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Author Topic: Megatouch XL randomly reboots then no boot device  (Read 2061 times)

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milnarmo

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Megatouch XL randomly reboots then no boot device
« on: March 23, 2022, 10:16:54 am »
I have a Megatouch XL that randomly reboots after being on for 15-20 minutes, then gets the no boot device error when it comes back up.  Turning the power off and on will allow it to work again for another 15-20 minutes.  I have replaced the CD-ROM drive and burned a new disc as the originals of both were not working very well.  Checked all the connections, the ISA riser and the Megatouch card both feel a little loose, but I think within spec.  One of the gold pins on the Megatouch card has some damage, so I applied some solder to it to repair.  None of my fixes have affected this behavior at all, though.  I have checked all the caps and none appear to be leaking (there is only one electrolytic on the system board and a dozen or so on the Megatouch card).  I will definitely replace them, but I don't suspect them as the cause of this issue at this point.

Any thoughts?

lilshawn

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Re: Megatouch XL randomly reboots then no boot device
« Reply #1 on: March 23, 2022, 03:56:47 pm »
was it doing this before, then after replacing this stuff, it still does it...or is this something that has come to be after changing all this?

could be something else like bad ram stick or possibly a bad/failing thermal on the CPU causing it to overheat... id suspect the power supply as well. if the fan stops, they overheat and shut off too. most of them have bad caps in them. "memtest86" can be downloaded to boot the computer and basically test the ram/cpu/motherboard. if it passes 4 sets of tests, you can be assured the ram and ram controller and CPU is okay enough...

coming up with no boot device is certainly strange...since you replaced the drive... but it could also still be a bad cd rom drive or cable. (i throw away probably 8 out of every 10 I come across.) but could also be a dying motherboard causing issues with the superIO chip/southbridge that has the IDE controller built in. usually caps will fix this...but sometimes the chips themselves get sketchy.


see if you can boot it into the BIOS and let it sit and see if it's software related...or hardware related. if it sits in the BIOS for hours and hours, it could be software/cdrom/IDE cable/power.

if it's still blinking off even doing nothing in the bios... i suspect CPU/RAM/power supply/motherboard issue

milnarmo

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Re: Megatouch XL randomly reboots then no boot device
« Reply #2 on: March 23, 2022, 04:31:15 pm »
> was it doing this before, then after replacing this stuff, it still does it...or is this something that has come to be after changing all this?

Yep, it was doing this before (and worse because of the failing cd-rom

> could be something else like bad ram stick

hmm good thought there

> thermal on the CPU causing it to overheat

I did repaste the CPU as well, but the paste on it was still in good shape

> id suspect the power supply as well.

thought of this, but it doesn't seem to have any issues.  i'd swap it out if i had a spare AT power supply, but I don't have one around any more.

> coming up with no boot device is certainly strange...since you replaced the drive... but it could also still be a bad cd rom drive or cable. (i throw away probably 8 out of every 10 I come across.) but could also be a dying motherboard causing issues with the superIO chip/southbridge that has the IDE controller built in. usually caps will fix this...but sometimes the chips themselves get sketchy.

definitely will be doing caps soon

> see if you can boot it into the BIOS and let it sit and see if it's software related...or hardware related. if it sits in the BIOS for hours and hours, it could be software/cdrom/IDE cable/power.

good suggestion, thanks!

milnarmo

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Re: Megatouch XL randomly reboots then no boot device
« Reply #3 on: March 27, 2022, 06:56:06 pm »
This machine is able to sit in the BIOS screen without issue for hours on end.  I did try cleaning the contacts of the ISA card once again but still no change.

I see that the ROM-DOS boot in NVRAM can be bypassed, which is what it is booting off of (not the CD-ROM).  Is there a boot image around anywhere I can replace it with and boot off of CF instead?  Seems that there might have been one shared privately in the past a few times...

milnarmo

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Re: Megatouch XL randomly reboots then no boot device
« Reply #4 on: March 27, 2022, 08:06:56 pm »
I put the keyless Titanium image on a CF card and it doesn't reboot.  I'd just go this route, except touch doesn't work on this version.

I am thinking I will add some solder to all the fingers of the ISA card and the riser as I am really thinking that is the problem - poor contacts.  Nothing else is making sense - sudden reboot, no boot device - smells like connectivity to me.

Unless someone can tell me how to fix touch on the Titanium version.

milnarmo

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Re: Megatouch XL randomly reboots then no boot device
« Reply #5 on: April 03, 2022, 01:45:21 am »
Update: Recapped, no change to behavior.

Applied solder to all the ISA fingers (merit and the riser) and this so far has solved the issue.  Hopefully its good for another 20 years now. :)