NS01 doesn't start - issue resolved !

Problem:  I powered down my NS01 in oder to move it.  Having relocated it I reconnected the network cable & the power cord and switched it on.  It started to run through its power on sequence but stopped completely with only the green Naim logo showing any sign of life.  The NS01 was unresponsive to the remote control and was not seen on the network by the nserv app on my ipad.  If you've got this problem, get yourself a beer and read on...

I powered down again (this time by just switching it off) and powered up again... Naim logo and no further.

The NS01 was plugged into my TV before I moved it and I hadn't reconnected this, so I connected the TV via a  VGA-to-HDMI converter (as it had been before I moved it).  When I powered it up again I got the following message on the TV: 

CMOS checksum error default loaded

CPU has changed or CPU ratio changed fail

Please reenter CPU settings in the CMOS setup and remember to save before quitting

F1 to continue, DEL to enter setup

OK, I do (or did) computers so I recognise 'CMOS' - it's the part of the computer that manages startup and handover to the operating system (which I believe on the NS01 is a version of Windows XP), and it's run by that small button battery that you see on your computer's motherboard (if you've ever been that nosey).   These button batteries need changing every so often (usually about 5 years on a PC). When the battery runs flat the computer loses all its CMOS settings and does funny things like thinking the CPU or memory has changed.  My NS01 is only 2 years old, but hey ho, it must be time to change the CMOS button battery if it loses settings after being turned off and moved...

Two things help me now:  first I always keep a CMOS button battery in my briefcase (well don't you?  & I do still fix computers occasionally), and secondly, I used to do the HDX sound card + memory upgrades for my dealer a couple of years back, so I know my way around the inside of an HDX, and an NS01 is almost identical.   Finding the button battery was a bit of a challenge, this one sits right on the edge of the NS01's mother board in an upright position. Changing it was straightforward using plastic pliers so as not to short out the + and - on opposite sides of the button - make sure you know which way round is + and - when the new one goes in

Having changed the battery, I put it all together again and power up, expecting it to work OK.  But I get the same error message, so I plug in a USB keyboard that happens to be lying around, press F1 and sure enough the NS01 continues to power up as normal, it appears on the network and works as you'd expect.  Problem solved ?    ...No, this is a computer after all.  One thing I have learned in years of fixing PC problems in folks homes is always do a power cycle before you leave, just to make sure it'll work again after I've left and after the customer has turned the thing off then back on the next day!

So I power down the NS01 (gracefully) and power it up again... it stops at the same message... F1 to continue or DEL to enter setup.  So I press DEL to have a look at 'setup'... nothing appears on the TV screen, it goes blank and after a minute or so the NS01 powers down.  I repeat the procedure, press DEL, wait and it powers off.

"How on earth do I get into 'settings' " I'm wondering (not that I jhave any idea what to do if I get there, but 40 years of computers should help me figure something out.  The answer amazed me...the settings menu didn't appear on my TV screen, but when I plug a regular monitor (screen) into the NS01, I now get the full story, I can see the settings menu and fix the problem.  Luckily Geoff, my dealer had turned up with Dave from ATC to convert the SCM100's I had on dem from pasive to active. Geoff has seen NS01's behave this way before and knows what settings to change...  you have to restore NAIM defaults and save them, he tells me and with a flick of the wrist Geoff has taken command of the keyboard, made the change and continued the NS01 startup... and I wasn't watching

So, after all that, I can't actually tell you exactly what to do once you're in the CMOS setup screen, but it should be obvious, look for the 'restore NAIM defaults' option.  If you can't find it, ring Geoff at Acoustica, Chester... he knows !  (or of course Phil at Naim). 

Oh, and before Geoff left... I power cycled the NS01, and Yes, it restarted exactly as it should do, so the battery change fixed the underlying problem and the CMOS settings menu allowed the CMOS to be reloaded with Naim's settings....  and, be aware, to see what's going on, you have to plug in a regular VGA computer monitor & keyboard.

...and I'm now auditioning the ATC SCM100 actives against my B&W 802D2 + NAP500 (using NDS / NS01 as the source at the moment)... more in another thread !

If you are now looking at a 'dead' and unresponsive NS01, thinking "Salisbury here we come", take heart, you may have the same problem as me and be able to fix it right there in your home  

Roger

PS - if you read right down to here, you deserve another beer or glass of wine.