d8b Forum

Hi all,
I had a HDD failure. So, I obtained and fitted a new hard drive.
I enabled format:On line in tools.ini file of disc#1 of the two OS discs for V3.0 and installed the OS. This all went to plan according to the d8b console screen and I removed Disc#2 and rebooted as per guidelines.
Then the fun began! The boot sequence hangs just before loading the Mackie OS.
So, thinking I'd a bad floppy or corrupt files, I got two new floppy discs, re-downloaded the OS to a new folder and created the disc image files in this new folder, so everything was "new". Went through the steps above and same result!

So, I decided to try the demo of V5.1 out of interest. Same steps, but 3 floppy discs. Went through the motions and the d8b boots perfectly. So this proves (AFAIK) that everything is OK. Only problem is, it's a demo and I don't want to run V5.1. I have a license for V3.0 and that's the OS version I need this d8b to run.

So, if you've read this far, thanks

I formatted the hard drive again and installed V3.0 once again, same prob. Won't boot. I put V5.1 on again and it boots fine!

I'm out of ideas, and I'd really appreciate some thoughts/suggestions.

Many thanks,
David

Please explain how you fitted the new hard drive.

Did you install the service packs too?

Hi Petersueco,

I Installed V3.0 OS, then V3.0 patch and then the Service Pack.

In terms of how I fitted the hard drive, do you mean in terms of partition or format, or physical actions?

Thanks for your interest.

David

Well, maybe the partition method was not the correct one for V3 to run. I'm just guessing here.

I suggest you take a look to this documents from the Database and try to figure out if you did omit something.

Conditioning your Hard Drive
Hard Drive format procedure

I have to say this is the first time I have heard of this problem.

Peter Holmquist.

Hi Peter,

I'll do that, thanks.

I wonder has anyone tried "downgrading" from V5.0 or 5.1 to V3.0

Although, each time I tried a new OS I went through the format as per the tools.ini file line, to make sure the hard drive was cleaned prior to each OS install. This makes me think I did everything properly.

I've repaired many d8b consoles over the years and this one has me stumped.

BTW, I'm a pro audio repair technician (qualified electronic engineer) working at a Mackie approved repair centre in Ireland. But, this problem is a first and I can't make sense of what's going on. I'm sure it's something I'm doing wrong as the CPU and console are obviously fine following the fitting of the new HDD since it all runs fine when V5.1 is installed.

The mind boggles,

Dave

I am with Peter in that I have never heard of an issue like this. Is there anything on the 10 golden rules pdf that might prove useful? This one is weird....

http://www.sonido-7.com/d8b/files/Charl ... ndices.pdf

Make sure your V3 partition is no bigger than 2 GB and formatted FAT16, not FAT32. Eve though I seem to remember that V3 was already able to handle FAT32, but it is better to be safe than sorry... Curious to know whether it helped.

Hi David;

Did you get an answer that worked for why Ver 3.0 would not boot?

Let me know. I had the same probelm. Thought it was the HDD, but found it is in the CMOS and changes a setting every time Ver 3.0 is installed.

Let me know and I will send you what worked for me.

Bruce

I'm out of ideas, and I'd really appreciate some thoughts/suggestions.

Dave:
Here's mine. Bite the bullet, buy 5.1 and be done with it. It's a much better OS than 3.0 ever was. Aside from the feature improvements, there were a ton of bug fixes. That alone, is worth the price.

-just sayin'.

Buying Ver 5.1 may solve your problem but if you are like me and have older d8bB's |(I have 3) and are having trouble finding the larger memory upgrading is also a problem. If anyone knows where to get the larger memory let us know. Thanks.

In the mean time I finaly found the paper work that explains what to do when ver 3.0 won't boot. The paper work is entitled "Hard Disk Format Utility in d8b Realtime OS Installer Support documentation for build 206. 224, 427".

Under the heading Outstanding Issues, and I quote " Sometimes a BOOT FAIL message shows up on the VGA monitor uopn re-powering the system after format/install has been implemented. We (Mackie) don't fully understand the cause of this but we do know how to fix it. There is one critical setting foind in the Bios that will affect this. The LBA setting needs to be turned "Off" if the messge appears. If you encounter the error then go into bios and perform an "Auto-Detect Hard Drive" and then proceed to the Standard CMOS Setting".

Continuing with quote
"1) 166 MHZ CPU: Curser over until you selected the ON/OFF setting under the LBA MOD|E column and switch it to "OFF".
2) 300 MHZ CPU: Set the MODE setting to "AUTO".
3) Save settings and the system will boot properly."

End of Quote

I hope that helps you. It worked for me.

Merry Christmas all, and to all a good night.

Bruce