[Tru Cut Machine]

I have a 1997 ez-trak DX which I replaced the motherboard on several months ago. Today I have a system error- possible pointer error which then goes to a GP fault-fatal error. this starts after the BMDC countdown goes to 0. It has always gone to Dro at 12 or 13 (I forget). Any ideas?

[NC Cams]

Check to see if the LBA was turned on in the BIOS. If it was, you're sort of screwed.

LBA was something that was developed years after the Eztrak system was developed. In fact, the HDD for the system is 540k and even if you use a bigger one, the software can't recognize the larger capacity and the system tends to scramble data when it rewrites to the disk.

The fix: turn OFF LBA, and run FDISK to reformat the HDD (keep the 540K size limit for the PRIMARY drive and format the HDD to have the Primary NDD to this size), YOu should be able to use a larger HDD for off line file storage but the Eztrak can only use the PRIMARY drive

Then reload the system entirely.

BACK UP YOUR SYSTEM SETTINGS AND PROGRAMS before you mess with any servious HDD work/rework.

Try to hit F8 while the thing is booting as the system is now. You can then bypass the startup of the BMDC and run SCANDISK and/or DEFRAG in DOS to see if the HDD is starting to screw up.

[machintek]

Yes, it may be a system/software/CMOS crash. The BMDC counts down to ZERO when it cannot load. Typically, you can remove the BMDC carefully and clean the edge connector with a soft eraser, and plug it back into the same ISA slot or a different one. I have also seen GENERAL PROTECTION faults with flaky power suppies, overheating processor, or memory getting flaky. If you can get to DOS, type in DATE and see how far off it is. Way off means the CMOS settings may be way off too.

George