If I remember correctly, settings are saved on a small and hidden system partition. Maybe completely format the hard drive and start over with the correct system diskettes? This will create the system partition again and could resolve your problem.

Maybe it only likes IDE drives for storing settings instead of SCSI.

PD2JK wrote on 2025-04-20, 06:52:

If I remember correctly, settings are saved on a small and hidden system partition. Maybe completely format the hard drive and start over with the correct system diskettes? This will create the system partition again and could resolve your problem.

Maybe it only likes IDE drives for storing settings instead of SCSI.

This system didn't come with IDE hard drives. Had SCSI out of the factory. I'll try to find different config disks.

PD2JK wrote on 2025-04-20, 06:52:

If I remember correctly, settings are saved on a small and hidden system partition. Maybe completely format the hard drive and start over with the correct system diskettes? This will create the system partition again and could resolve your problem.

Maybe it only likes IDE drives for storing settings instead of SCSI.

Looks like the System Configuration disks I used are supposed to work with this machine. Not sure where to go from here, although the system boots to 95 and runs fine, even recognizing the EISA network card, without the configuration files. It's just a minor annoyance at this point. I want it working perfectly 🤣

FWIW,
I think you need to remove all partitions on the disk, and then use the appropriate software to create the System configuration partition.
When this is done, you can enter the configuration software by pressing F10 on bootup.

weedeewee wrote on 2025-04-20, 17:47:

FWIW,
I think you need to remove all partitions on the disk, and then use the appropriate software to create the System configuration partition.
When this is done, you can enter the configuration software by pressing F10 on bootup.

There is no F10 option on this model, and I used the appropriate software (Compaq floppy-based system configuration utility) that others have used in this series of computer. It doesn't give me the option to create a system partition unless I save the hardware configuration to a hard drive first. Catch 22.

The only catch I see is that you've already installed windows on the hard drive and now there's no room for a system partition.
The easy fix is, clear the hard drive of all the partitions, and create the system partition.

If you find the correct information, you could also use something like partition magic to change your current windows partition, create the sysconfig partition, change the partition type, etc...

Just checking you're using the latest CU disk set...

weedeewee wrote on 2025-04-21, 07:21:

The only catch I see is that you've already installed windows on the hard drive and now there's no room for a system partition.
The easy fix is, clear the hard drive of all the partitions, and create the system partition.

If you find the correct information, you could also use something like partition magic to change your current windows partition, create the sysconfig partition, change the partition type, etc...

I attempted to create a system partition before installing Windows. The config utility wouldn't let me do so unless I did the hardware setup. Every time I do so, it doesn't save to the hard drive. It's a catch 22. I need a system partition created by the config utility to install the config files on, which I can't create unless the hw config is done 🤣

PC Hoarder Patrol wrote on 2025-04-21, 08:18:

Just checking you're using the latest CU disk set...

The attachment sp19619.txt is no longer available

The attachment sp19619.exe is no longer available

That is indeed the one I'm using.

reodraca wrote on 2025-04-21, 15:18:

I attempted to create a system partition before installing Windows. The config utility wouldn't let me do so unless I did the hardware setup. Every time I do so, it doesn't save to the hard drive.

I don't understand why you are talking about saving "to hard drive" before you have a system partition. The intended installation procedure is:

1. Run setup from floppies, configure the hardware including the hard drive. Save the configuration to CMOS and floppy, then reboot.
2. Run setup from floppies again and create a system partition. AFAIK the SCU will be copied there automatically. Reboot.
3. Starting from this point, you should get a cursor blinking in the top right corner for 2 to 3 seconds at the end of the POST. If you hit F10 during that time, the setup utility will be booted from the system partition, and only at this point, you are able to back up the configuration to HDD instead of floppy.

If the hard drive already has partitions, you likely need to delete them between steps 1 and 2.

mkarcher wrote on 2025-04-21, 20:57:

I don't understand why you are talking about saving "to hard drive" before you have a system partition. The intended installatio […]
Show full quote

reodraca wrote on 2025-04-21, 15:18:

I attempted to create a system partition before installing Windows. The config utility wouldn't let me do so unless I did the hardware setup. Every time I do so, it doesn't save to the hard drive.

I don't understand why you are talking about saving "to hard drive" before you have a system partition. The intended installation procedure is:

1. Run setup from floppies, configure the hardware including the hard drive. Save the configuration to CMOS and floppy, then reboot.
2. Run setup from floppies again and create a system partition. AFAIK the SCU will be copied there automatically. Reboot.
3. Starting from this point, you should get a cursor blinking in the top right corner for 2 to 3 seconds at the end of the POST. If you hit F10 during that time, the setup utility will be booted from the system partition, and only at this point, you are able to back up the configuration to HDD instead of floppy.

If the hard drive already has partitions, you likely need to delete them between steps 1 and 2.

I ran the System Configuration Utility from the floppies, and it said it needs to configure the hardware settings. It then proceeded to do so, and then said it saved the configuration files to the hard drive. Upon restart, said configuration files were in fact not saved, and still gave the error that the system isn't configured.

When I try to create a system partition from the System Config Utility floppies, it says I am unable to do so until I configure the hardware settings. Therefore, I can't create a system partition using the Config Utility.

This system is too old to have F10 as an option for the boot menu. It's from 1993. Also, there is no setup utility except for the System Configuration Utility floppy program, which is self-contained. Only the system configuration is saved on the hard drive, not the utility itself.

Do you have any partitions on that HDD? If so, delete everything and start from the scratch with non partitiotened HDD. With every other Compaq from this era you need both setup and diagnostic diskette to create the partition. I’ve done this several times on my 486 Prolinea and Deskpro Compaqs.

Also, are you sure this system doesn’t have the F10 option? The whole point of setup partition is that you don’t need floppies to configure your system and you can enter system configuration on boot from HDD. This only works when you have the setup partition installed, otherwise you won’t get the blinking cursor on boot at all.

reodraca wrote on 2025-04-22, 22:59:

I ran the System Configuration Utility from the floppies, and it said it needs to configure the hardware settings. It then proceeded to do so, and then said it saved the configuration files to the hard drive. Upon restart, said configuration files were in fact not saved, and still gave the error that the system isn't configured.

I have a ProSignia 3080 myself, and this I expect the procedure to be similar. The configuration is supposed to be saved into the mainboard, the 3080 uses an EEPROM chip for that, while many other EISA boards use battery-backed memory for it. As a backup, the configuration will also be saved to disk, that is the media you booted the SCU from. If I remember correctly, the SCU insists on saving the configuration to disk (in this case the floppy disk) first, so if you get an error at that step, the configuration is also not saved to the mainboard.

After saving the configuration to the mainboard, on the next reboot, the POST is supposed to no longer indicate that the configuration is missing, as should the SCU, even if you boot it from floppies that do not contain the configuration backup saved by the previous run of the SCU. The SCU reads the active configuration from the mainboard.

reodraca wrote on 2025-04-22, 22:59:

This system is too old to have F10 as an option for the boot menu. It's from 1993. Also, there is no setup utility except for the System Configuration Utility floppy program, which is self-contained. Only the system configuration is saved on the hard drive, not the utility itself.

If this is true, it is a big step backwards from the 3080 (a 486 system, which is clearly older than your system). On that system, there also is no setup in the ROM, but as soon as there is a system partition, you get the "cursor in the top right" phase just before booting the OS from floppy or hard drive, and if you press F10, it boots the SCU from the system partition. Before the system partition is set up, booting the SCU from floppy is indeed the only way to set up the system. Booting the SCU from floppy is a slow and tedious process, so it is highly recommended to install it to the system partition and run it from there.

mkarcher wrote on 2025-04-23, 07:04:

I have a ProSignia 3080 myself, and this I expect the procedure to be similar. The configuration is supposed to be saved into th […]
Show full quote

reodraca wrote on 2025-04-22, 22:59:

I ran the System Configuration Utility from the floppies, and it said it needs to configure the hardware settings. It then proceeded to do so, and then said it saved the configuration files to the hard drive. Upon restart, said configuration files were in fact not saved, and still gave the error that the system isn't configured.

I have a ProSignia 3080 myself, and this I expect the procedure to be similar. The configuration is supposed to be saved into the mainboard, the 3080 uses an EEPROM chip for that, while many other EISA boards use battery-backed memory for it. As a backup, the configuration will also be saved to disk, that is the media you booted the SCU from. If I remember correctly, the SCU insists on saving the configuration to disk (in this case the floppy disk) first, so if you get an error at that step, the configuration is also not saved to the mainboard.

After saving the configuration to the mainboard, on the next reboot, the POST is supposed to no longer indicate that the configuration is missing, as should the SCU, even if you boot it from floppies that do not contain the configuration backup saved by the previous run of the SCU. The SCU reads the active configuration from the mainboard.

reodraca wrote on 2025-04-22, 22:59:

This system is too old to have F10 as an option for the boot menu. It's from 1993. Also, there is no setup utility except for the System Configuration Utility floppy program, which is self-contained. Only the system configuration is saved on the hard drive, not the utility itself.

If this is true, it is a big step backwards from the 3080 (a 486 system, which is clearly older than your system). On that system, there also is no setup in the ROM, but as soon as there is a system partition, you get the "cursor in the top right" phase just before booting the OS from floppy or hard drive, and if you press F10, it boots the SCU from the system partition. Before the system partition is set up, booting the SCU from floppy is indeed the only way to set up the system. Booting the SCU from floppy is a slow and tedious process, so it is highly recommended to install it to the system partition and run it from there.

I could be wrong in my assumption that it's too old for the f10 option. This is the first vintage Compaq I've owned that isn't an 8086-based machine and I'm new to the procedures to get it configured. The 162 error suddenly stopped showing, so I'm guessing it somehow saved the config to the motherboard after numerous failures.

reodraca wrote on 2025-04-23, 13:33:

I could be wrong in my assumption that it's too old for the f10 option. This is the first vintage Compaq I've owned that isn't an 8086-based machine and I'm new to the procedures to get it configured. The 162 error suddenly stopped showing, so I'm guessing it somehow saved the config to the motherboard after numerous failures.

Well, this sounds like progress. Now that you can boot without "error 162" or any other configuration error, you should be able to create a system partition. You can not create the system partition while you have an unconfigured or misconfigured system or EISA devices.

mkarcher wrote on 2025-04-23, 14:48:

reodraca wrote on 2025-04-23, 13:33:

I could be wrong in my assumption that it's too old for the f10 option. This is the first vintage Compaq I've owned that isn't an 8086-based machine and I'm new to the procedures to get it configured. The 162 error suddenly stopped showing, so I'm guessing it somehow saved the config to the motherboard after numerous failures.

Well, this sounds like progress. Now that you can boot without "error 162" or any other configuration error, you should be able to create a system partition. You can not create the system partition while you have an unconfigured or misconfigured system or EISA devices.

Got the cursor on the upper right and it goes into the config utility. All set. I'm still not sure why the system suddenly stopped throwing the config error. I was just using it with the error and setting up Windows 95 and it just disappeared one reboot. Could years of disuse cause the BIOS to act wonky and need some use to recover?

Anyway, thanks for the help.