Packard Bell 9000 Series - Hardware

Missing CD-ROM Drive in Win95

If you ever get the problem where the CDROM drive just vanishes from Win 95, then Shutdown Windows and Restart in MS-DOS mode.
Type in CD\WINDOWS\COMMAND
Then type in FDISK /MBR and press Enter
Insert either the Master CD or Win95 boot disk, and type in SYS A: C: and press Enter
When it has finished, reboot the computer (remembering to take the disk out first).

Enabling the CD-ROM drive in DOS

• In Win95, click on Start, then Settings, and choose Control Panel.
• Double click on System, and then select Device Manager.
• Click on the '+' sign next to the CD-ROM line.
• Note down what the line says.
• Close Device Manager, and Control Panel.
• Click on Start, then Run, and type in SYSEDIT, and Click on OK.
• In the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, add the line LH C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\MSCDEX.EXE /D:PBCD1
• Click on the File Menu, and then on Save.
• Click on the Cross in the top right corner of the AUTOEXEC.BAT window.
• In the CONFIG.SYS file,
• If the drive is an NEC, add the line, DEVICEHIGH=C:\NEC_IDE.SYS /D:PBCD1
• If the drive is SONY, add the line, DEVICEHIGH=C:\ATAPI_CD.SYS /D:PBCD1
• If the drive is Goldstar, add the line, DEVICEHIGH=C:\GSCDROM.SYS /D:PBCD1
• If the drive is a Liteon, add the line, DEVICEHIGH=C:\LTNIDE.SYS /D:PBCD1
• Click on File, then Exit, and click on Yes to save the changes.
• Click on Start, then Programs, then MS-DOS Prompt.
• Type in CD\ and press Enter.
• Type in DIR *.SYS and press Enter.
• If the Driver file you need is not there (see config.sys above) then insert either the Master CD or Win95 boot disk
• Then type in COPY A:\driver name)and press Enter.
• Remove the Disk, and Type in Exit and Press Enter.
• Click on Start, then Shutdown, and Restart Computer.
• Allowing for typing mistakes, next time you restart the computer in MS DOS mode, the CDROM should be working.

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• Click on Start, then Run, and in the Run box type SYSEDIT, and click on OK. Find the file AUTOEXEC.BAT.
• Add the line - LH C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\MOUSE
• Save and Exit. Shutdown and Restart the computer back into Windows, and the mouse should now work in DOS.

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If you get problems with this soundcard where everything appears to be working in DOS but windows comes up with a yellow exclamation mark in device manager, try the following:

Remove the Sound 16 SRS 3d from device manager restart in DOS mode type in

cd\voyetra\utility
config.exe

check that in the MPU401 (MIDI) is set to - Enabled YES
Port Address 330H
Interrupt IRQ10 (default is 2 DO NOT USE THIS)

Save any changes and re-boot into Win '95. Manually add the sound 16 SRS using the default settings, shut down restart, and hopefully everything should be fine again.

Sound in DOS

If you are having problems getting sound in DOS, this is likely to be because the soundcard has not been initialised.

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If the printer is printing slow, try setting the printer port to EPP in the BIOS, this seems to improve the speed in some cases and can also solve printing problems from some packages. To do this restart machine press F1 to enter setup Press -> arrow key once to go to Advanced. Press Enter on Peripheral Configuration, then check that the Set Configuration Mode is set to Manual. Next Go down to Parallel Port Mode and press Enter. Choose EPP and press Enter. Press F10 and then Enter.

If the printer is only printing half a page on one of the later 9000 series machines (ie 9025), try going into the BIOS and disabling the USB.

If this doesn't solve the problem go into the printers Window and delete any printers in there (leave anything that says FAX after it), and then reinstall the printer. If it is a new Canon (ie 210, 4100) try reinstalling the printer as a Canon BJC4000.

?"Internal Error Colour Adjustment Not Available"

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For Example, pressing the 'E' key loads Explorer, or the computer not detecting the keyboard. Solution, switch the computer off, unplug the keyboard, and plug it back in. Switch the machine on, and all should be fine. This has also been known to cure problems such as continuous beeping noises as startup, and machines not booting into Windows.

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PB9007 and ISDN line using a BT Ignition. They want to be able use faxes and the enhanced capabilities of an ISDN line. ISDN will not send faxes to other users unless they have ISDN themselves. Therefore, in most cases it would be most beneficial for the customer to use a standard modem and standard software to send and receive faxes and use the ISDN line just for dial-up networking. As I understand it an ISDN line has two output connectors: one connector for the 64KB/sec data transmission and another connector for sub-netting (additional line extensions).

The setup of the ISDN connection will differ from model to model but this is the procedure that I went through:

Insert ISDN setup disk > Add New Hardware > Modems > Have disk etc..... This should attach a BT IGNITION to COM1.

All being well Rocky PNP and BT IGNITION should both be available to query in Modem Diagnostics in the Control Panel.

The thing to remember is that unless the person you are trying to fax has an ISDN line and the relevant fax software, Comm Central will not be to access the the ISDN line.

You need to configure Dial Up Networking to use the BT IGNITION on COM1, same as normal as if you were setting up a connection using a modem. To configure Comm Central you need to configure the ISDN box thingy to use an extension. For example: ISDN phone number 99999, the Rocky extension would be 99999(1). Set up the two modems to do the two different tasks of faxing/voice mail (use Rocky PnP +eg tel no. 999991) and Internet/dial up networking connection (use BT IGNITION).

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• Click on Start/Settings/Control Panel/System/ Device Manager.
• Click on the + sign next to Display Adapters and Double click on the Video Card.
• Remove the Check mark in front of Original Configuration (Current).
• Close all applications, shutdown Windows 95, and turn off the computer.
• Install the Matrox card into an available PCI slot.
• Restart the Computer, it should detect a PCI VGA compatible Display Adapter.
• Once in the desktop of Windows 95, execute the Hardware detection program found in the Control Panel, and perform an automatic detection.
• This time an Oak Technology Super VGA board will be detected. This is correct for the time being.
• The system will reboot, and the video configuration will temporarily be set to Standard Video Mode (640*480*16 colours).
• Insert the Matrox CD-ROM in the CD-ROM drive.
• The CD-ROM's autorun facility will bring up a menu, Click on "MGA PowerDesk for Windows 95" to launch the MGA PowerDesk Setup program.
• Follow the on-screen instructions. You'll be prompted for a destination folder, the default is
  C:\ProgramFiles\Matrox MGA PowerDesk.
• The Setup program copies files on the hard disk, Matrox Wizard guides through the steps to change the display adapter type from VGA to MGA mode. This is done in the Windows 95 Display Properties dialog box. 14. Reboot the system at the end of the installation procedure when prompted.
• In the Device Manager, under Display Adapters branch, two video card will be listed. One will be the Matrox MGA Millennium PowerDesk or Matrox MGA Mystique PowerDesk, and the other the Cirrus Logic 5429/30/34 or S3 Video Card). In front of the Cirrus Logic or S3, an exclamation mark ! will be seen. Please do NOT try to remove the Cirrus Logic or S3 card, and do not attempt to change the configurations of the video cards.

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The video connector on the back of the PB 9000 series machines is a Video In connector and is used exclusively for Video Conferencing. This only works with the VDOPhone software.

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On the Packard Bell remote control, if the handset is left upside down for any period of time, then it will cause the battery to drain rapidly. May be worth considering if the batteries seem to run out very quickly. This is a design "feature" of the remote control according to Packard Bell.

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When the screensaver comes on, it cuts out immediately and the floppy disk drive is accessed. This is caused by the Mcafee virus scanner software, which can be set to run a virus scan when the screensaver comes on. To disable this, go into the Control Panel and then Display Properties. In the Screenscan Section, there is an option to disable the feature.

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This affects games such as Dungeon Keeper, and Speedster, on some Packard Bell machines with some PB 1015 / 14xx monitors. The fault lies with the ability of some tubes to switch refresh rates fast enough between different graphics modes.

The intro will play fine, but the game itself looks like someone switched display area to 1024x768 - you get three blurry screens and a lot of horizontal lines.

To solve this,

• Right-Click My Computer, Click Properties, then Performance, and Graphics
• Move the hardware acceleration to none
• Click OK/Close until prompted to reboot and do so.

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Panel not Working

If the media select functions stop working from the selector, then the Win.Ini needs editing as follows :

Under the [WINDOWS] section, change the line -
run=c:\pnpchk.exe c:\fmedia\fmthunk.exe
so that it reads,
run=c:\pnpchk.exe
then in the [DESKTOP] section, add the line
c:\fmedia\fmthunk.exe

This should resolve the issue, if not insert the Master CD, and click on Start / Programs / PB / PBSETUP. It will bring up a menu of all the software on the machine. At the bottom of the list of programs the is a tick box which says Activate Media Select put the tick in the box and away you go the buttons work again. (If for some reason you don't have this box, just reinstall FMEDIA).

Changing Buttons

If you want to change the internet button on PB's new Media Select to some other program, the way to do it is as follows,

• Click on Start/Run and type in Regedit, then click on OK.
• Click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE.PBR/FMEDIA/2.0
• This will list all the Media Select options, ie
  • + AppBar
  • - Internet
    • Application Module = filename.exe (ie AOL.EXE)
    • Application Path = drive:\directory (eg c:\AOL)
  • + Keyboard
  • + Mixer
  • + Radio
  • + Remote
  • - Scanner
    • Application Module = topdrawr.exe
    • Application Path = c:\topdra~1
    • Enable 01 00 00 00
    • Scanfile = c:\windows\desktop\scanner.awd
  • + TV
• To change the settings, just double click on the item, ie Application Path, and you can then change the settings.

Compatibility

It seems that the Media Select panel is not compatible with anything other than the Mouse that comes with the PB machine. So you want to add another pointing device onto the machine, plugging it into the back of the Media Select panel won't work, so it's either a Serial Mouse, or no Media Select panel.

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Not Working

If the microphone appears not to record sound, then try these simple checks. Firstly click on Start / Programs / Accessories / Multimedia / Volume Control.

If there is a button called ADVANCED, click on that, and if present take the tick out of box for MIC MONITORING. Click on OK.

Next click on the OPTIONS menu and choose PROPERTIES. Click on RECORDING and make sure all the boxes at the bottom have a cross in them. Then Click on OK.

Make sure that the Mic volume is at least half-way, and also there is a tick in the SELECT box below the volume slider. Close the Window down and test the Microphone. If it still doesn't work, assume faulty.

Karaoke Software

This program ONLY provides the background tunes. You cannot "sing" through the microphone and hear your voice over the music through the speakers.

Another Application Using The Microphone

When running a program that uses the microphone, the program comes up with the message "Another application is using the microphone". To solve this go into Start / Settings / Control Panel / System / Device Manager. In the Sound & Video Game Controllers section double click on the Sound 16 SRS line, and go into the Settings tab. Take the tick out of the box for Full Duplex, and click on Ok. You will then need to shut down and restart the computer, and it should free up the microphone.

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When you shut then down to Dos Mode, the floppy drive light comes on and stays on. This is caused by the Mcafee Virus Scan software and is not a fault with the machine. To stop it happening uninstall Mcafee Virus Scan.

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My computer has a Seagate ST31276A or ST31082A hard drive installed and I experience loss of folders and data. What is causing this loss of information ?

This probably is caused by an incorrect firmware version on some hard drives and is thus not related to any hardware problem.

If you have such a hard drive and you are experiencing loss of folders and data you need to get hold of the "Seagate Flash Update Firmware 1.37" (REFFIUP00810200). To update the firmware, boot with the update diskette and it will automatically perform the update.

Note: As folders were lost, the system should be restored with the Master CD provided with the system. Choose therefore the appropriate option from the menu of the Master CD.

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If everything you print seems to come out in gibberish, go into the Control Panel, and the fonts section, and remove the font WPBOXDRAWING, as this causes a lot of printing problems.

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If you get an external modem not being recognised on a Packard Bell 9000 machine, then go into the BIOS, and in the Advanced / Peripheral Configuration section, disable the Serial IR Port.

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Had a Card that needed to go on IRQ 11, the one used by the S3 Virge card on the PB 9007. To get round this, Go into BIOS, and in the Advanced section, select PCI Configuration. Select Use BIOS Setup, then go to IRQ available and select IRQ 11 to be used by an ISA based Card. Press F10 to Save and Exit. Then install the new card, which should now go on IRQ11, then go back into the BIOS and undo the changes you've just made.

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If you get the criss cross test pattern on PB monitors then try disconnecting the power cable from the back of the monitor and leaving it for a couple of minutes. Then plug it firmly back in and switch back on.

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