How do you put Compaq Diagnostics back in after FDISK/FORMAT?

[Legendiva]

After FDISK/FORMAT ( using Compaq diskettes: FDISK/FORMAT, SETUP and DIAGNOSTICS ), and reloading WIn95, how do you reinstall the original Compaq Diagnostics?

 

[ajr3]

Each Compaq system has a softpaq for "System Configuration". This diskette set, when booted, creates a non-DOS "maintenance" partition on the system's boot drive. (The code in this partition is what gets executed when you press F10 at the white-block-in-upper-right-hand-corner time; if the partition is absent you won't see the white block).

These disk images can be downloaded from

http://www.compaq.com/support.

Unfortunately, this partition usually must reside as the first partition on the hard drive. If an OS partition is already there, reloading the setup/diag requires reloading the OS. You can't install the setup/diag unless the boot drive is a "tabula rasa" i.e., contains no partitions.

You could use a drive imaging utility such as Ghost or Drive Image to shrink and back up partitions on the boot drive; then install the maintenance partition, then replace the operating system.

Good luck!

 

[Legendiva]

Thanks a million! I had not checked via F10; it is there. ( The system I did, has a small HD, with no Partitions at all; it loaded. )

This system originally had the "Compaq Diagnostics" available via the Win95 menu ( before FDISK/FORMAT, Reinstall ), and does not now. I assumed that they had not installed because this manner of accessing them is not available.

It isn't a necessity, but do you have any idea what they might have done to make this option available via the Win95 Menu, without using the F10 method?

Also: the time ( shown on Diagnostics Utility Screen ) has the correct day and month, but is showing as 1900 instead of 2002. Was originally correct, displaying 2001 (before FORMAT/Installs). Can this be corrected, or does it AutoGenerate?

 

[ajr3]

The Compaq Diagnostics that run under Windows are a separate download. I personally don't trust any diags or setup utilities that run under Windows; the stand-alone boot utilities are usually more reliable.

The date display problem smells of Y2K. You might download the most current ROMPAQ diskette and flash the BIOS on the server. This might also be a result of outdated system setup utilities; check the current version on

http://www.compaq.com/support.

Enjoy

 

[jkallen]

A faster way to restore that partition is to boot off the SmartStart CD and choose "update system partition". The update process will recognize that no syspart exists and create one for you.

 

[jkallen]

I guess I shoudl have mentioned that this only works when no other partitions exist - as mentioned earlier, it does have to be the 1st partition on the disk...