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Compaq CMOS SETUP explained

How to access SETUP

How to load DIAGNOSTICS and SETUP to disk.

Unlike the "clone" MB community which uses a CMOS SETUP routine that resides in "silicon" on the MB, Compaq uses a SETUP diskette to access the CMOS in their systems and a DIAGNOSTIC diskette to perform system tests and inspect system level information. Images of these floppies are loaded to a 4 MB non-DOS partition on the hard drive when Compaq configures their systems. The F10 key is used to access them from the HDD on boot.
When upgrading to a new or larger hard drive these diagnostics will not be present and a hard drive crash may corrupt these diagnostics. In either case you will need the Compaq diskettes to load the diagnostics to the hard drive.
These procedures are correct for the Compaq desktop products like Deskpro, Prolinea etc. I do not know if it is the same for their server product line.
The steps outlined herein assume standard Microsoft partitioning software (FDISK), not the 3^rd party "xxxx magic" partition utilities available. I have not tried to move and create a new diagnostic partition on an existing drive using these utilities and cannot verify their success or failure. Do so at your own risk.
How do I access the CMOS SETUP routine on my Compaq?
1. At boot time the cursor will appear as a large block in the upper right corner of the screen after beeping twice. Press F10 AFTER the memory test completes or when you see the block cursor and the DIAGNOSTIC utility screen will appear. Perform your standard CMOS functions from the utility screen.
NOTE!! If the diagnostics are not loaded on the HDD the block cursor WILL NOT appear after the two beeps.
2. If the F10 at boot sequence fails, boot with disk 1 of 2 of the SETUP/DIAGNOSTICS in the drive. Proceed with the standard CMOS SETUP functions from the utility screen.


How can I get the SETUP and TEST diagnostic diskettes if I have lost mine?
You can create the diskette images from the F10 boot utility if that is still functional on your disk. If the hard drive has been wiped and you don't have copies of the diskettes perform the following steps:
1. Go to: http://www.compaq.com/support/files/index.html
2. Click on the type of system you need help with (IE desktop, server or peripheral).
3. Enter the system model information in the dialogue boxes and press the Locate Software button on the page.
4. Scroll down to the ROMPaq selection for your model. Download the ROMPaq file to a temp directory on your disk.
5. The file is a self-extracting file that will create the SETUP and the DIAGNOSTICS diskettes on 3.5" floppies.
6. Label the disks Compaq diags 1 of 2 and 2 of 2 to have them in the correct sequence for booting and creating the diagnostic partition.

How can I load the diagnostics on a new hard drive-- OR --I repartitioned or formatted my hard drive and want to load the diagnostics back?
This is where the problems occur. You will need the "SETUP" and the "DIAGNOSTICS" floppies to proceed.
Click on the link above to DL the ROMPaq for your system if you don't have them.
1. Boot from Disk 1 of 2 and define the HD parameters if installing a new HDD. For an existing drive this should not be necessary.
2. Have NO PARTITONS defined on your hard drive. Delete any and ALL partitions you may have created in previous attempts to load diagnostics.
NOTE! If you try to load the diagnostics with a DOS partition defined it will say there is not enough room to load diagnostics because it needs the FIRST 4MB of the drive to load them. (Available space on the drive is unusable) If you loaded an OS and your applications and want to preserve them, you CANNOT load the Compaq diags to the hard drive.
3. Boot from Disk 1 of 2 and it will detect no diagnostic partition on the hard drive and prompt you to create one on the drive.
4. Follow the prompts to create the partition and insert the diskettes when requested. This is a 3 pass operation, to create the non-DOS partition, recognize the partition and transfer the diskette images. Now you will have F10 functionality at boot.
5. Run FDISK and partition the remaining space on the drive, as you would normally do. I personally use a single partition in Win98 to simplify things.
6. Format the drive with the DOS command FORMAT C: /s and the C: drive will be bootable and have the Compaq diage above procedures and loaded standard Microsoft Win95/98 (not Compaq's customized version) on the hard drive with no problems.
Disclaimer!!
This document instructs you on how to prepare a blank HDD to have the F10 boot function available and be ready to load/restore an OS.. It is not a tutorial how to restore Compaq software configurations. Please DO NOT Email me asking for driver info for Compaq products, how to use Quickrestore CD or where is Works and Quicken on my Quickrestore CD. . I am not a Compaq guru and other than this system, have little experience with Compaq's proprietary OS configurations and restore utilities. The best forum for these questions is a newsgroup called alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq That is where I gathered the various bits of info for this document
I wrote this document because there was no central point to get Compaq comprehensive diagnostic info when I needed to resurrect a "bare bones" Prolinea 5120e to donate to a graduating high school senior.
My system did not contain any unique Compaq options or I/O controllers that may have required Compaq specific drivers. It is a bare bones Prolinea 5120e, FDD, HDD, CD-ROM (found by Win95/98) and external modem. Installing a NON Compaq version of Win95/98 may require installation of drivers for the Compaq supplied options and locating these drivers is YOUR responsibility before you proceed.

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                   Rocky Mountain Construction Magazine

Arizona: Granite2 Plus Sundt Equals $184M Freeway Rehab

By: Robert Damora

During morning and evening rush hour traffic on U.S. 60, many drivers endure the daily grind of bumper-to-bumper traffic, hoping to arrive at their destination unscathed. This experience may soon be a memory due to some clever civil engineering work.
In an effort to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution along U.S. 60, also known to residents as The Superstition Freeway, an accelerated road reconstruction project is currently underway to redesign and rebuild the same freeway, simultaneously. This modern engineering method is known as design-build.
The project, which began in June 2001, is scheduled to be completed in two years. This abbreviated schedule is shorter than the original three-year timetable calculated by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) and The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
Named after the Superstition Mountain Range, the Superstition Freeway reconstruction project will cost $184 million garnered from both state and federal funds. The cost of the improvements means that more traffic can efficiently move in and out of the east valley’s cities of Tempe, Mesa and Apache Junction — the fastest growing areas.
The work is a joint effort between Granite Construction’s Watsonville, CA, office, its Tucson, AZ, office and Tucson-based, Sundt Construction. Granite Construction spokesman Dan Galvin said the combined efforts of Granite’s California and Arizona offices prompted the name Granite2
In the past, Granite Construction worked on a Phoenix project involving the reconstruction of 7 mi. of Interstate 17, which was expanded to handle more traffic. The price tag for the work — $80 million.
When the work is finished in the summer 2003, the updated Superstition Freeway will offer many state-of-the-art improvements such as a rubberized asphalt for a smoother ride and longer road life, and a Freeway Management System, or FMS. The FMS is a combination of ramp meters, electronic signs, video cameras and traffic sensors. These will be tied together through a network of fiber optic cables. The FMS, connected to a command center in downtown Phoenix, will help with monitoring traffic control in the event of a motor-vehicle accident.
Arizona Department of Transportation spokesman Matt Burdick said that the design-build technique was the answer ADOT was looking for in order to save time and money. “This [design-build] shaved off a lot of time,” he said.
Galvin said design-build is a relatively new method that came into use in recent years. “While it’s much more efficient, the advantage of design-build is that it reduces mistakes,” he said. He added that the process is made more efficient because the design team, construction team and the ADOT are all working under the same roof. He went on to say that the standard design/bid build method is still being used.
“The difference is that the design-build method works for big projects, not all projects.” He said the beauty of the design build is that the contractor has a hand in the design process.
Burdick said he sees the accelerated construction time as a temporary inconvenience because drivers would endure a few years of road construction rather than eight.
“We needed to keep pace with the traffic volume on the Superstition [Freeway], and we knew we needed to get this work done,” he said.
Before work began, an environmental and archeological assessment study was deemed necessary.
Based on long-range planning by ADOT, FHWA and MAG, the study concluded that in order to maintain the quality of life, which meant reducing traffic congestion and air pollution during high-use periods, improvements were needed on U.S. 60. Other conclusions found population growth and projected congestion levels underscored the need for additional general-use lanes, and freeway management systems, to complement high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) improvements.
When the entities involved agreed that a modernized roadway was needed, a search began for a contractor. The word went out, and the bidding war began.
The smoke cleared and four companies had bid on the work. Galvin said that ADOT gave all the bidders a completion deadline and a minimum dollar figure of approximately $220 million required to secure the work. During the process of determining a final dollar figure to bid, ADOT informed the bidders that there would be monetary incentives for construction milestones.
“There are eight different (incentive) categories, and there is an incentive for each,” Galvin said. “There were also $192,000 worth of incentives for public relations.”
When Granite2 Sundt came in at $184 million, Galvin said their bid was $15 million below the next lowest bidder. Coming in ahead of schedule, Granite2 Sundt were awarded the bid as the companies qualified for the job.
Galvin said all the companies involved during the bidding phase of the project used the design-build method.
“We just happened to be the lowest bidder,” Galvin said. “The real advantage of the design-build is that everybody is in the front end,” Galvin said. “Rather than a vertical structure, the design-build is horizontal where everybody is at the table at the same time, coming up with a plan.”
Along with widening the freeway, some other major planned improvements will be part of the overall project.
According to Galvin, work is going along as planned. “Everything is right on schedule,” he said.
As construction crews are well into their work, riparian work (saving native plants which have been removed, and replanting them in the areas as needed) has begun, as well as clearing trees and shrubs from the highway landscaping. A total of 10,000 new trees will be planted throughout the project while 300 of the Superstition’s existing trees will be salvaged and reused.
Other major improvements will be a new HOV-lane with full shoulders running both east and westbound between I-10 and Val Vista Drive, two new general purpose lanes from Loop 101 to Gilbert Road, a general purpose lane from Gilbert Road to Val Vista Drive, new HOV auxiliary lanes, a continuous lane from entrance ramp to exit ramp to improve traffic merging between all crossroad interchanges, and direct HOV connections between U.S. 60 and I-10.
Also, a good portion of earthwork has already begun between Country Club Drive and Mesa Drive as 100,000 cu. yds. (76,456 cu m) of earth will be used for new lanes and sound mitigation.
Burdick said that the freeway renovations were needed in order to keep pace with the population growth in the Valley.
“We needed to keep pace with the pace of the traffic volume in the Superstition Freeway,” Burdick said.
“We knew we needed to get this work done.”

Region: Western Edition | StoryID: 1468 | Published On:

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Examiner.com, and online news source – Denver, Co. 2010 to present
Contributing Education Editor: Assigned to cover the Fort Worth Independent School District board meetings, and various other school activities.

Star Newspaper Group – Burleson, Texas, 2009
Editor, and publisher, of two newspapers covering news in the south Tarrant county area: The Kennedale Star and The South Tarrant Star newspapers.

Fort Worth Star – Telegram newspaper, 2008 to present
Contract Reporter: Assigned to cover a wide – range of government, health, education and business news.

Alliance Newspaper Group, Fort Worth, Texas, 2006 to 2008
Part – time Reporter: Covered local board of supervisors meetings. Averaged two stories a week.

Construction Equipment Guide magazine, Fort Washington, PA., 2000 to 2001
Contributing Editor: Southwest Edition. Assigned to cover construction projects, and various construction issues that affected the state of Arizona.

Casa Grande Newspaper, Casa Grande, Ariz.  2002 to 2006
Contributing Editor: Covered news issues that affected the community of Maricopa, Arizona. My news coverage assignments included: the Maricopa Unified School District, and local business stories.

Rocky Mountain Construction Magazine, Denver, Co., 2001 to 2004
Contributing Editor: Southwest Edition. Assigned to cover construction projects, and a variety of construction issues that affected the state of Arizona.

Living Blues Magazine, Oxford, Mississippi, 1992 Edition
Authored a long – form journalism piece on a hybridized folk music, zydeco music. Elements of my work were used by a Houston Community College music anthropologist working on a book regarding Texas zydeco music.
Living Blues Magazine is a bi-monthly magazine of the African American blues tradition, and America's oldest blues periodical. It has a circulation of twenty – five thousand copies.

Compaq Computer Corporation, Houston, Texas, 1994 to 1996
▪ Technical Editor: Responsibilities included editing diagnostic software documentation written by Compaq's software engineers. ▪ Interviewed subject matter experts (SME's) regarding any problems, or issues, arising from technical documentation before information was launched onto the Internet.
▪ Familiar with SQL (structured query language) data management databases.
▪ Worked with a diverse group of professionals allowing me to grow as a professional.

Houston Engineers, Houston, Texas, 1997 to 1998
▪ Assistant Technical Editor: Provided excellent editorial knowledge, and proofreading skills, during document production.
▪ Assisted in graphic design.
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Input/Output, Inc., Houston, Texas, 1999 to 1999
▪ Contract Technical Writer: assisted in the production of a standard procedure manual for the assembly of the 2517 hydrophone electronic device. The hydrophone was used for deep - sea oil exploration.

Houston Chronicle newspaper, Houston, Texas 1990 to 1993
Community News Reporter: Assigned to cover the local news, and entertainment. A deadline – driven position where accuracy and creativity were essential. Several opportunities occurred where I scooped the daily side reporters.

Traffic Central, Houston, Texas 1988 to 1989
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Skills include: MS Word, PageMaker, Visio, and Excel

Education
University of Houston
B.A., Radio and Television, Journalism, 1983
University of Phoenix

M.A. Education, 2007