Hey everyone, The other day I dug out my old NEC Ultralite SL 25/C. I jabbed it under my bed because it stopped working. Well, I just want to fix it now as sort of a project. When I boot up the laptop I get this error: Fixed Drive Controller Error Boot Device Not Availible Press F1 to continue or F10 to enter setup Now, I hope someone is familiar with the old NEC laptops, because if you're not then you should be aware of some things. On this laptop, I don't think there is a BIOS. That is, the BIOS is the "setup" configuration. I press F2 when the system starts it's POST, but I never get into it. The only time i've ever seen it is by pressing F10 when the Fixed Disk controller error comes up. In the so called BIOS, the only things I can do are specify what "floppy disk 1", "floppy disk 2", and "disk drive type" are. The disk drive types go from 1 to 47. I'm pretty sure mine is 19, so it's in there right now. Anywho, I've looked all over the net for my error and have tried various things. I tried to find the HD Controller, which people say are removable on older systems. But it's just a slot that the HD connects to, and I cannot remove it (even with pliers). I tried to boot up the system without the hard drive even in the laptop to see what it would give me, and I got the same "Fixed Disk Controller Error". I've run MS DOS 7.11 off a floppy to see if I could run some diagnostics or somehow get FDISK to work, but without much success. And i've looked through all the documentation and utilities (setup) that came with the laptop, again without much success. Oh and by the way, i've heard the hard drive spinning a few times here and there, so I know that it IS connected and such. Does anyone out there have any idea how I can solve this problem? Are there any utilities that I can run in dos that will check the IRQ ports or the configuration of the computer itself!? Appreciate it guys. One of the topics on this forum I was reading before might shed some light on it for you: http://computing.net/windows31/wwwboard/forum/2256.html

Not sure of that old system, but on most laptop and systems the "Disk Controller error" could mean the disk controller IN the disk drive itself. Can you find a working drive to try? History. On old systems, there was a separate "Fixed Disk drive Controller" adapter. This was used with old ST-506 interface (two cables) drives and SCSI drives. The early ST-506 interface drives were drive types 1 through 15. However, with EIDE and IDE drives (single cable), the "disk drive controller" was "Integrated" or built into the drive. This is the type of disk drive built into almost all but the very earliest portables. At first, IDE drives used the disk drive tables or type 47 where you set the c,h,r information. Later, hardware and BIOS code was added that allowed BIOS to read this information directly from the drive. Today systems can check the IDE Interface and give an "Interface error". But they still give a "Disk Drive Controller Error" for some disk drive failures. So it is a good bet, that your "Fixed Drive Controller Error" is really a disk drive error. So check the disk drive real close for any problems. But there is not much you can do except replace it.

Really? Ah booo, I thought there would be something I could use in DOS that would stay in my ROM and run at POST to tell the HD the specs. I hear it can either be a harddrive error, disk controller error, or a configuration error in the CMOS. But like I said, I take the harddrive right out of the laptop, and try to run off the floppy, and it still gives me the error (I can still use the floppy though). So wouldn't that mean that it's NOT a hard drive error? However, when I tell it in the bios that there is no hard drive connected, it does not give me the error. Hmm, now I have to find a dirt cheap hard drive for an 89 laptop... this should be fun :D --- sarcasim. Thanks though.

Oh and by the way, i'm not even sure what the disk controller looks like... but I can tell you, that the cables from the harddrive to the motherboard connectors are completely solid. And the solid cable itself is split in two, being as there is two slots on the motherboard. Does that help any? Can you tell me what a Hard disk controller looks like?

Your URL posted in original message is "not found on this server". Fixed drive controller could be one of the integrated chips (1/2" square or larger) used on the motherboard. Or maybe it does refer to the harddrive electronics. Suggest try all other (1-46) settings since you are not certain of actual drive geometry. Yours may not like being set to type 19. If you can, find a known good harddrive that will work in your system for testing. If the drive still gives original error maybe you could try to find cables too (really should be able to remove them I would think -don't use pliers on them, they could be damaged. Have not seen laptop you describe, though.) Also, they make I/O (input/output) cards that have harddrive connections and some have floppy connections built on. Believe they are recognized automatically when put in a slot and override fixed disk controller. Will probably be for IDE drives, though. Could work.

Hi, thanks for the reply. I still cannot figure out what the hard drive controller is. I pull and pull and pull (it's 1/4" in height on the motherboard, very hard to even get at) at what I think is the controller, but notta. Can you explain to me though, why I get the same error message when the hard drive isn't even in the Mobo?? I have tried all type for my hard drive. 17 and 19 seemed to be the most productive, but that's only because it took longer to boot (I figure maybe it's doing something different) If it was a damaged hard drive, wouldn't it at least detect that something is in the slot?

Hi does the hdd have any thing written on its case for cly head sectors if so use drive type user (47) and plug the info in. the controler must not be a card but part of the mobod. some old comps have a bios