Partner mail R3 problem

[macphoneguy]

I was setting up a partnerII system with a partner mail R3 and it had worked previously, however when I had powered the unit today I only got a steady stream of beeping and when calling into it it only rang, after powering it off/on a couple times no success, hooking the laptop wvia null modem serial cable, the bios stuff shows and promply displays something to the effect of "Fixed disk 0 failure" I took the cover off and confirmed from my PC days that they hard drive spins up and prompty spins back down and stays down when powering the unit on, (I also confirmed the power supply is OK at 5 & 12 Volts) that being said, since I got the Partner system 2nd hand
1. Does the adverage Avaya Dealer have instructions on replacing/reloading the drive, 2, at what cost typically?

 

[Dexman]

Given the age of the Partner Mail, the cost of repairing the unit is probably not worth it. If the Partner II processor is a R3.1 or higher and there is an open slot available, a Partner Mail VS or Avaya Partner Messaging can be added.

However, here is 1 place that sells repair kits for the stand alone Partner Mail:

http://www.nyteldirect.com/Scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=311

 

[skip555]

you have to look at what you have , its a PC thats at least 7 years old ( I think they where discontinued around 2000 )

does make sense to repair a 7 year old PC ?

how reliable will it be after the repair ?

time to move on

 

[macphoneguy]

Well, thats kind of what i suspected but thought it would't hurt any to get a 2nd opinion, I think, I will see what some I can get for the phones themselves at a local Dealer as the phone themselves are OK and there are about 20 of them and three 5 slot KSU's and assorted 400, 200, & 206 modules but i think I will add the nyteldirect.com web site to my favorites as it never hurts any to have Extra info, when other projects some along

 

[Dexman]

I am going take what Skip said 1 step further.

This might be the perfect time to upgrade from a Partner II to a Partner ACS. The ACS is a much newer system and the power fail backup batteries are user replaceable. You will be able to carry over the existing telephones.

 

[skip555]

I wouldn't necessarily agree that all partner 11s should be upgraded to ACS

we have a lot of Partner 11's out there working just fine day to day .

we still sell partner and partner 11 to customers looking for a low dollar entry level system (we put a new battery in the processor before the sale )

very reliable system ,

 

[DTGMI]

I know it is the common recmmendation to replace the older Partner Mail R3s - but they are actually very good VMs. The error message you got is due to hard drive failure. The drive should be replaced and you need to know if it is the older style motherboard or the newer style Brooktrout motherboard - both need different drive types. You can make this assessment easily.

The original style motherboard has both the 9 pin male serial and the 2nd connectors for the 9 pin male and 25 pin female serial. The newer style Brooktrout VM only has (1) 9 pin male serial port. These are visible on the rear of the unit - no need to open the case cover.

The Partner Mail R3 was/is a solid VM with 100 mailbox capacity - 3 auto attendants - fax detection - group and general mailboxes - cascade outcalling - sub menus - dial by Name Directory and features the VS mail mods didn't have.

We still sell lots of them - but we also refurbed them with rebuilt power supply and updated BIOS and seldom get one back.

Hate to see these old dogs die as they are still a solid voice mail option for may clients who have a limited budget.

 

[skip555]

I liked them sold a lot of them .

Digmi

link to your site ?