First post, by Wilius
Hi everyone!
I just got my hands on the 486 version of the Canon NoteJet BN200. It's a pretty intriguing laptop, with a built-in bubble jet printer. I can't wait to try printing with it.
Unfortunately, at the moment it gets stuck during POST.
It does its memory test as usual, during which I can still somewhat interact with it.
As an example, I can change the brightness and contrast controls and I can also enable or disable NUM lock or CAPS lock.
However, as soon as it finishes the RAM test, it displays the following error message: fixed disk configuration error to enter setup press ctrl+alt+s
(BTW This laptop has a Phoenix NoteBIOS A486 Version 1.03)
Whenever this message appears, it becomes completely unresponsive and I am unable to interact with it at all.
It's impossible for me to turn it off in this state.
To turn it off, I must either disconnect the AC adapter or the battery.
After an hour of troubleshooting, I couldn't find anything that made a difference.
I have tried things like:
- Taking out the CMOS battery for approximately 10 minutes and replacing it with a new one (more on that to come).
- Replacing the hard drive
- Reseating the IDE connector
- Turning it on with no hard drive installed.
- Reseating the CPU board and cleaning the contacts
- Replacing the RAM
- Turning it on without RAM, except its onboard memory
- Turning it on with a known-good DR36 battery
- Turning it on, only with its AC adapter and no battery installed
Despite my efforts, I always reach the same dead end.
Here are some additional information, that may be relevant.
I don't have the original BN-MA540 AC adapter.
The original AC adapter had an output of 20 volts and a draw of 2.7 amps.
Instead, I used a cheap universal power supply to test it.
Based on the sticker, this AC adapter (SP-120W) can draw up to 5 amps when set to 20 volts.
Is there a chance that this could have caused damage to my BN200?
Additionally, I lacked the correct replacement for the CMOS battery. The battery in this laptop used to be a Panasonic CR2477, but I only had a regular CR2032 battery.
Could this perhaps be the reason for the strange behavior?
During further inspections, I discovered some SMD electrolytic capacitors.
Are these capacitors prone to failure?
I might do a full recap of this laptop, if necessary.
However, I'm reluctant to take it apart because I don't have any schematics to follow when performing a complete disassembly.
Has anyone ever attempted to take apart a BN200 before?
If that's the case, I would be grateful if you could guide me through the disassembly process.
If you have encountered a similar issue with this laptop and found a solution, please let me know how you resolved it.
I would be grateful for any advice you could give me.
As usual, thanks in advance for your help.