Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Compaq Deskpro 4000 Diagnostic Hard Drive Partition Restoration

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Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 10-20-2002, 03:03 AM:

I guess the two truckloads of computers I bought for 30 bucks and one truckload for 100 bucks was worth it, just for the knowledge I have gained in getting some of those "dogs" running. So far, I got 19 Pentium 75's to 166's running, and gained 3 each 17" Sony Multi-Scan 17se monitors, and a bunch of other brand 15-inch monitors.

When I tackled the Compaq Deskpro 4000's, I ran into a snag. Compaq Technical support is being very gracious in helping me on these problems since the Bios ROM in those machines and the Diagnostic partitions of the drives were destroyed. The computers came from a school district that purposely did the lunching to prevent the students from screwing things up. Compaq Tech Support directed me to some EXE files to restore the BIOS ROM and re-establish the F-10 capability. I had to download a big EXE file to make three disks to use to get into the BIOS ROM.

I accomplished just that, but I could not copy the Diagnostics and the rest of that good stuff to the drive, because the Diagnostics part of the drive did not exist. Hmmmm......

Well, in a reply to Mark's question in a computer thread, I stated it has been years since I had to use the DOS FDISK Utility. As of yesterday, those years came to an abrupt end. I had to use it. Since the computer BIOS did see the 1.2 gig drive, it made it just a little easier.

OK - If some of you want to rescue junk, specifically the Compaq DeskPro 4000's, here is how to do it:

First thing you will probably have to do if you get your computers from surplus sales is you may have to clear the BIOS password. That is done on a COMPAQ 4000 by a jumper. Shorting out the CMOS battery will not delete the password.

Then:

1. SYS a floppy disk from a DOS computer. Then, after that is done, copy format.com and FDISK.exe to that disk.

2. Boot up the 4000 computer from that disk. Format the drive. However, if the drive has partitions installed, it will not format the entire drive. The drive has to be FDISK'd so the Primary and Extended DOS Partitions can be deleted.

3. Insert the newly made Diagnostic disk, and let the computer boot from it. It will then start copying things to the Diagnostic portion of the Hard Drive. After cycling through the 3 disks that were made from the Compaq file that was downloaded, it'll let you into the BIOS to re-establish things. Also, the F-10 Utility has been re-established.

After things are re-arranged in the BIOS, take the Windows 98 Start-up disk, and let the computer boot from it. Select "Setup from CDROM Drive" with the Windows 98se disk in the CDROM drive. Follow the screen prompts. The computer will ask for a reboot by pressing enter on the keyboard and it will format the remaining part of the drive without screwing up the Diagnostics Partition.

The computer is now back on its knees, and will start to install the operating system.

Jeeze, it is a pain - but what I gained in experience, it was well worth it.

I am passing this information along to you all in case some of you have "attacked" a Compaq to get it running after the drive has been changed or formatted through third party drive installation software.

Have fun.... I did!

In addition to having fun, I gained a very high respect for Hewlett Packard/Compaq Technicial support. They seemed to go out of their way to help me get some machines that are almost 8 years old up and running. The one I just finished is a Pentium 166, and it runs like a dream. I think I will stuff two more hard drives into that machine. For general kick-around purposes, it'll do an excellent job.

Posted by Heyward Garner (Member # 722) on 10-28-2002, 03:00 AM:

How many hot dogs lost their lives to this project?

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 10-28-2002, 03:07 AM:

I think it's time to introduce you to something along the lines of a P4 1.8Ghz processor with DDR ram.

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 10-28-2002, 05:02 AM:

I envy you for this truckload of old computers to play with. It is a bit like being an archaeologist. Only thing I don`t understand, that there are also 17" Sony monitors in the pile. Who throws those away (unless they are damaged)?

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 10-28-2002, 01:25 PM:

Michael, all this stuff was from school district, college and government surplus. The monitors are in great shape. I acquired two more Sony 17se's, free. Now I have 5. They guy who owns the surplus general store is a good friend of mine, and he told me to haul them off before they get rained on.

So, I did.

Brad, I like a computer that gives me an answer after I hit Enter, and not before.

I was digging around in my pile of computers and found a 500mhz machine with a Asus MB all disguised in a Gateway 2000 486 DX-33 box. Got it running after several hours of babysitting, but it sure runs nice. One thing I like about doing this...it makes me teach myself patience, which has never been one of my virtues.

The machine I am using for on-line work is a 933mhz with an Intel Chip, and it is as fast as I really need. My other one is a 733, I had a 650 I gave away, now I have a 500 and a bunch of little cork poppers. I have several 486's that I use once in a while, some have DOS and win 3.1 and 3.11 for work groups. I like fooling around with those, as it keeps me from geting too rusty with DOS.

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 10-28-2002, 04:51 PM:

quote:
Brad, I like a computer that gives me an answer after I hit Enter, and not before.

Maybe you'd settle for while you hit enter.

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 10-28-2002, 05:42 PM:

Well, I 'spoze, kinda sorta maybe....