On 22 Jun 2025 13:31:01 -0700, Peter wrote in message
<20250622203107.EF73522815F@???>:

> From:    altoid via Dng <dng@???>
> Date:    Sun, 22 Jun 2025 07:12:11 -0300
> > I'm glad you managed to get into the card's BIOS.  

>
> See (4) below.
>
> To avoid communication gaps, extra details accompany answers to
> questions.
>
> (0) Interested in SCSI to connect a scanner. SCSI storage not an
> interest.
>
> (1) The machine is an HP Pavilion a6345f. It has one ivory colored
> PCI socket and one black PCIE x16 socket.
>
> (2) There's a SCSI PCI card with label marked thus.
> 02935406-00 Singapore
> BUZ MS
> BS007357 02/02/98
>
> https://easthope.ca/SCSIcard.jpg

..put a clear, focused picture of the entire card there.

>
> The external SCSI connector has 48 sockets.
>
> The subminiature connector has 15 pins in three rows. VGA connector?
> VGA on a computer has sockets; not pins.

..could easily be some custom debug port abusing the vga shape...

> (3) There's a PCIE x16 video card.
> https://easthope.ca/RadeonX600Pro.256MB.jpg
>
> (4) With both cards installed, the display remains black, ALWAYS.
> With either card alone, the system works with no obvious problem.

..weird. Try my ram swap idea below.

> (5) SCSI card INSTALLED. Radeon card NOT INSTALLED.
>
> Power up.
>
> > But I don't recognise those two screens, could be that the Iomega
> > card has some limitations wrt the rebranded/similar Adaptec models.
> >
> > Please take a screenshot of the first BIOS screen you see when you
> > access the BIOS ...
>
> https://easthope.ca/FirstBIOSpage.jpg
>
> (6)
> > ... and then every other screen you have access to from
> > there on.
>
> <F10> yields this.
>
> https://easthope.ca/AdvanceWare.jpg
>
> (7) Then within a time limit <CTRL><A> yields this.
>
> https://easthope.ca/AdvanceWareMainMenu.jpg
>
> (8) Then choose "Adapter Configuration".
>
> https://easthope.ca/AdapterConfiguration.jpg

..is the adapter card stuck looking for a scsi cd boot drive?
As in, what happens if you disable the "CD Bootability" option?

>
> (9) Or choose "SCSI Configuration".
>
> https://easthope.ca/SCSIconfiguration.jpg
>
> (10) If <CTRL><A> is not pressed within the time limit,
> the system BIOS appears.
>
> https://easthope.ca/SystemBIOS.jpg

..what happens if you swap the 512MB ram chip
in bank 1 with the 1GB ram in bank 4?

..your current setup looks veird to me, I usually see the
same size ram chips paired into the same memory channels,
usually memory banks 1 and 2 forms channel 1 and banks 3
and 4 channel 2.

..if that fails, try removing the 512MB ram, the adapter
card may be stuck looking past some hardware address limit
for that elusive SCSI CD Boot Drive, or some such.

>
> (11) Of course the system BIOS has more pages chosen by the names at
> the top of that page, "Advanced Power Boot Exit". If you want to see
> any of those, let me know.

..go ahead.

> (12) When the Radeon card is installed and not the SCSI card, the
> system BIOS is available as expected.

..are you able to set up a serial console to another pc?

> (13)
> > Like I mentioned in another post, it may be that the SCSI card is
> > looking for a drive to boot from and does not find one.

..another way is give it a wee boot drive to try make it happy.

> If the SCSI card is present, the system can boot from SCSI only?
> Evil. Install an old SCSI drive with a small boot volume?

..all it needs is a boot loader pointing to your real boot drive.

> Further ideas welcome. Please refer to section numbers (n) where
> pertinent.
>

> Thanks,                             ... P.

>


--
..med vennlig hilsen = with Kind Regards from Arnt Karlsen
...with a number of polar bear hunters in his ancestry...
Scenarios always come in sets of three:
best case, worst case, and just in case.