What program do you use to burn a Tiny Core ISO in a CD-R?

[Mauricio]

Hi Mauricio!
It looks like BIOS can not read the image on HDD due to CHS, as CNK supposed :-( You may try

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grub rescue> lsbut I guess it will show nothing.
Can You confirm or show the result?

Now that I can type anything on that screen I typed ls but it started the rebooting loop again.

[Mauricio]

This is the System Information that I get from the BIOS.

Product Name:               Compaq Deskpro EN Series SFF
Processor Type:             Pentium(R) II processor 450 MHz
Processor Speed:          450/100 MHz
Processor Stepping:      652
Cache Size (L1/L2):       32/512 KB
Memory Size:                 128 MB
System ROM Date:        08/21/99
System ROM Family:     686T5
System Board Revision: 01
Chassis Serial Number: 6923CBQ4A869
Asset Tracking Number:

[curaga]

Could there be a BIOS update for that machine?

[gadget42]

let's try to figure out why it is rebooting. disconnect and unplug everything that is not needed for the populated motherboard to boot from the optical drive.

this should include anything in a motherboard slot that is _not-needed-for-basic-operation_ such as modems, network cards, hard drive controllers, anything/everything that might have a bad connection and/or possibly a failed and/or shorted component.

also keep in mind that not every piece of salvage is recoverable(for a multitude of _reasons_ known and unknown).

[Mauricio]

This is the System Information that I get from the BIOS.

Product Name:               Compaq Deskpro EN Series SFF
Processor Type:             Pentium(R) II processor 450 MHz
Processor Speed:          450/100 MHz
Processor Stepping:      652
Cache Size (L1/L2):       32/512 KB
Memory Size:                 128 MB
System ROM Date:        08/21/99
System ROM Family:     686T5
System Board Revision: 01
Chassis Serial Number: 6923CBQ4A869
Asset Tracking Number:

I found at the bottom of the PC a label with (I hope) the speciffic model. It is PD1010

[Mauricio]

Could there be a BIOS update for that machine?

Hmmm I can't find any info about this PC in the internet, just images of it. I can't even boot anyway, so I can't update the BIOS.

[Mauricio]

let's try to figure out why it is rebooting. disconnect and unplug everything that is not needed for the populated motherboard to boot from the optical drive.

this should include anything in a motherboard slot that is _not-needed-for-basic-operation_ such as modems, network cards, hard drive controllers, anything/everything that might have a bad connection and/or possibly a failed and/or shorted component.

also keep in mind that not every piece of salvage is recoverable(for a multitude of _reasons_ known and unknown).

I unplugged the mouse, the phone line card, the floppy drive and the hard disk drive. I noticed before powering it on the front LED was blinking, and there was a little noise inside the mobo or the PSU (a relay maybe?). I only left the monitor, the keyboard and the CD drive plugged.

I will detail the booting process (between some beeps):

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131072 KB OK

 601-Diskette Controller Error
1782-Disk Controller Failure
917- Expansion riser not detected. Unplug machine and install riser.
 162-System Options Not Set

The following configuration options were automatically updated:
 No fixed disk present
 Diskette Drives

F1: Save Changes

*Pressed F1*

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131072 KB OK
917- Expansion riser not detected. Unplug machine and install riser.

F1: Boot

*Pressed F1*

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Non-System disk or disk error
replace and strike any key when ready
_


[Mauricio]

I'm starting to worry about making things worse 

I think I should buy a floppy disk sometime in the future and try the Plop Boot manager solution that CNK proposed.

[gadget42]

here are more links that may or may-not be of informational value

i visited this hp support webpage today and was able to select os(windowsXP) and os version(32-bit) and selected submit and the webpage that resolved had "software and drivers"
https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/compaq-deskpro-en-small-form-factor-series/96268

other questionable links:
https://browser.geekbench.com/geekbench2/2651941
https://www.wimsbios.com/forum/motherboard-dead-f30/686t5-rom-compaq-t3844.html
https://us.driverscollection.com/_47289991188b8b53503ca33a93d/Download-HP-Compaq-Deskpro-EN-P866-(v)-Intel-PRO-100-NIC-Drivers-v.3.14-D-for-Windows-NT-free
https://pcrebuilding.altervista.org/93/1918/TOTAL+HARDWARE+99+2.0/SOCKET+2%2C3+AM-BI/ATC__UNITRON+COMPUTER+%26+COMPUTER+PARTS+U+6923+486.html

links provided for informational value only, i would seriously advise extreme caution before downloading anything.

also that hp webpage described your optical drive as being a "CD-ROM"(so only a reader, and not a writer...usually fairly easy to determine from the optical drive faceplate and/or labels/stickers)

[gadget42]

with respect to your success in reply #96, what happens when you add back in just the floppy drive? does it sound like it is trying to read a disk during the boot-up sequence?

[CNK]

In case the reboot in GRUB is due to faulty RAM causing a glitch, you could see if there's an option to disable "quick boot" or "fast memory self-test" or something similar in the BIOS settings. That would check the RAM more completely at start-up and possibly detect a failure that's missed during the default fast RAM test. Running Memtest86 would be better again, but that would need to be booted from a floppy or CD.

If there's more than one RAM stick installed, try booting with just one, then if it's the same try again with just the other stick.

[Rich]

Hi CNK

... If there's more than one RAM stick installed, try booting with just one, then if it's the same try again with just the other stick.

He's only got 128 Meg as it is:

This is the System Information that I get from the BIOS.

Product Name:               Compaq Deskpro EN Series SFF
Processor Type:             Pentium(R) II processor 450 MHz
Processor Speed:          450/100 MHz
Processor Stepping:      652
Cache Size (L1/L2):       32/512 KB
Memory Size:                 128 MB
System ROM Date:        08/21/99
System ROM Family:     686T5
System Board Revision: 01
Chassis Serial Number: 6923CBQ4A869
Asset Tracking Number:

[CNK]

... If there's more than one RAM stick installed, try booting with just one, then if it's the same try again with just the other stick.

He's only got 128 Meg as it is:

48MB is still the stated minimum required for booting TC. So if he's got 2x64MB sticks then he should be able to boot with one, then buy a replacement for the broken one if required.

The Pentium 3 laptop that I'm posting from now, built around 2002, originally came with optionally one or two sticks of 128MB RAM. For his BIOS date in 1999 (and the BIOS might have been updated after manufacture) two sticks of 64MB making up 128MB isn't so unlikely.

[gadget42]

...
I think I should buy a floppy disk sometime in the future and try the Plop Boot manager solution that CNK proposed.

in most regions there is usually _someone_ who has unused and unwanted computer stuff. that would give you additional possibilities for all sorts of parts/peripherals/etc.

[Rich]

Hi Mauricio
On the chance that what you are trying to boot is too
new for your machine, try  TinyCore-4.7.7.iso  from here:
http://tinycorelinux.net/4.x/x86/release/
for the GUI version.

Or you can try  Core-4.7.7.iso  for a command line version.