boot up problem--Compaq EN 6400

[Thom Leiter]

Hello All,

I have a problem booting up this system. I get a message stating: "No SCSI Boot Device Found", and "SCSI Bios not installed." Can you please help me.

Thanks

[Roger Faucher]

Thom:

I'm having a little trouble finding detailed information about your system.

Do you know if it actually has a SCSI boot hard drive or does it use IDE? In either case, I suspect you may have a BIOS configuration problem. Very quickly after applying power to your system, you should see a flashing block cursor in the upper right corner of the monitor. When you do, press the F10 key immediately. That should get you into the BIOS Setup/Configuration program. Try restoring the default settings and see if that helps your problem (don't forget to SAVE when exiting the Setup program.

Also, please post more information about your system from the sticker(s) on the case (don't post your Serial Number).
Happy 2004

Roger

[Thom Leiter]

Thanks for your reply Roger and happy new year.

You are right, it is a BIOS configuration problem. Here is the info on the sticker:

COMPAQ EN 6400 910 DOM.

The problem is I am not sure what the default settings for the BIOS should be in this machine.

[Roger Faucher · Accepted solution]

Thom:

The manual at the following location:
http://h200006.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/UCR/SupportManual/TPM_200803-002/TPM_200803-002.pdf
offers the following procedure to restore the 'last known good' copy of NVRAM (which includes the BIOS (CMOS) settings):
"Each time the system boots, the system ROM saves a copy of NVRAM (including
CMOS, passwords, and other system variables) in the flash ROM. Should the system
become unstable, the last known good copy of NVRAM can be restored using a feature
called â power button override.â To restore NVRAM, do the following:
1. With the unit powered down, press and release the power button.
2. Immediately after pressing the power button (during POST), press and hold the
power button until the unit powers down (approximately 4 seconds).
At the next boot, the ROM detects this â power button overrideâ event and the backup
copy of NVRAM is restored.
Because of this feature, users cannot power off the computer immediately after powering up. The video display must be active before the computer can be powered off."

If that procedure doesn't solve your problem; in the BIOS setup, there is an option to boot from IDE or SCSI hard drive. I would try manually setting this to IDE. If you do all of that and still have problems, the IDE drive settings in the BIOS may be set wrong or there may be a problem with your hard drive.

Hope something here h

[Roger Faucher]

Thom:

May I infer from the 10 points that your problem is resolved? If so, please tell us specifically what resolved it for the benefit of other readers.

Thanks

Roger