unix-pc won't boot

[Robert J. Granvin]

In article <704 at lakesys.UUCP> tom at lakesys.UUCP (Tom Baas) writes:
>
>My unix-pc won't boot.  One day I came into the room and noticed that
>the screen was blank.  I couldn't get it to light up.
>I pushed the reset button and that made it light up.  But that was
>all it did.  It doesn't even try to boot. (neither the floppy nor
>the Hard Disk.)  Any suggestions?

Sigh.  One solution is a little drastic.  Unfortunately, it often
works well.

Turn the machine off, lift up the front end off the table 1/2 to 1
inch.  Drop it.  Turn it back on.

A non-boot is sometimes caused by dust-bunnies, sometimes by something
hindering the drive to spin up.  The drop often frees it up enough to
start and run normally.

Over the couple of years I've had the machine, that procedure works
almost every time.  A number of other machines locally also use it,
with equal results.

One other approach, with poor results is to "jump start" the machine.
Turn the machine off, and before it has time to spin down (but allow
enough time to clear RAM), kick it back on again.  Sometimes that will
spin up the drive, but I've found it works so rarely, and is too nasty
to make it worthwhile.  I'd rather not play with the power.

DISCLAIMER: Attempt other approaches first.  I'll certainly not accept
any responsibility for any damage, since dropping a machine can do
just that: You could injure your monitor or hardware components.  Drop
it hard enough, and you can damage your table, though your 3b1
probably won't be in great shape after that either... :-)

Provided for informational purposes only.  No user serviceable parts
inside.  Employees of AT&T not eligible.  Don't enter the water until
one hour after you've eaten...

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________Robert J. Granvin________   INTERNET: rjg at sialis.mn.org
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