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Wresting with Deepfreeze and SurferQuest

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    Wresting with Deepfreeze and SurferQuest

    So I have this Optiplex GX280 that is really giving me a hard time. It was, at one point, installed in one of those crappy ATM's you find in gas stations. They use a hodge podge of security software that really makes it difficult to use the computer for anything else.

    For one, they have deepfreeze on there. Ok, thats not that hard to disable, but then they have a custom program written by a company called SurferQuest that is the ATM interface you would interact with. The only problem is, when starting up normally the SQ software starts up instantly and locks down the computer, completely disabling any USB devices (I.E. keyboard and mouse). In dell's infinite wisdom, they did not equip the GX280 with PS/2 ports.

    So here's the problem. Its stuck in a loop. I can only make changes to deepfreeze in normal mode. I can boot into safemode and poke around, but deleting or uninstalling anything is useless as deepfreeze just puts it back to normal next boot. I can't make any changes to deepfreeze in normal mode as the stupid SurferQuest software locks everything out.

    And to top it off, they either have some sort of setting or software installed that prevents booting from anything other than the hard drive, or this computer is just as big of a POS as it really is, as the CD drive will not boot anything, and trying to boot from a USB drive just freezes up the computer.

    #2
    Re: Wresting with Deepfreeze and SurferQuest

    Pop the hard drive in a different computer and disable it from there?

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Wresting with Deepfreeze and SurferQuest

      Normally that would be the case, but right now I lack a working computer with Sata capabilities (the WD 320GB in my main computer just took a dump.)

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Wresting with Deepfreeze and SurferQuest

        Originally posted by 370forlife View Post
        have some sort of setting or software installed that prevents booting from anything other than the hard drive
        That's usually done by the BIOS

        Is a password needed to get into BIOS settings ?

        If there is, and you don't have it, get hold of a manual for the system and find out how to clear CMOS settings

        Once you get into the BIOS, look for settings related to Boot sources
        better to keep quiet and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt

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          #5
          Re: Wresting with Deepfreeze and SurferQuest

          There was no password on the bios, and I reset it as well. I also don't see any device inside the computer so I think its just a Dell being a Dell not being able to boot from USB. It must just be coincidental that the CD Rom also doesn't work.

          I'm going to try hooking up a different CD rom drive, it has a slimline style drive in it now. The power supply also does not have any Molex connectors, so I'm going to have to rig up another power supply for the time being. I thought I had another CD rom drive from a big ol' Dell server, but it was SCSI. I have drastically fewer parts than I had in the past, so doing these things now becomes more of a challenge .

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            #6
            Re: Wresting with Deepfreeze and SurferQuest

            Originally posted by 370forlife View Post
            There was no password on the bios, and I reset it as well. I also don't see any device inside the computer so I think its just a Dell being a Dell not being able to boot from USB. It must just be coincidental that the CD Rom also doesn't work.

            I'm going to try hooking up a different CD rom drive, it has a slimline style drive in it now. The power supply also does not have any Molex connectors, so I'm going to have to rig up another power supply for the time being. I thought I had another CD rom drive from a big ol' Dell server, but it was SCSI. I have drastically fewer parts than I had in the past, so doing these things now becomes more of a challenge .
            IIRC, boards since the USB 2.0 era (since 2002, IIRC) should be able to boot from USB.
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            "¡Me encanta "Me Encanta o Enlistarlo con Hilary Farr!" -Mí mismo

            "There's nothing more unattractive than a chick smoking a cigarette" -Topcat

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            "did I see a chair fly? I think I did! Time for popcorn!" -ratdude747

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              #7
              Re: Wresting with Deepfreeze and SurferQuest

              From GX280 user's guide: ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-produ...uide_en-us.pdf

              Booting to a USB Device
              NOTE:
              To boot to a USB device, the device must be bootable. To ensure that your device is bootable, check the devicedocumentation.
              Memory Key
              1.
              Insert the memory key into a USB port and restart the computer.
              2.
              When
              F12 = Boot Menu
              appears in the upper-right corner of the screen, press <F12>.
              The BIOS detects the device and adds the USB device option to the boot menu.
              3.
              From the boot menu, select the number that appears next to the USB device.
              The computer boots to the USB device.
              better to keep quiet and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Wresting with Deepfreeze and SurferQuest

                I assume there must be some sort of stability issue with the bios and booting from USB. I formatted 3 different USB sticks I had sitting around, all three would be detected but would freeze the computer when selecting them to boot.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: Wresting with Deepfreeze and SurferQuest

                  Originally posted by 370forlife View Post
                  I assume there must be some sort of stability issue with the bios and booting from USB. I formatted 3 different USB sticks I had sitting around, all three would be detected but would freeze the computer when selecting them to boot.
                  May be a bad USB port.
                  ASRock B550 PG Velocita

                  Ryzen 9 "Vermeer" 5900X

                  16 GB AData XPG Spectrix D41

                  Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 6750 XT

                  eVGA Supernova G3 750W

                  Western Digital Black SN850 1TB NVMe SSD

                  Alienware AW3423DWF OLED




                  "¡Me encanta "Me Encanta o Enlistarlo con Hilary Farr!" -Mí mismo

                  "There's nothing more unattractive than a chick smoking a cigarette" -Topcat

                  "Today's lesson in pissivity comes in the form of a ziplock baggie full of GPU extension brackets & hardware that for the last ~3 years have been on my bench, always in my way, getting moved around constantly....and yesterday I found myself in need of them....and the bastards are now nowhere to be found! Motherfracker!!" -Topcat

                  "did I see a chair fly? I think I did! Time for popcorn!" -ratdude747

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Wresting with Deepfreeze and SurferQuest

                    gx280 with stability issues?
                    look at the caps on the mobo and power supply first.
                    i have gotten plenty of quirky ones in that a recap fixed right up.none were bulging on the board but always at least 1 in power supply.
                    another possibility is an intentionally bugged bios since it was in an atm.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: Wresting with Deepfreeze and SurferQuest

                      Well, I hooked up another IDE drive and a different power supply and it was able to boot from that CD and reinstall XP. Seems to be fine with the supplied power supply now. The motherboard itself is all Pannys, none bulging and the power supply is a little HiPro unit that doesn't have any visible bulging, but they're all Ltec with some little Nichicons, so I may go through and replace the Ltec's. The BIOS revision is A00 which indicates it is the original BIOS, so it may just need a BIOS update to get the USB booting properly.

                      Other than that its doing what I wanted it to do, which is to act as a wireless receiver/router for some old PPC Macs.

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