[Ham-Computers] Help With Diagnosis
Duane Fischer, W8DBF
dfischer at usol.com
Sat Dec 1 18:30:42 EST 2007
Hi Dan,
You are correct, NOW is the time!
I have a Compaq Prosario Windows 98a machine that is 450 MHZ P2 with 128 Meg
of RAM, a 20 Gig HD, 1.44 Meg 3.5 inch drive, 100 Meg zip drive and all the
serial and parallel ports I need. The HD failed on it, the first failure I
ever had with a computer in 25 years! I learned after the fact that the
particular drive in that Compaq had factory issues from the start. Failure
was a question of "if", but of "when". I had the original 12 Gig HD replaced
and the OS reinstalled in December of 2005.
All the data from the failed drive is on a DVD to be put back on the
machine.
My oldest grandson, whom I trained as a computer and radio jr. tech, moved
to a different school district. So he has not been able to get to grandpa's
since his last visit of length in January of 2006.
What time we had to set the machine back up so grandpa could use it, was
inadequate. We only got about half of it done. Since there is no speech on
the system, it has to be installed and configured for both Windows and for
DOS. Not something even a computer gifted blind person really should do
alone. Too easy to make a mistake and damage a file or program etc.
However, with probable impending doom hanging over my head, I decided to do
it by myself, without any speech and 'hope' that I did not type a single
character wrong or in a place different then where I should have been.
I am not able to copy the drive Dan, or I would have done that immediately.
I have to wait for somebody I can "trust" to find time to do it for me.
Unfortunately, I need to use the computer every day, and with the holidays
coming, well ... You can guess the rest. How long can I wait?
So I decided I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. I have the
knowledge, but I can not see the screen. Like playing that generally fatal
game with the handgun with one unloaded chamber!
I had already built a 3.5 inch boot disk. So I could boot to either Win 98a
or directly into MS DOS.
The speech synthesizer is external and uses COM#1. I had to copy all the
drivers etc. from a different machine to a zip disk first. The failing
machine uses the DECTALK PC internal card, but one of my machines uses the
external version known as the DECTALK Express. So I copied the files from
the "DTEXP" directory to a zip disk.
I booted the speechless machine into Windows, did a CTRL + ESCAPE for the
home screen, managed to get dumb lucky and get into "programs" and even more
dumb lucky and guess which one of the "M" I pressed was the one for "MS DOS
Prompt"! Did a CD\
to get out of Windows and to a C:\ prompt.
>From there I created the new directory, put the zip disk into the drive,
typed "D:" and enter. Hoping that was the letter of the zip drive! It was.
Then I copied all the drivers into the directory I had created on the C:\
drive.
Then I had to modify the autoexec.bat and config.sys files I did this on a
Windows XP system using Word Pad. Saved them and copied them from the A:
drive.
Then I had to create a batch file to load the speech drivers and so forth.
What I thought should work, did not work. I finally gave up using the boot
files, let it boot to the C:\ promp, and typed them in manually.
I got one driver to load, I could hear that one through the speaker. But
still no speech.
I remembered years ago doing this with another system and the instructions
being wrong. It was sending the computer to the directory where all the
drivers and files for the speech synthesizer were stored, even though my
batch file instructed it to exit that directory, I had a hunch it was sent
elsewhere by a batch file in this directory, hence it skipped my exit
command.
So I bypassed the directory, loaded the driver from my memory, and then
manually went into the speech directory and loaded the driver and the screen
reading program. Bingo! It started to talk!
I rewrote the autoexec.bat and config.sys files, rewrote the speech driver
batch file and it is now talking as it should.
I am now copying everything I can from the ailing machine into the
directories on the Win 98a machine. A very slow process with PK ZIP and only
a 1.44 Meg diskette! But it is better then nothing and losing everything.
After I get all the critical files copied, I will quit and hope somebody
copies the rest of what is on the drive to a new drive for me. At least this
way, I hope, I will have the critical files I need on a daily basis
meanwhile.
Duane Fischer, W8DBF/WPE8CXO
dfischer at usol.com
HHI: Halligan's Hallicrafters International
http://www.w9wze.net
HHRP: Historic Halligan Radio Project
hhrp.w9wze.net
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dan Violette" <danki6x at earthlink.net>
To: "'Computers (or other) used for amateur radio, communications, or
experimenting'" <ham-computers at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Saturday, December 01, 2007 3:48 PM
Subject: RE: [Ham-Computers] Help With Diagnosis
> Duane, I am not the expert but since your drive is working, you could hook
> the new drive as a slave and clone your drive. Then move the new drive to
> the master position and not notice anything different and nothing to
> install. The old drive could be put away in a zip lock bag as a backup
> and
> stored. I know there are some concerns with different drive sizes, but I
> think there is software to clone over different drive sizes (ghost?). Now
> is the time to do something before it is too late.
>
> Dan KI6X
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ham-computers-bounces at mailman.qth.net
> [mailto:ham-computers-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Duane Fischer,
> W8DBF
> Sent: Saturday, December 01, 2007 11:55 AM
> To: Computers (or other) used for amateur radio, communications, or
> experimenting
> Subject: Re: [Ham-Computers] Help With Diagnosis
>
> Thank you Kurt. Some good suggestions and bits to byte upon.
>
> If I do replace the HD, the 'real' problem may be in getting someone to
> install the Win 95B OS I want on it! That OS has been the best one for me,
> as it works beautifully with all adaptive software and hardware items. It
> has both PCI and ISA slots so the longer speech boards from DEC fit.
>
> I could buy a refurbished Win 98 machine, but they all have the Win XP OS,
> which I do NOT want!
>
> The simple truth is, there are thousands of programs written in DOS, and
> other languages, that work perfectly for the blind on the Windows 95 and
> Win
> 98 platforms, most of these have not been rewritten in newer languages so
> they are not available on the systems after Win 98 was dropped. So like it
> or not, I either keep several Windows 95B or Win 98 SE machines operating
> here, along with a XP machine for the Internet, or go without.
>
> Duane
>
> Duane Fischer, W8DBF/WPE8CXO
> dfischer at usol.com
> HHI: Halligan's Hallicrafters International http://www.w9wze.net
> HHRP: Historic Halligan Radio Project
> hhrp.w9wze.net
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "KD7JYK DM09" <kd7jyk at earthlink.net>
> To: "Computers (or other) used for amateur radio, communications, or
> experimenting" <ham-computers at mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 11:24 PM
> Subject: Re: [Ham-Computers] Help With Diagnosis
>
>
>>I have heard a few hard disks make a whining noise before they fail.
>>Some times it is due to bearings, some times it is due to microscopic
>>wear on the disk surface causing a resonance between the disk and
>>heads and arms. In a few instances, it has been due to an electronic
>>malfunction causing the disk motor or arm motor to ring due to them
>>being sent a funky wave form due to degrading components. The old IBM
>>model 55s were notorious for this after baking an storage for a few
>>years. The problem is, one can not know how long the drive will last.
>>By far the worst is on an 80286 I still use, it sounds like chirping
>>brakes on a car. I wonder if the hard drive has some grease fittings
>>I can get to. If possible, if the drive can be put into another
>>computer, it can be tested for the same problem. If the problem stops
>>with a different mother board, it is most likely an electronic driver
>>problem. If the sound continues and if one can use a straw or
>>amplified stethoscope to narrow the sound to the disk alone, there is
>>your
> culprit.
>>
>> Kurt
>>
>> ______________________________________________________________
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>>
>>
>>
>> --
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>> Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.16.9/1155 - Release Date:
>> 11/27/2007 8:30 PM
>>
>>
>
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>
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