Old Compaq expert required

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colinJohn
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Old Compaq expert required

Post by colinJohn »

It's been quite a while since I was last here; good to see some of the old timers still around :-)

I seem to remember that there were a couple of chaps here who knew everything about Compaqs........

I have an old but much loved Compaq EN Despro which I was setting up as a server running XP but I've run into trouble when installing a 500gb drive. The BIOS can't read more than the 137gb and now is refusing to do anything so I'm looking for a BIOS upgrade.

Details are:

COMPAQ ENS/P 733/10E/9/128 UK
SERIAL NO.8112FHGZ02PB
CHASSIS NO.8112FHG200FM

Any help finding an BIOS upgrade much appreciated - don't want to flash the wrong one.
"that's some catch that Catch 22"
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Mr T
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Post by Mr T »

If you struggle, why net get a PCI to IDE controller card... Really cheap now...
I have been programming on computers since the ZX81.
I am an apprentice trained Electronics Engineer with qualifications to back it up.
I have been repairing computers since 1996.
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colinJohn
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Post by colinJohn »

Thanks - good idea - I see Maplin do one for £20 (or ebay for £2!)

If the BIOS doesn't do it, I I'll go get one.

Good to see you still around MR T - 12000+ posts amazing!

I put my PC building days behind me a while ago (until this little home server project came up) and spend most of my time with VoIP now - I now realise I've forgotten almost everything I knew about it.
"that's some catch that Catch 22"
"It's the best that there is"

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evasive
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Post by evasive »

Latest bios release for EN series desktop and SFF alike is 2002/2003 so very doubtful if large harddisk support is in there.

Is that a 686P2 or a 686T5 rom in there, you should see that when in setup.

Note: the compaq flash updates do have an upgrade check so you really need to do some effort and not be using their utility to do things wrong here anyway

Deskpro EN:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/Te ... de=4&idx=2

Deskpro EN SFF:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/Te ... 9249-28401
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colinJohn
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Post by colinJohn »

Bl**dy hell 30,000 posts :o

You guys need to start writing the book.........

ROM is 686P2 v2.04

Flashing BIOSs always made me nervous....
"that's some catch that Catch 22"
"It's the best that there is"

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colinJohn
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Post by colinJohn »

Appreciate the help guys.

The elegant way would have been to update the BIOS, format the new drive and re-install XP.

However I wasn't confident that the BIOS update would do what I wanted so have installed a PCI IDE card and added the new drive as suggested by T.

The reason I chose the Compaq as a server was because it is such a small and quiet box compared with what came after with the P4s and their necessarily noisy fans.

The downside is that it is that the EN is only designed for one harddrive so I've had to manufacture a 2nd hard drive cradle, jam it into 2 PCI slots and use the power supply from the CD drive to power it.

But it works and it's quiet and small.

I have to say that the chassis engineering of these small business Compaqs takes some beating - lovely things. And a button to press to re-set the BIOS; genious.
"that's some catch that Catch 22"
"It's the best that there is"

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evasive
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Post by evasive »

I wasn't aware either I passed 30k. However, could you post some pictures of your handyworks in the system mods forum? Might give other people ideas :)
We hate rut, but we fear change.
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