Hey There I am the Network Admin and handyman here at a smaller company that just got acquired by a bigger fish.

We have an Inter-Tel Axxess 8.223 system that has been running smooth for years.
Last week I got a Sys Alarm #203, I shut down system and restarted and all was good.

I got another Sys Alarm #203 today, I did shut down and restarted, but this time, the EVMC stays dark. A Power Supply in the second cabinet was making a horrible buzz, I replaced the PS with a Spare and reseated the EVMC No Joy. Another shutdown and reseated the CPC, T1 and the EVMC, No luck. The system comes up but the EVMC stays dark and the Monitor never displays any information, (Normally I see the OS/2 Warp booting and loading mailboxes...).

I connected with Session Manager, but a screen pops up saying the CP node has been programmed to have voice mail... The Voice Mail Unit has failed. Would you like to disconnect Voice Mail? So I say NO and session manager quits.

Does anyone have any advice on how to kick start a EVMC?
Is it worth trying to buy a used EVMC, move our PAL and try to restore a DB backup?
Is it time to bite the bullet and replace our Phone system?

Thanks in advance.

One Update, I do have a backup From April.

I opened and see that the CP version is 8.224, but the AVDAP is 8.223.
Is this a problem?

If I buy one of the EVMC card online, (One place says they will update the firmware to match my version 8.223, but it only has a single 4 port card) can I move my Pal and one of my two 4 port cards and restore my database backup and get the system back up?

Ok, I did find form another post that as long as Major, Minor, and compatibility match, I am good.

So I can ask the dealer to install 8.223 on the replacement EVMC, but my other question I asked them that they have not got back to me on, is:
Can I move my PAL and one of the Voice Cards to the replacement EVMC and perform a database restore to get back up? Or is there more that needs to be done?

I think your wasting your time on this old system. Your getting old replacements.
Time to move on.

My companies stand on this issue at this point is a "Best Effort" support. We will replace the hard drive with the solid state one if it is the easy fix, but hitechcomm is right. You might be working on more than what it is worth.

Go to this link to get additional information on part numbers:
https://sundance-communications.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/64559/EVMC_Card_550_5030

If it is more than the hard drive there are EVMC cards out there but alas OS2/WARP is dead and not for everyone to work with.

OK Good Advice.

We are getting ready to replace with a unified solution, but it is little off and we need something to Stop Gap.

I used to work on CP/M and SCO Unix before PC-Dos so OS2/Warp does not scare me.

I was able to find a refurbished EVMC with OS2 Warp and the company will load with 8.223 ADVAP.

I was able to get a hold of our local Phone Guy, but alas, he does not do intertel anymore.

I feel confident I can move My PAL, Extra voice Card and maybe old Hard Drive from the Dead Board to the replacement board and see if I can get it to POST.

The current one does not even give a BIOS screen anymore so it is not simply a bad Hard Drive but a dead Board, either bad RAM or blown CPU filter caps(They look Swollen to me).

My PhoneGuy mentioned the database backup did not store any of the audioTex recordings so Even if I was able to restore my database, I still have some rerecording to do.

I will try to move the old Hard Drive, and if that fails, I will put the refurbished HD back on the refurb EVMC and restore + rerecord.

Thanks Again.

Ok an Update, We decided to Order the EVMC card from the Reseller.

I installed it in a spare slot and It immediately Posted.
I shut it down and moved the PAL, the Hard Drive, and Both Voice cards to the new EVMC and installed, and Presto, system is completely back to normal with all recordings and voice mail intact.

So it looks like the CPU on the old Board just died.

Thanks again.