    AST RESEARCH, INC.        TECHNICAL BULLETIN # 1661          02/11/97

    TITLE:  GPF Errors with HDR on Advantage! 9308

    ISSUE

       After upgrading the memory from 16MB (two 8MB SIMMs) to 32MB
       (four 8MB SIMMs) on an Advantage! 9308 system, the system
       intermittently exhibits General Protection Fault (GPF) errors or
       system hangs during a Hard Disk Restore (HDR). The failures occur
       during the HDR process, after extracting all the files from the
       restore CD and restarting the system.

       All the upgraded SIMM memory was obtained from approved vendors
       and provided by AST.

       This issue applies to the Advantage! 9308 system part number
       503153-037 but may not be limited to this SKU.

    BACKGROUND

       During the Hard Disk Restore process, after all the files are
       extracted from the restore CD to the hard drive, the user is
       prompted to restart the system.

       After system restart, the batch file ORIGINAL.BAT (on the hard
       drive) is renamed AUTOEXEC.BAT.

       SMARTDRIVE is enabled in ORIGINAL.BAT.

    ACTION

       To resolve the issue, perform the following steps when prompted
       to restart the computer during the Hard Disk Restore process:

       1. At the DOS prompt enter the following command:

             C:

       2. From the C:\ prompt enter the following command:

             CD\WINDOWS\COMMAND

       3. Enter the following command:

             EDIT C:\ORIGINAL.BAT

       4. While in the editor, locate the statement within the
          file that refers to SMARTDRIVE.EXE.  At the beginning
          of this statement, insert the letters REM.
          For example:

            REM SMARTDRIVE.EXE

       5. Press the [ALT] key, then the [F] key, to access the
          file menu.

       6. Choose EXIT from the menu by pressing the [X] key.

       7. When prompted, press [Y] to save the file.

       8. Remove the disk from the A: drive and the CD from the
          CD-ROM drive, and restart the system.

       9. Follow the computer-generated prompts to complete the
          installation of Windows 95.

    NOTES

       N/A

    TAN 003747AN

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