BCM 200 (Feature: 981) 2

[goldman]

We have a BCM 200 and the tech says it is "dead". The only function that isn't working is v/m. The diagnosis is a dead HD.
I know NOTHING about phone systems.

To repair the system they want to charge ~$3,000.00. For a "new system", it's ~$4,600.00. These costs seem excessive. Is there more involved with this than just changing out the HD?

ANY responses would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[cook1082]

There has been a problem with the BFT-motherboards with the caps on the board.This results in the voicemail not working or accessing the manager.I saw on this site that Nortel has extended the free replacement for another year. Your people need to get the Part number off of the back and look on the nortel site to see if it is one of the cards. Also if you slide the shelf out in the front of the BCM if the caps are green it is a good chance it is bad if they are blue its ok.

 

[goldman]

Thanks for your response!

I'll get them to give me the P/N off the back of the unit and check the Nortel site.

This system is across the country and we have LIMITED support in that office. Can you 'dumb down' your answer on how to "slide out the shelf" so that a 6th grader can follow

 

[acewarlock]

If your vendor is a Nortel Partner, you need to get a new one as he's trying to rip you off. The whit lable on the back has a nortel part number, it should be something like this NT7B10AADH. if you post the number here I can tell you if it is covered.

 

[mcq5]

Responding for goldman -
the part number is: NT7B100AAEH

after researching the unit online, a new one can be purchased from some places for $2600. We don't have any type of manual so we don't exactly know what the inside of the unit looks like to see where this "bad" hard drive is located.

I have not located the link on Nortel's site to enter the P/N to determine whether it's a bad card.

 

[mcq5]

correction:
P/N: NT7B10AAEH

 

[DigitelD]

Your part number is part of the bulletin. The Nortel document ID is 2005006321. This is for the bad BFT.

SHK Certified (School of Hard Knocks)

 

[mcq5]

DigitelD,

Would you pls provide me w/a link to the document? Can't seem to locate it.

 

[mcq5]

Ok, so I realize now you're a vendor & that's why you have access to this info and not me. Spoke w/Nortel and got some direction and have forwarded info to our vendor to see whether he confirms the P/N is on the bad BFT list.

 

[goldman]

Does anyone have a diagram of the internals of this unit, they can post?

What I would like to know is:
Does a bad BFT cause the entire system to fail or does it only impact VM?

Is the Hard Drive an ACTUAL hard drive (PC world) or is it a board that slides into the BCM200?

acewarlock, what would be a REASONABLE cost to get this system up and running? Can you recommend a vendor in the Salt Lake City area?

 

[acewarlock]

Any Nortel Partner can get this fixed for a service fee as the BFT is replaced free by Nortel until 12/31/07. The other Vendor was going to charge you $1500 for a new BFT plus $1500 for the service and then send the bad part to Nortel and get it replaced for free. Nice profit margin for a service call.

 

[acewarlock]

There is a small plate at the back of the BCM on the right, tack this cover off and the hard drive is behind it(real Hard drive)


Normally a Bad BFT causes the VM, serial ports, IP and the VOIP to fail. Phones and trunks keep working.

The Caps will be Green and you may see a gray pasty stuff leakind around the bottom of the Caps or they may just be bulging at the top (rounded)

 

[acewarlock]

As far as cost to you to get it fixed, it should only be a time charge as the part is free. Give the New vendor the NT7B100AAEH, S/N NNTMRAA?????, DATE of Manufacture and that should be all the Vendor will need to get a new part from Nortel.

 

[goldman]

Ok, here's what I've found out. The Vendor says the S/N of the card was not one that was defective, eventhough the cabinet P/N was listed as such. I'll post the S/N as soon as I get it.

Currently we have ver 3.5 and you can't just stick a ver 4.0 HD into the system and have it work (Not Supported by Nortel and they haven't been able to get it to work in their testing). They are unable to locate a HD of the same version (3.5)

There are no backups of the system.
Their 'solution' is to replace the entire cabinet...that was purchased in 2004.

 

[acewarlock]

S/N don't count as Nortel has replaced about 4 of mine that had leaking Caps. the serial Number's was a guess by Nortel.

 

[acewarlock]

I've seen New 3.6 hard drives on Ebay for about $225. Are you sure your Vendor is a Nortel Partner? You can got to Nortel.com and get a list of Nortel Partners and see if he's on it. A partner should be able to get a 3.6 or 3.7 HD with no trouble. I doubt that your HD is bad.

Have you opened the BFT and looked at the Caps yet?

 

[acewarlock]

I have replaced about 20 BFT's so far and only once was it a hard drive problem.

 

[goldman]

The unit is across the country and we don't have anyone to 'pop the case' in that office.

They are listed as a Nortel Authorized Reseller on Nortel's site.

Thanks for all your help on this!! I'll revist this on Monday.

 

[acewarlock]

There are only 2 Black screws in the front and you pull the black handels down and the tray slides out a short way without disconnecting the 2 ribbon cables use a flashlight and look at the Caps to see if they are Green or Blue.


Your Vendor must not be a very good one if he can't get a hard drive, if I was you I would look for a new one. I'm an end user and I maintain 60 BCM in 14 states and I do all the repairs myself.

 

[MagnaRGP]

The BFT isn't always free anymore....unless you want to wait for it.

Nortel is now charging an emergency spares fee of some U$D600 to get one quickly (next day). If can handle waiting for a week or two, only then is it free. I think they are now charging a restock fee too, but that could be conjecture on the part of some in my office.