bridgport vmc hdd failure

[jke6113]

i have a bridgport vmc that just had a hdd failure and i would like to fix it but not sure what i would have to do when installing the hard drive. i have been looking for a service manual for this machine and have been unable to locate one. so if any one knows anything about these machines and could help out some
thans

[blackbeard52]

I have a friend who has one. I am sure he has a manual. We replaced the hard drive a while back what is your question...I may be able to help.

Bob

[jke6113]

ok, well the hdd failure showed up on the screen when the machine booted up. after that i am only able to boot to the operators screen throught the boot disk. the machine says the hard drive is there but it will not pull any programs from it and it will not load from just the hard disk. i'm not sure what i should check,or what i should do to get the machine working without the 3.5 floppy
jake

[machintek]

Hard drive failures are common. They run on a continuously. But first I would make sure the CMOS is set correctly for the drive you have. Secondly, if you have a I/O board that it has not failed you. Also I have seen viruses destroy data on hard drives.
There is nothing about replacing a hard drive in the maintenance manual.
Assuming it is a dead hard drive: You need a new one. It has to be a PATA or an IDE type, NOT a SATA. The smaller in capacity, the better as you will FDISK it to only 528MB which is what your old BIOS on the mother board will support.
Then you will load DOS 6.20 onto it, and then the machine software. Lastly set your tool change height, orient position, spindle drift, spindle gain, backlash, etc.

If you know a "geek", this would be a good time to buy him/her dinner and ask for help. This is not rocket science but you have to be PC literate to do.

Another option would be to get a LOADED DOM (disk on a module) from EMI. This is a solid state drive that mimics a hard drive. You plug it into the IDE port. You would still need a current back up of your parameter file (bmdcprms.sys) or the former applies to set TC height, orient, etc.

George

[blackbeard52]

Jake

I have several 512 meg hard drives I saved just for this purpose...I could preload Dos 6.22 for you and ship. Just would ask that you pay the shipping...will comp the drive....we CNCZoNEr's have to support each other.

Bob