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Unable to Access Sys Setup During Boot

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by dazzlemk

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Dell Precision 620 Workstation
Pentium III
38G SCSI Hard Drive (2 18G)
RDRAM
Floppy Disk Drive
CDROM
WS came with WindowsXP installed. We needed to install Windows 98SE for the purpose of compatability with some music recording software. So...we uninstalled XP and sucessfully installed 98SE. However, the CDROM was not registering in the system (in Device Manager it appeared as a generic CDROM), although we could play CDs on it.

A search on the Dell support website found a possible solution. Reset CMOS settings to defaults. The solution included instructions on how to do this. Well, being the trusting people that we are, we followed the instructions and reset the CMOS settings. NOW...we are unable to boot the computer from ANY drive. We receive two error messages: "System Configuration Invalid, Enter Setup" and "Primary Hard Disk Drive 0 Not Found". We know what to reset the settings to in the BIOS, but when we hit the F1 key (per onscreen instructions) to enter Setup, it says "Entering Setup..." and then just hangs. So we can't even get into Setup to fix the problem.

After EXTENSIVE research on the internet and through Computer Repair books, and trying several things recommended by both - primarily addressing resetting CMOS settings - including unplugging everything & removing the battery for an extended period of time, switching jumpers,etc., we are STILL unable to access the system setup or complete the boot process.

We are out of ideas and have decided we need HELP!

4 replies

by vanpelt_antiques

A few things come to mind. when you cleared the cmos, did you set any jumpers that you moved back to their original position? Also hold down the f1 key as you power it up instead of waiting for a prompt. you might also try booting it without the hard drive hooked up.

by dazzlemk

Thanks for your response. We had a family emergency so were unable to get back to you until now.

Okay, here goes. We tried clearing the CMOS by using a jumper intended for such. The jumper was originally in a position that enables BIOS password security (which was disabled in the original BIOS setup anyway). We moved the jumper to the RTCRST jumper (I surmise for Real Time Clock Reset) according to Dell's instructions. Several times we replaced the jumper to its original location. Now we are leaving it completely off just in case those BIOS passwords might be activated (the jumper off in this position disables passwords). But we don't leave it in the RTCRST position, we leave the jumper off entirely. In the past when we replaced it to it's original location, the problems were the same as they are now.

By the way, the BIOS setup start key is actually F2 (I incorrectly identified it as F1). We have tried holding the F2 key down from the moment of startup on, but get the same results.

We have tried booting it without the hard drive (and without anything a time or two) but still no change. It may be worth pointing out that we have a SCSI hard drive and no IDE hard drive at all.

by bschmidt

First of all, I applaud you for ditching XP for 98SE.

Did you reset your CMOS by moving jumpers around? If so, did you move the jumpers back to the original position? And if you removed the battery, are you sure it's securely back in its socket?

I know it's not likely, but could it possibly be a CMOS virus?

by dazzlemk

Thanks for your response! Since I addressed positioning of the jumpers in my response the the first answer, I'll move on...

As for the battery, it's a valid point. We are assuming that it is seating properly and still contains a charge and that it's receptacle is still sufficiently attached to the motherboard (has not been functionally damaged in the course of our tinkering). Of course, this is a big assumption. When we go to check it out again, we will try to inspect the battery situation. We did entertain the thought of getting a fresh battery. It may be worth a try. We suppose the battery could have happened to fail as our configuration problems heated up. It certainly falls into the mechanic's "easy/likely" category- easy to check/fix, likely to cause these symptoms. Generally, I think we've pretty well tried these things. we will of course try holding F2 longer again next time we work with it.

It could indeed be some kind of CMOS virus. That's possible, but not as likely. Will try to investigate that further.

Some additional info & clarification:
The specific configuration issue we are having is that it is now looking for an IDE hard drive (or two) and we have only a SCSI (which it does not seem to look for or find). Also we should note that the STR- Suspend To RAM- light comes on on the mother board from the moment of power-up (and stays on). We also have info from some diagnostic LED's that says something like "Possible System Board Resource Conflict".

With all of these symptoms, we still don't understand why we can't get into the System Setup. We thought that was the place to resolve the configuration issues!?!?!?

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