Did it work fine with the original hard drive?

Also, the latest BIOS for these machines has a bug that causes the machine to hang on POST, eventually it boots.

NJRoadfan wrote:

Did it work fine with the original hard drive?

Also, the latest BIOS for these machines has a bug that causes the machine to hang on POST, eventually it boots.

Didn't really test it with the original hard drive inside, probably will put it back in tomorrow and see. I haven't gotten it to boot into DOS though. I let it sit for what seemed like 30 minutes, maybe more, maybe less but I know it was more than 15-20. Just hung at the same picture in my original post.

Would downgrading the BIOS be a good option in any way? Because having to wait an hour just to play game of SimFarm or Doom doesn't really seem very fun.

Edit: My BIOS is Version 07.32, SystemSoft BIOS for OPTI Viper 557/558N 1.01 (2450-75) if that helps at all. Also added more detailed pictures to my original post.

07.32 is the buggy BIOS release. The hang is usually for a minute or two at what you call "stage 1".

See: http://greyghost.mooo.com/lte5000/

I can't say the machine has been without some strange behavior. As mentioned earlier I was dismayed at the first power up to see the machine hanging right after the POST memory count. From what I was able to gather at the time, the delay (often well over a minute after the memory count!) was simply a result of the latest flash BIOS update. That was a BIG relief!

It looks to me like the latest BIOS was rather hastily written without much regard to whether or not it really worked.

Many kind people have written in to say that earlier BIOS revisions for the LTE don't have this "long delay at POST" problem, confirming my suspicions that the last BIOS (07.32) was poorly written and has some kind of a bug. Personally, I have switched my LTE 5000 to release 07.20 and it has solved all problems with the slow POST issue for me. Your mileage may vary.

Downgrade to 07.20, hopefully this link works and hopefully you have a 3.5" floppy for the machine! You need another machine with a 3.5" floppy to create the BIOS update disk.

http://h20565.www2.hp.com/hpsc/swd/public/det … 199&swEnvOid=19

the 7.32 update claims to fix the following, but it shouldn't be too important if using a small CF drive:

- Provides support for 4.0GB and 5.0GB hard drives.
- Modifies the lid switch behavior to prevent the illumination of the display if the lid switch is toggled and QuickBlank is asserted.

NJRoadfan wrote:

07.32 is the buggy BIOS release. The hang is usually for a minute or two at what you call "stage 1". […]
Show full quote

07.32 is the buggy BIOS release. The hang is usually for a minute or two at what you call "stage 1".

See: http://greyghost.mooo.com/lte5000/

I can't say the machine has been without some strange behavior. As mentioned earlier I was dismayed at the first power up to see the machine hanging right after the POST memory count. From what I was able to gather at the time, the delay (often well over a minute after the memory count!) was simply a result of the latest flash BIOS update. That was a BIG relief!

It looks to me like the latest BIOS was rather hastily written without much regard to whether or not it really worked.

Many kind people have written in to say that earlier BIOS revisions for the LTE don't have this "long delay at POST" problem, confirming my suspicions that the last BIOS (07.32) was poorly written and has some kind of a bug. Personally, I have switched my LTE 5000 to release 07.20 and it has solved all problems with the slow POST issue for me. Your mileage may vary.

Downgrade to 07.20, hopefully this link works and hopefully you have a 3.5" floppy for the machine! You need another machine with a 3.5" floppy to create the BIOS update disk.

http://h20565.www2.hp.com/hpsc/swd/public/det … 199&swEnvOid=19

the 7.32 update claims to fix the following, but it shouldn't be too important if using a small CF drive:

- Provides support for 4.0GB and 5.0GB hard drives.
- Modifies the lid switch behavior to prevent the illumination of the display if the lid switch is toggled and QuickBlank is asserted.

Found the issue, I'm basically stupid. The Compact Flash card isn't compatible with MS-DOS. Installed MS-DOS on the HDD that came with it? Worked perfectly.

New CF card?

Make sure to run fdisk/mbr from the DOS Boot floppy.

This is old, but I thought I'd register just in case anyone else comes across the same problem.

I, like a few of you, encountered this problem of the laptop taking a while to start and then hanging on POST.

I found out that it seems to be caused by a small switch on the rear end of the motherboard, to the left. it is activated when the metal tab in front of it is moved inward. I think it is the docking station detection switch. The metal tab is in front of it has an opening on the rear of the machine. when docked, a mating tab is inserted and actives the switch. If the switch is activated without the dock the system seems to hang on boot. Probably looking for the docking station hardware.

So why was it being activated? if you don't reinsert the mainboard correctly the metal tab may get stuck, activating the switch. Also, if the LCD hinges aren't secured properly, they too can lean forward and activate the switch.

I thought as well, it was a leaky battery, but after checking the board I found no corrosion. Hence I had to look further. As I was testing, I tested with the bare main board on the table, then installed in the case and then installed with the LCD. Once the LCD was fitted (but not screwed in) it failed to boot. Then even when all the LCD connector weren't fitted. that of cause made no sense. This led me to the idea that it was a mechanical related issue. And then I saw the switch.

of this helps others in the future!

my 5100 starts up just fine again!

Hi, i have the issue with LTE 5100 too, only onboard 8mb of ram is detected, if i add more it's not detected, tried every possible modules like original compaq but it does not see it. 🙁