Booting the NCS/e
Once your NCS/e has been assembled and its peripherals have been linked to the main unit, it is ready to be powered on.
This page covers turning the computer on and off, the Power-On Self-Test (POST), and the ABORT and RESET controls.
Turning on the NCS/e
The NCS/e power switch is a black rocker switch located on the rear of the main unit.
Click the switch to turn the computer on.
A green power indicator on the front of the main unit illuminates while the NCS/e is powered.
Startup delay
There is a short delay after switching on before anything appears on the display. This is normal.
If the green power indicator is illuminated, the NCS/e is switched on.
After this short delay, the Power-On Self-Test screen appears.
Power-On Self-Test
The Power-On Self-Test, or POST, is the first screen displayed when the NCS/e starts.
The POST screen identifies the system and displays the hardware detected by the computer.
A typical startup may look like:
NCS/e NEX V0.3
NemiLabs Systems
HARDWARE CHECK
DISPLAY: OK
PRINTER: OK
NETWORK: OK
DRIVE A: OK
SYSTEM READY
962612534C90EB6B0B8C858827BA8D80
The hardware shown depends on the peripherals installed in your NCS/e, so your screen may differ from the example above. Installed drives are listed by their assigned drive letter.
When startup is ready to continue, SYSTEM READY appears at the bottom of the display followed by the computer's system ID.
The completed POST screen remains visible for a few seconds before startup continues. There may be another short pause before the shell appears.
Missing hardware
If a peripheral you installed does not appear on the POST screen, check that it has been correctly linked to the NCS/e.
See Installation for information about installing and linking peripherals.
The shell
A successful startup finishes at the NCS/e shell.
The shell prompt indicates that the computer is ready for use. From here, you can enter commands and run programs.
See Shell for information about using the command line.
ABORT and RESET
Standard NCS/e keyboards provide dedicated ABORT and RESET keys.
ABORT
ABORT immediately stops the currently executing program.
If another program is waiting in the execution queue, that program is started next. Otherwise, control returns to the shell.
Pressing Ctrl+C performs the same action.
ABORT does not restart the computer and does not display the POST screen again.
RESET
RESET restarts the NCS/e as though the rear power switch had been turned off and back on.
The current program is stopped and the normal startup sequence begins again. The POST screen is displayed before the system returns to the shell.
RESET only operates while the NCS/e is already switched on. It cannot be used to turn on a powered-off computer.
Interrupting the computer
ABORT, RESET, and the power switch may be used at any time.
This does not mean that interrupting the computer is always a good idea. ABORT and RESET immediately stop the current program, and switching off immediately stops the entire system.
Unsaved work may be lost. Interrupting some operations, such as writing data to a disk, may also leave that operation incomplete.
When possible, allow an operation to finish before interrupting or switching off the NCS/e.
Turning off the NCS/e
Click the black rocker switch on the rear of the main unit to turn the NCS/e off.
The green power indicator turns off and the computer stops immediately.
No shutdown procedure is required.
To turn the NCS/e on again, click the rocker switch once more. The computer performs its normal startup sequence and returns to the shell.
Next steps
Once the NCS/e has reached the shell, it is ready for use.
See Shell to learn how to use the command line.