386 Boot problem

[dpgerdes at osiris.cso.uiuc.edu]

    I am having a problem with the boot program on V/386 3.0e.1.  I am
not sure if it is a hardware or software problem tho.  I have a Compaq
386/25 model 300 with a combination hard/floppy ESDI controller.
Approximately 60% of the time I boot the machine, it gets as far as 
displaying the dots (............) and then hangs before displaying
the  boot:  prompt.  The machine at that point requires a cold boot.
The problem happens with equal frequency for both warm and cold boots.

My usual boot proceedure is to hit Ctrl-Alt-Del and wait for the dots.
Power down, power up, wait for the dots.
Repeat 1 to 10 times until the boot: prompt follows.

    The reason I think that it may be hardware is that I previously had
the exact same system running on a Dell 310 with no such problems (others
yes, but not that one.)  But why does it work sometimes and not others?

    I previously checked w/ uPort tech support and they verified that
I had a good copy of the boot file.
    I have jiggled the cables and boards. I do not think it is thermal
as it happens warm or cold (as opposed to the last Compaq I had which
would get disk failures until it had been turned on for at least 5 minutes.)

    BTW, I do make a good beta-tester.  If a program is going to break,
it will do it for me.  (Except my own of course ;-)

    Thanks,

    -dave gerdes

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