CMOS Issue

[smlaemm]

Ran into big trouble at a gig tonight. Lost the computer. Started with the secondary lyrics display not working. I had seen that the very first time I plugged in the machine. Can't recall what I had done to get around it but nothing seemed to work. Somehow I did the impossible and disabled both monitors so that neither one was a primary display. I could not see anything or control the computer. So I rebooted. Unfortunately, like an idiot, I wound up in CMOS and somehow reset stuff so that now the computer will not boot.

Big thanks to Ashton (PCGUMSHOE)! I had a friend get on the forum and send a note to somebody for help. He responded immediately with a phone number. He walked me through CMOS stuff, but we were still unsuccessful. Can't thank you enough Ashton for being so helpful in a crisis situation. Ashton is one of the beta testers.

Okay. Can I get my hands on a CMOS rebuild plan?

I have the shuttle portable pc with dual 120 gb and raid card setup. Purchased in July.

Scott

[jaddams]

Scott,

Which CMOS BIOS do you have? Which version number of that BIOS?

Jon

[smlaemm]

It is Phoenix - AwardBIOS. Is that the proper version number?

[jaddams]

Scott,

You just gave me the BIOS brand name, the version usually is a series of numbers. That’s okay though as most AwardBIOS behave the same way.

The first thing you need to do is get back into your CMOS Configuration Utility to see if can boot again and get into your Operating System.

To get into you CMOS:

Turn on your computer and as soon as you see the first few characters on your monitor, press the DEL key. This should take you into your CMOS. Now, (depending on you CMOS version number, you may see several “F” function keys at the bottom of your screen “F5” usually will load your setup defaults.

If F keys are not there, then Navigate to the “Exit” menu and click on it. On the Drop Down that follows you should see a selection that says “Load Setup Defaults” this should load the factory default for your computer and erase any mistakes you might have made in you CMOS.

Rebooting should allow you to open your Operating System.

If this works, please post back so we can address any other problems you may have.

Good luck,

Jon

P.S. I am afraid I have another BIOS question for you. Can you tell me the BIOS Brand and number for you RAID controller. If it’s a Promise RAID controller, do you have the “Lite BIOS Version?”

[smlaemm]

Bios version looks to be 6.00PG.

The Fast Track raid controller version is 2.00.0.33.

Under CMOS, I don't see any "F" keys to load the defaults on the main menu page. The exit option doesn't bring up that either, it just gives you a chance to enter y/n to exit.

On the main page, there is the "Load Fail-Safe Defaults", but that is the option I had first went into that I think messed me up.

[MTUSUPPORT]

Scott,
When you turn the computer on, what happens exactly? What part does it quit booting or do you lose the Display?

Have you made sure that you didn't plug your computer Monitor into VGA 2? If you do this, it can screw up the system.

[pcgumshoe]

From what Scott described to me last night, it sounds like he was trying, franticly (remember how some karaoke singers can be :g ), to resolve the problem. He rebooted the system and was planning on going into WINDOWS SAFE MODE and the system wouldn't reboot into Windows.

Next, he rebooted again and this time ended up in the CMOS. At this point he tried to restore the default settings using the listed option. He tried the optimized and the default.

Where I think he got into trouble, and I don't have the RAID card or the Shuttle, is that these default settings do not identify the raid controller as the PRIMARY boot drive.

What I wasn't sure of was this:

1. Are any of the drives connected to an IDE controller that is BUILT onto the motherboard, or
2. Is the raid controller plugged into a PCI slot


If the former, then the CMOS issue should have worked. If the latter, maybe not.

After we tinkered with it for a while, I downloaded the Shuttle manual and reviewed it rather rapidly. Couldn't find any immediate suggestions EXCEPT to list the second boot device (After the floppy) as the SCSI controller (Thereby making it the RAID Device).

Discussion:

Would windows begin to boot and give the options of Safe, last known configuration, etc. if the system was not correctly set up in the CMOS? Maybe, maybe not.

I think he may have done something to WINDOWS and now it won't reboot. Does the Shuttle system ship with a restore disk? Have you considered building a restore disk? Bryan, PM me if you want some ideas on developing that, in a situation like this it might be useful.

The easiest solution I think we may come across is a repair of Windows, however, Scott may loose the functionality of HOSTER for a short spell and have to reload JUST the program. His songs should be reserved elsewhere on the HDD.

ALL that being said, isn't the theory behind RAID that the two drives are identical in case of failure? Wouldn't this be a failure that may need to be addressed?

Just adding my knowledge of the situation and some direction

[jaddams]

Originally posted by PCgumshoe
ALL that being said, isn't the theory behind RAID that the two drives are identical in case of failure? Wouldn't this be a failure that may need to be addressed?
It depends on how you set up you RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks configuration.) The idea behind this technique is to combine two or more hard drives for data redundancy in case of hard drive failure.

A RAID configuration can be set up as follows:

RAID 0:
Uses a method called Data Stripping where one combines two or more hard drives into one large volume. RAID 0 read and write much faster than non-RAID setups. RAID 0 does not offer Data Redundancy.

[b]RAID 1:
Mirrors one drive onto another same sized drive. This method offers maximum data integrity and gives immediate access to the data when 1 drive fails.

RAID 5:
For the best balance of capacity and redundancy, it stripes all drives onto one volume; one of the drives is used to store parity data. When one drives fail, the data is rebuilt using the parity date. RAID 5 must have a minimum of 3 hard drives

Jon

[jaddams]

Scott,

There are several Shuttle computers, which one are we talking about here. Which motherboard do you have? Is it AMD or Intel-Based?

Perhaps PCGumshoe downloaded the right manual, if so, can you tell me which manual Ashton?

Thank you, this will help a lot.

Jon

[MTUSUPPORT]

This is the Shuttle SN41G2 that we shipped to Scott. This system has the AMD 2200 Processor installed.


Scott, Make sure that you have the Computer Monitor plugged into the VGA 1 Port and not the VGA 2 Port. This can sometimes make the screen disappear when going into Windows.

[jaddams]

Bryan,

4 minutes? Man talk about fast response!!!:g:g

RAID 1, I assume?

Best regards,

Jon

[MTUSUPPORT]

Raid 1 is correct Jaddams on the FastTrack TX2000, with the Bios version of .33 which is the latest version from Promise.

[MTUSUPPORT]

The problem seems to lie with the Video driver getting messed up some how. The system is being shipped back to me Tommorrow. It is also unable to boot into Safe Mode, so I am not sure, but I am about 100% sure that it is the Video driver/ setting that has been screwed up.

[pcgumshoe]

Bryan, when I spoke to him on the phone at his show, I thought that he may have had the Monitors backwards and asked. He said that he was using TWO computer monitors in his set-up (thereby eliminating the synch issue on a TV if incorrectly configured)

The manual is contained herebelow.

[jaddams]

Bryan,

It may be video driver related, we will find out when the system gets to MTU.

Please, if you can, post back where the problem was.

Regards,

Jon

[jaddams]

My sincerest apologies in advance, I don’t mean to dissect the following, however, I don’t see any other way to address the questions, blue text is mine:

Originally posted by PCGumshoe
Would windows begin to boot and give the options of Safe, last known configuration, etc. if the system was not correctly set up in the CMOS? Maybe, maybe not.

It would not, “Safe Mode, Last Know Configurations, etc.” are software-based options. For Windows to give you these options, it must first recognize the booting device.

I think he may have done something to WINDOWS and now it won't reboot. Does the Shuttle system ship with a restore disk? Have you considered building a restore disk? Bryan, PM me if you want some ideas on developing that, in a situation like this it might be useful.

Other than MTU’s Shuttle, I don’t know of any system, that ships with a RAID configuration setup. RAID’s configurations are usually specifics to a business or an individual. MTU’s Shuttle ships with a RAID 1 configurations, and this is only my opinion, because they sell it as a specialized machine for Hoster. Perhaps MTU ships its Shuttle with a restore disk, but even then, it must have a properly set CMOS to recognize the booting device.


The easiest solution I think we may come across is a repair of Windows, however, Scott may loose the functionality of HOSTER for a short spell and have to reload JUST the program. His songs should be reserved elsewhere on the HDD.

One cannot “repair” Windows if one cannot boot.

Regards,

Jon

[pcgumshoe]

Sorry, think I didn't get the file in there... Jon, here is the Zip of the manual I found on the Shuttle site.

I should note that the CMOS Scott is describing is not the one pictured here... its not the PHOENIX one issued by PHOENIX it is the AWARD one.... I don't understand, the phoenix one says award, but award is different.

[MTUSUPPORT]

He was telling me something about he was able to set both monitors to the Primary Monitors for both. I believe that this has messed up the video driver somehow.

This is why when the driver loads, the monitors both go black. I am not sure why it won't allow him to go into Safe mode, without the Video going out also.

[pcgumshoe]

Well, I don't know if I asked, but, it is possible to use the IDE on the motherboard and a RAID controller (at lease another IDE controller). So, if some of the drivers were booting from the IDE and some from the RAID, his boot COULD have been on the one loading from the IDE and the main software stored on the RAID.

As I indicated to Scott, I don't have the Shuttle and I AM NOT AN EMPLOYEE of MTU.... I just received an PM from his girlfriend saying HELP!!! and I responded to see if I could.

It didn't make any sense that his system would get to windows if ALL the software was stored on the RAID drives...

By the way, on the Manual, I could PM you Jon and send it to you because I don't think it is going to let me post it, it is near the limit.

[pcgumshoe]

http://www.shuttle.com/hq/support/download/download_site.asp?url=~ftp://ftp.shuttle.com/Manuals/en/fn41/fn41en.zip

Try this one more time...


Couldn't paste the zip file to the bottom.


Ashton

[jaddams]

Thank you Ashton,

Part of your link worked. Here is the correct link ftp://ftp.shuttle.com/Manuals/en/fn41/fn41en.zip

Thanks again

Jon

[jaddams]

Originally posted by MTUSupport
He was telling me something about he was able to set both monitors to the Primary Monitors for both. I believe that this has messed up the video driver somehow.

This is why when the driver loads, the monitors both go black. I am not sure why it won't allow him to go into Safe mode, without the Video going out also.
This doesn’t make too much sense to me. Safe Mode boots using standard VGA drivers built into Windows. If he cannot boot in safe mode, the problems lies somewhere else, not on the video drivers. I still suspect improper setting on CMOS, as it can be confusing to set up CMOS using a RAID 1 configuration after disabling it, accidentally or not.

Best regards,

Jon

[smlaemm]

Thank you all for support on this. After talking with Bryan today, I think the best thing to do is send the computer to him. Will look forward to the results!

Scott

[jaddams]

Good move Scott. Bryan and the rest of the crew at MTU will fix it.

Regards,

Jon