On Fri, 30 May 2003, Anthony J. Albert wrote: > Dear James, > > A "PnP halt error" sounds like it would be some sort of error which > occurs during the boot-up ennumeration of the PnP devices ( part of the > normal boot process, when the CPU is running the boot code in the BIOS > ) which would cause the machine to hang. > > This could be the problem for your system. If there is sufficient > evidence of the problem, based on what other people report for that > BIOS, and from the manufacturer's reports, then I'd say it was a likely > culprit and try to apply any fix that's available. > I found reference to the problem by searching the web under some general terms for this BIOS, It was not in any kind of user forums or anything, but included in a note to BIOS flashes/updates from the manufacturer. If it were a widespread problem, I would expect to get more results on a web search under the term "pnp halt error," but only 2 entries come up in Google. It would be in the manufacturer's interest to keep the problem quiet, but I have to guess that if alot of people were running up against the problem I'm having, there would be more about it on the web. Still, this particular BIOS problem does remain a possiblity.
> Otherwise, it could be one of a number of problems. I'd suggest > replacing the CMOS battery - that's something I've seen solve this sort > of problem. Otherwise, it could be a flakey power supply, bad CPU, or > shorts on the motherboard, or one of a whole bunch of hardware > problems. > I've tried other CPU's in it, to no avail. No way to really test other power supplies: this one's a tiny little thing with the weirdest mobo plug I've seen in my short computer cannibalizing career. Tried different RAM chip, too. > The only thin client I know of that fits this description is the > ThinkNIC, and if it is one, you might try looking for some info, or > putting a post about it, on this WWW site: > > http://www.linux-hacker.net/ > > Look for the "I-Appliance Forum" link, on the left. > Thanks. It is a ThinkNIC. I'm not even sure how I'd go about flashing the BIOS with it 1) acting up the way it is - can't get that far in the boot process; 2) it not having a floppy drive. I suppose I could back up its flash memory chip (4MB) to some hard drive I have, make the chip bootable with a minimal DOS install and put the BIOS flash on there. Or maybe make a Freedos bootable CD with the BIOS flash on it, since the thing autoboots from CD. Maybe in a couple of months it will again boot for me . . . Then there's the question of whether any old BIOS flash will work on this BIOS: the machine has a pretty non-standard setup (1 IDE channel, no floppy, no expansion slots). Thanks for your input. James PS Btw, anyone got any ideas on how I'd go about making a DOS bootable CD, i.e., a CD with a DOS system on it the computer could boot from? Thanks. To unsubscribe from SURVPC send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with unsubscribe SURVPC in the body of the message. Also, trim this footer from any quoted replies. More info can be found at; http://www.softcon.com/archives/SURVPC.html
