Partner ACS R6 Backup/Restore Card Dead

[Robotic]

My recently purchased ACS R6 will not recognize the Backup/Restore card which came with it. The card is silver with a blue-green label and has a copyright date of 2002. I get "Insert Valid Card" after entering #124. I set an automatic backup, which also failed. The write-protect is set appropriately to writeable.

So I called the vendor, got a new Backup/Restore card, which arrived today. This one is light green label on silver, copyrighted 2000. Hmmm, older card...this can't be good. Same error message. Can two BU/R cards be defective?

When the tech initialized the system for the first time, was he supposed to enter the installer's code to erase everything? I was watching him and I don't recall him doing so. (I read the manual ahead of time.)

Without erasing the programming, is there a way to force a working system to recognize or initialize the backup card? (Other than powering down and then up.)

Should I call and get a third backup card or get a new ACS R6 processor unit? (The processor was upgraded from R5 and sold "Like New" R6.)

 

[TouchToneTommy]

It's unlikely that you had 2 defective cards in a row. Have your vendor try the cards in another processor to determine where the fault lies. Yes, theoretically, he should have performed a full default-restart, but that should also have been done after they did the forced upgrade.

 

[exsmogger]

Could be a bad card slot. Have you tried both slots? Power off the ACS when swapping the cards.

Brian Cox

http://www.jandjcommunications.com

 

[Robotic]

I have powered down and tried the cards in both slots with no luck. The manual says Slot 2 is preferred. Currently my PVM R3(Small) card is in slot 1.

 

[itpphoneguy]

Hi Robotic,
It does not matter which slot the card is in. Systems I install routinely have the cards in slot 1, no errors. TouchToneTommy is right, let the vendor figure out what's bad.
-Chris

 

[Robotic]

Thanks for the advice, Touchtone and all of you. The vendor agrees that the port on the ACS R6 processor unit is probably defective, and a new proc is being shipped to me. The PVM R3(S) works fine in its slot(1) but the backup card would not work when I put it in slot 1 and powered back on. It's still a little mysterious.

This is my home system; With no backup possible, I will have to reprogram the new processor manually. [My wife thinks I secretly love this...]

 

[jlshelton]

Have you tried backing up via Remote Access?

 

[392]

The command is the same via remote or local. If the system doesn't "see" the card, it won't attempt the backup. Been there, done that X4; half was the card, half was the CPU.

 

[Robotic]

Unfortunately I don't have a remote access card, only the backup/restore. The new processor is on the way. I'll keep the two backup cards (the proc probably will also arrive with one) and I'll check the backup function first after getting the new hardware installed.

Is there any use in doing an "installer reset" on the existing system as a last-ditch attempt to get the existing BU/R card recognized? It will erase all the programming, but that's a loss anyway with the new processor.

 

[drewmich]

RObotic,

It is doubtful that a cold reset default will affect the #124 functionality. I think I know the vendor that sold you the "ACS R6"... they make their own older style backup - cards and they do fail sometimes. It is possible that one of the 2 PCMCIA slots is defective, but a simple test would be to move the PVM R3.0 card into the 2nd slot and test it there. If both slots work, then your good to go. Has to be a card problem.

One other possible problem is that this vendor sent you original R1.0 green label BUR cards - these have a different circuitry in them that the ACS R3.0 software and newer won't recognize. These are ORIGINAL Lucent cards and have a mint or medium green label - no blue tint in it.

With an R6 you should be asking for a factory original Remote Access BURU PC Card - solid silver label only - so that you can have the remote access functionality which is pretty cool if you change programming at all - or need to do it from your office or remote. Probably not an important feature with it being your home system.

Andrew Roach
President - Drew Telecom Group, Inc.
Lucent Voice Mail-Component-Transtalk Repair Specialists
Lucent/Avaya Telecom Brokers/Resellers
drew@triton.net
269-685-5400 - voice
269-685-5500 - fax

 

[Robotic]

drewmich, touchtone, 392, and others:

The vendor shipped a replacement processor (ACS R6) which I installed and programmed today. The original BU/R card (blue-green label, copyright 2002) is now working perfectly in the new proc. The PVM R3 (Small) is in slot 1, and it is also working fine. The only conclusion is that neither slot on the first processor could recognize any BUR card, even though the PVM worked properly in either slot.

One footnote: to start, I set 2 lines to all extensions, including the doorphone, using #104. The system did not like having the doorphones set to CO lines! Incoming calls rang on system phones once, then nothing AND no caller ID information came through at all. I think the doorphone was answering the calls and doing so prior to the second ring. Anyway, all was well after I removed both CO lines from the doorphone extension.

Thanks for your help! Your input into my strange situation helped get it solved.