It's an Aspire 7540-1317 laptop , and it belongs to my daughter .
They got it in a storage bay auction , and it apparently was used as a
terminal - no OS . I had to initialize the hdd , but it won't access the
BIOS/setup screen .

It pops up an error screen as follows :

Broadcom UNDI PXE 2.1 v11.4.1 followed by a copyright etc

then :

Base Code PXE 2.1 v1.1.0

PXE E61 media test failure check cable

PXE-MOF exiting broadcomPXE ROM

OS not found

I want to install a copy of Win7 Pro 64 bit so my 2 youngest grand
daughters can use it for their school work , any help will be appreciated .

BTW , they also got in that auction a Netgear ProSafe 8 port gigabit
network switch model GS108 and a uverse WAP model VEN501-AT which both
followed me home . They had no use for these ... and I'm thinking the
switch will work for my home network wiring , the WAP will be used to
enhance the wireless link to my shop . Also included in today's haul was
a 12V/3 amp power supply that will replace the burned out original
supply for my buried wire dog containment fence system . SCORE !

--

Snag

On Thu, 20 Jul 2017 21:50:48 -0500, Terry Coombs
wrote:

It's an Aspire 7540-1317 laptop , and it belongs to my daughter .
They got it in a storage bay auction , and it apparently was used as a
terminal - no OS . I had to initialize the hdd , but it won't access the
BIOS/setup screen .

It pops up an error screen as follows :

Broadcom UNDI PXE 2.1 v11.4.1 followed by a copyright etc

then :

Base Code PXE 2.1 v1.1.0

PXE E61 media test failure check cable

PXE-MOF exiting broadcomPXE ROM

OS not found

I want to install a copy of Win7 Pro 64 bit so my 2 youngest grand
daughters can use it for their school work , any help will be appreciated .

BTW , they also got in that auction a Netgear ProSafe 8 port gigabit
network switch model GS108 and a uverse WAP model VEN501-AT which both
followed me home . They had no use for these ... and I'm thinking the
switch will work for my home network wiring , the WAP will be used to
enhance the wireless link to my shop . Also included in today's haul was
a 12V/3 amp power supply that will replace the burned out original
supply for my buried wire dog containment fence system . SCORE !

--

Snag

It has been a while since I screwed with an Acer but I think F2 gets
you to BIOS. Then turn off boot on LAN and be sure the CD is in the
boot sequence. On the BIOS screen you may be best to just reset to
factory defaults. It might even be worth pulling the CMOS battery and
using the reset jumper if all else fails.
A lot of these "medialess" clients turn off a lot of stuff you will
want, to keep people from loading their own software.
Your W/7 should have disk tools to prep the hard drive and rock on.

On Thu, 20 Jul 2017 23:04:55 -0400, wrote:

On Thu, 20 Jul 2017 21:50:48 -0500, Terry Coombs
wrote:

It's an Aspire 7540-1317 laptop , and it belongs to my daughter .
They got it in a storage bay auction , and it apparently was used as a
terminal - no OS . I had to initialize the hdd , but it won't access the
BIOS/setup screen .

It pops up an error screen as follows :

Broadcom UNDI PXE 2.1 v11.4.1 followed by a copyright etc

then :

Base Code PXE 2.1 v1.1.0

PXE E61 media test failure check cable

PXE-MOF exiting broadcomPXE ROM

OS not found

I want to install a copy of Win7 Pro 64 bit so my 2 youngest grand
daughters can use it for their school work , any help will be appreciated .

BTW , they also got in that auction a Netgear ProSafe 8 port gigabit
network switch model GS108 and a uverse WAP model VEN501-AT which both
followed me home . They had no use for these ... and I'm thinking the
switch will work for my home network wiring , the WAP will be used to
enhance the wireless link to my shop . Also included in today's haul was
a 12V/3 amp power supply that will replace the burned out original
supply for my buried wire dog containment fence system . SCORE !

--

Snag

It has been a while since I screwed with an Acer but I think F2 gets
you to BIOS. Then turn off boot on LAN and be sure the CD is in the
boot sequence. On the BIOS screen you may be best to just reset to
factory defaults. It might even be worth pulling the CMOS battery and
using the reset jumper if all else fails.
A lot of these "medialess" clients turn off a lot of stuff you will
want, to keep people from loading their own software.
Your W/7 should have disk tools to prep the hard drive and rock on.
What's wrong with using the factory reset?

Here are the standard Acer Factory Recovery Instructions
1. Power on the machine

2. At the white ACER BIOS screen, hold the “Alt” key and press the
“F10” key simultaneously to start Acer eRecovery

3. Once eRecovery has loaded, click “Restore to Factory Default
Settings”

4. Click “OK” to continue

5. From here, the eRecovery process will update all the data on the C:
drive and restore the original factory installation with no user
accounts.

6. Once eRecovery has run, press “OK” to reboot.

It might take a couple hours - I just redid a Veriton VM4630 this
afternoon (unknown user password issue)

On 7/20/2017 10:04 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 20 Jul 2017 21:50:48 -0500, Terry Coombs
wrote:

It's an Aspire 7540-1317 laptop , and it belongs to my daughter .
They got it in a storage bay auction , and it apparently was used as a
terminal - no OS . I had to initialize the hdd , but it won't access the
BIOS/setup screen .

It pops up an error screen as follows :

Broadcom UNDI PXE 2.1 v11.4.1 followed by a copyright etc

then :

Base Code PXE 2.1 v1.1.0

PXE E61 media test failure check cable

PXE-MOF exiting broadcomPXE ROM

OS not found

I want to install a copy of Win7 Pro 64 bit so my 2 youngest grand
daughters can use it for their school work , any help will be appreciated .

BTW , they also got in that auction a Netgear ProSafe 8 port gigabit
network switch model GS108 and a uverse WAP model VEN501-AT which both
followed me home . They had no use for these ... and I'm thinking the
switch will work for my home network wiring , the WAP will be used to
enhance the wireless link to my shop . Also included in today's haul was
a 12V/3 amp power supply that will replace the burned out original
supply for my buried wire dog containment fence system . SCORE !

--

Snag
It has been a while since I screwed with an Acer but I think F2 gets
you to BIOS. Then turn off boot on LAN and be sure the CD is in the
boot sequence. On the BIOS screen you may be best to just reset to
factory defaults. It might even be worth pulling the CMOS battery and
using the reset jumper if all else fails.
A lot of these "medialess" clients turn off a lot of stuff you will
want, to keep people from loading their own software.
Your W/7 should have disk tools to prep the hard drive and rock on.

You're right , F2 should get me to the BIOS , but it doesn't . No
matter what I press (esc , F12 , F2 etc) it goes straight to that error
screen I described above . Your suggestion to clear the CMOS might be
what I need to do ... no particular rush , I have some time before they
need it . Someone here will have the answer , that's why I ask on this
NG . Great bunch of folks when we're not bickering about politics .

--

Snag

On 7/20/2017 10:52 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 20 Jul 2017 23:04:55 -0400, wrote:

On Thu, 20 Jul 2017 21:50:48 -0500, Terry Coombs
wrote:

It's an Aspire 7540-1317 laptop , and it belongs to my daughter .
They got it in a storage bay auction , and it apparently was used as a
terminal - no OS . I had to initialize the hdd , but it won't access the
BIOS/setup screen .

It pops up an error screen as follows :

Broadcom UNDI PXE 2.1 v11.4.1 followed by a copyright etc

then :

Base Code PXE 2.1 v1.1.0

PXE E61 media test failure check cable

PXE-MOF exiting broadcomPXE ROM

OS not found

I want to install a copy of Win7 Pro 64 bit so my 2 youngest grand
daughters can use it for their school work , any help will be appreciated .

BTW , they also got in that auction a Netgear ProSafe 8 port gigabit
network switch model GS108 and a uverse WAP model VEN501-AT which both
followed me home . They had no use for these ... and I'm thinking the
switch will work for my home network wiring , the WAP will be used to
enhance the wireless link to my shop . Also included in today's haul was
a 12V/3 amp power supply that will replace the burned out original
supply for my buried wire dog containment fence system . SCORE !

--

Snag
It has been a while since I screwed with an Acer but I think F2 gets
you to BIOS. Then turn off boot on LAN and be sure the CD is in the
boot sequence. On the BIOS screen you may be best to just reset to
factory defaults. It might even be worth pulling the CMOS battery and
using the reset jumper if all else fails.
A lot of these "medialess" clients turn off a lot of stuff you will
want, to keep people from loading their own software.
Your W/7 should have disk tools to prep the hard drive and rock on.
What's wrong with using the factory reset?

Here are the standard Acer Factory Recovery Instructions
1. Power on the machine

2. At the white ACER BIOS screen, hold the €œAlt€� key and press the
€œF10€� key simultaneously to start Acer eRecovery

3. Once eRecovery has loaded, click €œRestore to Factory Default
Settings€�

4. Click €œOK€� to continue

5. From here, the eRecovery process will update all the data on the C:
drive and restore the original factory installation with no user
accounts.

6. Once eRecovery has run, press €œOK€� to reboot.

It might take a couple hours - I just redid a Veriton VM4630 this
afternoon (unknown user password issue)

Clare , does this assume there is an OS on the hard drive ? This hdd
was wiped when I checked - I pulled the hdd and hooked it up to another
comp to check for files - , it hadn't even been initialized or formatted
and it's not the original 320 , it's a 250 . I tried hitting F2 when the
initial acer splash screen comes up , nothing happens at all except that
it goes to the error message screen I posted above . I just tried
alt/F10 , same results . If I could get to the BIOS screen I'd be home
free ...

--

Snag

On Thu, 20 Jul 2017 22:58:52 -0500, Terry Coombs
wrote:

On 7/20/2017 10:04 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 20 Jul 2017 21:50:48 -0500, Terry Coombs
wrote:

It's an Aspire 7540-1317 laptop , and it belongs to my daughter .
They got it in a storage bay auction , and it apparently was used as a
terminal - no OS . I had to initialize the hdd , but it won't access the
BIOS/setup screen .

It pops up an error screen as follows :

Broadcom UNDI PXE 2.1 v11.4.1 followed by a copyright etc

then :

Base Code PXE 2.1 v1.1.0

PXE E61 media test failure check cable

PXE-MOF exiting broadcomPXE ROM

OS not found

I want to install a copy of Win7 Pro 64 bit so my 2 youngest grand
daughters can use it for their school work , any help will be appreciated .

BTW , they also got in that auction a Netgear ProSafe 8 port gigabit
network switch model GS108 and a uverse WAP model VEN501-AT which both
followed me home . They had no use for these ... and I'm thinking the
switch will work for my home network wiring , the WAP will be used to
enhance the wireless link to my shop . Also included in today's haul was
a 12V/3 amp power supply that will replace the burned out original
supply for my buried wire dog containment fence system . SCORE !

--

Snag
It has been a while since I screwed with an Acer but I think F2 gets
you to BIOS. Then turn off boot on LAN and be sure the CD is in the
boot sequence. On the BIOS screen you may be best to just reset to
factory defaults. It might even be worth pulling the CMOS battery and
using the reset jumper if all else fails.
A lot of these "medialess" clients turn off a lot of stuff you will
want, to keep people from loading their own software.
Your W/7 should have disk tools to prep the hard drive and rock on.

You're right , F2 should get me to the BIOS , but it doesn't . No
matter what I press (esc , F12 , F2 etc) it goes straight to that error
screen I described above . Your suggestion to clear the CMOS might be
what I need to do ... no particular rush , I have some time before they
need it . Someone here will have the answer , that's why I ask on this
NG . Great bunch of folks when we're not bickering about politics .
Snag



Did you try " Ctrl - Alt - Esc " during boot ?
John T.

On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 06:55:27 -0500, Terry Coombs
wrote:

On 7/20/2017 10:52 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 20 Jul 2017 23:04:55 -0400, wrote:

On Thu, 20 Jul 2017 21:50:48 -0500, Terry Coombs
wrote:

It's an Aspire 7540-1317 laptop , and it belongs to my daughter .
They got it in a storage bay auction , and it apparently was used as a
terminal - no OS . I had to initialize the hdd , but it won't access the
BIOS/setup screen .

It pops up an error screen as follows :

Broadcom UNDI PXE 2.1 v11.4.1 followed by a copyright etc

then :

Base Code PXE 2.1 v1.1.0

PXE E61 media test failure check cable

PXE-MOF exiting broadcomPXE ROM

OS not found

I want to install a copy of Win7 Pro 64 bit so my 2 youngest grand
daughters can use it for their school work , any help will be appreciated .

BTW , they also got in that auction a Netgear ProSafe 8 port gigabit
network switch model GS108 and a uverse WAP model VEN501-AT which both
followed me home . They had no use for these ... and I'm thinking the
switch will work for my home network wiring , the WAP will be used to
enhance the wireless link to my shop . Also included in today's haul was
a 12V/3 amp power supply that will replace the burned out original
supply for my buried wire dog containment fence system . SCORE !

--

Snag
It has been a while since I screwed with an Acer but I think F2 gets
you to BIOS. Then turn off boot on LAN and be sure the CD is in the
boot sequence. On the BIOS screen you may be best to just reset to
factory defaults. It might even be worth pulling the CMOS battery and
using the reset jumper if all else fails.
A lot of these "medialess" clients turn off a lot of stuff you will
want, to keep people from loading their own software.
Your W/7 should have disk tools to prep the hard drive and rock on.
What's wrong with using the factory reset?

Here are the standard Acer Factory Recovery Instructions
1. Power on the machine

2. At the white ACER BIOS screen, hold the “Alt” key and press the
“F10” key simultaneously to start Acer eRecovery

3. Once eRecovery has loaded, click “Restore to Factory Default
Settings”

4. Click “OK” to continue

5. From here, the eRecovery process will update all the data on the C:
drive and restore the original factory installation with no user
accounts.

6. Once eRecovery has run, press “OK” to reboot.

It might take a couple hours - I just redid a Veriton VM4630 this
afternoon (unknown user password issue)

Clare , does this assume there is an OS on the hard drive ? This hdd
was wiped when I checked - I pulled the hdd and hooked it up to another
comp to check for files - , it hadn't even been initialized or formatted
and it's not the original 320 , it's a 250 . I tried hitting F2 when the
initial acer splash screen comes up , nothing happens at all except that
it goes to the error message screen I posted above . I just tried
alt/F10 , same results . If I could get to the BIOS screen I'd be home
free ...

--

Terry,

To access the bios on an ACER laptop, follow this procedure.

With the computer turned off, press and continue to hold the F2 key,
then, while holding the F2 key, press and release the power button.
Continue holding F2 until the bios screen shows up.

On Friday, July 21, 2017 at 7:54:20 AM UTC-4, Terry Coombs wrote:
On 7/20/2017 10:52 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 20 Jul 2017 23:04:55 -0400, wrote:

On Thu, 20 Jul 2017 21:50:48 -0500, Terry Coombs
wrote:

It's an Aspire 7540-1317 laptop , and it belongs to my daughter .
They got it in a storage bay auction , and it apparently was used as a
terminal - no OS . I had to initialize the hdd , but it won't access the
BIOS/setup screen .

It pops up an error screen as follows :

Broadcom UNDI PXE 2.1 v11.4.1 followed by a copyright etc

then :

Base Code PXE 2.1 v1.1.0

PXE E61 media test failure check cable

PXE-MOF exiting broadcomPXE ROM

OS not found

I want to install a copy of Win7 Pro 64 bit so my 2 youngest grand
daughters can use it for their school work , any help will be appreciated .

BTW , they also got in that auction a Netgear ProSafe 8 port gigabit
network switch model GS108 and a uverse WAP model VEN501-AT which both
followed me home . They had no use for these ... and I'm thinking the
switch will work for my home network wiring , the WAP will be used to
enhance the wireless link to my shop . Also included in today's haul was
a 12V/3 amp power supply that will replace the burned out original
supply for my buried wire dog containment fence system . SCORE !

--

Snag
It has been a while since I screwed with an Acer but I think F2 gets
you to BIOS. Then turn off boot on LAN and be sure the CD is in the
boot sequence. On the BIOS screen you may be best to just reset to
factory defaults. It might even be worth pulling the CMOS battery and
using the reset jumper if all else fails.
A lot of these "medialess" clients turn off a lot of stuff you will
want, to keep people from loading their own software.
Your W/7 should have disk tools to prep the hard drive and rock on.
What's wrong with using the factory reset?

Here are the standard Acer Factory Recovery Instructions
1. Power on the machine

2. At the white ACER BIOS screen, hold the €œAlt€� key and press the
€œF10€� key simultaneously to start Acer eRecovery

3. Once eRecovery has loaded, click €œRestore to Factory Default
Settings€�

4. Click €œOK€� to continue

5. From here, the eRecovery process will update all the data on the C:
drive and restore the original factory installation with no user
accounts.

6. Once eRecovery has run, press €œOK€� to reboot.

It might take a couple hours - I just redid a Veriton VM4630 this
afternoon (unknown user password issue)

Clare , does this assume there is an OS on the hard drive ?

It sure does. The manufacturer puts the as shipped disk image
on a separate partion on the drive. If the drive is damaged or
the whole thing is reformated, goodbye recovery partition.

If you have a Windows install CD, did you try putting that it
when it boots? You can contact Acer and they will probably sell
you a recovery CD for a fee.



This hdd
was wiped when I checked - I pulled the hdd and hooked it up to another
comp to check for files - , it hadn't even been initialized or formatted
and it's not the original 320 , it's a 250 . I tried hitting F2 when the
initial acer splash screen comes up , nothing happens at all except that
it goes to the error message screen I posted above . I just tried
alt/F10 , same results . If I could get to the BIOS screen I'd be home
free ...

--

Snag

On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 06:55:27 -0500, Terry Coombs
wrote:

Aspire 7540-1317
Perhaps the keyboard is not responding? Connect a USB keyboard, and
keep hitting F2 from initial startup.

On Thursday, July 20, 2017 at 10:57:53 PM UTC-5, Terry Coombs wrote:
On 7/20/2017 10:04 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 20 Jul 2017 21:50:48 -0500, Terry Coombs
wrote:

It's an Aspire 7540-1317 laptop , and it belongs to my daughter .
They got it in a storage bay auction , and it apparently was used as a
terminal - no OS . I had to initialize the hdd , but it won't access the
BIOS/setup screen .

It pops up an error screen as follows :

Broadcom UNDI PXE 2.1 v11.4.1 followed by a copyright etc

then :

Base Code PXE 2.1 v1.1.0

PXE E61 media test failure check cable

PXE-MOF exiting broadcomPXE ROM

OS not found

I want to install a copy of Win7 Pro 64 bit so my 2 youngest grand
daughters can use it for their school work , any help will be appreciated .
BTW , they also got in that auction a Netgear ProSafe 8 port gigabit
network switch model GS108 and a uverse WAP model VEN501-AT which both
followed me home . They had no use for these ... and I'm thinking the
switch will work for my home network wiring , the WAP will be used to
enhance the wireless link to my shop . Also included in today's haul was
a 12V/3 amp power supply that will replace the burned out original
supply for my buried wire dog containment fence system . SCORE !
--
Snag
It has been a while since I screwed with an Acer but I think F2 gets
you to BIOS. Then turn off boot on LAN and be sure the CD is in the
boot sequence. On the BIOS screen you may be best to just reset to
factory defaults. It might even be worth pulling the CMOS battery and
using the reset jumper if all else fails.
A lot of these "medialess" clients turn off a lot of stuff you will
want, to keep people from loading their own software.
Your W/7 should have disk tools to prep the hard drive and rock on.

You're right , F2 should get me to the BIOS , but it doesn't . No
matter what I press (esc , F12 , F2 etc) it goes straight to that error
screen I described above . Your suggestion to clear the CMOS might be
what I need to do ... no particular rush , I have some time before they
need it . Someone here will have the answer , that's why I ask on this
NG . Great bunch of folks when we're not bickering about politics .
--
Snag


I kind of wonder if the BIOS wasn't flashed with a custom build so the laptop could only be used as a terminal? Stranger things have happened. ヽ(ヅ)ノ

[8~{} Uncle Lap Monster

On 7/21/2017 10:34 AM, Uncle Monster wrote:
On Thursday, July 20, 2017 at 10:57:53 PM UTC-5, Terry Coombs wrote:
On 7/20/2017 10:04 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 20 Jul 2017 21:50:48 -0500, Terry Coombs
wrote:

It's an Aspire 7540-1317 laptop , and it belongs to my daughter .
They got it in a storage bay auction , and it apparently was used as a
terminal - no OS . I had to initialize the hdd , but it won't access the
BIOS/setup screen .

It pops up an error screen as follows :

Broadcom UNDI PXE 2.1 v11.4.1 followed by a copyright etc

then :

Base Code PXE 2.1 v1.1.0

PXE E61 media test failure check cable

PXE-MOF exiting broadcomPXE ROM

OS not found

I want to install a copy of Win7 Pro 64 bit so my 2 youngest grand
daughters can use it for their school work , any help will be appreciated .
BTW , they also got in that auction a Netgear ProSafe 8 port gigabit
network switch model GS108 and a uverse WAP model VEN501-AT which both
followed me home . They had no use for these ... and I'm thinking the
switch will work for my home network wiring , the WAP will be used to
enhance the wireless link to my shop . Also included in today's haul was
a 12V/3 amp power supply that will replace the burned out original
supply for my buried wire dog containment fence system . SCORE !
--
Snag
It has been a while since I screwed with an Acer but I think F2 gets
you to BIOS. Then turn off boot on LAN and be sure the CD is in the
boot sequence. On the BIOS screen you may be best to just reset to
factory defaults. It might even be worth pulling the CMOS battery and
using the reset jumper if all else fails.
A lot of these "medialess" clients turn off a lot of stuff you will
want, to keep people from loading their own software.
Your W/7 should have disk tools to prep the hard drive and rock on.
You're right , F2 should get me to the BIOS , but it doesn't . No
matter what I press (esc , F12 , F2 etc) it goes straight to that error
screen I described above . Your suggestion to clear the CMOS might be
what I need to do ... no particular rush , I have some time before they
need it . Someone here will have the answer , that's why I ask on this
NG . Great bunch of folks when we're not bickering about politics .
--
Snag

I kind of wonder if the BIOS wasn't flashed with a custom build so the laptop could only be used as a terminal? Stranger things have happened. ヽ(ヅ)ノ

[8~{} Uncle Lap Monster

OK , to all - I have disassembled far enough to pull the CMOS battery ,
shorted the bat terminals and held the start key down for 30 seconds .
Now when I power it on I can access the BIOS screen using either the on
board keyboard or a USB keyboard . After the screen comes up it starts a
steady beep-beep-beep and none of the navigation or F keys responds . If
I don't push F2 it boots to the original screen that I got at first ,
still beeping all the time . Unc , you may be right , it may have a
custom BIOS flash that won't let anyone in unless connected to the
hetwork server . Next attempt to try may be a BIOS flash on USB . It
won't start memtest on CD , but at first would open KonBoot to the first
screen but not respond to any keystrokes . Won't even do that now . I'm
starting to think this thing may make a great paperweight .

--

Snag

On Friday, July 21, 2017 at 11:51:21 AM UTC-4, Terry Coombs wrote:
On 7/21/2017 10:34 AM, Uncle Monster wrote:
On Thursday, July 20, 2017 at 10:57:53 PM UTC-5, Terry Coombs wrote:
On 7/20/2017 10:04 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 20 Jul 2017 21:50:48 -0500, Terry Coombs
wrote:

It's an Aspire 7540-1317 laptop , and it belongs to my daughter ..
They got it in a storage bay auction , and it apparently was used as a
terminal - no OS . I had to initialize the hdd , but it won't access the
BIOS/setup screen .

It pops up an error screen as follows :

Broadcom UNDI PXE 2.1 v11.4.1 followed by a copyright etc

then :

Base Code PXE 2.1 v1.1.0

PXE E61 media test failure check cable

PXE-MOF exiting broadcomPXE ROM

OS not found

I want to install a copy of Win7 Pro 64 bit so my 2 youngest grand
daughters can use it for their school work , any help will be appreciated .
BTW , they also got in that auction a Netgear ProSafe 8 port gigabit
network switch model GS108 and a uverse WAP model VEN501-AT which both
followed me home . They had no use for these ... and I'm thinking the
switch will work for my home network wiring , the WAP will be used to
enhance the wireless link to my shop . Also included in today's haul was
a 12V/3 amp power supply that will replace the burned out original
supply for my buried wire dog containment fence system . SCORE !
--
Snag
It has been a while since I screwed with an Acer but I think F2 gets
you to BIOS. Then turn off boot on LAN and be sure the CD is in the
boot sequence. On the BIOS screen you may be best to just reset to
factory defaults. It might even be worth pulling the CMOS battery and
using the reset jumper if all else fails.
A lot of these "medialess" clients turn off a lot of stuff you will
want, to keep people from loading their own software.
Your W/7 should have disk tools to prep the hard drive and rock on.
You're right , F2 should get me to the BIOS , but it doesn't . No
matter what I press (esc , F12 , F2 etc) it goes straight to that error
screen I described above . Your suggestion to clear the CMOS might be
what I need to do ... no particular rush , I have some time before they
need it . Someone here will have the answer , that's why I ask on this
NG . Great bunch of folks when we're not bickering about politics .
--
Snag

I kind of wonder if the BIOS wasn't flashed with a custom build so the laptop could only be used as a terminal? Stranger things have happened. ヽ(ヅ)ノ

[8~{} Uncle Lap Monster

OK , to all - I have disassembled far enough to pull the CMOS battery ,
shorted the bat terminals and held the start key down for 30 seconds .
Now when I power it on I can access the BIOS screen using either the on
board keyboard or a USB keyboard . After the screen comes up it starts a
steady beep-beep-beep and none of the navigation or F keys responds . If
I don't push F2 it boots to the original screen that I got at first ,
still beeping all the time . Unc , you may be right , it may have a
custom BIOS flash that won't let anyone in unless connected to the
hetwork server . Next attempt to try may be a BIOS flash on USB . It
won't start memtest on CD , but at first would open KonBoot to the first
screen but not respond to any keystrokes . Won't even do that now . I'm
starting to think this thing may make a great paperweight .

--

Snag

Given that it boots to that terminal screen with a blank drive in it,
IDK how it could be anything other than it's not a typical BIOS.

On Friday, July 21, 2017 at 10:51:21 AM UTC-5, Terry Coombs wrote:
On 7/21/2017 10:34 AM, Uncle Monster wrote:
On Thursday, July 20, 2017 at 10:57:53 PM UTC-5, Terry Coombs wrote:
On 7/20/2017 10:04 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 20 Jul 2017 21:50:48 -0500, Terry Coombs
wrote:

It's an Aspire 7540-1317 laptop , and it belongs to my daughter ..
They got it in a storage bay auction , and it apparently was used as a
terminal - no OS . I had to initialize the hdd , but it won't access the
BIOS/setup screen .

It pops up an error screen as follows :

Broadcom UNDI PXE 2.1 v11.4.1 followed by a copyright etc

then :

Base Code PXE 2.1 v1.1.0

PXE E61 media test failure check cable

PXE-MOF exiting broadcomPXE ROM

OS not found

I want to install a copy of Win7 Pro 64 bit so my 2 youngest grand
daughters can use it for their school work , any help will be appreciated .
BTW , they also got in that auction a Netgear ProSafe 8 port gigabit
network switch model GS108 and a uverse WAP model VEN501-AT which both
followed me home . They had no use for these ... and I'm thinking the
switch will work for my home network wiring , the WAP will be used to
enhance the wireless link to my shop . Also included in today's haul was
a 12V/3 amp power supply that will replace the burned out original
supply for my buried wire dog containment fence system . SCORE !
--
Snag
It has been a while since I screwed with an Acer but I think F2 gets
you to BIOS. Then turn off boot on LAN and be sure the CD is in the
boot sequence. On the BIOS screen you may be best to just reset to
factory defaults. It might even be worth pulling the CMOS battery and
using the reset jumper if all else fails.
A lot of these "medialess" clients turn off a lot of stuff you will
want, to keep people from loading their own software.
Your W/7 should have disk tools to prep the hard drive and rock on.
You're right , F2 should get me to the BIOS , but it doesn't . No
matter what I press (esc , F12 , F2 etc) it goes straight to that error
screen I described above . Your suggestion to clear the CMOS might be
what I need to do ... no particular rush , I have some time before they
need it . Someone here will have the answer , that's why I ask on this
NG . Great bunch of folks when we're not bickering about politics .
--
Snag

I kind of wonder if the BIOS wasn't flashed with a custom build so the laptop could only be used as a terminal? Stranger things have happened. ヽ(ヅ)ノ

[8~{} Uncle Lap Monster

OK , to all - I have disassembled far enough to pull the CMOS battery ,
shorted the bat terminals and held the start key down for 30 seconds .
Now when I power it on I can access the BIOS screen using either the on
board keyboard or a USB keyboard . After the screen comes up it starts a
steady beep-beep-beep and none of the navigation or F keys responds . If
I don't push F2 it boots to the original screen that I got at first ,
still beeping all the time . Unc , you may be right , it may have a
custom BIOS flash that won't let anyone in unless connected to the
hetwork server . Next attempt to try may be a BIOS flash on USB . It
won't start memtest on CD , but at first would open KonBoot to the first
screen but not respond to any keystrokes . Won't even do that now . I'm
starting to think this thing may make a great paperweight .
--
Snag


I call stuff like that, "A Challenge". It all depends of what you consider your time to be worth. When I was working and repairing computer equipment for customers, I had to be truthful with them when it came to something that was going to take up too much of my time. When I worked in a repair depot, we had a classification for some items which was,"Not economical to repair." ヽ(ヅ)ノ

Oh yea, all my desktops are dumpster rescues which took little or no work to put back into service. I've only bought one new computer in my life and it is my little Lenovo 300 stick computer. ヽ(ヅ)ノ

[8~{} Uncle Challenged Monster

On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 10:51:55 -0500, Terry Coombs
wrote:


OK , to all - I have disassembled far enough to pull the CMOS battery ,
shorted the bat terminals and held the start key down for 30 seconds .
Now when I power it on I can access the BIOS screen using either the on
board keyboard or a USB keyboard . After the screen comes up it starts a
steady beep-beep-beep and none of the navigation or F keys responds . If
I don't push F2 it boots to the original screen that I got at first ,
still beeping all the time . Unc , you may be right , it may have a
custom BIOS flash that won't let anyone in unless connected to the
hetwork server . Next attempt to try may be a BIOS flash on USB . It
won't start memtest on CD , but at first would open KonBoot to the first
screen but not respond to any keystrokes . Won't even do that now . I'm
starting to think this thing may make a great paperweight .


Go back over your work and be sure you didn't break something (loose
cable, memory stick or whatever). If you know what brand BIOS you have
you can look up the beep pattern

On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 10:51:55 -0500, Terry Coombs
wrote:

OK , to all - I have disassembled far enough to pull the CMOS battery ,
shorted the bat terminals and held the start key down for 30 seconds .
Now when I power it on I can access the BIOS screen using either the on
board keyboard or a USB keyboard . After the screen comes up it starts a
steady beep-beep-beep and none of the navigation or F keys responds . If
I don't push F2 it boots to the original screen that I got at first ,
still beeping all the time . Unc , you may be right , it may have a
custom BIOS flash that won't let anyone in unless connected to the
hetwork server . Next attempt to try may be a BIOS flash on USB . It
won't start memtest on CD , but at first would open KonBoot to the first
screen but not respond to any keystrokes . Won't even do that now . I'm
starting to think this thing may make a great paperweight .

The beeps, how many or is it constant? I forget what a single or two
or three mean. Been a long time for me.

Toy can look around here -- maybe.

http://www.bioscentral.com/postcodes/acerbios.htm

Don't brick it with the wrong BIOS flash. Now days I think a safety
check is built into the flash to prevent it from taking the wrong one.

On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:35:16 -0400, wrote:

On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 10:51:55 -0500, Terry Coombs
wrote:


OK , to all - I have disassembled far enough to pull the CMOS battery ,
shorted the bat terminals and held the start key down for 30 seconds .
Now when I power it on I can access the BIOS screen using either the on
board keyboard or a USB keyboard . After the screen comes up it starts a
steady beep-beep-beep and none of the navigation or F keys responds . If
I don't push F2 it boots to the original screen that I got at first ,
still beeping all the time . Unc , you may be right , it may have a
custom BIOS flash that won't let anyone in unless connected to the
hetwork server . Next attempt to try may be a BIOS flash on USB . It
won't start memtest on CD , but at first would open KonBoot to the first
screen but not respond to any keystrokes . Won't even do that now . I'm
starting to think this thing may make a great paperweight .


Go back over your work and be sure you didn't break something (loose
cable, memory stick or whatever). If you know what brand BIOS you have
you can look up the beep pattern

+1 Number of beeps vary by manufacturer.

Sample:
http://www.bndsys.com/SupportDocs/ErrorMessages/BiosBeepCodes.htm

On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:35:16 -0400, wrote:

On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 10:51:55 -0500, Terry Coombs
wrote:


OK , to all - I have disassembled far enough to pull the CMOS battery ,
shorted the bat terminals and held the start key down for 30 seconds .
Now when I power it on I can access the BIOS screen using either the on
board keyboard or a USB keyboard . After the screen comes up it starts a
steady beep-beep-beep and none of the navigation or F keys responds . If
I don't push F2 it boots to the original screen that I got at first ,
still beeping all the time . Unc , you may be right , it may have a
custom BIOS flash that won't let anyone in unless connected to the
hetwork server . Next attempt to try may be a BIOS flash on USB . It
won't start memtest on CD , but at first would open KonBoot to the first
screen but not respond to any keystrokes . Won't even do that now . I'm
starting to think this thing may make a great paperweight .


Go back over your work and be sure you didn't break something (loose
cable, memory stick or whatever). If you know what brand BIOS you have
you can look up the beep pattern

+1

He can also try using the F12 key and selecting a different boot
option, something other than PXE. However, the diagnostic beeps are
an indication of another issue.

I would make sure the ribbon connections are all perfectly secure and,
I would pay careful attention to the pattern of beeps.

The media test check failure is basically telling you that the system
is set to "boot-from-lan" and that no network cable is detected by the
network adapter.

If the keyboard cable is not securely seated, you might be able to use
the F2 key, but it is possible the other keys will not work.

Once you can navigate the BIOS, you should be able to disable PXE. I
would be surprised if there were a custom BIOS. When you get to the
BIOS screen, does it display a version?

On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 08:34:09 -0700 (PDT), Uncle Monster
wrote:

I kind of wonder if the BIOS wasn't flashed with a custom build so the laptop could only be used as a terminal? Stranger things have happened. ?(?)?

The client BIOS is set to boot from the server OS. That needs to be
changed when he gets there. For sure.

I'm not thinking it takes "custom" BIOS to do the simple task.

On Thu, 20 Jul 2017 21:50:48 -0500, Terry Coombs
wrote:

Terry, I looked back at this and read comment replies.

It's an Aspire 7540-1317 laptop , and it belongs to my daughter .
They got it in a storage bay auction , and it apparently was used as a
terminal - no OS . I had to initialize the hdd , but it won't access the
BIOS/setup screen .

It pops up an error screen as follows :

Broadcom UNDI PXE 2.1 v11.4.1 followed by a copyright etc

then :

Base Code PXE 2.1 v1.1.0

PXE E61 media test failure check cable

The BIOS is set to boot from a server. "Boot on LAN" - turn that off.

PXE-MOF exiting broadcomPXE ROM

Broadcom - has a special space in the ROM. Maybe that could be a
"custom' bios?

OS not found

Looking for the server on the LAN/WAN


The CMOS battery is out, remove the travel battery and remove the
power cable jigger. Take a break. Boot it next time with just the
power cable from the wall.

On Friday, July 21, 2017 at 2:51:26 PM UTC-4, Oren wrote:
On Thu, 20 Jul 2017 21:50:48 -0500, Terry Coombs
wrote:

Terry, I looked back at this and read comment replies.

It's an Aspire 7540-1317 laptop , and it belongs to my daughter .
They got it in a storage bay auction , and it apparently was used as a
terminal - no OS . I had to initialize the hdd , but it won't access the
BIOS/setup screen .

It pops up an error screen as follows :

Broadcom UNDI PXE 2.1 v11.4.1 followed by a copyright etc

then :

Base Code PXE 2.1 v1.1.0

PXE E61 media test failure check cable

The BIOS is set to boot from a server. "Boot on LAN" - turn that off.

PXE-MOF exiting broadcomPXE ROM

Broadcom - has a special space in the ROM. Maybe that could be a
"custom' bios?

OS not found

Looking for the server on the LAN/WAN


The CMOS battery is out, remove the travel battery and remove the
power cable jigger. Take a break. Boot it next time with just the
power cable from the wall.

That could be. But usually if it tries and can't boot it moves on to other boot choices. I guess you can edit those choices, limit it to just LAN, so maybe that's it. Does he have a bookable CD/dvd in there?

On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:06:29 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

But usually if it tries and can't boot it moves on to other boot choices.

Terry never said he had another choice. Try again.

On Friday, July 21, 2017 at 3:33:08 PM UTC-4, Oren wrote:
On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:06:29 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

But usually if it tries and can't boot it moves on to other boot choices.

Terry never said he had another choice. Try again.

Well he has to have another choice, because it can't boot from *nothing*. Try again.

On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:57:20 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

On Friday, July 21, 2017 at 3:33:08 PM UTC-4, Oren wrote:
On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:06:29 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

But usually if it tries and can't boot it moves on to other boot choices.

Terry never said he had another choice. Try again.

Well he has to have another choice, because it can't boot from *nothing*. Try again.

Boot choices can be disabled in BIOS. In a non-residential
environment, that would be the proper way to configure a PXE boot
terminal. No booting from USB, Optical Drive or Hard Drive, boot only
from the LAN.

Odds are, the BIOS was password protected before Terry reset the CMOS.

On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:57:20 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

On Friday, July 21, 2017 at 3:33:08 PM UTC-4, Oren wrote:
On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:06:29 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

But usually if it tries and can't boot it moves on to other boot choices.

Terry never said he had another choice. Try again.

Well he has to have another choice, because it can't boot from *nothing*. Try again.

If the BIOS is booting to a LAN/WAN it needs to be disabled. Try
again.

On Friday, July 21, 2017 at 4:29:30 PM UTC-4, Oren wrote:
On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:57:20 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

On Friday, July 21, 2017 at 3:33:08 PM UTC-4, Oren wrote:
On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:06:29 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

But usually if it tries and can't boot it moves on to other boot choices.

Terry never said he had another choice. Try again.

Well he has to have another choice, because it can't boot from *nothing*. Try again.

If the BIOS is booting to a LAN/WAN it needs to be disabled. Try
again.

The PCs I've seen, there is a boot order, they have never been restricted
to just booting from one device, whether it's LAN, DISK, DVD, etc.
Which is why I said, that you could be right it could be that the boot
list was edited and restricted to boot only from LAN. But you still
apparently don't get that the PC has to have *something* to boot from.
It's not going to boot from a LAN image that doesn't exist. He told
us the hard drive has been wiped clean. Which is why I asked if he
has a bootable DVD loaded. If he doesn't it could be trying, but
there isn't anything to boot from. Try again?

On 7/21/2017 4:15 PM, trader_4 wrote:
On Friday, July 21, 2017 at 4:29:30 PM UTC-4, Oren wrote:
On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:57:20 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

On Friday, July 21, 2017 at 3:33:08 PM UTC-4, Oren wrote:
On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:06:29 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

But usually if it tries and can't boot it moves on to other boot choices.
Terry never said he had another choice. Try again.
Well he has to have another choice, because it can't boot from *nothing*. Try again.
If the BIOS is booting to a LAN/WAN it needs to be disabled. Try
again.
The PCs I've seen, there is a boot order, they have never been restricted
to just booting from one device, whether it's LAN, DISK, DVD, etc.
Which is why I said, that you could be right it could be that the boot
list was edited and restricted to boot only from LAN. But you still
apparently don't get that the PC has to have *something* to boot from.
It's not going to boot from a LAN image that doesn't exist. He told
us the hard drive has been wiped clean. Which is why I asked if he
has a bootable DVD loaded. If he doesn't it could be trying, but
there isn't anything to boot from. Try again?

I have tried with : 2ksp4 , win7 pro/64 , ubuntu , I guess I'll try
XP ... OK , been playing with this thing , trying to get it to boot on
USB hdd . Tries to start , then restarts - repeatedly . This is with
Win7 Pro/64 , XP Pro 32 bit (didn't expect it to boot with that one) ,
Vista Ultimate/64 bit . It had a Win7 Ultimate/32 in the DVD drive when
I got it , didn't know what it was when I started . I did discover that
apparently the down arrow key on the keyboard was shorted and was the
source of the beeping so I was using a USB keyboard/mouse . DVD wouldn't
work , so I tried a peripheral hookup , still no joy . Won't boot ,
won't load , won't be trying any more . But hey , I did get into the BIOS !

--

Snag

On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 10:05:11 -0700, Oren wrote:

On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:35:16 -0400, wrote:

On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 10:51:55 -0500, Terry Coombs
wrote:


OK , to all - I have disassembled far enough to pull the CMOS battery ,
shorted the bat terminals and held the start key down for 30 seconds .
Now when I power it on I can access the BIOS screen using either the on
board keyboard or a USB keyboard . After the screen comes up it starts a
steady beep-beep-beep and none of the navigation or F keys responds . If
I don't push F2 it boots to the original screen that I got at first ,
still beeping all the time . Unc , you may be right , it may have a
custom BIOS flash that won't let anyone in unless connected to the
hetwork server . Next attempt to try may be a BIOS flash on USB . It
won't start memtest on CD , but at first would open KonBoot to the first
screen but not respond to any keystrokes . Won't even do that now . I'm
starting to think this thing may make a great paperweight .


Go back over your work and be sure you didn't break something (loose
cable, memory stick or whatever). If you know what brand BIOS you have
you can look up the beep pattern

+1 Number of beeps vary by manufacturer.

Sample:
http://www.bndsys.com/SupportDocs/ErrorMessages/BiosBeepCodes.htm
And models from the same manufacturer

On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:32:56 -0700, Oren wrote:

On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:06:29 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

But usually if it tries and can't boot it moves on to other boot choices.

Terry never said he had another choice. Try again.
It still moves on to other (nonexistant) choices - will it boot to a
CD? or a stick?.
Can't remember, did he ever get it into the bios setup mode? If not,
my somewhat educated guess is someone bricked the computer attempting
to update the bios. The probability of it being a "custom" bios is
somewhere between extremely unlikely and nil. The beep code pretty
much indicates a hardware problem of some sort - first thing I would
try is pull ALL of the ram and install one stick of known good
compatible ram. See if that gets rid of the beep.
If it's much deeper than that, for that machine, it's not worth
spending any more time or money. Keep the hard drive, battery and
power supply for another project, or keep the whole thing for parts
and find another of the same model (you have a keayboard and display
that works - find one with a bad display, keyboard, or battery cheap)

On 7/21/2017 10:09 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:32:56 -0700, Oren wrote:

On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:06:29 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

But usually if it tries and can't boot it moves on to other boot choices.
Terry never said he had another choice. Try again.
It still moves on to other (nonexistant) choices - will it boot to a
CD? or a stick?.
Can't remember, did he ever get it into the bios setup mode? If not,
my somewhat educated guess is someone bricked the computer attempting
to update the bios. The probability of it being a "custom" bios is
somewhere between extremely unlikely and nil. The beep code pretty
much indicates a hardware problem of some sort - first thing I would
try is pull ALL of the ram and install one stick of known good
compatible ram. See if that gets rid of the beep.
If it's much deeper than that, for that machine, it's not worth
spending any more time or money. Keep the hard drive, battery and
power supply for another project, or keep the whole thing for parts
and find another of the same model (you have a keayboard and display
that works - find one with a bad display, keyboard, or battery cheap)

I got it into BIOS setup , and changed first boot device to CD/DVD ,
No joy . Turns out the keyboard was bad , down arrow key was stuck
closed so I was working with a USB keyboard/mouse . Also turns out the
CD/DVD drive is bad , won't read anything at all . Beeps were a result
of the keyboard . So I set it to boot from USB CD/DVD , wouldn't work ,
so I tried to boot from USB hdd . WinXP Pro/32 bit , Vista Ultimate/64 ,
and Win7/64 all did the same thing - start to boot then restart from
scratch . I figure at this point that the motherboard is bad too , so
I'm done with it . Discovered that the DVD in the drive when I started
is Win7 Ultimate/32 , and someone has been inside this unit because
there are a bunch of screws missing . Somebody apparently just assembled
a bunch of bad parts and , well ... emailed the kids , and was told to
toss it or keep it for parts . At this point the only parts I'm sure are
good are the screen and the hinges - hdd is probably good , because I
could initialize and format it using a peripheral hookup to another comp
.. Power supply , CPU probably , maybe the wifi board . I might see if I
can get a few bucks out of the local comp shop for it . Probably laugh
me out the door ...

--

Snag

On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 22:48:49 -0500, Terry Coombs
wrote:

On 7/21/2017 10:09 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:32:56 -0700, Oren wrote:

On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:06:29 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

But usually if it tries and can't boot it moves on to other boot choices.
Terry never said he had another choice. Try again.
It still moves on to other (nonexistant) choices - will it boot to a
CD? or a stick?.
Can't remember, did he ever get it into the bios setup mode? If not,
my somewhat educated guess is someone bricked the computer attempting
to update the bios. The probability of it being a "custom" bios is
somewhere between extremely unlikely and nil. The beep code pretty
much indicates a hardware problem of some sort - first thing I would
try is pull ALL of the ram and install one stick of known good
compatible ram. See if that gets rid of the beep.
If it's much deeper than that, for that machine, it's not worth
spending any more time or money. Keep the hard drive, battery and
power supply for another project, or keep the whole thing for parts
and find another of the same model (you have a keayboard and display
that works - find one with a bad display, keyboard, or battery cheap)

I got it into BIOS setup , and changed first boot device to CD/DVD ,
No joy . Turns out the keyboard was bad , down arrow key was stuck
closed so I was working with a USB keyboard/mouse . Also turns out the
CD/DVD drive is bad , won't read anything at all . Beeps were a result
of the keyboard . So I set it to boot from USB CD/DVD , wouldn't work ,
so I tried to boot from USB hdd . WinXP Pro/32 bit , Vista Ultimate/64 ,
and Win7/64 all did the same thing - start to boot then restart from
scratch . I figure at this point that the motherboard is bad too , so
I'm done with it . Discovered that the DVD in the drive when I started
is Win7 Ultimate/32 , and someone has been inside this unit because
there are a bunch of screws missing . Somebody apparently just assembled
a bunch of bad parts and , well ... emailed the kids , and was told to
toss it or keep it for parts . At this point the only parts I'm sure are
good are the screen and the hinges - hdd is probably good , because I
could initialize and format it using a peripheral hookup to another comp
. Power supply , CPU probably , maybe the wifi board . I might see if I
can get a few bucks out of the local comp shop for it . Probably laugh
me out the door ...

--

Snag
99.999% chance you are right, Snag. The screens last almost forever
today unless you break them the keyboard is FUBAR, so no resale value
there either, and a 250MB hard drive isn't worth $5 on todays
market(Nobody wants them)_so unless you can figure out a way to use
the battery for something (and it's actually good) it's pretty much a
lousy doorstop.

On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 22:48:49 -0500, Terry Coombs
wrote:

On 7/21/2017 10:09 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:32:56 -0700, Oren wrote:

On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:06:29 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

But usually if it tries and can't boot it moves on to other boot choices.
Terry never said he had another choice. Try again.
It still moves on to other (nonexistant) choices - will it boot to a
CD? or a stick?.
Can't remember, did he ever get it into the bios setup mode? If not,
my somewhat educated guess is someone bricked the computer attempting
to update the bios. The probability of it being a "custom" bios is
somewhere between extremely unlikely and nil. The beep code pretty
much indicates a hardware problem of some sort - first thing I would
try is pull ALL of the ram and install one stick of known good
compatible ram. See if that gets rid of the beep.
If it's much deeper than that, for that machine, it's not worth
spending any more time or money. Keep the hard drive, battery and
power supply for another project, or keep the whole thing for parts
and find another of the same model (you have a keayboard and display
that works - find one with a bad display, keyboard, or battery cheap)

I got it into BIOS setup , and changed first boot device to CD/DVD ,
No joy . Turns out the keyboard was bad , down arrow key was stuck
closed so I was working with a USB keyboard/mouse . Also turns out the
CD/DVD drive is bad , won't read anything at all . Beeps were a result
of the keyboard . So I set it to boot from USB CD/DVD , wouldn't work ,
so I tried to boot from USB hdd . WinXP Pro/32 bit , Vista Ultimate/64 ,
and Win7/64 all did the same thing - start to boot then restart from
scratch . I figure at this point that the motherboard is bad too , so
I'm done with it . Discovered that the DVD in the drive when I started
is Win7 Ultimate/32 , and someone has been inside this unit because
there are a bunch of screws missing . Somebody apparently just assembled
a bunch of bad parts and , well ... emailed the kids , and was told to
toss it or keep it for parts . At this point the only parts I'm sure are
good are the screen and the hinges - hdd is probably good , because I
could initialize and format it using a peripheral hookup to another comp
. Power supply , CPU probably , maybe the wifi board . I might see if I
can get a few bucks out of the local comp shop for it . Probably laugh
me out the door ...

--

Snag

When you get into BIOS enable the full memory test (not fast boot).
See if that is your problem. You could try putting a bootable hard
drive in there and see if that works. The drivers will be off but at
least you can see if it does anything at all.

. Somebody apparently just assembled
a bunch of bad parts and , well ... emailed the kids , and was told to
toss it or keep it for parts . At this point the only parts I'm sure are
good are the screen and the hinges - hdd is probably good , because I
could initialize and format it using a peripheral hookup to another comp
. Power supply , CPU probably , maybe the wifi board . I might see if I
can get a few bucks out of the local comp shop for it . Probably laugh
me out the door ...
Snag


See if there are any charity-guys who could use the parts -
guys who re-furb computers for charity - disadvantaged homes
or drop-in centres and such ...
John T.

On Friday, July 21, 2017 at 10:48:20 PM UTC-5, Terry Coombs wrote:
On 7/21/2017 10:09 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:32:56 -0700, Oren wrote:

On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:06:29 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

But usually if it tries and can't boot it moves on to other boot choices.
Terry never said he had another choice. Try again.
It still moves on to other (nonexistant) choices - will it boot to a
CD? or a stick?.
Can't remember, did he ever get it into the bios setup mode? If not,
my somewhat educated guess is someone bricked the computer attempting
to update the bios. The probability of it being a "custom" bios is
somewhere between extremely unlikely and nil. The beep code pretty
much indicates a hardware problem of some sort - first thing I would
try is pull ALL of the ram and install one stick of known good
compatible ram. See if that gets rid of the beep.
If it's much deeper than that, for that machine, it's not worth
spending any more time or money. Keep the hard drive, battery and
power supply for another project, or keep the whole thing for parts
and find another of the same model (you have a keayboard and display
that works - find one with a bad display, keyboard, or battery cheap)

I got it into BIOS setup , and changed first boot device to CD/DVD ,
No joy . Turns out the keyboard was bad , down arrow key was stuck
closed so I was working with a USB keyboard/mouse . Also turns out the
CD/DVD drive is bad , won't read anything at all . Beeps were a result
of the keyboard . So I set it to boot from USB CD/DVD , wouldn't work ,
so I tried to boot from USB hdd . WinXP Pro/32 bit , Vista Ultimate/64 ,
and Win7/64 all did the same thing - start to boot then restart from
scratch . I figure at this point that the motherboard is bad too , so
I'm done with it . Discovered that the DVD in the drive when I started
is Win7 Ultimate/32 , and someone has been inside this unit because
there are a bunch of screws missing . Somebody apparently just assembled
a bunch of bad parts and , well ... emailed the kids , and was told to
toss it or keep it for parts . At this point the only parts I'm sure are
good are the screen and the hinges - hdd is probably good , because I
could initialize and format it using a peripheral hookup to another comp
. Power supply , CPU probably , maybe the wifi board . I might see if I
can get a few bucks out of the local comp shop for it . Probably laugh
me out the door ...
--
Snag


I've replaced a lot of laptop keyboards and it's quite easy and the keyboards are available on Amazon for as little as $10.00. You can probably find specific instructions for replacement on someplace like YouTube. ヽ(ヅ)ノ

[8~{} Uncle Top Monster

On 7/22/2017 6:24 AM, Uncle Monster wrote:
On Friday, July 21, 2017 at 10:48:20 PM UTC-5, Terry Coombs wrote:
On 7/21/2017 10:09 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:32:56 -0700, Oren wrote:

On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:06:29 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

But usually if it tries and can't boot it moves on to other boot choices.
Terry never said he had another choice. Try again.
It still moves on to other (nonexistant) choices - will it boot to a
CD? or a stick?.
Can't remember, did he ever get it into the bios setup mode? If not,
my somewhat educated guess is someone bricked the computer attempting
to update the bios. The probability of it being a "custom" bios is
somewhere between extremely unlikely and nil. The beep code pretty
much indicates a hardware problem of some sort - first thing I would
try is pull ALL of the ram and install one stick of known good
compatible ram. See if that gets rid of the beep.
If it's much deeper than that, for that machine, it's not worth
spending any more time or money. Keep the hard drive, battery and
power supply for another project, or keep the whole thing for parts
and find another of the same model (you have a keayboard and display
that works - find one with a bad display, keyboard, or battery cheap)
I got it into BIOS setup , and changed first boot device to CD/DVD ,
No joy . Turns out the keyboard was bad , down arrow key was stuck
closed so I was working with a USB keyboard/mouse . Also turns out the
CD/DVD drive is bad , won't read anything at all . Beeps were a result
of the keyboard . So I set it to boot from USB CD/DVD , wouldn't work ,
so I tried to boot from USB hdd . WinXP Pro/32 bit , Vista Ultimate/64 ,
and Win7/64 all did the same thing - start to boot then restart from
scratch . I figure at this point that the motherboard is bad too , so
I'm done with it . Discovered that the DVD in the drive when I started
is Win7 Ultimate/32 , and someone has been inside this unit because
there are a bunch of screws missing . Somebody apparently just assembled
a bunch of bad parts and , well ... emailed the kids , and was told to
toss it or keep it for parts . At this point the only parts I'm sure are
good are the screen and the hinges - hdd is probably good , because I
could initialize and format it using a peripheral hookup to another comp
. Power supply , CPU probably , maybe the wifi board . I might see if I
can get a few bucks out of the local comp shop for it . Probably laugh
me out the door ...
--
Snag

I've replaced a lot of laptop keyboards and it's quite easy and the keyboards are available on Amazon for as little as $10.00. You can probably find specific instructions for replacement on someplace like YouTube. ヽ(ヅ)ノ

[8~{} Uncle Top Monster

Oh , I've had this thing stripped down to where I could have replaced
anything in it . The kids were hoping it was salvageable , IMO it just
ain't worth spending any money on . They can't complain , they got a
4-poster bed outta that storage bay (that's where the comp came from , a
la storage wars type auction) that's worth 1200 bucks . Don't know what
they paid , but I guarantee they'll come out with a profit . I also got
an 8 port gigabit switch - for my home network wiring project - and a
WAP that I think will solve my weak signal problems with the shop comp
wireless card . Bonus was a power supply that works with my buried wire
dog fence system - the original burned out - and a handful of short
ethernet cables .

--

Snag

On Friday, July 21, 2017 at 4:10:10 PM UTC-4, Stormin' Norman wrote:
On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:57:20 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

On Friday, July 21, 2017 at 3:33:08 PM UTC-4, Oren wrote:
On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:06:29 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

But usually if it tries and can't boot it moves on to other boot choices.

Terry never said he had another choice. Try again.

Well he has to have another choice, because it can't boot from *nothing*. Try again.

Boot choices can be disabled in BIOS.

Nice editing of the part where I said exactly that.




In a non-residential
environment, that would be the proper way to configure a PXE boot
terminal. No booting from USB, Optical Drive or Hard Drive, boot only
from the LAN.

Odds are, the BIOS was password protected before Terry reset the CMOS.

On Sat, 22 Jul 2017 07:28:49 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

On Friday, July 21, 2017 at 4:10:10 PM UTC-4, Stormin' Norman wrote:
On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:57:20 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

On Friday, July 21, 2017 at 3:33:08 PM UTC-4, Oren wrote:
On Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:06:29 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

But usually if it tries and can't boot it moves on to other boot choices.

Terry never said he had another choice. Try again.

Well he has to have another choice, because it can't boot from *nothing*. Try again.

Boot choices can be disabled in BIOS.

Nice editing of the part where I said exactly that.


Chuckles, check the thread.

You are desperately afraid of appearing the fool, but you repeatedly
stick your face in the spinning fan.

Are you man enough to apologize?

Silly question....... ;-)