Help: Contura won't boot after HD-Upgrade
Juergen Stupperich
Hallo!
Yesterday I tried to update my Compaq Contura 420C by replacing the
original HD (350 MB, IBM) with a 810 MB (Hitachi DK 223A - 81).
After this the Compaq denied booting. So I reinstalled the old HD
but still nothing happened.
Here are the symptoms: Only the power LED lights (sometimes also the
lowest battery LED) and that's all. No display backlight is switched on,
no memory checked, the HD isn't spinning, no question for the boot
password appears, <F10> doesn't work, ...
As you will understand I'm quite disappointed: Will I be able to fix this
or do I have to send it to compaq and wait for a long time?
ny hints are very appreciated!
Many thanx and merry christmas,
Juergen
------------------------------------------------------------------
- Juergen Stupperich -
- ++49-6894-570349 University of the Saarland -
- ju...@stud.uni-sb.de Saarbruecken, Germany -
------------------------------------------------------------------
Arthur J Baumgartner
It being Christmas time and my residence being in Houston, home of
Compaq, I think it would be appropriate for me to reply, especially since
my computers at work are Compaqs and I am typing this on a Compaq 400C
notebook which I upgraded with an 810 MB Toshiba hard drive earlier this
year.
Ok, the first thing I would check is the battery and power supply. Make
sure the battery is making good contact with the prongs inside the
battery compartment and check the battery voltage with a voltmeter to
make sure that there is nothing seriously wrong with the battery. A bad
battery can stop the notebook from powering up even if you have the
external power supply/charger connected. If you can get the display to
power up and the hard drive does not start spinning, try to boot from a
bootable floppy disk, if you dont have one, make one on another computer.
Unless something is really wrong, you should be able to boot from a
floppy. This will verify that the CPU and flash CMOS are still
functioning.
If you have already made up the setup and diagnostics disks for your
notebook, (referenced in Attachment 2 to this note), you should boot with
the diagnostic disk and use it to make a further check of the CPU and
flash CMOS. The files to make both of these disks can also be downloaded
directly from Compaq’s Web site and you can also download the latest
flash CMOS upgrade for your notebook from that site. Fortunately, the
Compaq notebooks are setup to automatically interrogate your new hard
drive for the proper drive parameters so you should not have to reset the
hard drive type selection. This feature is provided by using a specific
hard drive type in the CMOS drive setup, type 65 for Compaq 400C and
Compaq Aeros. Compaq has programmed the CMOS so that selection of the
hard drive type 65 will cause the CMOS to interrogate your drive for the
proper drive parameters and use them for type 65.
If you can boot from the floppy drive and the hard drive still does not
spin, turn the notebook off, remove the battery and external power supply
if it is connected and check for proper insertion of the hard drives your
are having problems with. The drives should spin when you put the
notebook’s battery back in assuming your battery is good and as mentioned
in the article below, (Attachment 1, 2nd paragraph of section 7) it is
possible to insert a hard drive incorrectly in which case the power
supply pins will not be engaged and the drive wont power up.
Also, you should be aware that there is a very good Compaq forum on
Compuserve which is commonly used by Compaq owners in Europe. It is
moderated directly by Compaq technical support people and they will give
you good advice. I have found the questions and answers in that forum
very valuable and have included a few of them below as Attachment 2 to
this note. As mentioned above Compaq Corporation also has Website and
you can submit questions to Compaq via it. They will probably reply to
you they dont support your drive however with patience and a little more
dialogue you can get very good advice from them. For me the installation
of a 810 MB Toshiba hard drive took about 10 minutes, (plus a couple of
hours to load it with software).
ATTACHMENT 1 Excerpts from a Web page on warrior.com
How to Upgrade Your Portable Computer's Hard Drive Part II
How To Perform The Upgrade Yourself
By Kevin Prince, kpr...@warrior.com
4.0 Make a system disk
Take your empty floppy and format it with the "/s" option, making it a
system disk. At the C: prompt of the computer you are upgrading you
should type "C:/>FORMAT_A:_/S" for example. Also be sure to copy the
following files from your DOS directory to your new system diskette:
FORMAT.COM
SYS.COM
FDISK.EXE
You'll need this disk after the installation of the new hard drive to
partition and format it. Be sure you use the same version of DOS that's
on the old hard drive to partition and format the new hard drive. You
cannot use a different version of the DOS utilities FDISK.EXE and
FORMAT.COM than the version of DOS that you're going to transfer over to
the new drive. If you need to upgrade your BIOS, and you have flash BIOS
in your computer, you should run the BIOS upgrade now to be sure that
works first, before you open your computer. Usually you can download a
new BIOS image from your computer manufacturer's bulletin board or FTP
site. These BIOS upgrade files usually self-extract into a bunch of files
that you put on a new system floppy disk. Be sure to follow the
instruction that come with these files to the letter, since if you
somehow
mess-up on a flash BIOS upgrade, you can permanently damage your system
board. No joke!
5.0 Opening the computer
Common sense should dictate your actions from here on out. If you are
wearing a nice electrically active sweater, take it off. Do your best to
ground yourself so that static electricity won't be a problem. One wrong
zap and it's all over for your little upgrade party. Wear rubber-soled
shoes and plant them on a flat floor (not a carpet). Extremists will tell
you to do more to ground yourself, such as wear a grounding cable around
your wrist. If you zap your computer and you weren't doing this, well,
then you should have.
6.0 Removing the hard drive
You should be at a point now where you can see the hard drive and the
mounting bracket that holds it in place. Unscrew the mounting bracket and
remove it with the drive, being careful not to drop it or knock it
against anything. You will have to remove the hard drive's cable
interface from either a cable connector, a ribbon connector, or a socket
connector on a printed circuit board (PC board). Remember which way the
drive interface went into the connector! Write it down. If you get this
backwards when installing the new drive you might blow something up.
Remove the hard drive from its mounting bracket. The screws that hold the
hard drive to the bracket are usually very tight. But be extremely
careful when unscrewing these screws! Do not apply excessive force to the
hard drive, or you will cripple it. Be gentle. If a screw on one side
isn't budging, go to another screw. Eventually you can get the last screw
by rotating the bracket relative to the drive.
7.0 Installing the hard drive
Now install the new hard drive in the mounting bracket. If your hard
drive upgrade kit came with a new mounting bracket, use it instead. You
may re-use the same screws that came out of the old hard drive. You
should try to tighten these screws firmly, as the hard drive may vibrate
them loose over time. Again, though, be doubly careful not to apply
excessive pressure to the top or bottom of the hard drive while holding
it.
Next, replace the hard drive into the base of the computer. You will
probably have to align the drive interface pins with a connector or
connector cable when doing this... be certain that the connector is mated
to the drive interface pins correctly. It is real easy to get the top row
of pins in the bottom row of connector holes. This is wrong. Also, 2.5"
IDE hard drives have four pins off to the side of the other pins. These
are jumper pins, and not part of the drive interface. It is okay if your
connector doesn’t engage these pins.
8.0 Re-assembling the computer
Using your notes as a guide, re-assemble the computer. Be sure that the
correct screws end up in the right screw holes. Obviously, these should
go back exactly as they came out.
You might not need to re-assemble the entire computer before powering it
up and testing the upgrade. However, if you are unsure you might as well
re-assemble the computer completely.
9.0 Testing the upgrade
The first step is to replace the battery and plug in the A/C adapter. If
you have battery or "DC in" lights that should come on at this point, be
sure they do. If everything seems normal, turn on the computer. Watch for
any unusual lights (or lack thereof), and watch the display carefully.
the first thing that should happen is the memory test... typically. If
this doesn't happen, turn off the computer and check the following: the
hard drive interface, all connections. If you don't find anything
obvious, try replacing the old drive
and try again. If this works, something is either wrong with the new BIOS
or the
new hard drive.
If the memory test succeeds, you'll very likely get an error message of
some kind related to the hard drive, such as "HDD Configuration Error,"
or the like. This can usually be resolved by getting into your CMOS setup
routine (which you may be forced into at this point by your computer),
and setting the hard drive to the correct type. You may need to plug in
the new drive's number of cylinders, sectors, and heads. Or you may need
to identify the correct "type" of drive (drive types usually range from 1
to 60 or so, and are not standard between computers). You may not need to
do anything except reboot.
Now, since there is probably nothing on your hard drive (unless you
transferred your old data onto it during your backup), you'll need to
boot your computer from your system floppy disk. Do this now.
If your new hard drive is less than 528MB, you can use FDISK.EXE to
partition the drive, and then FORMAT.COM to format it. If you have a
drive that is greater than 528MB, and the drive came to you unformatted,
you'll have to use EZ Drive or some other utility software to partition
and format the drive. (FDISK.EXE cannot accurately read drive sizes over
528MB.) If you bought a drive larger than 528MB, chances are it came
pre-partitioned and pre-formatted so you won't have to worry about
getting special software to do this.
After you've formatted the drive (as a system disk using the "C:\>FORMAT
C: /S" command), you should be able to boot right from the new hard
drive. So many things are happening during the boot process that if it
works, you know it works! If anything has gone wrong during the entire
process, 99% of the time the computer won't boot. Therefore, if it boots
it's a good sign and you're virtually done.
Now, if the computer doesn't boot you need to do a little trouble
shooting. First, make sure that the partitioning and formatting were done
under the same version of DOS that you're putting on the drive. To be
sure, you should probably re-partition and re-format the drive. Also,
make sure your CMOS drive type is set accurately (in the CMOS setup). One
of the primary causes for a hard drive to appear not to boot correctly is
that you've transferred your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files, and
something in these files is not configured correctly for your new drive.
Try renaming these files to see if you can boot to the C:\> prompt
without the AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files. If so, take a look at your
CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files to see if you can identify where they
are causing the boot process to halt.
When you get your drive to the point where you can boot to DOS, you can
safely transfer your data back over to the new drive. Once this is done,
hold your breath and try to start Windows. If this works, you're home
free. You can finishing putting your computer back together and give
yourself a pat on the back.
If Windows doesn't start, don't fret. This is par for the course, and
Windows is quite fragile. The most likely cause for Windows not working
is that you've forgotten to delete your swap file. Do this now by
deleting the 386PART.PAR file either in the root directory, the Windows
directory, or the Windows "SYSTEM" directory. Try starting Windows again.
The next most common error is that you've upgraded to a drive larger than
528MB and you haven't told Windows how to access the drive in 32 bit
mode. EZ Drive comes with a 32-bit driver and a SETUP.EXE program for
installing it. You might also be able to get a 32-bit driver that works
on your particular brand of computer from the manufacturer's on-line
bulletin board or a local dealer.
If you can't get Windows to start at all, you should try to re-install it
before doing anything more drastic. Rename your Windows directory to
OLDWIN (or the like), and re-install Windows. Once you get the new
installation of Windows working, you'll need to re-install all of your
Windows-based applications. This is not a quick task, but unfortunately
Windows is complicated enough to force you to start from scratch. The
installation programs for Windows applications usually write to the
WIN.INI file and perhaps a few others. The problem is that you don't
always know which files are changed (and how they're changed) when
installing any given Windows application.
Copyright (C) 1995 Road Warrior International. All
rights reserved.
Road Warrior is a registered trademark of Road Warrior
International, Inc.
ATTACHMENT 2
A few messages from the Compuserve Compaq Forum on subject of putting
new hard drives into Compaq notebooks
___________________________________________________________
Subj: New Harddisk Section: Laptops / Notebooks
To: To the world! Friday, June 14, 1996 07:10:21 AM
From: Klaus Marion, 101450,2375 #236153
Hi there!
My boss put a Compaq LTE ELITE 4/40C and a new Harddisk on my desk. He
went
away with the words: "Copy the contents from the old Harddisk to the
newer one! And
hurry!".
OKAY - no Problem. But: whats about the little (Setup?-) Partition at
the beginning of the
Harddisk. How can I get it on the new Disk??
I really don't no: No Floppy-Disks, no User Guide, nothing.
I think, there ist a trick (A special Setup-Programm?) to create this
Partition for the fist
time?!
Please, give me a hint!
Thank you for your kindness
Bye!
Klaus
___________________________________________________________
Subj: New Harddisk Section: Laptops / Notebooks
To: Klaus Marion, 101450,2375 Monday, June 17, 1996 02:01:12 PM
From: Andy Switzer[Sysop], 74777,1027 #236673
Klaus ,
To actually get the diags disks and create the partition , Simply boot
to the f10 diags on
the original hard drive . THen choose the maintain diags partition
selection in diags and
there will be a choice to "create diags and setup disks".. Create and
then (with the new
hard drive installed) boot to the diags .. Go back to the maintain diags
partition and
create it .. Wa La!!
Regards
Andy Switzer
Compaq online support
___________________________________________________________
Subj: New Harddisk Section: Laptops / Notebooks
To: Klaus Marion, 101450,2375 Friday, June 14, 1996 11:57:05 AM
From: Amber Jett, 75327,1370 #236233
Klaus,
With the new Hard Drive installed, you need to run the setup disk from
the floppy. When
the computer boots into the setup, it will tell you "that your diagnostic
partition is
missing, and to create a new one". At this point you will need to follow
the directions on
the screen to create the diagnostic partition.
When the computer is done creating the diagnostic partition, it will
reboot. When the
cursor goes into the upper right hand corner, press the f10 key. This
will ensure that the
diagnostic partition is working correctly. If you have any problems
getting into the setup
this way, you will need to delete and then recreate the diagnostic
partition.
VERY IMPORTANT!! Create the diagnostic partition before you do the file
transfer, or
you can lose all the information on the Hard Drive. I hope this
information helps you.
Amber Jett 1-800-240-6190 or 916-536-3710
Corporate Upgrades Fax 916-536-3719
World Wide Web: http://www.ns.net/upgradesinc (Newly Updated!!! Check
It Out!!)
Internet E-Mail: aj...@upgradesinc.com
___________________________________________________________
Subj: AERO NON-DOS PARTITION Section: Contura / Concerto
To: ALL Tuesday, October 29, 1996
06:26:13 PM
From: len kearl, 76637,124 #261981
HI,
DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT IS IN THE NON-DOS PARTITION ON AN AERO.
I'M THINKING OF A HARD DRIVE UPGRADE AND DON'T WANT TO LOOSE ANYTHING
IMPORTANT.
THANKS FOR THE HELP
LEN
___________________________________________________________
Subj: AERO NON-DOS PARTITION Section: Contura / Concerto
To: len kearl, 76637,124 Thursday, October 31, 1996
10:39:25 AM
From: Andy Switzer[Sysop], 74777,1027 #262377
Len,
That is where the f10 diags and setup are loaded . When you get a new
hard drive . You
need to make the diags and setup disks from a slection within f10 diags
(partition
maintenance and create diags setup disks) . Then before you partition the
new drive
you will have to boot to the diags disk and create the diagnostics setup
partition .
Regards
Andy Switzer
Compaq Online Support
___________________________________________________________
Subj: Aero HDD Upgrade Section: Laptops / Notebooks
To: Sysop Wednesday, May 15, 1996 08:09:29
AM
From: Brian Hughes, 72652,616 #229603
Hi there, I hope you can help me.
I recently bought a 540MB Hitachi Hard drive for my Aero 4/33c (to
replace my 170MB
unit). The new drive is 1050 cyls, 16 Heads, 63 sectors. but when I put
these into the
setup screen I can only format the first 250MB of the drive. The
diagnostics seek tests
fail when accessing any cylinders above 522. Even more curious is the
fact that when I
change the parameters to say 45 sectors/track then the diagnostics can
access
cylinders up to the 800 range. In fact any combination of these
parameters limits me to
250MB.
The drive works perfectly in a (non compaq) notebook.
Is there a bios patch or something to allow me to use this drive?
Please help
Thanks
Brian hughes
___________________________________________________________
Subj: Aero HDD Upgrade Section: Laptops / Notebooks
To: Brian Hughes, 72652,616 Wednesday, May 15, 1996 12:03:22
PM
From: Andy Switzer[Sysop], 74777,1027 #229682
Brian ,
Upgrade the roms on this unit and let the unit setup the drive as type
65 ... It shoul;d be
fine .
Regards
Andy Switzer
Compaq online support
Apply these update packages in the order given, after executing or
unzipping
and executing each one to create update floppies (yes, you need five
floppies):
Forum Library Description (To install)
name----------- -------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------
sp1487.exe (Replaced SP1331.) Flash ROM update (Boot using the
floppy, on
AC power)
SP1248.EXE DOS update (From DOS, run A:\INSTALL)
SP1045.ZIP PCMCIA update (A:\INSTALL)
SP0891.ZIP Windows 3.1 (In Windows, do File, Run,
A:\CPQINST )
SP1249.EXE Supp. Windows (A:\CPQINST )
You'll see an occasional note referring to other files, e.g. SP0892, but
it
turns
out (when you get the whole set) that SP1249 superceded SP0892, and so
forth. In other words, this set seems to be current and consistent.
They
weren't
all in the same library, so I just let WinCIM search "all libraries."
"After the install, rem out the line in the config.sys that has the
pcmsmix
driver in it."
in...@laptop-notebook.com
Juergen Stupperich <ju...@stud.uni-sb.de> wrote:
>Hallo!
>Yesterday I tried to update my Compaq Contura 420C by replacing the
>original HD (350 MB, IBM) with a 810 MB (Hitachi DK 223A - 81).
>After this the Compaq denied booting. So I reinstalled the old HD
>but still nothing happened.
>Here are the symptoms: Only the power LED lights (sometimes also the
>lowest battery LED) and that's all. No display backlight is switched on,
>no memory checked, the HD isn't spinning, no question for the boot
>password appears, <F10> doesn't work, ...
>As you will understand I'm quite disappointed: Will I be able to fix this
>or do I have to send it to compaq and wait for a long time?
> ny hints are very appreciated!
>Many thanx and merry christmas,
> Juergen
It is a long way from the US.
But if you send the machine to us, we will fix/repair it.
Nationwide Computer Support specializes in upgrade solutions for notebook,
and laptop computers. We can upgrade the CPU, RAM, and Hard Drive of
most portables. Bring your 386 machine up to a 486. Bring your 486 up
to 586-133 using Advanced Micro Device chip.
If you are interested in repair, LCD, battery, AC Adapter etc.
please let us know.
Nationwide Computer Support
281-565-7812
http://www.laptop-notebook.com