You mean it actually means something? What? I am tentatively
retracting my Densem PLONK.
Click to expand...

Alright, alright, I apologise for the bumps. I was unaware of the
newsreader problem. But if anyone still cares, the server is still
wonky...
 
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