dell bios hell

Areeda

Areeda

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Areeda
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I have an old Dell Precision 530 that I have used as my unix test set up. It is currently running an old RedHat version.

Anybody have a way to flash bios from LINUX? I can't get the Floppy or the CD drive to work.

What I want to do is load latest CentOS (Thanks Jesse for teaching me) test then replace the OS on my server running a current version RedHat.

My problem is that I can't get into BIOS to set it to boot from the DVD. When I hit F2 is says entering setup and the screen goes blank. Now it's not completely dead because it will sit there forever until I hit ESC or F10 (always hit both, don't have the patience to see which one) then proceed to boot.

It may be time to retire this machine. The only really parts to save are the display controller and the 300GB HD. But before I trash it I'd like to try updating the BIOS to the latest version and see if that fixes this.

Joe
 
Areeda said:
I have an old Dell Precision 530 that I have used as my unix test set up. It is currently running an old RedHat version.

Anybody have a way to flash bios from LINUX? I can't get the Floppy or the CD drive to work.

What I want to do is load latest CentOS (Thanks Jesse for teaching me) test then replace the OS on my server running a current version RedHat.

My problem is that I can't get into BIOS to set it to boot from the DVD. When I hit F2 is says entering setup and the screen goes blank. Now it's not completely dead because it will sit there forever until I hit ESC or F10 (always hit both, don't have the patience to see which one) then proceed to boot.

It may be time to retire this machine. The only really parts to save are the display controller and the 300GB HD. But before I trash it I'd like to try updating the BIOS to the latest version and see if that fixes this.

Joe
Click to expand...

Joe, consider resetting the BIOS to defaults using the jumper on the motherboard... that'd probably get it to boot from floppy/CD/DVD.
 
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Well, that didn't quite work. Now it beeps twice and doesn't boot at all. I don't even see the Dell screen.

I suspect the bios is trashed (and has been for a while).

Is it easy to replace?

This system is pretty old. I may just replace it with a $400 no OS cheapy from TigerDirect.

Joe

Edit: Maybe I didn't do it correctly. According to the instructions, I'm supposed to power down, add that jumper then remove it before adding power. Is that correct? Is it using the RTC battery to reset BIOS or should I attempt to start with the jumper on, then shutdown and remove it?
 
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Update:

I didn't break anything (yet). Evidently I knocked something loose in the video. I took the card out, ran a pencil eraser over the connections waved in the air 3 times said the magic words (they just get turned to stars here) and I'm back to where I started.

Something did get changed because it no longer boots when I plug in the power cable.

The floppy light, and DVD light comes on when I boot but it just goes to the hard disk.

My next step is to try a different floppy drive. The one in this machine and the one I'm writing with haven't been used in years.

I do appreciate the help.

Joe
 
Areeda said:
...
My next step is to try a different floppy drive. The one in this machine and the one I'm writing with haven't been used in years.
Click to expand...
I just bought a new and hard-to-find floppy drive from NewEgg.* I need to have it if I have to load the RAID drivers. I wnet through at least 3 floppy drives I had around - and removed from old PCs - when I built mine and only found one that would work. Even on $8000 servers floppy drives got made so cheaply they became one use only. :dunno:


*Per my usual, it'll turn out that I have 2 others new ones stashed away somewhere in the pack. I'm good at forgetting I got a round-tuit years ago.
 
Good point. Right now I'm downloading the boot CD (vs DVD) for CentOS to see if that makes any difference. I do have a few floppies on my door stops that might work. Thank God we don't use them any more. I've always felt the were a small step up from paper tape.

Joe
 
Areeda said:
Good point. Right now I'm downloading the boot CD (vs DVD) for CentOS to see if that makes any difference. I do have a few floppies on my door stops that might work. Thank God we don't use them any more. I've always felt the were a small step up from paper tape.

Joe
Click to expand...

Hey! There was a time when we thought storing 1.4 MEGABytes! - on the newest version - on that little thing you could stash in your shirt pocket was amazing.

It was never really reliable, though.
 
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Areeda said:
Update:

I didn't break anything (yet). Evidently I knocked something loose in the video. I took the card out, ran a pencil eraser over the connections waved in the air 3 times said the magic words (they just get turned to stars here) and I'm back to where I started.

Something did get changed because it no longer boots when I plug in the power cable.

The floppy light, and DVD light comes on when I boot but it just goes to the hard disk.

My next step is to try a different floppy drive. The one in this machine and the one I'm writing with haven't been used in years.

I do appreciate the help.

Joe
Click to expand...

Tried F8 or F2 on the boot up?
 
Henning said:
Tried F8 or F2 on the boot up?
Click to expand...
Yea F2 (enter setup) is what I can't get working, just goes to a blank screen. Wierd because escape continues the boot process. Monitor works fine before and after, who knows.

F8 I believe is a Windows thing, but I'll try.

I guess another thing I can try is a network boot but I've never done that. Is it easy to setup?

Joe
 
Areeda said:
...
I guess another thing I can try is a network boot but I've never done that. Is it easy to setup?
Click to expand...

Heh. No way.

It probably has a boot sequence of hard drive, then CD, then floppy so if you unplug the hard drive temporarily you might have more time during boot to get to the BIOS setup, especially if it has a "quick boot" option set. It can't quick boot with no hard drive.

Just pull the power plug to the hard drive and try booting.
 
mikea said:
Heh. No way.

It probably has a boot sequence of hard drive, then CD, then floppy so if you unplug the hard drive temporarily you might have more time during boot to get to the BIOS setup, especially if it has a "quick boot" option set. It can't quick boot with no hard drive.

Just pull the power plug to the hard drive and try booting.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a hell of a good idea spork boy. Unplug all the drives except for the CD drive and it should default to it if it finds nothing else. DVD disc may be a problem because it may need windows booted for it to read DVD. Might need to use the CD format boot disc.
 
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