Using a DELL 2600 PowerEdge as a Desktop PC

[jamesja...@gmail.com]

I picked up a DELL PowerEdge 2600.

The system has a 3+Ghz CPU, 4gb of ram, and four SCSI drives.

http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Statenislander/media/Computer/Win2000ServerF2_zps54049a5e.jpg.html?sort=3&o=69

I want to use it to store data and do basic things like play Mp3s and DVDs, as well as connect my scanner to it and just use it as an internet pc.

So I’ll need to add an audio card. (And possibly a graphics card if needed). I’d also want to replace the tape back-up unit with a DVD drive. (And put my multi-card reader in the floppy bay if that is possible).

http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Statenislander/media/Computer/DELL2600ServerOpen1_zps92d1678f.jpg.html?sort=3&o=73

http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Statenislander/media/Computer/DELL2600ServerFront1_zps05eeed16.jpg.html?sort=3&o=72

http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Statenislander/media/Computer/DELL2600ServerMotherboard1_zpsd7c864f9.jpg.html?sort=3&o=71

I want to clean the system and install Windows XP. Any ideas on the best way to approach this and any hardware recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

As for my first boot attempt I got as far as this screen: http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Statenislander/media/Computer/Win2000Server_zps2307ecdd.jpg.html?sort=3&o=70

And then an orange light began blinking on the front of the case.

On the next boot up I made it as for as the password screen: http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Statenislander/media/Computer/Win2000ServerPassword_zps1ccf8057.jpg.html?sort=3&o=68

But I still get the blinking orange light. (Perhaps I didn’t re-seat all of the drives properly?).

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

[Paul]

There is at least one "diagnostic" package on this site,
that is "OS independent". You could try that if you're
bored. DELL_32-BIT-DIAGNOSTICS_5114-2_R206154.exe is for
Windows. EL5114A0.bin is for Linux. You use the download
on a working system, to create bootable media. The wording
of the package, doesn't suggest the diagnostic is custom
made for the 2600, but I could be wrong.

http://ftp.dell.com/Pages/Drivers/poweredge-xeo2600.html

The video driver listed is ATI RAGE XL. I think that
means the video chip is on the motherboard, and not
a removable card.

The slot mix shows mostly 64 bit 3.3V PCI slots. And
while video cards were made for that, they're not
"gamer cards". I think Matrox used to make cards
suitable for that slot, probably in the $500 region.
And the reason is, the slot is so obscure. So if
you wanted to do a video upgrade, unless I'm missing
a slot, the pickings are going to be relatively
crappy (at least, for video playback acceleration).
There is a 5V 33Mhz 32 bit slot (desktop compatible),
but then that's no better than all the PCI slots you had
on your other hardware. You can get PCI cards for that,
brand new. We've probably discussed the bandwidth limitations
with such solutions. My FX5200 PCI would fit in that
slot. The keying might prevent my video card from fitting
in the 3.3V longer slots.

At least, with a 3GHz processor, you might be able to
do some decoding in software, and have enough horsepower.

So go prepare your "diagnostic CD" and see what it can
diagnose. Try booting with that.

*******

Some specs for the 2600.

https://cs.uwaterloo.ca/~brecht/servers/docs/PowerEdge-2600/en/Pe2600/UG/5j718aa0.htm

*******

System service manual. Page 15 shows system board LEDs
and what they mean. Page 8 has front panel LEDs in a
table near the top of the page. The page 8 info is
delightfully devoid of details. The LEDs indicate
a "problem".

ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-products/esuprt_ser_stor_net/esuprt_poweredge/poweredge-xeo2600_Service%20Manual_en-us.pdf

Paul

[jamesja...@gmail.com]

I'm still working on installing a PDF viewer on my system so I can take a better look at the manual, but I'm stuck at go since I cannot burn a CD. Nevertheless, since I can make it as far as the password screen I first want to reformat and then install Windows XP and then see if I have any problems.

This picture is a better view of the motherboard, which has only a single Adaptec SCSI card plugged into a PCI slot: http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/DELLServerMotherboard_zpsb10f583c.jpg

What I thought looked like a floppy drive says "Compact Disc", but the opening is too small to take standard compact disks so I'm not sure what it is for. ?!?

But I want to replace the tape drive below it with a DVD player:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/DELLCDampTapeDrives-Front_zps04b33705.jpg
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/DELLCDampTapeDrives-Rear_zpse4c2947a.jpg

Also, I'm not sure what this is, but this card is located on the side of the cage that contains the four SCSI hard drives: http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/DELLServerMysteryCard_zpse60859d4.jpg

There of course are limited options to begin with, but it does have two USB ports at the rear: http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/DELLMotherboardInputs-Outputs_zps689bff57.jpg

Is there a PCI card/s I can get that will allow me to run an IDE DVD player and/or a printer and/or IDE hard drives? I'm assuming I can use them along side of the SCSI drives. (An Adaptec SCSI card is the only thing plugged into a PCI slot).

[Paul]

jamesja...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Tuesday, September 17, 2013 8:57:35 PM UTC-4, Paul wrote:
>> jamesja...@gmail.com wrote:
>>
>>> I picked up a DELL PowerEdge 2600.
>>> The system has a 3+Ghz CPU, 4gb of ram, and four SCSI drives.
>>> http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Statenislander/media/Computer/Win2000ServerF2_zps54049a5e.jpg.html?sort=3&o=69
>>> I want to use it to store data and do basic things like play Mp3s and DVDs, as well as connect my scanner to it and just use it as an internet pc.
>>> So I’ll need to add an audio card. (And possibly a graphics card if needed). I’d also want to replace the tape back-up unit with a DVD drive. (And put my multi-card reader in the floppy bay if that is possible).
>>> http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Statenislander/media/Computer/DELL2600ServerOpen1_zps92d1678f.jpg.html?sort=3&o=73
>>> http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Statenislander/media/Computer/DELL2600ServerFront1_zps05eeed16.jpg.html?sort=3&o=72
>>> http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Statenislander/media/Computer/DELL2600ServerMotherboard1_zpsd7c864f9.jpg.html?sort=3&o=71
>>> I want to clean the system and install Windows XP. Any ideas on the best way to approach this and any hardware recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
>>> As for my first boot attempt I got as far as this screen: http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Statenislander/media/Computer/Win2000Server_zps2307ecdd.jpg.html?sort=3&o=70
>>> And then an orange light began blinking on the front of the case.
>>> On the next boot up I made it as for as the password screen: http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Statenislander/media/Computer/Win2000ServerPassword_zps1ccf8057.jpg.html?sort=3&o=68
>>> But I still get the blinking orange light. (Perhaps I didn’t re-seat all of the drives properly?).
>>> Thanks.
>>> Darren Harris
>>> Staten Island, New York.
>>
>>
>

Another manual you can look at.

http://support.dell.com/support/systemsinfo/document.aspx?s=fed&~file=/systems/pe2600/en/sm/remove.htm#1101823

*******

The unknown thing is a "SCSI backplane daughtercard" with
a Qlogic controller.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DELL-POWEREDGE-2600-2650-4600-SCSI-BACKPLANE-CARD-R0208-3D735-R0273-CN-0R0208-/251248248005

Apparently, if you look, you'll see SCA bays for SCSI drives
with SCA connectors on them. Could be 80 pin (while your daughtercard
seems to have a 60 pin on it). Sun Microsystems used that sort of thing (SCA 80),
and there was some sort of lever-action, to ease the drive into the bay,
and mate the SCA connector on the drive, with the backplane. The daughtercard,
is for adapting the backplane, to something on the motherboard. Exactly what,
I don't know. Is a SCSI controller involved ? That's probably what is
plugged into your 64/66 slot. Is a RAID controller involved ?
If we knew what the Qlogic chip did, we might get an answer.

Your machine doesn't appear to have IDE or SATA connectors.
I don't see a floppy connector.

To install WinXP, you'll need a driver for the SCSI disk drive.
You press F6 and offer drivers on a floppy diskette (TXTSETUP.oem type).

An alternative, is to slipstream the appropriate driver, into a
new installer CD. You take your original WinXP CD, read it into
this program, add the appropriate driver, burn a new CD, boot
and install with that. Then, no need to press F6, no need for
a floppy drive.

(See "Integrate Drivers" button here...)

http://www.nliteos.com/guide/part1.html

So you'd be looking for a txtsetup.oem flavor driver
for the SCSI card on the motherboard. Something like that.

Even if you get an IDE card, that's still going to need a
driver. If you had a Promise ATA133 card for example, it
would need some sort of driver. This VIA based card would
need a driver as well (pray it is on the included CD).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816132012

I don't think any PCI IDE cards are as convenient as my Jmicron chip,
which doesn't need a driver. You'd still want to look at integrating
a driver into a new installer CD, to avoid the need for the
floppy.

You can get floppy drives with a USB cable on the end, but
I don't know if WinXP recognizes that as A:\ or not. In some
cases, you have to convince the motherboard to disable the
(non-existent) floppy interface on the SuperI/O chip, before
a USB floppy is recognized as A:. (That's what I experienced here.)

The USB floppy, I'm not sure they make controller chips any more
for it, so they can't manufacture any new ones. If your motherboard
doesn't pin out the floppy interface on the SuperI/O, then life is
a bit hard.

Paul

[jamesja...@gmail.com]

I'm confused about everything above.

I just want to *erase* Windows 2000 Server.

I can't burn CDs.

I can get as far as the password screen.(I don't have the password). So I'd have to find out how to reformat the drive/s on boot-up.

But I of course would need to be able to install my DVD/CD player so I can install Windows XP.

I'm wondering if there is a PCI card available that will allow me to run an IDE hard drive. But I already have four SCSI drives in the case, so I assume they would run if the drivers weren't already installed. So if I find a way to reformat them I'd need new drivers because Windows XP doesn't support SCSI, correct?

There is an Adaptec SCSI card plugged into a PCI slot and a cable witch runs from it to the DAT72 Tape drive: http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Statenislander/media/Computer/DELLCDampTapeDrives-Front_zps04b33705.jpg.html

Right above that tape drive is what *looks* like a floppy, but if you look at it carefully it says "Compact Disc". CDs of course will not fit into it, so I assume that it is really a floppy drive. (?). Nevertheless, I don't need a floppy drive.

You can see the rear connections of the Tape drive and the "Compact Disc" drives here: http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Statenislander/media/Computer/DELLCDampTapeDrives-Rear_zpse4c2947a.jpg.html

The only SCSI capability I need are for the SCSI hard drives already in the case and working.

[Paul]

Instead of being confused, we could look for another solution :-)

Have you considered resetting the password on Win2K Server ?

Look for a password reset tool. At least, as long as the password
you're looking at, isn't a BIOS password. If you've been in the
BIOS setup screen, it might not be that. If you're seeing the
logjn prompt for Win2K Server, then you need some kind of tool
to reset the password. (Not just change the password, but make
the password blank.)

http://pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/

*******

A PCI IDE card, has a BIOS chip on it. And that allows the PCI IDE card,
to control an IDE CDROM or DVD drive, and even, allow the booting
of a CD or DVD with the drive. No driver is needed to kick off that
process. Inside the PCI IDE card EEPROM, is Extended INT 0x13 BIOS
code, and it supports reading the hard drive or optical drive.

The other level of operation, is when an OS is actually running. The OS
has its own drivers. The only OS I know of, that continues to use the
BIOS driver, is DOS. Other OSes make you install a (higher performance)
driver for the hardware in the box. That's where that floppy diskette
based F6 driver comes in.

So your PCI IDE card works right away. It allows a CD to be booted.
That's how you'd install WinXP, or run a password cracker or resetter,
or a copy of a Linux LiveCD OS.

As for what's SCSI and what isn't, they make both SCSI optical
drives and SCSI tape drives. I suspect the entire box is SCSI.
The SCA 80 bays are SCSI. I see a 2x3 configuration on the front.
Could be two SCSI bus segments, of three slots each.

Your front view, I see a CD tray at the top. The rectangular button
opens the CD tray. It's a low profile drive (laptop drive),
which means the CD pushed down onto an expansion hub.
Below it, is a... floppy drive. Below that, is a tape drive.
[My best guesses looking at the pictures.]

http://imageshack.us/a/img18/5067/1sid.jpg

You're not driving a desktop here - this is a server.
We aren't in Kansas any more, Toto. We're somewhere
else. You don't buy a box like this, without a little
planning ahead of time. The only thing that's surprised me
so far, is your box boots to a password prompt. Many other
Ebay buyers, get stuck with a non-working box that needs a
lot of effort to even see a password prompt. (That's because
the seller parts the thing out, and removes a critical element,
or even, sells the OS separately.) I think you're doing damn
good so far.

Paul

[Paul]

jamesja...@gmail.com wrote:

>>>> I'm stuck at go since I cannot burn a CD.

That is a project you should work on first.

You should have a stack of re-writable media,
and a burner. As you can get yourself out of
a lot of binds with burner in hand. Like the
password reset disc. Re-writable media is
more expensive, but you can use it more than
once (quick erase, followed by burn).

And for a basic burning software, you can
use Imgburn. Just remember to turn off the
audio prompt feature, as the first time it'll
blow your eardrums out :-)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imgburn

Paul

[jamesja...@gmail.com]

I actually have two stacks of writable disks.

My burners haven't/can't been used because of problems with my "present working" systems. The final acting s though it is ready to die, which is why I'm trying to get this server working fast. (I think NERO came with my DVD drives).

Ok, that is a CD player over a floppy drive. I didn't know. I had never seen a low profile CD player before.

I hadn't though about resetting the password on the server because I didn't think I could use the system for basic stuff like surfing the internet and playing MP3s/DVDs using Windows Server 2000.

How is this for an IDE PCI card?: http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/sys/4002182680.html

[Paul]

Does your Craigslist thing work with ATAPI (optical drives) ?

With RAID controllers, you want a JBOD mode of operation
for running individual hard drives. In a few cases, products
only support RAID, so there would be a two disk minimum. The
product in question is quite old, and would be fun finding
documentation for it.

At one time, Maxtor did a promotion, where they included
an IDE controller card, inside the box their disk drives came
in. I got one of these. The Ultra133 ones, as far as I know,
do ATAPI OK. These can either be sold as Promise Ultra133,
or sport the word "Maxtor" on the front, if they were
from the batch of Maxtor promotional cards.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Maxtor-Ultra-ATA133-Promise-Ultra-133-TX2-2-Port-IDE-Controller-Card-PN-10999690-/121125161553?pt=US_Computer_Disk_Controllers_RAID_Cards&hash=item1c339f4a51

Promise stopped making those cards probably five years ago,
and yet Ebay is still offering "new" ones from China. Things
that make you go "hmmm".

Paul

[Paul]

Also, I just noticed in the picture of that card, the dude broke
the corner off one of the connectors. Priceless :-) Makes you
wonder whether the pins are bent or not...

Also, when you look at those cards, they're dual keyed on voltage.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Promise-Ultra133-TX2-ATA-Controller-for-66Mhz-PCI-Bus-/170790428301?pt=US_Computer_Disk_Controllers_RAID_Cards&hash=item27c3e71e8d

Both the 5V and 3.3V slots are present. It's just possible
the card will work in your 64/66 slots. If you do that,
you'd want some info on whether your machine has more
than one bus segment, then make sure the SCSI controller
card and that card, are on different segments. I don't know
if you're allowed to mix 32 and 64 bit cards on the same
segment.

The bus segments are detailed here.

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/servers/f/1466/t/7648445.aspx

"The PowerEdge 2600 has 7 PCI slots total

two 64-bit/133MHz PCI-X
four 64-bit/100MHz PCI-X
one 32-bit/33Mhz PCI

The two 64-bit/133Mhz PCI-X slots run on dedicated bus segments
improving bandwidth dramatically."

You'd want the SCSI card in one of the 64-bit/133 slots.
Then you could stick the 3.3V Promise, into one of the 64-bit/100 slots,
and it would run 32-bit/66Mhz (twice what it does when in a desktop).

You're not likely to find a lot of cards to match the electrical
characteristics of the Promise, so the other three slots on the
four slot segment are likely to remain empty.

There were a few products made, with virtually "anything goes"
capability (some Adaptec cards). For most others, there
are a whole bunch of rules to follow. And at this late date,
digging up good info on PCI wouldn't be all that easy.

Paul

[jamesja...@gmail.com]

The seller never got back to me, but I found another:
http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/sys/4082191520.html

That have 8 IDE connections, but I really only need one and perhaps I should look for a card that allows for SATA drives also.

I'm assuming getting the cards from China on Ebay would be a crap-shoot: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_from=R40&_nkw=Ultra+133+PCI+IDE+SATA&_sop=15

But there are other options: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=Ultra+133+PCI+IDE+SATA&_sop=15&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.XATA133+PCI+IDE+SATA&_nkw=ATA133+PCI+IDE+SATA&_sacat=0

[Paul]

At the current time, there are a fair number of
products using VIA 6421 chips. That's two SATA ports
and one IDE port (one ribbon cable). The SATA ports
are SATA I rate.

http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/peripherals/serial-ata_raid/

http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/peripherals/serial-ata_raid/vt6421a/

A typical VT6421A card, with two internal SATA connectors, and one IDE. $15.

http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggImage/productimage/16-132-012-12.jpg

*******

According to Larry

http://al.howardknight.net/msgid.cgi?STYPE=msgid&A=0&MSGI=%3C7bc6a446-ff42-4d58-8e71-12d9ccab3d62%40i4g2000pro.googlegroups.com%3E

when you buy a card like that, you want the VT6421A chip, as it's
more likely to work with a SATA II drive. There was VT6421 and
VT6421A and the "A" version is supposed to be fixed for SATA.

"AFAIK, only older SiS and VIA chipsets
(VIA VT6420, VT8237, VT8237R, VT8237R+, VT8237A)
can't handle SATA 3Gb/s drives.

but VT8237S and VT6421A are OK"

I have a VT8237S here, and can vouch for it being "fixed".
I don't own any VT6421A cards. The IDE connector will
work in any case.

What happens if the chip isn't a "fixed" one, is the
SATA disk is not detected, due to speed negotiation failing to
work. (VIA chip doesn't convince the interface to run at
SATA I rates.) I've never seen any scope traces, to see
what the parties on either end of the SATA cable, are
trying to do in such a situation.

*******

With regard to the Escalade, where are you going to find
help and support for this ? Even if it supports JBOD and
single disks, it might not work with an optical drive (ATAPI).

http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/sys/4082191520.html

Paul

[jamesja...@gmail.com]

Ok, these have the VT6421A chip, so one of them should work:
www.ebay.com/itm/161064813022
www.ebay.com/itm/170332514420
www.ebay.com/itm/350555428799

[Paul]

jamesja...@gmail.com wrote:

>
> Ok, these have the VT6421A chip, so one of them should work:
> www.ebay.com/itm/161064813022
> www.ebay.com/itm/170332514420
> www.ebay.com/itm/350555428799
>
> Thanks.
>
> Darren Harris
> Staten Island, New York.

Yes, these look like a good candidate for a cheap IDE.

The keying on the card is 5V I think, so the card
should fit in your single 33MHz, 32 bit PCI slot.

(Second down, on the left)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PCI_Keying.png

Paul

[jamesja...@gmail.com]

On Sunday, September 22, 2013 9:29:26 PM UTC-4, Paul wrote:

> Yes, these look like a good candidate for a cheap IDE.
>
>
>
> The keying on the card is 5V I think, so the card
>
> should fit in your single 33MHz, 32 bit PCI slot.
>
>
>
> (Second down, on the left)
>
>
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PCI_Keying.png
>
>
>
> Paul

First, I have the face plate off of the cabinet and there is no way to turn the machine on or off outside of plugging/unplugging the AC cord. (The orange light that was blinking on the front is gone). :-)

BTW. F2 = Setup, F10 = Utility Mode, and F12 = PXE Boot.

Anyway, after looking in the manual I found the information concerning the jumpers for the password is confusing, so I just took both of the jumpers off. (I think that was what I'm suppoed to do).

It seems to have no effect, because I still can only get as far as the screen where I have to enter the password.

I then attempted to take the battery out, but I must have pulled too hard because one side of the battery holder detached from the motherboard.
http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Statenislander/media/Computer/Battery_zpsbf5d507d.jpg.html?sort=3&o=69

My next boot attempt gave me a screen that said "No Boot Device".
http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Statenislander/media/Computer/NoBootDevice_zps08510b11.jpg.html?sort=3&o=68

So I re-booted while pushing down on the battery only to get a screen that said "Invalid Configuration".
http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Statenislander/media/Computer/InvalidConfiguration_zps068ebb4c.jpg.html?sort=3&o=71

BTW. If I can correct these problems I notice that there is an option in Setup that says "OS Install Mode". Would I need to turn that on to install a new OS?
http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Statenislander/media/Computer/OSInstallMode_zps6194f23d.jpg.html?sort=3&o=70

[Paul]

jamesja...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Sunday, September 22, 2013 9:29:26 PM UTC-4, Paul wrote:
>
>> Yes, these look like a good candidate for a cheap IDE.
>>
>>
>>
>> The keying on the card is 5V I think, so the card
>>
>> should fit in your single 33MHz, 32 bit PCI slot.
>>
>>
>>
>> (Second down, on the left)
>>
>>
>>
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PCI_Keying.png
>>
>>
>>
>> Paul
>
> First, I have the face plate off of the cabinet and there is no way to turn
> the machine on or off outside of plugging/unplugging the AC cord. (The orange
> light that was blinking on the front is gone). :-)

As a general rule (haven't seen an exception yet), the power signal
and the reset signal on the front, are momentary contact active low.
The power pair, consists of POWER- and GND, and touching the two together
for a moment, triggers power on. I do that on systems here, with the tip
of a slot head screwdriver. As long as you can identify bits of exposed
metal or pins corresponding to those two, you can turn it on.

The RESET- and GND are similar. Touch the two together for just a moment,
and the machine will be reset.

In an emergency, you can even swap the POWER and RESET cable pairs, and
use the RESET button as a POWER button. (As RESET isn't used quite as much,
and you could live without a RESET button, using the RESET button to take
the place of a broken POWER button.

So you weren't as "disabled" as first appeared. Just a matter of finding
out where the cable goes, and touching the two pins.

To turn the power off, can require making contact between POWER- and GND
for a period of four seconds or longer. When turning off the power,
a timer is used, and so the momentary contact in that case must be maintained
for a four second interval.

>
> BTW. F2 = Setup, F10 = Utility Mode, and F12 = PXE Boot.
>
> Anyway, after looking in the manual I found the information concerning the
> jumpers for the password is confusing, so I just took both of the jumpers off.
> (I think that was what I'm suppoed to do).

To reset the password, you remove the jumper on PASSWD.

To clear the NVRAM (CMOS), you insert its jumper. You only use
the jumper long enough to clear the settings, then the jumper
will be coming off again.

The manual says to remove system power while fooling around
with those. I suspect the NVRAM one is the most dangerous,
in terms of damaging the ORing diode for 3VSB. But in any case,
follow the instructions in the manual, when it says to remove
system power (unplug).

>
> It seems to have no effect, because I still can only get as far as the screen
> where I have to enter the password.

Make sure you are following the procedure in the manual.

"The existing passwords are not disabled (erased) until the
system boots with the password jumper plug removed. However,
before you assign a new system and/or setup password, you
must install the jumper plug."

The system has to see the PASSWD jumper plug removed, to disable the
password for that cycle. It could be a write enable signal for
an EEPROM, rather than a traditional resetting jumper for all I know.

>
> I then attempted to take the battery out, but I must have pulled too
> hard because one side of the battery holder detached from the motherboard.
> http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Statenislander/media/Computer/Battery_zpsbf5d507d.jpg.html?sort=3&o=69

You villain :-)

Those are always tricky. And in this case, I would have
advised against attacking it. Unless the thing is flat,
leave it alone :-)

>
> My next boot attempt gave me a screen that said "No Boot Device".
> http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Statenislander/media/Computer/NoBootDevice_zps08510b11.jpg.html?sort=3&o=68

That means you've managed to "NVRAM" clear. Losing the battery
caused the settings to be lost.

If you wrote down all the settings, you can power up the system,
enter the BIOS, and load all the necessary settings by hand. They
will stay there, until the next power failure. Then you have to
enter them again.

As I have several systems here with flat batteries, I'm quite used
to running systems that way (load settings, then use the computer).

>
> So I re-booted while pushing down on the battery only to get a screen that said "Invalid Configuration".
> http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Statenislander/media/Computer/InvalidConfiguration_zps068ebb4c.jpg.html?sort=3&o=71

It says to press F2 to enter the BIOS.

Good luck getting the correct settings in there.
You should really have taken digital camera photos of each setup
screen page, for future reference. Now, you're screwed :-)
Part of the fun is things like the SCSI setup.

> BTW. If I can correct these problems I notice that there is an option in Setup that says "OS Install Mode". Would I need to turn that on to install a new OS?
> http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Statenislander/media/Computer/OSInstallMode_zps6194f23d.jpg.html?sort=3&o=70

OS Install Mode restricts the amount of RAM the system gets to use.
It would be for situations where an OS cannot understand large
amounts of memory. For example, if installing Windows 98, you might
engage that. For most other purpose, leave it off so all memory
is always detected.

"OS Install Mode — Determines the maximum amount of memory available
to the operating system. On sets the maximum memory available to the
operating system to 256 MB. Off (default) makes all of the system
memory available to the operating system. Some operating systems will
not install with more than 2 GB of system memory. Turn this option On
during operating system installation and Off after installation."

The CMOS battery issue isn't the end of the world. What concerns
me now, is will you ever figure out how all those BIOS settings
should be configured ? It's a server, and should be a real challenge.

HTH,
Paul

[jamesja...@gmail.com]

On Sunday, September 29, 2013 10:56:40 PM UTC-4, Paul wrote:
> As a general rule (haven't seen an exception yet), the power signal
>
> and the reset signal on the front, are momentary contact active low.
>
> The power pair, consists of POWER- and GND, and touching the two together
>
> for a moment, triggers power on. I do that on systems here, with the tip
>
> of a slot head screwdriver. As long as you can identify bits of exposed
>
> metal or pins corresponding to those two, you can turn it on.

There is only a power on/off switch. No reset button.

The password and CMOS consist of two 3-pin connectors on the motherboard. I had taken each 2-pin jumper off of both.

Since this did not clear the password (or CMOS for that matter? I assumed that replacing the jumpers in the lower position might work. (But I never got to that because of what happened when I attempted to remove the battery).

> > I then attempted to take the battery out, but I must have pulled too
>
> > hard because one side of the battery holder detached from the motherboard.
>
> > http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Statenislander/media/Computer/Battery_zpsbf5d507d.jpg.html?sort=3&o=69
>
>
>
> You villain :-)
>
>
>
> Those are always tricky. And in this case, I would have
>
> advised against attacking it. Unless the thing is flat,
>
> leave it alone :-)

Well, I didn't know that. In the past I've temporarily removed or changed the battery on many other motherboards without issue.

> > My next boot attempt gave me a screen that said "No Boot Device".
>
> > http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Statenislander/media/Computer/NoBootDevice_zps08510b11.jpg.html?sort=3&o=68
>
>
>
> That means you've managed to "NVRAM" clear. Losing the battery
>
> caused the settings to be lost.
>
>
>
> If you wrote down all the settings, you can power up the system,
>
> enter the BIOS, and load all the necessary settings by hand. They
>
> will stay there, until the next power failure. Then you have to
>
> enter them again.
>
>
>
> As I have several systems here with flat batteries, I'm quite used
>
> to running systems that way (load settings, then use the computer).
>
>
>
> >
>
> > So I re-booted while pushing down on the battery only to get a screen that said "Invalid Configuration".
>
> > http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Statenislander/media/Computer/InvalidConfiguration_zps068ebb4c.jpg.html?sort=3&o=71
>
>
>
> It says to press F2 to enter the BIOS.
>
>
>
> Good luck getting the correct settings in there.
>
> You should really have taken digital camera photos of each setup
>
> screen page, for future reference. Now, you're screwed :-)
>
> Part of the fun is things like the SCSI setup.

What settings in the CMOS have to be correct in order to get back to the password screen? (Which I assume is still uncleared).

Am I supposed to research information on the motherboard, hard drives, CD/Floppy/Tape drive, ram, and Adaptec SCSI card for information on what settings are needed? Or is it a matter of trial and error, rolling the dice with different settings?

There is a single screen in BIOS that you have to scroll down a little to see everything.

I would have included a picture of the BIOS screen, but today as feared the imminent failure of the pc I was using occurred and as a result I have to way to tranfer the image from my camera to a computer. (I was trying to get the DELL 2600 up and running so I could avoid all my data loss). :(

[Paul]

Whereas normal BIOS have a menu along the top, this menu is based on hitting
enter on the appropriate line in the main screen (depicted here).

This person is setting the hard drive boot order, using the Hard Disk
Drive Sequence entry. This is a picture, when the SCSI card is removed
and a TX2300 is in place.

http://www.modlog.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSCF1021.jpg

And this would be with the original hardware.

http://www.modlog.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSCF1016.jpg

As long as you know how to set everything in that screen
(and at the levels below the main screen), you should be OK
without a battery. If the power goes off, you just end up entering
the settings again.

The SCSI card has an INT 0x13 BIOS ROM on board, and when
that code is loaded, it prints stuff on the screen. Sometimes,
there is a separate utility, for setting up which drive to
boot from or doing other configuration things. I seem to
remember my old Adaptec card having something like that.
SCSI cards usually are more fully featured, than run of
the mill SATA or IDE cards.

http://www.modlog.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSCF1012.jpg

Paul

[jamesja...@gmail.com]

OK. My present system didn't go down yet. My monitor plug has somehow fallen out. :)

The following pics are the BIOS screen. The top and the with it scrolled down:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/DELL2600BIOSScreen1_zpsec8039bf.jpg

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/DELL2600BIOSScreen2_zpsd1e87a9a.jpg

I'll play around on it tonight to see if I can get it working again.

[jamesja...@gmail.com]

Ok. I booted the DELL 2600 server about 60 times in an attempt to get back to the password screen (or past it).

I went into BIOS and under "Integrated Devices" changed "Embedded RAID Controller" from "Off" to "SCSI". (The RAID option causes a warning that data will be lost). http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/1IntegratedDevices_zpsc498632d.jpg

This allows me to boot as far as the Windows 2000 Server splash screen: http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/2Win2000Server_zps5bd0f4cc.jpg,
Followed by a "Inaccessible Boot Device" blue screen which I can't get past: http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/3InaccesibleBootDevice_zps9b47479a.jpg (The blue screen tells me to run CHKDSK /F, but I don't know how to do that).

A weird thing is that three times out of all the times I booted I got a slightly different BIOS screen that gave me an extra option. ?!? Notice there is nothing in between "Boot Sequence" and Integrated Devices": http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/4BootSequence_zpsb33cace7.jpg

Now look at the "Hard-Disk Drive Sequence" option that rarely comes up: http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/4BootSequence2_zpsc0f0d585.jpg

When I did get that option, putting "Hard drive C" at the top in "Boot Sequence" didn't help me get any further into the booting process. And putting either the Seagate drive or the IBM drive at the top in "Hard-Disk Drive Sequence" didn't either: http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/5Hard-DiskDriveSequence_zps8edbbf27.jpg (The other three hard drives don't show up in BIOS at all, but during the boot-up sequence it show as each is spun up).

I tried every combination I could think of in "PCI IRQ Assignment": http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/6PCIIRQAssignment_zps24dd15fd.jpg to no avail. And in "PCI-X Slot Information" only slot 6 is occupied, which is the SCSI card. http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/7PCI-XSlotInformation_zps62a0b031.jpg
I don't think "Console Redirection" is important: http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/8ConsoleRedirection_zps3b4f486c.jpg. And in "System Security" anything relating a password is off. http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/9SystemSecurity_zps84160fdc.jpg

The DELL 2600 PowerEdge motherboard features are as follows:

*** Six 64-bit PCI/PCI-X slots and one 32-bit slot. Slots accept full-length cards designed for 133 MHz, 100 MHz, 66 MHz, or 33 MHz.
*** An integrated VGA-compatible video subsystem with an ATI RAGE video controller. This video subsystem contains 8 MB of SDRAM video memory (nonupgradable). Maximum resolution is 1600 x 1200 x 16.7 million colors (noninterlaced).
*** An integrated, dual-channel Ultra320 SCSI host adapter.
*** Optional 1 x 2 backplane automatically configures the ID numbers and SCSI termination on individual hard drives, greatly simplifying drive installation.
*** One integrated 10/100/1000 NIC, which provides and Ethernet interface.
*** Embedded systems management circuitry that monitors operation of the system fans as well as critical system voltages and temperatures. The systems management circuitry works in conjunction with your systems management software.
*** Back-panel connectors including video, keyboard, mouse, two serial, one parallel, two USB, one NIC, and one optional embedded remote access Ethernet connector.

The service manual says that the supported operating systems are as follows:

Microsoft Windows 2000 Server family
Windows NT 4.0 Server family
Red Hat Linux 7.3 or later
Novell Netware 6.0

I assume this system came out before Windows XP I just wanted to confirm that XP can be installed if needed.

Also, If I can get this system up and running correctly would there be any advantages of adding another processor? There is already a single VRM chip, whatever that is. But I don't know if another VRM chip would be needed if a second processor were added to the system.

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/1Processoramp4RamSticks_zps49f8849a.jpg

Also would there be any advantages to adding two more 1GB memory chips to bring the total to 6GB?

(Outside of internet, DVD, MP3s, I may want to play around with ram disks and video editing).

I have to look into a way to reattach the NVRAM battery so I wouldn't have to keep entering the settings whenever I want to boot up.

[Paul]

jamesja...@gmail.com wrote:

[ Some answers inline... ]

> Ok. I booted the DELL 2600 server about 60 times in an attempt to get back to the password screen (or past it).
>
> I went into BIOS and under "Integrated Devices" changed "Embedded RAID Controller" from "Off" to "SCSI".
> (The RAID option causes a warning that data will be lost).
> http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/1IntegratedDevices_zpsc498632d.jpg

So the SCSI setting was probably lost when the battery fell off.

> This allows me to boot as far as the Windows 2000 Server splash screen:
> http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/2Win2000Server_zps5bd0f4cc.jpg,
> Followed by a "Inaccessible Boot Device" blue screen which I can't get past:
> http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/3InaccesibleBootDevice_zps9b47479a.jpg

> (The blue screen tells me to run CHKDSK /F, but I don't know how to do that).

You would need to slave the SCSI drive to another computer.

Either that, or boot your WinXP installer CD to the recovery console,
and see if the CHKDSK works in there. You may need to press F6 and offer
a driver for the SCSI controller. I've never done that here, as
usually I'm working with IDE drives on the chipset. So look at the
ID of the chip or card controlling your SCSI drive, and locate a
driver for it for WinXP (if using the WinXP disc for the recovery
console).

My SCSI work was mostly with my Macintosh. I've moved a SCSI card into
the PC a couple of times, but that was for usage of an old 9GB drive
as a data drive. Nothing really educational happened there, because
I wasn't trying to boot from it. (I have three or four cheap SCSI
cards here, that are very infrequently used. A 2906 still runs
my SCSI document scanner.)

>
> A weird thing is that three times out of all the times I booted I got
> a slightly different BIOS screen that gave me an extra option. ?!? Notice
> there is nothing in between "Boot Sequence" and Integrated Devices":
> http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/4BootSequence_zpsb33cace7.jpg

If there is no hard disk detected, that might account for the BIOS screen.
Some SCSI setups might have a variable timeout setting (or, things
like staggered spin, for SCSI chains full of drives). Maybe it is
a timeout set too low or something.

>
> Now look at the "Hard-Disk Drive Sequence" option that rarely comes up:
> http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/4BootSequence2_zpsc0f0d585.jpg

IBA GE Slot 8388 appears to be a LAN card boot option. You would
think that would appear regularly, unless there is not sufficient
low memory for the INT 0x13 support for LAN boot to load. Depending on
how many SCSI controllers are present, other boot ROMs might not
get to load, making the boot order listing "flaky" in behavior.

>
> When I did get that option, putting "Hard drive C" at the top in "Boot Sequence"
> didn't help me get any further into the booting process. And putting either the
> Seagate drive or the IBM drive at the top in "Hard-Disk Drive Sequence" didn't either:

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/5Hard-DiskDriveSequence_zps8edbbf27.jpg

> (The other three hard drives don't show up in BIOS at all, but during
> the boot-up sequence it show as each is spun up).

Could be staggered spin. For SCSI, there can be jumper blocks or dip switches
that enable staggered spin. Staggered spin is used to reduce the
strain on the power supply. One disk at a time, takes turns drawing the
2-3 amp spinup current. It reduces the peak current the power supply must
support. You could defeat the staggered spin, if you wanted the drives
to spin up in unison. If the power supply has a reasonably hefty 5V and 12V
current rating, it probably wouldn't be a big deal to spin them all
at once. I spin up five drives regularly here, on a 460W power supply,
without staggered spin or anything of that nature.

>
> I tried every combination I could think of in "PCI IRQ Assignment":
> http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/6PCIIRQAssignment_zps24dd15fd.jpg
> to no avail. And in "PCI-X Slot Information" only slot 6 is occupied, which
> is the SCSI card.
> http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/7PCI-XSlotInformation_zps62a0b031.jpg

It's been a long time since I looked at that stuff. I don't
know if I can help you with IRQ assignments. I seem to remember
needing to do something for Windows 98 with a sound card or
something. For modern OSes, you have "PNP OS" [yes or no] setting,
with [no] being normal for modern OSes. The BIOS then does the
resource assignment. You only need to move IRQ numbers, if
something isn't working right. The defaults would normally
be good enough I would think.

> I don't think "Console Redirection" is important:
> http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/8ConsoleRedirection_zps3b4f486c.jpg.
> And in "System Security" anything relating a password is off.
> http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/9SystemSecurity_zps84160fdc.jpg

Some servers, you install a separate card in a special slot on
the motherboard, and that card allows remotely administering
the computer. That could be what the console redirection is
about. That allows a large number of servers to be administered
from a central location, hopefully without needing to enter
the server room.

And having your passwords cleared, is a relief.

>
> The DELL 2600 PowerEdge motherboard features are as follows:
>
> *** Six 64-bit PCI/PCI-X slots and one 32-bit slot. Slots accept full-length cards designed for 133 MHz, 100 MHz, 66 MHz, or 33 MHz.
> *** An integrated VGA-compatible video subsystem with an ATI RAGE video controller. This video subsystem contains 8 MB of SDRAM video memory (nonupgradable). Maximum resolution is 1600 x 1200 x 16.7 million colors (noninterlaced).
> *** An integrated, dual-channel Ultra320 SCSI host adapter.
> *** Optional 1 x 2 backplane automatically configures the ID numbers and SCSI termination on individual hard drives, greatly simplifying drive installation.
> *** One integrated 10/100/1000 NIC, which provides and Ethernet interface.
> *** Embedded systems management circuitry that monitors operation of the system fans as well as critical system voltages and temperatures. The systems management circuitry works in conjunction with your systems management software.
> *** Back-panel connectors including video, keyboard, mouse, two serial, one parallel, two USB, one NIC, and one optional embedded remote access Ethernet connector.
>
> The service manual says that the supported operating systems are as follows:
>
> Microsoft Windows 2000 Server family
> Windows NT 4.0 Server family
> Red Hat Linux 7.3 or later
> Novell Netware 6.0
>
> I assume this system came out before Windows XP I just wanted to
> confirm that XP can be installed if needed.

Well, look for a WinXP driver for the SCSI controller you're currently
using. Since you also have an "embedded controller", the part number
on that would be another option. Or, use a Promise Ultra133 TX2, an
IDE driver, the Promise driver, a floppy diskette, and use the F6 method
to install a driver via floppy for that.

The RageXL graphics are ancient. ATI may have made drivers for
*server* versions of the OS (since ancient server graphics
like that get reused for a long time). There might not be a
reason to make a WinXP version. ATI would only stop selling
that chip, if the silicon fab could no longer make it. (Any time
a fab gets new lithography equipment, it usually means they can no
longer make the old designs. We "lost" all our chips at work on a
project once, because of that, and had to stop shipping our product.)

>
> Also, If I can get this system up and running correctly would there
> be any advantages of adding another processor? There is already a
> single VRM chip, whatever that is. But I don't know if another VRM
> chip would be needed if a second processor were added to the system.

VRM = voltage regulator module (plugs into ugly looking slot with big pins)
VRD = voltage regulator down (normal for retail motherboards, soldered down)

On old servers, a VRM is required per socket. VRMs are usually relatively
low power, compared to the capabilities of some VRDs now.

On some two socket motherboards, a "terminator adapter" plugs into the
second CPU socket, when no CPU is installed in there. That has something to
do with proper GTL bus termination. Missing that might cause a crash
immediately at boot.

A second CPU isn't going to materially affect your current problems.
And is just a waste of electricity and time :-)

So the only thing I'd be concerned about, is whether that
particular motherboard needs a terminator in the second CPU
socket when it's empty or not.

>
> http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/1Processoramp4RamSticks_zps49f8849a.jpg
>
> Also would there be any advantages to adding two more 1GB memory chips to bring the total to 6GB?

You've got enough RAM for the moment. You can dream about
this other stuff, when the box is running smoothly again.

>
> (Outside of internet, DVD, MP3s, I may want to play around with
> ram disks and video editing).
>
> I have to look into a way to reattach the NVRAM battery so I
> wouldn't have to keep entering the settings whenever I want to boot up.

You will need to learn to solder.

You could buy a CR2032 (assuming that is what fell out), and buy a pigtailed
version used in a laptop. That way, just cut off the two pin connector on the
end, strip the wires, and solder the wire ends to the two contact where the
socket for the battery used to be.

People have also used regular dry cells, anything that gives the
required 3V, and soldered that into the motherboard. (You would use
a battery holder from Radio Shack to hold the batteries in that case.)

If you want to do a proper repair, you'll need to find a battery
socket which is footprint compatible with the pattern already
present on the motherboard. Abusing a pigtailed battery is just
a lot simpler. If you want to "remove" the battery occasionally,
place a switch from Radio Shack (SPST or SPDT) in series with
one of the legs of the pigtailed battery, so you can interrupt
current flow when needed.

>
> Thanks.
>
> Darren Harris
> Staten Island, New York.

So you were very close to booting :-) Now the trick will be,
tracing down which irritating SCSI problem could be causing it.

"INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE Message After Changing a SCSI Adapter Resource"

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/302098

"How to troubleshoot 'Stop error code 0x0000007B (INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE)'
error messages in Windows 2000"

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/822052

"Advanced troubleshooting for 'Stop error code 0x0000007B (INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE)'
errors in Windows XP" [ WinXP being similar enough to Win2K for debug purposes ]

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;324103

But what are the odds of someone leaving it in need of a CHKDSK run ?
The first procedure is encouraging (effectively resetting a registry
key used to keep track of what booted on the SCSI chain), but it's
pretty stupid in my opinion, when the ARC resource in boot.ini exists
to do something like that. To use the info in the first article,
you'd need a working computer, plug a SCSI controller into the machine,
then use regedit (or equivalent) to edit the registry hive on the
SCSI disk drive and delete the entries.

All these things are fixable. If you have a well equipped lab, that is.

I have some SCSI controllers here, and I could kludge something
together here to be able to read a drive like that from
my current PC. Then run CHKDSK, make a backup or whatever.

Paul

[jamesja...@gmail.com]

jamesja...@gmail.com wrote:

[ Some answers inline... ]

> Ok. I booted the DELL 2600 server about 60 times in an attempt to get back to the password screen (or past it).
>
> I went into BIOS and under "Integrated Devices" changed "Embedded RAID Controller" from "Off" to "SCSI".
> (The RAID option causes a warning that data will be lost).
> http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/1IntegratedDevices_zpsc498632d.jpg
So the SCSI setting was probably lost when the battery fell off.

> This allows me to boot as far as the Windows 2000 Server splash screen:
> http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/2Win2000Server_zps5bd0f4cc.jpg,
> Followed by a "Inaccessible Boot Device" blue screen which I can't get past:
> http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/3InaccesibleBootDevice_zps9b47479a.jpg

> (The blue screen tells me to run CHKDSK /F, but I don't know how to do that).
You would need to slave the SCSI drive to another computer.

**** I briefly plugged one of my SCSI controllers into my present and very flaky ITX system, but took it out before booting up. IT started doing weird/er things after that. Like prompting me to correct CPU settings in BIOS. (And something else I can't remember off hand). There is no way any kind of data can be exchanged between a SCSI card and a motherboard when the machine plugged in but not turned on, correct?

*** Either way, I just picked up a DELL 3000 someone threw out with the hopes of getting that going and using it instead of my extremely flaky ITX system to edit the registry on the SCSI drive, provided the onscreen instructions will be straight forward on how to do that. (But the DELL 3000 has it’s own issues I may have to start a thread about). I assume that I'd only have to do this on the main "C" drive in the DELL 2600 as opposed to all four drives, correct? If I can get through that I assume that all I'd need to do then is reinstall the drive into the DELL 2600 and then add the SCSI driver.

Either that, or boot your WinXP installer CD to the recovery console,
and see if the CHKDSK works in there. You may need to press F6 and offer
a driver for the SCSI controller. I've never done that here, as
usually I'm working with IDE drives on the chipset. So look at the
ID of the chip or card controlling your SCSI drive, and locate a
driver for it for WinXP (if using the WinXP disc for the recovery
console).

*** I downloaded some drivers for the SCSI card in the DELL 2600 as well as a spare SCSI card I have just in case. Either way I'm sure it'll be trial and error getting the driver installed. Is this typically done via CD or floppy drive, or do I have a USB option?

-edit-

> Now look at the "Hard-Disk Drive Sequence" option that rarely comes up:
> http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/4BootSequence2_zpsc0f0d585.jpg
IBA GE Slot 8388 appears to be a LAN card boot option. You would
think that would appear regularly, unless there is not sufficient
low memory for the INT 0x13 support for LAN boot to load. Depending on
how many SCSI controllers are present, other boot ROMs might not
get to load, making the boot order listing "flaky" in behavior.

*** There is a single SCSI card. Or are you referring to something embedded? I wouldn't think that low memory would be any kind of issue in this system.

-edit-

> (The other three hard drives don't show up in BIOS at all, but during
> the boot-up sequence it show as each is spun up).
Could be staggered spin. For SCSI, there can be jumper blocks or dip switches
that enable staggered spin. Staggered spin is used to reduce the
strain on the power supply. One disk at a time, takes turns drawing the
2-3 amp spinup current. It reduces the peak current the power supply must
support. You could defeat the staggered spin, if you wanted the drives
to spin up in unison. If the power supply has a reasonably hefty 5V and 12V
current rating, it probably wouldn't be a big deal to spin them all
at once. I spin up five drives regularly here, on a 460W power supply,
without staggered spin or anything of that nature.

*** Well, since as I mentioned they are each spun up one after another I assume that is the "staggered" spin you are referring to.

> I tried every combination I could think of in "PCI IRQ Assignment":
> http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/6PCIIRQAssignment_zps24dd15fd.jpg
> to no avail. And in "PCI-X Slot Information" only slot 6 is occupied, which
> is the SCSI card.
> http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/7PCI-XSlotInformation_zps62a0b031.jpg
It's been a long time since I looked at that stuff. I don't
know if I can help you with IRQ assignments. I seem to remember
needing to do something for Windows 98 with a sound card or
something. For modern OSes, you have "PNP OS" [yes or no] setting,
with [no] being normal for modern OSes. The BIOS then does the
resource assignment. You only need to move IRQ numbers, if
something isn't working right. The defaults would normally
be good enough I would think.

*** Well, since I tried every possible combination I assume that the IRQ couldn't be the problem.

> I don't think "Console Redirection" is important:
> http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/8ConsoleRedirection_zps3b4f486c.jpg.
> And in "System Security" anything relating a password is off.
> http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/9SystemSecurity_zps84160fdc.jpg
Some servers, you install a separate card in a special slot on
the motherboard, and that card allows remotely administering
the computer. That could be what the console redirection is
about. That allows a large number of servers to be administered
from a central location, hopefully without needing to enter
the server room.

And having your passwords cleared, is a relief.

*** Yes, but I'm in a more difficult situation.

-edit-

Well, look for a WinXP driver for the SCSI controller you're currently
using. Since you also have an "embedded controller", the part number
on that would be another option. Or, use a Promise Ultra133 TX2, an
IDE driver, the Promise driver, a floppy diskette, and use the F6 method
to install a driver via floppy for that.

*** This is the driver page I found for the two SCSI cards I have:
DELL 2600: http://www.adaptec.com/en-us/support/scsi/u160/asc-39160/
Spare: http://www.adaptec.com/en-us/speed/scsi/windows/ph30s10rc1_exe.htm

*** Here’s another page for the SCSI in the DELL 2600: http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/19/driverdetails?driverid=5N7Y0


-edit-

A second CPU isn't going to materially affect your current problems.
And is just a waste of electricity and time :-)

*** I was just looking ahead to some graphically intensive things I want to do.

So the only thing I'd be concerned about, is whether that
particular motherboard needs a terminator in the second CPU
socket when it's empty or not.

*** Obviously not. (Since I was able to get to the password screen before the CMOS battery came off).

> http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/1Processoramp4RamSticks_zps49f8849a.jpg
>
> Also would there be any advantages to adding two more 1GB memory chips to bring the total to 6GB?
You've got enough RAM for the moment. You can dream about
this other stuff, when the box is running smoothly again.

*** Just thinking about the ram disks I'll be experimenting with. :-)

-edit-

So you were very close to booting :-) Now the trick will be,
tracing down which irritating SCSI problem could be causing it.

"INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE Message After Changing a SCSI Adapter Resource"

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/302098

"How to troubleshoot 'Stop error code 0x0000007B (INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE)'
error messages in Windows 2000"

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/822052

"Advanced troubleshooting for 'Stop error code 0x0000007B (INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE)'
errors in Windows XP" [ WinXP being similar enough to Win2K for debug purposes ]

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;324103

But what are the odds of someone leaving it in need of a CHKDSK run ?
The first procedure is encouraging (effectively resetting a registry
key used to keep track of what booted on the SCSI chain), but it's
pretty stupid in my opinion, when the ARC resource in boot.ini exists
to do something like that. To use the info in the first article,
you'd need a working computer, plug a SCSI controller into the machine,
then use regedit (or equivalent) to edit the registry hive on the
SCSI disk drive and delete the entries.

All these things are fixable. If you have a well equipped lab, that is.

I have some SCSI controllers here, and I could kludge something
together here to be able to read a drive like that from
my current PC. Then run CHKDSK, make a backup or whatever.

Paul

*** I only wish this was as easy as starting from scratch and reformatting the main drive, installing Windows XP, and then adding needed drivers.

[Paul]

jamesja...@gmail.com wrote:

>> You would need to slave the SCSI drive to another computer.
>
> **** I briefly plugged one of my SCSI controllers into my present
> and very flaky ITX system, but took it out before booting up. IT
> started doing weird/er things after that. Like prompting me to
> correct CPU settings in BIOS. (And something else I can't remember
> off hand). There is no way any kind of data can be exchanged between
> a SCSI card and a motherboard when the machine plugged in but not
> turned on, correct?

You would hope that slot keying would have prevented
a voltage problem with the card types. Desktops
typically run the PCI slot off 5V, whereas 64 bit (long slot)
PCI can use 3.3V for power. While there are some Adaptec
dual power SCSI cards (universal, can run at either
voltage), some of the others are 3.3V only. The slot
key is supposed to prevent illegal card combinations.
The mini-ITX should have a "key" or bump in the slot,
that prevents card insertion of the wrong types.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PCI_Keying.png

You have to be fairly careful when mixing cards between
servers and desktops, and I would not have even attempted
an insertion.

My SCSI cards here are:

1) Low performance. 40MB/sec or 80MB/sec. No 160MB/sec or
320MB/sec cards, because the slot type on the
edge of the card can't do more than about 110MB/sec
on the card types I use.

2) PCI 32 bit (short slot) 33MHz (desktop clock speed) cards.
My cards won't fit in a server (with the exception of the
lone 32/33 slot some of them have).

While I do have a minimal collection of SCSI cables,
I can't claim to be able to "slave up any SCSI drive on
demand". Back in the day, I was paying $50 to $100 for
some kinds of SCSI cables, which is a deterrent to going crazy
with the stuff. I have a couple teflon ribbons, and
some external cabling for two SCSI enclosures I've got.
Plus a collection of cables for connecting my SCSI scanner
to various hardware (PC or Mac). The scanner was async
SCSI, and transferred at 1 to 2MB/sec.

>
> *** Either way, I just picked up a DELL 3000 someone threw out
> with the hopes of getting that going and using it instead of my
> extremely flaky ITX system to edit the registry on the SCSI drive,
> provided the onscreen instructions will be straight forward on
> how to do that. (But the DELL 3000 has it’s own issues I may have
> to start a thread about). I assume that I'd only have to do this
> on the main "C" drive in the DELL 2600 as opposed to all four drives,
> correct? If I can get through that I assume that all I'd need to
> do then is reinstall the drive into the DELL 2600 and then add the
> SCSI driver.

I've lost track of why we're editing the registry :-)

The Registry is only on the C: partition, on the boot drive.

The last thing I remember, is an inaccessible boot volume. We
assume the thing used to work, meaning the Win2K had a driver
for SCSI in it, and it was just a matter of programming the
BIOS correctly, same modes as before, so the Win2K could boot
with the drivers it's got. It's doubtful the person would
have run it (somehow), with not all the drives accessible.

Some of these systems can have a SCSI chain on the motherboard,
which is the "embedded" interface. For example, my first PC compatible
desktop had SCSI (P2B-S), and it had its own SCSI chip soldered
to the motherboard. You can then add SCSI cards to PC slots,
if you want to build additional SCSI chains.

When you first got the machine, I presume the cabling connected
the intended controller card (driver included), to the Windows
boot drive. It wouldn't make a lot of sense, if the machine was
just pulled out of service and sold, to be fouling up the
configuration from a hardware perspective. Usually if a seller
is going to be doing that, they "gut" the hardware and remove
anything of interest. Meaning, there wouldn't have even been a SCSI
PCI-X card in it. Your machine appears to have shipped to
you, ready to go, which is why I'm assuming what it needs
is appropriate BIOS settings.

The CHKDSK idea, was to try to make sure the partitions
are still OK.

>> Either that, or boot your WinXP installer CD to the recovery console,
>> and see if the CHKDSK works in there. You may need to press F6 and offer
>> a driver for the SCSI controller. I've never done that here, as
>> usually I'm working with IDE drives on the chipset. So look at the
>> ID of the chip or card controlling your SCSI drive, and locate a
>> driver for it for WinXP (if using the WinXP disc for the recovery
>> console).
>
> *** I downloaded some drivers for the SCSI card in the DELL 2600
> as well as a spare SCSI card I have just in case. Either way I'm
> sure it'll be trial and error getting the driver installed. Is
> this typically done via CD or floppy drive, or do I have a USB option?

On WinXP, you prepare a driver that includes a TXTSETUP.OEM file
plus driver folders, on a floppy. Then, press F6 during the
installation, and WinXP will attempt to access the floppy.

The second alternative, is to slipstream the drivers (TXTSETUP.OEM
and folders), into a new WinXP installer CD. Then you don't
have to press F6, and the installation is as simple as installing
to a desktop IDE ribbon cable drive.

I would do the slipstream myself. That's for cases where
modern machines no longer have a floppy connector, and you
can't buy any USB floppy drives. It's just easier to make
a custom installer CD.

(Second button labeled "Integrate drivers"...)
http://www.nliteos.com/guide/part1.html

>> Now look at the "Hard-Disk Drive Sequence" option that rarely comes up:
>> http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/4BootSequence2_zpsc0f0d585.jpg
>> IBA GE Slot 8388 appears to be a LAN card boot option. You would
>> think that would appear regularly, unless there is not sufficient
>> low memory for the INT 0x13 support for LAN boot to load. Depending on
>> how many SCSI controllers are present, other boot ROMs might not
>> get to load, making the boot order listing "flaky" in behavior.

> *** There is a single SCSI card. Or are you referring to something
> embedded? I wouldn't think that low memory would be any kind of issue
> in this system.

You would look on the motherboard surface, for a SCSI connector.
I think my P2B-S had a ribbon cable connector for plugging in
a teflon ribbon cable. It would be a different size than an
IDE cable on a desktop. Just going from memory, SCSI was 50 pin
or 68 pin. So a SCSI motherboard connector would be
a bigger one.

My reference to "low memory" is this. When PCs came out, they lived
in a "640KB world". The BIOS still lives in that world, for whatever
the first operating mode of the CPU is. The code switches modes
at some point, and after that, all memory becomes available. Of the
640K, BIOS drivers for plugin cards fit in a subsection of that
memory, perhaps 128KB on a desktop (256KB on a server). If a
computer runs out of that tiny, fixed allocation of memory,
as defined by the architecture, then the last card(s) cannot
load BIOS drivers, and then the card is not a boot candidate.
The code that is loading, is Extended INT 0x13 disk read code,
coming from the BIOS chip soldered to the disk controller card.
Your SCSI card should have a chip with such code in it. If the
128KB low memory region is "full", then the last cards, the BIOS
doesn't bother to load their boot code. The result can be
some drives not showing up as boot options. A tech will
juggle the order of cards in PCI slots, putting the
boot card "closer to the processor", and any data drive
controlling cards further away from the processor, in
an attempt to get the BIOS drivers to load.

Once the OS is loaded, there is plenty of memory,
drivers load for everything, and all disks are
accessible. It's just a short time in the BIOS,
where the BIOS can't boot from stuff where it
can't load the INT 0x13 BIOS driver for it.

I'm not suggesting you start moving cards around,
because I seriously doubt you're running out of
low memory. That kind of thing happens when users
have three or four disk controller cards plugged into
the PCI slots. You have a minimal hardware configuration.
There should be enough "low memory".

>>> (The other three hard drives don't show up in BIOS at all, but during
>>> the boot-up sequence it show as each is spun up).

>> Could be staggered spin. For SCSI, there can be jumper blocks or dip switches
>> that enable staggered spin. Staggered spin is used to reduce the
>> strain on the power supply. One disk at a time, takes turns drawing the
>> 2-3 amp spinup current. It reduces the peak current the power supply must
>> support. You could defeat the staggered spin, if you wanted the drives
>> to spin up in unison. If the power supply has a reasonably hefty 5V and 12V
>> current rating, it probably wouldn't be a big deal to spin them all
>> at once. I spin up five drives regularly here, on a 460W power supply,
>> without staggered spin or anything of that nature.
>
> *** Well, since as I mentioned they are each spun up one after another
> I assume that is the "staggered" spin you are referring to.

It's possible. SCSI drives can have jumper blocks, as well as
a set of DIP switches, and back when I was using SCSI, it was
always a challenge to get a doc with the details. I wouldn't
change anything just yet. You could turn off staggered spin,
but there can be other reasons the drives don't show.

OK, so I mentioned the SCSI controller card has a BIOS chip on it.
It has a driver the BIOS uses to do read operations on the card.

But that BIOS chip also supports a BIOS setup screen. When you
press the appropriate control key sequence early enough in
BIOS post, the SCSI card code loads and a setup screen for
the SCSI card appears. And in that screen, you can see
the other hard drives.

You would need to find a manual for the SCSI controller
card, to figure out what key combination to press. It
might be "<control>-S" for example. Cards can use
different key sequences (like control-I for Intel RAID),
and they use different keys so a user can access the
card of their choice. You can have multiple cards
with private collections of hard drives, so a
few different letters can be "on the go".

OK, on page 24 of this 39160 manual, it says to press <control>-A.
Do that early in POST, and the BIOS screen for the SCSI card
should show up. I can't tell you what will show up there, but
you might see evidence of the staggered drives in there.
So this is something new for you to work on. Blame me
for forgetting this :-)

http://download.adaptec.com/pdfs/user_guides/39160_users_reference.pdf

>
> I tried every combination I could think of in "PCI IRQ Assignment":

> *** Well, since I tried every possible combination I assume that
> the IRQ couldn't be the problem.
>

>> And having your passwords cleared, is a relief.
>
> *** Yes, but I'm in a more difficult situation.
>
> -edit-
>
>> Well, look for a WinXP driver for the SCSI controller you're currently
>> using. Since you also have an "embedded controller", the part number
>> on that would be another option. Or, use a Promise Ultra133 TX2, an
>> IDE driver, the Promise driver, a floppy diskette, and use the F6 method
>> to install a driver via floppy for that.
>
> *** This is the driver page I found for the two SCSI cards I have:
> DELL 2600: http://www.adaptec.com/en-us/support/scsi/u160/asc-39160/
> Spare: http://www.adaptec.com/en-us/speed/scsi/windows/ph30s10rc1_exe.htm
>
> *** Here’s another page for the SCSI in the DELL 2600:
> http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/19/driverdetails?driverid=5N7Y0
>

If I download the Dell file in your example...

http://downloads.dell.com/scsi-non-raid/R155692.EXE

and open it in 7ZIP, I can see that is a TXTSETUP.OEM style
driver. You copy the seven files to a floppy, if installing
WinXP. Or, you offer the seven files to NLite, when
"integrating drivers". If you make a custom installer
CD using that SCSI driver, then there would be no need
to press F6, or use a floppy.

>
> *** I only wish this was as easy as starting from scratch and reformatting
> the main drive, installing Windows XP, and then adding needed drivers.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Darren Harris
> Staten Island, New York.

I think "easy", isn't quite the right word for this project.

Working with servers, is a different beast. I learned a bit
about some server stuff, by reading threads over on 2cpu.com
forums. I never posted over there, but did read various
threads from people who run servers (dual CPU systems)
in their home.

I would be hard-pressed to get your system up and running.
And trying to guess what controls to adjust in the BIOS,
when I can't get my hands on the machine, makes it
doubly difficult to suggest what to do.

Paul

[edfair]

Was given 2 (1-18xx, 1-26xx) as part of a lot of used stuff and visited
most of the issues noted here. Ended up stripping usable stuff and
taking the remains to a recycling place.

[jamesja...@gmail.com]

On Tuesday, November 5, 2013 1:23:29 AM UTC-5, Paul wrote:
You have to be fairly careful when mixing cards between
servers and desktops, and I would not have even attempted
an insertion.

*** I didn't. The Ultra2 LVD/SE SCSI card I used was from my first pc about 15 years ago, which was a SCSI desktop. The SCSI card in the DELL 2600 is an Adaptec 39160 that I've not taken out. (Yet). But I assume that this card is only for the tape drive, since that is the only hardware the card is cabled to.

I've lost track of why we're editing the registry :-)

*** To re-cap. Thanks to the CMOS battery holder falling off I lost the settings and as a result I can only get as far as the "Inaccessible Boot Device" blue screen which I can't get past: http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/3InaccesibleBootDevice_zps9b47479a.jpg
(I have to keep switching to the SCSI setting in BIOS "Integrated Devices" on every boot-up just to get that far).

The Registry is only on the C: partition, on the boot drive.

The last thing I remember, is an inaccessible boot volume. We
assume the thing used to work, meaning the Win2K had a driver
for SCSI in it, and it was just a matter of programming the
BIOS correctly, same modes as before, so the Win2K could boot
with the drivers it's got. It's doubtful the person would
have run it (somehow), with not all the drives accessible.

*** There are five SCSI drives total leaving a single empty bay. They can all be easily pulled out of their bays. Nevertheless, the system and all drives where working when I first picked it up.

Some of these systems can have a SCSI chain on the motherboard,
which is the "embedded" interface. For example, my first PC compatible
desktop had SCSI (P2B-S), and it had its own SCSI chip soldered
to the motherboard. You can then add SCSI cards to PC slots,
if you want to build additional SCSI chains.

*** I think I saw "SCSI" silk-screened somewhere on the motherboard somewhere. I do know that there is a 128mb RAID DIMM in a single dedicated socket. Nevertheless, there is the "SCSI backplane daughtercard with a Qlogic controller”. ( http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/DELLServerMysteryCard_zpse60859d4.jpg ). Si I assume that SCSI is embedded on this motherboard.

When you first got the machine, I presume the cabling connected
the intended controller card (driver included), to the Windows
boot drive. It wouldn't make a lot of sense, if the machine was
just pulled out of service and sold, to be fouling up the
configuration from a hardware perspective. Usually if a seller
is going to be doing that, they "gut" the hardware and remove
anything of interest. Meaning, there wouldn't have even been a SCSI
PCI-X card in it. Your machine appears to have shipped to
you, ready to go, which is why I'm assuming what it needs
is appropriate BIOS settings.

*** Before the battery holder broke of I could only get as far as the Windows 2000 Server password screen, which is why I was attempting to remove the battery in the first place. And there was no SCSI cabling connected to any of the five SCSI drives from the SCSI card installed.

The CHKDSK idea, was to try to make sure the partitions
are still OK.

*** I doubt that is an issue.

> *** I downloaded some drivers for the SCSI card in the DELL 2600
> as well as a spare SCSI card I have just in case. Either way I'm
> sure it'll be trial and error getting the driver installed. Is
> this typically done via CD or floppy drive, or do I have a USB option?
On WinXP, you prepare a driver that includes a TXTSETUP.OEM file
plus driver folders, on a floppy. Then, press F6 during the
installation, and WinXP will attempt to access the floppy.

*** I'm not sure what you mean by "plus driver folders", but shouldn't I just try to get this working with the already installed Windows 2000 Server?

The second alternative, is to slipstream the drivers (TXTSETUP.OEM
and folders), into a new WinXP installer CD. Then you don't
have to press F6, and the installation is as simple as installing
to a desktop IDE ribbon cable drive.

I would do the slipstream myself. That's for cases where
modern machines no longer have a floppy connector, and you
can't buy any USB floppy drives. It's just easier to make
a custom installer CD.

*** Ok, it has a floppy drive, so I'll go that route. (I can't burn a CD anyway). But again the machine presently has Windows Server 2000 installed. (I want to eventually erase that and install Windows XP.).

*** And where do I get the TXTSETUP.OEM file? And once I put it on a floppy disk, do I press F6 during boot up with Win 2000 still installed or is this something that is done when I am installing Win XP? (Or does all this have to be done by slaving the SCSI boot drive to another system when I attempt to edit the drive's registry? (Provided I can get another system up and running correctly to allow this).

(Second button labeled "Integrate drivers"...)
http://www.nliteos.com/guide/part1.html

>> Now look at the "Hard-Disk Drive Sequence" option that rarely comes up:
>> http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/4BootSequence2_zpsc0f0d585.jpg
>> IBA GE Slot 8388 appears to be a LAN card boot option. You would
>> think that would appear regularly, unless there is not sufficient
>> low memory for the INT 0x13 support for LAN boot to load. Depending on
>> how many SCSI controllers are present, other boot ROMs might not
>> get to load, making the boot order listing "flaky" in behavior.

> *** There is a single SCSI card. Or are you referring to something
> embedded? I wouldn't think that low memory would be any kind of issue
> in this system.
You would look on the motherboard surface, for a SCSI connector.
I think my P2B-S had a ribbon cable connector for plugging in
a teflon ribbon cable. It would be a different size than an
IDE cable on a desktop. Just going from memory, SCSI was 50 pin
or 68 pin. So a SCSI motherboard connector would be
a bigger one.

*** Outside of all but one PCI slot two memory slots and the VRM connector (for the chip for a 2nd processor), the only slot left unoccupied is something that says "ERA card".

*** The only ribbon cables are that from the SCSI card that is located in the only occupied PCI slot. It is connected to the Tape drive. And there is a 60(?) pin cable that goes from the motherboard to the CD/Floppy drive assembly.

>>> (The other three hard drives don't show up in BIOS at all, but during
>>> the boot-up sequence it show as each is spun up).

>> Could be staggered spin. For SCSI, there can be jumper blocks or dip switches
>> that enable staggered spin. Staggered spin is used to reduce the
>> strain on the power supply. One disk at a time, takes turns drawing the
>> 2-3 amp spinup current. It reduces the peak current the power supply must
>> support. You could defeat the staggered spin, if you wanted the drives
>> to spin up in unison. If the power supply has a reasonably hefty 5V and 12V
>> current rating, it probably wouldn't be a big deal to spin them all
>> at once. I spin up five drives regularly here, on a 460W power supply,
>> without staggered spin or anything of that nature.
>
> *** Well, since as I mentioned they are each spun up one after another
> I assume that is the "staggered" spin you are referring to.
It's possible. SCSI drives can have jumper blocks, as well as
a set of DIP switches, and back when I was using SCSI, it was
always a challenge to get a doc with the details. I wouldn't
change anything just yet. You could turn off staggered spin,
but there can be other reasons the drives don't show.

*** I guess the best thing to do is to first concentrate on getting to the desktop. (With either 2000 or XP installed on the boot drive). And then I'll get to the issue of whether or not the other drives are shown in BIOS. (But again, when booting I watch as each of the five SCSI drives spin up independently. The first is the Seagate as shown here: http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/InvalidConfiguration_zps068ebb4c.jpg)

OK, on page 24 of this 39160 manual, it says to press <control>-A.
Do that early in POST, and the BIOS screen for the SCSI card
should show up. I can't tell you what will show up there, but
you might see evidence of the staggered drives in there.
So this is something new for you to work on. Blame me
for forgetting this :-)

http://download.adaptec.com/pdfs/user_guides/39160_users_reference.pdf

*** I did press CTRL+A and got the following screen:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/SCSISetupUtility_zpseb1a9d95.jpg

*** Of the two options I clicked the one that had the number "68" under "Dev/Func" and got this screen:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/SCSISetupUtility-DeviceProperties_zps3dd59597.jpg

*** I clicked on the highlighted "Device Properties" and got the following:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/SCSISetupUtility-SeagateampFujitsu_zps32577e07.jpg

*** But if I instead clicked on the earlier option where the number "69" was located under "Dev/Func":
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/SCSISetupUtility-DeviceProperties2_zpsc05561c3.jpg

*** And then clicked "Device Properties" I get what looks like three IBM drive instead of my one IBM and two Hitachi drives:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/SCSISetupUtility-IBMampHitachix2_zps91fdb9c0.jpg

> *** This is the driver page I found for the two SCSI cards I have:
> DELL 2600: http://www.adaptec.com/en-us/support/scsi/u160/asc-39160/
> Spare: http://www.adaptec.com/en-us/speed/scsi/windows/ph30s10rc1_exe.htm
>
> *** Here’s another page for the SCSI in the DELL 2600:
> http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/19/driverdetails?driverid=5N7Y0
>
If I download the Dell file in your example...

http://downloads.dell.com/scsi-non-raid/R155692.EXE

and open it in 7ZIP, I can see that is a TXTSETUP.OEM style
driver. You copy the seven files to a floppy, if installing
WinXP. Or, you offer the seven files to NLite, when
"integrating drivers". If you make a custom installer
CD using that SCSI driver, then there would be no need
to press F6, or use a floppy.

*** I don't know what NLite is or "what you mean by ""integrating drivers", but to try and simplify things, I need something called “TXTSETUP.OEM”. Do I need to find the driver for the boot drive?

[Paul]

jamesja...@gmail.com wrote:

> "Inaccessible Boot Device"
> http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/3InaccesibleBootDevice_zps9b47479a.jpg

I don't think this article is exhaustive,
but it mentions a few reasons for that error (0x7B)

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/324103

A blog page, mentioned a user cloning C:, then attempting
to boot from the clone, and being met with that error.
And the suggestion there, was effectively to review boot.ini
and see if it was correct for the situation or not. The ARC path
may need to be edited.

What I can't come up with a recipe for, is how you go about
analyzing a computer, to figure out the boot process it *used*
to use. If your machine has more than one OS loaded, then
you have to watch for that as an issue. While a particular
SCSI BIOS boot choice may look like it's booting the official
boot volume, it might be picking up a boot off a different disk.
And perhaps the ARC for that different disk, isn't set up right.

If I was working on the machine, I'd need some OS to have
a look around, and understand what is stored on the disks.
To see if that SCSI Boot order needs to be changed. I don't
even know where the SCSI BIOS stores the boot choice, like
in CMOS RAM or somewhere else.

Linux is an example of an OS that might work. It would also
allow you to examine the files on the partition, and get some
idea whether the files are accessible.

I presume with SCSI, more than one field in the ARC in the
boot.ini, is engaged. If you have more than one SCSI chain,
then there could be multiple fields that make
a difference when editing the boot.ini. (The four numbers
in the disk path.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTLDR#boot.ini

In your SCSI pictures, it looks like there are two chains,
and the boot screen is likely the critical one in terms of
selecting one to boot from. If there is only one OS on there,
the boot order should help find it.

Have you ever booted that machine from a CD ? Does that work ?
Maybe a Linux LiveCD would work. The latest Ubuntu probably
wouldn't be any fun. But 11.04, I booted it in a VM and
it still has the menus that make it easier to use.

http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/releases/

Doing System : Administration : Gparted, shows the partitions
on the disks. Without resorting to command line stuff
from the Terminal.

To work on the machine from a Windows CD Recovery Console,
you'd need a driver for SCSI. The CDs do have some stuff
and night pick up your SCSI chains. The same is true of Linux,
the Livecd should have quite a few drivers. Otherwise it would
be pretty useless as a livecd.

The problem with the Recovery Console on a Windows install CD, is
it's going to ask for the Administrator password when "logging in"
to the OS partition. Otherwise, if you could get there, a thing to
repair boot.ini is

bootcfg /rebuild

As you can see here, that option doesn't always work,
which is why at this point I'd still be surveying the machine for
info I could use, as well as editing boot.ini by hand.

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_xp-system/unable-to-rebuild-bootini/754aed00-f74c-e011-8dfc-68b599b31bf5

It must have a driver for the disk. Which makes it harder to
understand the 0x7B error. The partitions probably aren't
corrupted. And my Linux LiveCD would allow me to have a look
around.

Here's another reference:

http://www.dell.com/support/troubleshooting/us/en/19/KCS/KcsArticles/ArticleIframeView?docid=DSN_356576&doclang=EN#Issue5

"If you have inadvertently erased or tinkered with the boot.ini
file, you may receive stop code 0x7B during the startup process.
Launch the recovery console from the Windows installation disc
and run BOOTCFG /REBUILD"

HTH,
Paul

[jamesja...@gmail.com]

Now that I've recovered from DELL burnout I'm back to this system. Things were becoming confusing it seemed on both sides, so I condensed everything to the important points.

The computer booted as far as the Windows Server 2000 password screen. When I attempted to remove the CMOS battery the battery holder came off the motherboard. As a result I got "No Boot Device" when I attempted to boot up because my settings were cleared. Pressing the battery back down during boot-up gave me "Invalid Configuration". So the determination was that I now need SCSI drivers for the SCSI card. (But what about the SCSI hard drives?). The single Adaptec SCSI 39160 SCSI card in the only occupied slot (#6) has a single (70 pin?) ribbon cable connecting it to the DAT72 Tape Drive. It is NOT connected to anything else.

The DELL PowerEdge Server apparently has SCSI embedded because it has a SCSI backplane daughter-card with Qlogic controller and 5 of the 6 bays have SCSI hard drives.(The manual states that the DELL has an integrated, dual-channel Ultra320 SCSI host adaptor).

And there is a single 60 pin ribbon running from the motherboard to the TEAC CD-224E (CD/Floppy combo).

I have the option of adding 2Gb more memory to the present 4Gb installed, and adding a second processor (along with VRM chip). There is a 128Mb RAID DIMM, and a slot for and "ERA card". But I can't seem to find a model number for the motherboard: http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/DELL2600Motherboard_zps58be62de.jpg

The PCI slots are as follows:
Two 64-bit/133MHz PCI-X
Four 64-bit/100MHz PCI-X
One 32-bit/33MHz PCI

The hardware is as follows:
* Adaptec 39160 SCSI Card
* TEAC - CD-224E CD/Floppy
* DAT72 - CD72LWH Tape Drive
* Seagate Cheetah: ST336607LC (Boot Drive)
* Fujitsu Limited: MAW3073NC
* Hitachi Ultrastar: IC35L073UCDY10-0
* Hitachi Ultrastar: IC35L073UCDY10-0
* IBM Total Storage: IC35L073UCDY10-0

When booting up the screen will show each drive booting up consecutively and not all at the same time. (But three of those five hard drives don't show up in BIOS at all). ?!?

Anyway, I now have to go into BIOS and under "Integrated Devices" chang "Embedded RAID Controller" from "Off" to "SCSI". (The "RAID" option causes a warning that data will be lost). http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/1IntegratedDevices_zpsc498632d.jpg

This allows me to boot as far as the Windows 2000 Server splash screen: http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/2Win2000Server_zps5bd0f4cc.jpg,

Followed by a "Inaccessible Boot Device" blue screen which I can't get past: http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/3InaccesibleBootDevice_zps9b47479a.jpg (The blue screen tells me to run CHKDSK /F, but I'm not worried about that).

I'm going to have to use the floppy drive and F6 to install whatever drivers I need to.

Now, outside of needing drivers for the Adaptec SCSI card, since I want to discard the Windows Server 2000 install on the boot drive and install Windows XP instead, do I need an Windows XP SCSI driver for just the "C" drive or all hard drives?

Btw. I picked up these for when I attempt to add an IDE drive to the final bay:
www.ebay.com/itm/261471967525 (Of course SATA is not an option with this).

[Paul]

As discussed before, there are a couple possibilities.

1) The machine has all the drivers it needs. But, the
disk addressing in boot.ini is screwed up (ARC path).
You either need to use repair console, and use whatever
rebuilds a boot.ini for you. Or, you open the boot.ini file
and edit it by hand.

Possible tools:

a) Win2K Server installer CD - the installer CD should
give you a recovery console (MSDOS prompt) to work from.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/317521

bootcfg /rebuild

I've never used Win2K Server, so can't really help
much more than that.

b) Boot with a Windows 7 or Windows 8 DVD, which also
have recovery console. The difference here, is the
"diskpart" utility might be able to enumerate the
drives in the order the hardware sees them in now.
That would give a hint if you wanted to correct the
boot.ini by hand.

c) A Linux LiveCD should be able to probe all the
storage busses as well. But I don't know if the
naming convention they use, would absolutely nail
the Windows order.

If the machine doesn't have the drivers, you look
to see if the Southbridge IDE connector is available.
The OS may be able to boot from that. It would mean
transferring the disk contents with DD via Linux LiveCD,
to a blank IDE drive connected to the ribbon cable.
Other possibilities would be a Macrium backup software
boot CD, or an Acronis backup boot CD, and do the disk
to disk transfer with tools like that (instead of using
Linux Disk Dump).

I think the bootcfg /rebuild is marginally easier.

The Linux LiveCD should also allow you to examine
all the FAT32 and NTFS partitions, so you can be
assured everything you need is still there.

*******

When working with a boot.ini, you want to keep a
backup copy. So if someone wants to know later
"what was the file like originally", you have a copy.

C:
ren boot.ini boot.ini.bak
bootcfg /rebuild

Paul

[jamesja...@gmail.com]

There is no IDE connector on the motherboard. But I'm trying to figure out why would losing the battery erase the drivers? Is that normal? And if they are erased I can only assume that all drives, the SCSI card, and the motherboard would need new ones.

What I don't understand is that this machine was originally put together somehow. Why a server can't be made to work using just installation disks with an operating system and necessary drivers is beyond me.

You seem to be saying that Win2K server, Win 7, Win 8, or possibly a Linux Live CD are my only options. I have none of those disks and I'm not a computer expert, so trying to figure out all of the steps in using those is not an option for me. Though you haven't come right out and said it you not mentioning XP seems to indicate that XP is not an option for me. It looks as though this would have to go in the trash like the several other problem computers I just threw out.

Maybe I can just salvage the drives for another SCSI system since I have a couple now that I can plug SCSI cards into, and I assume all I'd need to do is find drivers for the SCSI card and any SCSI drive. (And maybe the latest motherboard drivers).

[Paul]

jamesja...@gmail.com wrote:

>
> There is no IDE connector on the motherboard. But I'm trying to figure out why would losing the battery erase the drivers? Is that normal? And if they are erased I can only assume that all drives, the SCSI card, and the motherboard would need new ones.
>
> What I don't understand is that this machine was originally put together somehow. Why a server can't be made to work using just installation disks with an operating system and necessary drivers is beyond me.
>
> You seem to be saying that Win2K server, Win 7, Win 8, or possibly a Linux Live CD are my only options. I have none of those disks and I'm not a computer expert, so trying to figure out all of the steps in using those is not an option for me. Though you haven't come right out and said it you not mentioning XP seems to indicate that XP is not an option for me. It looks as though this would have to go in the trash like the several other problem computers I just threw out.
>
> Maybe I can just salvage the drives for another SCSI system since I have a couple now that I can plug SCSI cards into, and I assume all I'd need to do is find drivers for the SCSI card and any SCSI drive. (And maybe the latest motherboard drivers).
>
> Thanks.
>
> Darren Harris
> Staten Island, New York.

You're forgetting that I'm not an expert either.
I try to pass along the things I've tried, or
more often, the things I've read about.

To maintain a computer, you need a certain amount of
materials. For example, if you pop the hood on your
car, chances are you keep a greasy rag handy, to
wipe off the dipstick. Or wipe the grease off your
hands.

Things like OS disks with recovery console on them,
are like that greasy rag. Sooner or later, you're
going to need them.

You have the option of taking the machine to
Geek Squad, and if they have an OS CD (they will),
they can administer commands to fix "Inaccessible
Boot Volume".

When the BIOS lost its settings, there could now be
different peripheral cards turned on than before. This
can change the "numbering" of disks and SCSI busses
and the like. When I recommend bootcfg /rebuild,
it's in the belief that all the drivers are present,
and just the numbering is screwed up.

That's all I'm suggesting.

I don't have any Win2K Server discs here, and I
don't know where I'd go looking for them.

As a non-expert, I would likely start by finding
something I can boot, to be able to edit content
on the disk. I want to edit that boot.ini. I need
something to use to do that. I have a large collection
(a foot high), of things used to boot computers.
Most of them are crap. Only a few are worth having.
And each repair person has their own favorites, which
support their own approach to problem solving.

*******

Only in a few cases, will I be able to collect enough
information from you, to give a precise recipe that
works every time.

Many other times, I will have some ideas of things
I'd want to look at. A machine that used to run,
and now doesn't run, and all that happened is the
battery flopped on the floor, there aren't really
a lot of possibilities as to what broke. Considering
all the BIOS settings that affect the storage cards,
do you think you could systematically enable and
disable those, until Win2K Server managed to finish
the boot ? That's one approach.

I've actually done that kind of thing with Knoppix LiveCDs.
Knoppix starts booting just fine from the CD. And then
it stops, saying "it can't find the drive". Then, you
have to guess which /dev/sdg2 type device identifier
you can add to the command line, to get the damn thing
to boot. It's taken me a half hour on occasion, to get
that crap to work. So even I, occasionally, succumb to
the brute force solution path. Which is to guess at
a device numbering issue, to get an OS to boot. The boot
process uses BIOS Extended INT 0x13. But the instant
the desktop tries to appear, the OS switches to the
OS driver instead, and that's what is giving the
Inaccessible Boot Device.

The bootcfg /rebuild attempts to use the info the
recovery console can see, to be used to correct the
contents of boot.ini. But you should back up
boot.ini, in case that command screws up.

*******

In terms of whether you should throw away the machine,
that depends on whether it's too hard to maintain or not.
I've had SCSI platforms before - for example, my desktop
used SCSI at work. I've spent half the day trying to
tame the SCSI bus on that damn thing (mixing 16 bit and
8 bit drives, autoterminators, manual terminators), to make
the thing work. It took me a few combinations before I figured
out something that wouldn't "fall over" on me. SCSI is loads
of fun. IDE/SATA is easy by comparison. SCSI is also expensive.
I have some cables here, that were costing me $50 to $100 a piece.
Which makes connecting up a new hard drive, rather expensive.
I have one computer here, that had five or six SCSI drives
on it, using both internal bus and external micro 68 pin cabling.
It was stable, not a lot of drama, but still expensive. External
disk enclosures were expensive, and so were those large round
cables it needed.

Paul

[Flasherly]

On Thu, 15 May 2014 15:41:15 -0700 (PDT), jamesja...@gmail.com
wrote:

>>
>> > Anyway,
I now have to go into BIOS and under "Integrated Devices" chang
"Embedded RAID Controller" from "Off" to "SCSI". (The "RAID" option
causes a warning that data will be lost).

>> >

This allows me to boot as far as the Windows 2000 Server splash
screen:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/2Win2000Server_zps5bd0f4cc.jpg,
>>
>> > Followed
by a "Inaccessible Boot Device" blue screen which I can't get past:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll257/Statenislander/Computer/3InaccesibleBootDevice_zps9b47479a.jpg
(The blue screen tells me to run CHKDSK /F, but I'm not worried about
that).
>>
>> >
>>
>> > I'm
going to have to use the floppy drive and F6 to install whatever
drivers I need to.
>>
>> >
>>
>> > Now,
outside of needing drivers for the Adaptec SCSI card, since I want to
discard the Windows Server 2000 install on the boot drive and install
Windows XP instead, do I need an Windows XP SCSI driver for just the
"C" drive or all hard drives?

--
Looks like your drivers at the bottom link. The controller card
(Adaptec) drivers take to relate to Windows what's connected, and
Windows takes over from there...XP should show storage media
(HD's/floppies/CD-DVD/whatever is physically attached to the
controller) as available.

Yea...I wouldn't wanna screw with a corporate NT-setup box being
farmed out for peanuts or parts.

(It's like $10 on sale for a decent new PCI SATA controller, dual port
maybe external SATA port out "via pin- internal disable one port," on
NewEgg. Maybe the BIOS will provide for a boot, maybe not. On down
the road, or as long as you're flush with SCSI drives...cool;- if not,
they're not going to be near as easily to replace as P/SATA storage
media & bi-directional converters if need be - $6 shipped in from
China off Ebay, provided the extra room at end-drive connections. Just
saw a sweet little deal on the cutest new Western Digital 320G in 2.5"
formfactor for $29. Great reputation with laptop users, no rebate,
inc/ship -- TigerDirect or Fry, probably.)


http://www.adaptec.com/en-us/support/scsi/u160/asc-39160/

Seagate ST336607LC-REF 36gb u320 10k 80-PIN
by Seagate
Price: $38.12 & FREE Shipping
Internal SCSI
20GB to 36GB
10000 RPM
320 MBps