EBME Forums Forums Maintenance Technical Assistance Ultrasound Sonoace X4 - Does not power on

Hello,

I have problems with a Sonoace which does not turn on. I am not sure whether it is a software problem or a power supply problem.

I can switch on and then the fan is turning and the hard drive starts spinning (but no 'reading sounds') CD drive I can open.
But the monitor stays dark (not a sign of booting). An external monitor on video out also stays black.
Keyboard buttons are all dark except the gain knob and the update button. These two are illuminated. All bottons are not functioning.

When I take off the PSA I can see the LEDs of the power supply unit. They are all on, except HV (5V, 12V, 97V are OK,the yellow LEDs (protection fuctions) are off).

My questions now would be:

1. Is this correct or should HV be present? (PSA is still off and system not yet booted.)

2. Or can it be a software problem? Does the machine usually show the boot process on the monitor? If so, does it mean the BIOS does not work? Can I enter the BIOS somehow?

I would be grateful for any tips.

Best regards
Frank

It's good to hear from you, Frank.

All I can say here is that I'm pretty sure the boot process should appear on the the display. The self-test should run after switch-on.

When all is well, the HV LED should show green (this is according the the X6 manual), so maybe you need to dig around there.

Meanwhile, the X4 manual mentions "the Ghost process". Does that ring any bells? Perhaps it allows a roll-back to a happier state of affairs.

I'm guessing that you may have been caught out by the "usual suspect" (with ultrasound units) of "corrupted hard-drive" - generally due to the other "usual suspect" of interrupted mains power (aka incorrect shutdown). That being the case, the solution may be "simply" re-installation of system software, or perhaps replacement of the HDD followed by a re-install.

I've never worked on this machine myself, but I'm wondering if you can get at the hard-drive with normal PC techniques. That is, get it out and see what happens if you connect it in (or to) a PC.

Anyway, Good Hunting with this one.

Hello Geoff,

Thanks for the quick response!

I spend some time on the power supply. For me it looks like that HV is depending on something from outside the PS. One optocoupler is not controlled. That could be because the machine has not yet booted correctly or of the missing PSA.

What I would like to know (maybe someone has experience on this machine) is, if the monitor should show the boot process. I mean, also for reinstalling the operating software (which I also do not have :-) the machine should probably have, a functioning BIOS which starts up the hard drive or the CD drive for new installation...

Regarding the interruppted power supply you are absolutely right. We have a lot of problems with corrupted software due to sudden power cuts. Then, only the reinstallation of the software and a UPS helps. But so far I could at least see the boot process...

Best regards
Frank

Another couple of shots in the dark:-

Someone has suggested that holding down the Depth button during start-up forces the unit to adopt default BIOS settings.

Another reckons that holding down (or maybe repeatedly pressing) the Del key during start-up brings up the BIOS menu.

Could be worth trying.

Another (probably daft) thought occurs:- I don't suppose the voltage selection on the back has inadvertently been set incorrectly (that may account for the display not lighting up)?

Here is the .pdf manual for the Advantech SOM-4450.

Good hint! I will check this.
But it has to wait until Monday. I will come back to you.
Thanks!

Frank

Is this possible to other brand of utz?

Do you mean the key (button/hotkey/softkey/combinations ... whatever) options available during powering-up?

I think you will find that each manufacturer had (have) their own preferences. Some key combinations are what we might call "esoteric". For instance, I seem to recall that the ATL HDI 3500 (one of my favourites) and HDI 5000 had all sorts of "not easy to remember" keystroke possibilities that, if you knew them, could often get you out of trouble!

It would be nice if someone could furnish us with a list of such information for all ultrasound units, past and present.

I thought I may have had some of that jotted down in an old notebook somewhere, but (having taken a quick look) can't seem to find them.

Disorganized notebooks (and scraps of paper):- one of the downsides of working (as I once did) on all sorts of "random" equipment - you rarely (if at all) become "master" of (an expert on) any one machine.

The other often-encountered problem was that of access codes, passwords, or "code sequences" - especially with machines of unknown or uncertain history (not used in years, bought at auction, donated, or just "visited by others"). If you were likely, some kind soul (an earlier technician) will have written (hidden) the necessary numbers somewhere within the machine. If not, well sometimes a silent prayer to the Gods of Biomed might help!

I encounter sona ace utz that not boot up.untill we reformat the hardrive and re installed the software solve the problem.

....and this technique solve many problem to our windows running utz..

Just to close the subject:
I haven't got any further. According to my research, I should be able to access the BIOS with ESC, F1 or something similar. In my case, however, nothing happens. The BIOS itself seems to be defective or no longer existing. By the way, the COMOS battery was completely empty. I guess standing around in a hot shipping container for months didn't do the device any good...

Thanks for your comments!
Frank