Can't get into BIOS

defstar23defstar23 Member Posts: 7 ■□□□□□□□□□
in A+
Just found a compaq deskpro 4000. It boots up fine but won't detect the cdrom. (have tried various cdroms/cables) Need to get into BIOS but the usual don;t work, F10, del etc. Anyone know how to get into the bios of a compaq and why the cdrom may not be recognised??!
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  • TeKniquesTeKniques Member Posts: 1,262 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Hey there,

    If I remember correctly on these Compaqs there is a special external program that allows you to access the BIOS by the means of a floppy.

    I believe the floppy image is available from HP/Compaq. I took the liberty to find the link to the support page pertaining to your comptuer:

    http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/swPfinder?query=Deskpro+4000&tool=softwareCategory&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en

    Good luck.
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  • defstar23defstar23 Member Posts: 7 ■□□□□□□□□□
    thanks, will give it a go!!
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  • Ricka182Ricka182 Member Posts: 3,359
    F2 is also used for BIOS entry. For detection, check the controller, make sure it's enabled.
    i remain, he who remains to be....
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  • janmikejanmike Member Posts: 3,076
    I have a 4000 with the same problem, but I have been able to use the cdrom. Evidently these PCs had their own cmos setup partition on the hard drive. They're so outdated that I've never been able to find the download so that I can replace it. The CMOS info got wiped when the drive was cleaned off by the seller. I've loaded several OSs onto this machine and have always been able to get the CD to work through the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, but I've never been able to get the extra PCI slots or the USB to be detected. I just can't get into the stupid CMOS setup, although the CMOS is configured.

    These things have on-board video, EIDI, and NIC, so it has done very well on my home network.

    Good luck!
    "It doesn't matter, it's in the past!"--Rafiki
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  • Ricka182Ricka182 Member Posts: 3,359
    It should be F10, as soon as you power on the machine. I asked a friend who loves Compaq, and he gave me this link , which contains the files for floppy bios on Compaq machines. Hope it helps.
    i remain, he who remains to be....
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  • mistervincemistervince Member Posts: 81 ■■□□□□□□□□
    yea sometimes those customizable computers can have conflicts... i guess this could pertain to the BIOS as well. You might want to try and also figure out what went wrong... especially if you are going to buy from the same company in the future. But, yea these guys are right. Just go to the manufacturer website and look for newer updates on the BIOS itself... also you might want to get new drivers for the hardware as well.
    Why is SuSE better than Redhat?

    Its alllll in the startup scripts. All in the startup scripts. >.<

    (\__/)This is Bunny. Copy and paste bunny into
    (='.'=)your signature to help him gain world
    (")_(")domination.
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