[thelist] [OT] Bios settings for old boxes

[the head lemur]

And dell wants to kill the floppy:)

> (1) How do you alter boot order settings? I can get to the system setup
> program, but that doesn't seem to alter the boot order (or anything for
> that matter)



Most older machines recognise the DEL Key for the BIOS
A few oddballs use F1, F2 or F8(F8 is usually an early IBM or COMPAQ boards)

Almost universal is the JP1 Jumper. The JP1 jumper is the clear CMOS
setting.
It has three pins and 1&2 are jumpered in the default or running setup.
With the Power cord disconnected (don't rely on the power supply on/off
switch) pull the jumper form 1&2 and Jumper 2&3 for about 5 seconds.
Replace.

Make sure that the floppy is connected properly. More aggravation has come
from the cable being backwards than you can imagine. some floppys have the
no1 to the inside, some to the outside.

Quick test: on boot if the floppy light comes on as soon as you turn on the
machine and stays on, it's backwards.

Have a win98 start disk handy You will need to transfer format.com to it.

AMI bioses are pretty easy to setup. Early Award Bioses are a little harder.


> I can't even run fdisk to partition and format the drives, as neither of
> the boxes recognises the floppy drive in the boot process. And of course
> neither box can "see" the cd-rom drive without the drivers for it.



> (2) What can I do to find drivers for a Sony CDU33A-01 cd rom (from
http://www.cdrom-drivers.com/companies/965.htm

the head lemur