HP-85 Boot Up

[Jeff]

What could be the problem when you receive the "Error 23: Self test" when trying to boot the HP-85? Is this an error caused by not having the "autost" program or any tape inserted in the computer?
Please let me know.
Jeff

[Vassilis Prevelakis]

The HP-85 manual says that "Error 23: Self test" means that
the machine needs repair.

You need the service ROM to be able to diagnose the problem further.

Since the machine mostly functions (otherwise it would not be able to display the message), I would think that the problem is either a memory error (bad memory chip), or a ROM checksum error.

If you have anything plugged in the back of the machine (esp. the ROM drawer or the extra 16K RAM), try removing them and powering up the machine again.

**vp

more info on the HP-85 can be found at www.series80.org