OK, I'll admit I don't specialize in Comdial but I'm familiar with other systems and have done administration/programming on Comdial systems & voicemail. So here's the background of the current issue. The cabinet had been pulled and has been in storage for about 6 months. I recently hooked it back up and redid all of the extension/station wiring and don't yet have the T1 line active. All of the phones are displaying "No communication" and what appears to be a Firmware version. I've opened the cabinet but I'm not quite sure what to look for as far as status LED's and such. Also, I don't think it's normal, but the power supply sounds like it has a high frequency "hiss" sound. Can anyone help with steps to help isolate the problem?

It may be as simple as loading back into the CPU the "magic number" or a loss of the operating system which will also have to be loaded in. In any case you will need a dealer to help you. The hissing is normal for a switching power supply.

In case it's any relevance, the boards are:
FXCPU-EX, FXSRV-EX, FXINT-MAVXII, FXT1-PRI and FXLDS-16.
As for the "magic number", Is that like a feature activation code or something? And being that power had been gone from the unit for several months, how would it loose the programming? I mean I could understand if the programming was in RAM and it has a lithium battery, but don't most legitimate devices have Flash memory that holds information even when power is removed for extended duration?

The magic number is the software activation code. And FXs will lose the code if unplugged for that long.

So what's the best way to determine if it's a "magic key" issue? Do I just hyperterminal in on COM1 or something and get a menu? If the settings/codes are stored in RAM, it seems kind of a bad design from an end user's standpoint but I guess it's beneficial ($$) for Comdial or a service tech that has to make a call because of it...

It's not a bad design! And it wasn't designed for extra revenue. The data is preserved with a super capacitor so it doesn't need replacing as a battery would. The system is not meant to be shut down for such a long period of time. The "magic number" should be kept with the system for easy reinstall.

Your best solution now is to get a dealer to get a new number generated and keep a copy inside the cabinet. Also look inside on the cover, many installers write the number in there to deal with the situation you now have.

Agree with Cmdl_Guy. I always put the magic number on the inside cover of the system. To determine if it is a magic number issue login with VMMI. If it says " You have logged into a system without a valid....." then that's your problem. I think it's an excellent design.

Bad design? That is not a fair statement. This system is very stable and suitable for nearly any application. A trained technician would not consider this situation to be an issue at all.

Is Comdial trying to make a buck? No less than most VoIP "system" providers that require annual license renewals. Your situation is a simple matter of the memory retention battery or "super cap" having been completely drained. It did what it could as long as it could while sitting in storage. This would happen with any system. Flash memory is only a recent feature of most real telephone systems.

Sorry, but it appears that you are an IT person who is accustomed to programs being stored on hard drives. Great idea for sure, but most customers when shopping in a competitive arena don't think about this luxury when shopping for phone systems. All they care about is the price tag, period. In their eyes, "nothing can ever go wrong, so let's just go with the lowest price".

"Bad design" is a poor choice of words. You would be lying if you told me that you parked a car for six months and expected it to start on the first turn of the key. You know that this would be an unrealistic expectation.

Don't blame the hardware; blame it on the person(s) who took the system out of service without performing a proper backup of the system's database. It could have easily been reloaded by a properly-trained technician.

Your situation is indicative of a system owner feeling that they can handle the system removal on their own. Sort of like shutting down Windows without closing it properly.

Sorry to slap you in the face, but the system did what it could as long as it could having been taken out of service improperly. Had the customer spent a few bucks for a proper shutdown, we wouldn't even be having this discussion.

Again, it's not bad design........It's improper management of a very important business system.

As always, well said, Ed.

Justin