Load OS from card and restore hard drive
4 Feb 2007
If your Allegro Field PC is stuck at the Boot Menu screen with a message at the bottom of the screen stating "No Bootable Sources Found" or "Can`t Boot- no valid nk.bin"; or your Allegro Field PC is missing the C_Drive folder or the C_Drive folder appears to be empty, please try first to remove all power and restore the system as instructed on our website at:
Remove Power and Restore System
If removing all power and restoring the system does not resolve the problem, please proceed with the instructions below.
Note: If your Allegro Field PC is missing the C_Drive folder or the C_Drive folder appears to be empty, please proceed directly to the "Restoring Hard Drive" section below.
Load Operating System file (NK.BIN) from PC Card
The error you are encountering indicates that the operating system file (NK.BIN) which is normally located on the root of the internal flash memory hard drive (C_Drive) is either missing or corrupted.
To restore the operating system file, you must have a removable flash memory card to which you can copy the file. You must also be able to insert the card into the PCMCIA card slot in the back of the Allegro Field PC (using an adapter if necessary). We recommend using a Compact Flash (CF) card in a PC card adapter, both of which can be purchased from most local computer stores.
The operating system file (NK.BIN) can be obtained from one of the following sources (in order of recommendation):
- The Downloads or Updates section of our website (must extract from the OS update download titled "OS Release 1.07a for the Allegro CX" or "OS Release 1.01 of Windows CE 3.0 for the Allegro CE").
- C_Drive of another Allegro Field PC (must be the same model Allegro Field PC (CX, CE, or CE/DOS)).
- "Windows CE" folder on the Distribution CD that came with the Allegro Field PC.
Once you have copied the "NK.BIN" file to the root directory of the card and have inserted the card into the back of the Allegro, use the arrow keys on the Allegro to highlight the "Cold Boot" option in the Boot Menu, and then press the Enter key.
Restoring Hard Drive
To restore the internal flash memory hard drive ("C_Drive") of the Allegro Field PC back to a working state, do the following:
- Check the drive for corruptions
- Delete old (possibly corrupted) files
- Restore the operating system file (NK.BIN) and other program files
Check the Drive for Corruptions
To check the drive for corruptions, please follow the instructions on our website at: Flash Memory Maintenance
Note: If the hard drive ("C_Drive") can not be checked for corruption or the corruptions are not repairable, please obtain an RMA number and send the Allegro to us or to an authorized repair center for repair.
Delete old (possibly corrupted) files
To delete old (possibly corrupted) files, please follow these steps:
- Double-tap on the My Computer icon > C_Drive folder.
- Tap on the View menu > Options.
- Change the settings to allow you to view all hidden files and file extensions, and then tap OK.
- Carefully review all files and folders contained on the internal flash memory hard drive ("C_Drive") and delete any that appear to be corrupted (including the hidden operating system "NK.BIN" file and the "WinCESys" folder located on the root directory). You may want to remove a software application`s program and data folders if you feel that it may have been the cause of the corruption.
Restore the operating system file (NK.BIN) and other program files
Once you have deleted any potentially corrupted files, folders, and software applications, restore the files, folders, and software from a known good source. Some known good sources could include:
- "Storage Card" folder on the Allegro (if you loaded the operating system "NK.BIN" file from an inserted flash memory card).
- The Internet
- Allegro or software distribution CD (copy from or follow the CD`s install procedures).
- Another Allegro Field PC of the same model (CX, CE, or CE/DOS)