Well, I just screwed the pooch. Ask me anything

I'm speaking metaphorically, so don't call the ASPCA.

I reset the bios settings on an exotic PC, and now the screen is blank.

Do you have any way to flash the BIOS?

I just need to reset the configuration to factory defaults.

Unfortunately, I can't see the screen so I can't chose the setting to make that happen.

By exotic, I mean Japanese (Toshiba Equium S5040). So there is no support for it in the US. The support pages are in Japanese.

Babblefish and/or neighborhood Otaku?

Got enough of a translation to figure out there's a way to do it.

But the details are totally lost in the translation.

What I need is a step-by-step sequence of keystrokes to command the bios back to factory settings.

Right now, it thinks I have a CRT monitor connected to it, but I don't. I have a flat screen monitor with DVI and VGA interfaces.

I have no clue what they meant by CRT. That was the mistake; I changed from Auto select to CRT.

Go to the google search engine and type Toshiba Equium S5040 bios.

All the hits will be in Japanese because that's where the machine came from.

Next to each link you will see a "translate this page" option. Click on it, and Google will try to do a translation for you for free.

It works for all languages.

Have fun!



:hi:

It is small, and whatever saying, the degree of maniac of the Toshiba designer shines
You don't discuss concerning the small-sized desktop PC EQUIUM S50xx series?

Because it was scolded with the desktop board, it raised, is may.

With feeling at point in time of 1 years ago “in new microcode correspondence”
It is written, however it is, after all is conversion probably unreasonable in ??
Chip set as for 845gv it is correspondence to seem, but. . .
Someone how as for the person who uses the type it is and others the plain gauze isn't??

It does not move after all, it is.

Using with the mackerel, but the it is, if the specifications useless the complete fan the kana which will be made less.
C3 recognizes to somewhere, but the sensitivity

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://pc7.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/pc/1135651927/&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=6&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3DToshiba%2BEquium%2BS5040%2Bbios%26hl%3Den%26hs%3DBCt%26lr%3D%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official_s%26sa%3DG

I found a page that says that if I can coax the system into bios configuration mode and hit the home key, it will revert to factory settings. Then is gets really muddy.

I'll just have to swallow my pride monday and go to the one guy who can fix it, without letting on I had the system all along.


:yoiks:

"HI,

at the Toshiba Notebooks with Toshiba BIOS you load the Default values with pressing HOME key!

Hope this helps!

Bye"

http://forums.computers.toshiba-europe.com/jive3/thread.jspa?threadID=6274

:silly:

asking if anyone there speaks English?

Then realized that the link was from 2004 so it is locked. The last time the guy posted was 2005.

This is just TOO funny!

I love it when I can't "get theah from heah".

:rofl:

It shows how screwed up support can be, and it is also good for my humility. After all, I did cause this problem for myself.

am!

Already got a couple of good ideas from this thread; yours included.

I will post on that site and see what happens. What I need from that site is somebody with a working system that can post the keystroke sequence to reset the bios. If I have that, I should be back in business.

:hi:

Do you have one on hand you could try plugging in?

I was thinking along the same lines.

I'll rummage in the attic for one in the morning. Right now I'm already blitzed (2 pints of Labatt), so I'm staying the hell away from the hardware.

To give you an idea of just what a dumbass I am, let me tell you that the PC patient, which I call "The Toaster", has both DVI and VGA output. It was originally configured for VGA. When I reset to defaults, it went to DVI. No sweat, I went to best buy, bought a DVI cable hooked it up and was back in business. Then I tried to change the settings back to VGA but, of course, the options were in Engrish and there was no VGA. I saw the CRT option and said, hey, what the heck, try it!

:freak:

I'm just venting.

Does Otaku mean translator?

That's the other fuckup. I actually have somebody that can help, but I burnt that bridge when I lied to him and said I did not have the PC.

:banghead:

It's a perjorative term for anime geeks.

:hi:

for being such a dumbass. I didn't have to change the setting to begin with, everything was just fine the way it was, I just thought: "Hey, let's see if I can goose the performance a little bit".

Doh!

:banghead:

Any news from Amazon?

:bounce:

:silly: :grr: :shrug:

The only reason I can see for that is we have books sent to each other all the time and something was mixed up. I'm headin' down there on Sunday to pick it up.

Did you fix everything?

to straighten out.

Not to worry, I have two working systems on my desk, and a total of 10 PCs at home. I was just setting up this little one for my wife, to replace the system she has right now which is getting pretty old.

I call it the toaster because it is about the size of a regular toaster, but with a 1.8GHz processor, 1GB memory, and 120GB hard drive.

It is sweet!

PS: I am vicariously enjoying Master and Margarita all over again, just knowing that I got another person hooked on it.

It is such a great story.

:o

My one cheap lil' Dell seems inadequate now. :P




PS. That's fine. I'm quite anxious to read it. It sounds great. :D

It started out as an IBM Aptiva, more than 10 years ago. Since then I have replaced every bit of the system one piece at a time, Drives, drivers, CPU, motherboard, power supply, memory... And I upgraded the operating system from the original Windows 95, 98 98SE, WinME, and now Win2K. There is not a single screw left of the original hardware, but since the operating system has never been wiped clean (only updated), it STILL thinks it is the original IBM Aptiva from 10 years ago!

Somehow, it makes me think that machines CAN have something very much akin to a soul....

:shrug:

Redstone

I picked up the expression from the movie "The Right Stuff", referring to Guss Grissom punching out of the "Liberty Bell".

Funny coincidence, since the early Mercury flights were on Redstone rockets....

:hi:

:rofl: