15 Aug
2013
15 Aug
'13
5:31 p.m.
I picked up a Deskpro/286 the other day. It passes POST, and the hard disk
(an IBM 0665 30MB F/H ST-412 unit) spins up and makes encouraging noises,
but then it stops (after apparently trying to boot via floppy) with a "non
system disk or disk error" message.
IIRC, there's a setup utility on the Compaq DOS disks - does this include
configuration of the hard disk? I wonder if the system's simply lost NVRAM
settings and so the disk controller is trying to talk to the drive using
the wrong geometry (although of course it could just as easily be a faulty
or formatted drive). There's no obvious manufacturer of the combined
floppy/hard disk controller board, but it's perhaps reasonable to assume
that it's whatever was originally shipped with the system.
If I do need the Compaq DOS floppies, does anyone have images available
(3.5" preferred, but I think I have some spare 5.25" HD floppies and could
put the Compaq's drive into my desktop PC temporarily to write them)
thanks
Jules
15 Aug
15 Aug
7:41 p.m.
On 8/15/2013 2:31 PM, Jules Richardson wrote:
If I do need the Compaq DOS floppies, does anyone have images
available (3.5" preferred, but I think I have some spare 5.25" HD
floppies and could put the Compaq's drive into my desktop PC
temporarily to write them)
amazingly ftp.compaq.com is still online. You can go
to /pub/softpaq
and get anything. I have downloaded all of the softpaq so I could
search the indices.
I'll email you the index of SP 0000 thru 23000 offline direct. After
that from SP23000 thru 45000 there are only the indexes for each product.
I will work on a full index of all the sp****.txt files to have if you
need more.
thanks
jim
10:25 p.m.
On 08/15/2013 06:41 PM, Jim Stephens wrote:
On 8/15/2013 2:31 PM, Jules Richardson wrote:
Oh, that's great! I figured that the couple of documentation scans on HP's
website was all that had survived after the takeover.
Thanks (& also for the index that you sent off-list), I'll have a poke
around...
Jules
If I do need the Compaq DOS floppies, does anyone have images available
(3.5" preferred, but I think I have some spare 5.25" HD floppies and
could put the Compaq's drive into my desktop PC temporarily to write them)
amazingly ftp.compaq.com is still online. You can go to /pub/softpaq and
get anything. I have downloaded all of the softpaq so I could search the
indices. 
16 Aug
16 Aug
2:57 a.m.
On Thu, 15 Aug 2013, Jules Richardson wrote:
On 08/15/2013 06:41 PM, Jim Stephens wrote:
Unfortunately, the file permissions for
ftp://ftp.compaq.com/pub/supportinformation/techpubs/ are still set wrong
and prevent us from accessing all the service and maintenance guides that
are buried in there. It has been messed up for a number of years and I've
yet to figure out who to contact to get this fixed.
On 8/15/2013 2:31 PM, Jules Richardson wrote:
Oh, that's great! I figured that the couple of documentation scans on
HP's website was all that had survived after the takeover.
Thanks (& also for the index that you sent off-list), I'll have a poke
around... If I do need the Compaq DOS floppies, does anyone
have images
available (3.5" preferred, but I think I have some spare 5.25" HD
floppies and could put the Compaq's drive into my desktop PC
temporarily to write them)
amazingly ftp.compaq.com is still online. You can go to /pub/softpaq
and get anything. I have downloaded all of the softpaq so I could
search the indices. 
3:56 a.m.
On 8/15/2013 11:57 PM, Tothwolf wrote:
On Thu, 15 Aug 2013, Jules Richardson wrote:
did you look at the techpubs folder at this location:
/pub/supportinformation/papers/techpubs
steve
On 08/15/2013 06:41 PM, Jim Stephens wrote:
Unfortunately, the file permissions for
ftp://ftp.compaq.com/pub/supportinformation/techpubs/ are still set
wrong and prevent us from accessing all the service and maintenance
guides that are buried in there. It has been messed up for a number of
years and I've yet to figure out who to contact to get this fixed.
On 8/15/2013 2:31 PM, Jules Richardson wrote:
Oh, that's great! I figured that the couple of documentation scans on
HP's website was all that had survived after the takeover.
Thanks (& also for the index that you sent off-list), I'll have a
poke around... If I do need the Compaq DOS floppies, does anyone
have images
available (3.5" preferred, but I think I have some spare 5.25" HD
floppies and could put the Compaq's drive into my desktop PC
temporarily to write them)
amazingly ftp.compaq.com is still online. You can go to
/pub/softpaq and get anything. I have downloaded all of the softpaq
so I could search the indices.
4:11 a.m.
On Fri, 16 Aug 2013, steve shumaker wrote:
On 8/15/2013 11:57 PM, Tothwolf wrote:
I have. I have lots of links for pdf files which are in
ftp://ftp.compaq.com/pub/supportinformation/techpubs/ that are not in
/pub/supportinformation/papers/techpubs
On Thu, 15 Aug 2013, Jules Richardson wrote:
did you look at the techpubs folder at this location:
/pub/supportinformation/papers/techpubs On 08/15/2013 06:41 PM, Jim Stephens wrote:
Unfortunately, the file permissions for
ftp://ftp.compaq.com/pub/supportinformation/techpubs/ are still set wrong
and prevent us from accessing all the service and maintenance guides that
are buried in there. It has been messed up for a number of years and I've
yet to figure out who to contact to get this fixed. On 8/15/2013 2:31 PM, Jules Richardson wrote:
> If I do need the Compaq DOS floppies, does anyone have images available
> (3.5" preferred, but I think I have some spare 5.25" HD floppies and
> could put the Compaq's drive into my desktop PC temporarily to write
> them)
amazingly ftp.compaq.com is still online. You can go to /pub/softpaq and
get anything. I have downloaded all of the softpaq so I could search the
indices.
Oh, that's great! I figured that the couple of documentation scans on HP's
website was all that had survived after the takeover.
Thanks (& also for the index that you sent off-list), I'll have a poke
around...
4:23 a.m.
On 8/16/2013 1:11 AM, Tothwolf wrote:
On Fri, 16 Aug 2013, steve shumaker wrote:
ahh... just wondered... been following the thread and sort of fell
into the folder when I went poking.. oh well. back to sleep lol
steve
On 8/15/2013 11:57 PM, Tothwolf wrote:
I have. I have lots of links for pdf files which are in
ftp://ftp.compaq.com/pub/supportinformation/techpubs/ that are not in
/pub/supportinformation/papers/techpubs
On Thu, 15 Aug 2013, Jules Richardson wrote:
did you look at the techpubs folder at this location:
/pub/supportinformation/papers/techpubs On 08/15/2013 06:41 PM, Jim Stephens wrote:
> On 8/15/2013 2:31 PM, Jules Richardson wrote:
>
>> If I do need the Compaq DOS floppies, does anyone have images
>> available (3.5" preferred, but I think I have some spare 5.25" HD
>> floppies and could put the Compaq's drive into my desktop PC
>> temporarily to write them)
>
> amazingly ftp.compaq.com is still online. You can go to
> /pub/softpaq and get anything. I have downloaded all of the
> softpaq so I could search the indices.
Oh, that's great! I figured that the couple of documentation scans
on HP's website was all that had survived after the takeover.
Thanks (& also for the index that you sent off-list), I'll have a
poke around...
Unfortunately, the file permissions for
ftp://ftp.compaq.com/pub/supportinformation/techpubs/ are still set
wrong and prevent us from accessing all the service and maintenance
guides that are buried in there. It has been messed up for a number
of years and I've yet to figure out who to contact to get this fixed.
9:43 a.m.
On 08/15/2013 06:41 PM, Jim Stephens wrote:
On 8/15/2013 2:31 PM, Jules Richardson wrote:
Hmm, I think almost all of that is related to later systems from the '486
onward; there doesn't seem to be much in there at all from the '286 and
'386 timeframe. I do see a see a diagnostic disk from 1992 - although even
that is 7 years after the Deskpro/286's release, so I'm not sure if Compaq
would have retained support for older systems in there.
Mind you, the dates are perhaps a little suspect anyway - e.g. "ProLinea
486-Based PCs Windows 3.1 Support" dated November '87. I don't think The
i486 even came out until a couple of years or so after that.
Interesting how some of the descriptions are truncated. I did chuckle at
"The Windows Delete Utility will delete the Windows Delete Utility from the
hard drive.", which sounds like one of the most useful utilities ever. :-)
cheers
Jules
If I do need the Compaq DOS floppies, does anyone have images available
(3.5" preferred, but I think I have some spare 5.25" HD floppies and
could put the Compaq's drive into my desktop PC temporarily to write them)
amazingly ftp.compaq.com is still online. You can go to /pub/softpaq and
get anything. I have downloaded all of the softpaq so I could search the
indices.
I'll email you the index of SP 0000 thru 23000 offline direct. After that
from SP23000 thru 45000 there are only the indexes for each product.
10:40 a.m.
On Fri, 16 Aug 2013, Jules Richardson wrote:
On 08/15/2013 06:41 PM, Jim Stephens wrote:
The archives there go all the way back to the first 8086 Deskpro. I've
used them to make the 360k diagnostics disks.
On 8/15/2013 2:31 PM, Jules Richardson wrote:
Hmm, I think almost all of that is related to later systems from the
'486 onward; there doesn't seem to be much in there at all from the '286
and '386 timeframe. I do see a see a diagnostic disk from 1992 -
although even that is 7 years after the Deskpro/286's release, so I'm
not sure if Compaq would have retained support for older systems in
there. If I do need the Compaq DOS floppies, does anyone
have images
available (3.5" preferred, but I think I have some spare 5.25" HD
floppies and could put the Compaq's drive into my desktop PC
temporarily to write them)
amazingly ftp.compaq.com is still online. You can go to /pub/softpaq
and get anything. I have downloaded all of the softpaq so I could
search the indices.
I'll email you the index of SP 0000 thru 23000 offline direct. After
that from SP23000 thru 45000 there are only the indexes for each
product. Mind you, the dates are perhaps a little suspect
anyway - e.g. "ProLinea
486-Based PCs Windows 3.1 Support" dated November '87. I don't think The
i486 even came out until a couple of years or so after that.
Check the dates inside the zip files, those should be correct.
Interesting how some of the descriptions are
truncated. I did chuckle at
"The Windows Delete Utility will delete the Windows Delete Utility from
the hard drive.", which sounds like one of the most useful utilities
ever. :-)
What you are looking for will be in one of the low numbered directories
such as sp0000-0500, sp0501-1000, etc. Unfortunately most of these early
disk images don't have .txt description files. I too have a copy of most
of this archive but I've never gotten around to recreating a full index.
Back when these files were on the Compaq BBS, there were files.bbs
descriptions for all these disk images. Those apparently didn't make the
migration to the FTP server though. Since most of these are self-creating
disk images, there are file descriptions embedded in the .exe files.
6:55 p.m.
On 08/16/2013 09:40 AM, Tothwolf wrote:
The archives there go all the way back to the first
8086 Deskpro. I've used
them to make the 360k diagnostics disks.
Doh - I didn't appreciate that there was more to it than what was in the
descriptions. I'll do some more digging.
Having said that, the floppy functionality in the machine seems to have
gone pop, and it's now issuing a diskette controller error on startup. If
it's the 765 itself, at least that's socketed on the controller board, but
it's too early to say if that's the likely problem or not.
cheers
Jules
17 Aug
17 Aug
2:48 a.m.
On Fri, 16 Aug 2013, Jules Richardson wrote:
On 08/16/2013 09:40 AM, Tothwolf wrote:
It's in there, somewhere... Eventually I plan to recreate a full index for
this stuff, assuming Jim doesn't beat me to it ;)
The archives there go all the way back to the
first 8086 Deskpro. I've
used them to make the 360k diagnostics disks.
Doh - I didn't appreciate that there was more to it than what was in the
descriptions. I'll do some more digging. Having said that, the floppy functionality in the
machine seems to have
gone pop, and it's now issuing a diskette controller error on startup.
If it's the 765 itself, at least that's socketed on the controller
board, but it's too early to say if that's the likely problem or not.
I had similar issues with an 8086 Deskpro not that long ago. Both floppy
drives turned out to be completely gunked up and couldn't seek properly.
One other thing to be careful with is that these drives should not have
the diskette lock lever locked without a disk in them. They have a flimsy
interlock that is supposed to prevent turning the lever 90 degrees to lock
the drive without a disk in it, but it is so weak that it is easily forced
and broken. Once it breaks, you can't lock the disk at all. You may find
yours are already cracked. I've not yet come up with a way to repair
these, but maybe someone else has?
9:24 a.m.
On 08/17/2013 01:48 AM, Tothwolf wrote:
Hmm, that could be. I made the possibly-incorrect assumption that "diskette
controller error" meant that there was a problem with the FDC, rather than
with the attached drives, but maybe it does throw that error out if the
drive heads don't seek to track 0 within a certain time at boot-up.
I'd already checked and cleaned drive heads, but you're right and maybe the
grease for the head positioner has dried up. I'll clean it all out and
re-grease it...
On Fri, 16 Aug 2013, Jules Richardson wrote:
:)
On 08/16/2013 09:40 AM, Tothwolf wrote:
It's in there, somewhere... Eventually I plan to recreate a full index for
this stuff, assuming Jim doesn't beat me to it ;) The archives there go all the way back to the
first 8086 Deskpro. I've
used them to make the 360k diagnostics disks.
Doh - I didn't appreciate that there was more to it than what was in the
descriptions. I'll do some more digging. Having said
that, the floppy functionality in the machine seems to have
gone pop, and it's now issuing a diskette controller error on startup. If
it's the 765 itself, at least that's socketed on the controller board,
but it's too early to say if that's the likely problem or not.
I had similar issues with an 8086 Deskpro not that long ago. Both floppy
drives turned out to be completely gunked up and couldn't seek properly. One other thing to be careful with is that these
drives should not have the
diskette lock lever locked without a disk in them. They have a flimsy
interlock that is supposed to prevent turning the lever 90 degrees to lock
the drive without a disk in it, but it is so weak that it is easily forced
and broken. Once it breaks, you can't lock the disk at all.
I remember that from some models of drive certainly - although the 5.25"
unit in this system isn't of that design. It's a HD "1.2MB" unit -
Mitsubishi MF504B-362U - and quite possibly non-original (I'm not even sure
if the system came with a HD drive as standard; maybe that was an option
and a DD 360KB drive was normal?)
You may find
yours are already cracked. I've not yet come up with a way to repair these,
but maybe someone else has?
If it's the bit I'm thinking of, it would probably be possible to make a
replacement by suitable drilling and carving of some scrap plastic.
cheers
Jules
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jules.richardson99＠gmail.com -
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tothwolf＠concentric.net