I first had error 1790-disk 0 error, after trying a flash rom update I can't even boot

[Stephen Lima]

I tried to flash rompaq 4000 SP8425.exe it started ok, even told me not to cycle power and it was "flashing", but then it just stopped and now it will not even start up the monitor or boot from floppy or CD. How can I recover the BIOS?

below is the info from another unit that is similar to the one I was working on.
Product . . . . . . . . . . . . Compaq Deskpro 4000
Machine ID
From System Board . . . . . . 368
Processor . . . . . . . . . . . Pentium II(R) at 266 MHz
System ROM
Revision . . . . . . . . . . 02/04/1998
Family . . . . . . . . . . 686V
Flashable . . . . . . . . . Yes
Supports F10 partition . . . Yes
Socketed . . . . . . . . . . No

[Vincent Fleming]

That happened to me once a few years back on some no-name computer...

I had to get a new FW chip shipped to me. (from some guy in Texas who had nothing to do with the manufacturer, no less... but that's another story)

Once the programming in the chip is hosed, the motherboard can't enter the BIOS (of course, it's hosed) to boot or anything. It's dead.

I replaced the chip, and it has worked fine ever since.

I think once in a while, a EEPROM like that just gets old and fails a program-rewrite. Then it's toast.

Good luck,

Vince

[Stephen Lima]

I tried to find an eeprom on the mother board, but I don't think it has one. Can anyone else verify if I can rescue the motherboard?

[C Kenyon]

I'm working on the same problem for a DeskPro 2000. I've downloaded the diagnostics and F10 Setup set but haven't been able to get them to work. I'm now trying it with a brand new drive.

A problem is that my computer won't boot from the floppy and I can't get into setup to change that without utilities run from the floppy.

[C Kenyon]

Still can't get the diagnostics on the new disk but the ROM upgrade did the trick so I stop getting the error message on booting.

I'm going to try Boot-It and then give up if that doesn't do it. Should be able to add the front partition to the boot table and change its type. We'll see.

[Stephen Lima]

which specific rom upgrade did you download, please can you give me a direct path?

[C Kenyon]

I'm not sure how I got to it - and this site is a maze - but the file is SP15800.exe and got rid of the disk error just fine. Still can't get the F10 partition - even onto a new disk. My system is a DeskPro 2000 running a Pentium 166 chip.

[Vijayasekar Rajsekar]

I just underwent this surgery for the same Deskpro 4000/6266 MMX model after attempting to add a Ultra/133 40 GB drive from Maxtor. Also you have used the wrong ROM patch.
Try the following:

1. Reset the CMOS using the jumper settings (wait for atleast 5 mts.)
2. Flash the ROM using SoftPaq 12880 dated 3 Aug 1999 (check HP patch website).
3. Cycle power and boot the system using F10 diskette (SoftPaq 8126 dated 27 Aug 1998)
4. If needed, run PC diagnostics to check everything (SoftPaq 16085)
4. Save the settings and exit.
5. Cycle power to see if system boots.
6. The POST error 1790 shows up if a higher capacity (> 32 GB) disk has been installed and BIOS will show the number of cylinders as 0. A separate controller card will solve this error.

[Mike_522]

Hi - I own a Model DP4000 6233MMX 3200/CDS DOM. I recently tried to install SoftPaq 12880 to fix a DISK (0) Error 1790. When I was installing SoftPaq 12880, I received a message that it couldn't be installed. Now I can not boot my PC. I tried booting from the floppy, Cd and hard drive. Nothing worked. It gives a beeping pattern on power-up which goes like this:1 Beep and 2 quick beeps when I turn the workstation on. How do I get my original ROM settings back and boot my PC? Can I use SoftPAQ 12880 to correct the 1790 error? I believe it is due to installing a larger hard drive.
Thanks