> > I seem to be getting some 5000/200 board errors that cause it to either
> > abort or lock up.  It originally was a scsi disconnect error, but the last
> > one I saw, on Ultrix, indicated a buffer chip malfunctioning.  Anyone know
> > anything about chips going bellyup on 5000/200 machines?  Is such a problem
> > endemic to the things?  I have heard one or two others locally suggest that
> > scsi busses on these are fragile, and maybe I am running into something like
> > that....  Any insights are appreciated.
> 
>     It's not terribly likely, DECstations are built like tanks. I would lean
> toward there being a problem with your cables or connector than a problem
> with the chip itself. This error message could be the result of an
> intermittent open in a SCSI cable. AFAIK the SCSI buffer is on chip. (inside
> the 53c9x) I'd try reducing your SCSI chain to a single known good drive,
> enable terminators and termination power and try swapping cables around. If
> it still does it, it is likely to be the motherboard.

I moved the offending drive to the far end of the scsi chain, next to the
terminator, in a line of 4 drives, and seated/unseated the connectors and
cabling several times each to clear off any oxidation.

It has been successfully rolling/unrolling large tarballs and is munching
away on a kernel.  So far, so good....  It may have been the drive position
on the cabling, or just cable connector oxidation.

Thanks

Bob