On Tue, 29 May 2001, Gunther Schadow wrote:

> Robert F Schaefer wrote:
> 
> > > Update - use when changing the console and boot settings and updating
> > >          EEPROM
> > > Halt   - shut down OS run and go into console mode
> > > Auto   - automatic boot when powered on or reset. Requires you to
> > >          define a default boot device (SET BOOT DEFAULT ...)
> > 
> > I found emperical evidence to support this.  :)  Only thing I didn't play
> > with too long was `update'-- it sounded awfully permanent.
> 
> no need to worry. Turns out that you have to turn the key to
> "update" if ever you want to change anything, like terminal
> rate or default boot device. You can safely do this.

Not if I don't know what I'm doing!  ^_^

> 
> > > The extra indicator LEDs are simple. It's true, don't worry about
> > > "FAULT", just plug in a console terminal to see what's going on.
> > 
> > Yup, got an honest-to-goodness VT-220 plugged in.  I can POST, but I'm
> > having trouble booting VMS (all that's on the drives, AFAIK),  Keep
> > getting `Not an I/O adapter' or some such.  She's not seeing all the BI
> > cards, either.  The 8 port async card is missing, for one, and a few
> > others.  I dunno which ones, tho.  Perhaps I twisted a cable when I was
> > reassembling her.
> 
> I guess I still don't understand what "POST" means. Haven't 
> encountered that term in the manual. 

Power On Self Test-- showing my origins...

> 
> So you did disassemble/reassemble? Well, there are things you can
> do wrong. But it's quite likely nothing is permanently hurt. First
> thing you want to do is to 
> 
> >>> SHOW ALL
> 
> among other things it will show you a list of devices found on XMI
> and BI bus. The BI busses are named after the XMI slot number where
> the XBI adapter is located that links to that BI bus. I guess it's 
> common to have the slots D and E used for this, and so E links to
> the right BI bus (looking towards the front of the VAX) and D
> for the left one. It can be confusing.

Shows two cards at XMI:E and one at XMI:D.  I should have an ethernet
card, tk70 controller (may be the same card IIRC), tu81+ controller, SDI
card (have ra-82 & ra-92--two cards?), and an 8 port async card.  There
are eight cards on the BI busses.

> 
> Now the boot device is specified as a path, like this:
> 
> >>> BOOT /XMI:E /BI:3 CSA1

I don't know any of the device names, like csa1. Know where I can find a
list?

> 
> that is when your TK card is located in the third slot from the right
> of the right BI bus. The DEFAULT boot path (used for autoboot) is
> set as 
> 
> >>> SET BOOT DEFAULT ...
> 
> with SHOW ALL it shows you the default boot path (and other named
> boot paths) as well. Find out where it points to and you may find
> that you don't have a card in that slot. Or it might not have detected
> that card because the cab kit is not connected right, or because the
> card isn't connected well to the backplane. I have that problem in
> one of my vaxen that it is very picky, likes a card in one slot but
> doesn't find it in another slot. The SHOW ALL device list may
> show a ???????? in the slot instead of the device type or it may
> not show anything at all. Notice that the BI status lines with the
> + and - are really just an overview. You can see a + and the device
> is still not detected right and will not function. 

No question marks at all, but only shows three cards detected (aside from
the XMI bus).

> 
> > > You have about 10 commands to play with in terminal mode. You can
> > > see what devices you have and can save and update EEPROM from
> > > and to tape. Need writable tape for that (I need to do the
> > > bulk erasing of TK50 tape tomorrow so I can use it with TK70
> > > to write EEPROM.) It is exciting at first, but gets boring
> > > after a while. Get something to boot from :-). Watching the
> > > red green and yellow lights during self test is kinda fun
> > > though, especially when the processors elect the boot processor.
> > 
> > Got one tk70 tape, with an old stand-alone backup that `never finished
> > loading'.  Question: How long would it take a 6k class machine to boot VMS
> > 5.whatever via tk70?
> 
> Once you have the boot path allright and you hear the tape being
> accessed, you seem to be O.K. I could imagine it would take quite
> a long time, the TK70 isn't particularly fast. When I tried to 
> boot from tape that doesn't have a boot image, it throws an 
> illegal instruction exception, so I don't think it would just
> hang on a nevercomeback basis ... though, thinking of it, when
> I tried a network boot without network attached, it also would 
> not come back until I pressed the reset button. If te 'never
> finished loading' has been reported to you from your donor, then
> chances are the tape image is broken. Otherwise I would give it
> an hour just to be sure.

I figured it was a blank tape... ;)

> 
> > > You have a TU81? Lucky you. I watch out for one too. Sounds
> > > like fun.
> > 
> > It's a purty little thing, has an RA-82 in the drawer, and came with 10
> > brand-spank-me-new tapes, still in the shipping box from the supplier.  But,
> > she made a bad sound when I flipped the handle to energize her.  It was a
> > buzz/humm kind of sound that generally indicates a dead short, but it
> > didn't trip the 20A breaker, so I have my fingers crossed... 
> 
> When something like that happens, I try to stick my nose in
> as close as possible and when I don't smell anything, chances
> are it's still good. EXCEPT for a leaking capacitor, which I
> don't know how it will smell if at all. Speaking of the 
> blind leading the blind :-)

No smell or anything.  It was 60 herts, tho.

> 
> > Hadda lay it
> > down in the back of the van to get it home, perhaps something got loose.
> > I'm gonna open it up Before Too Long and take a look-see.
> 
> We are recommended to always inspect old equipment before firing
> it up. I hope you will recover it.
> 
> > > Question: if you put a KDB50 card set into the BI bus without
> ...
> > 
> > (wouldn't know a KDB50 if it bit me on the ass, sorry.)
> 
> well, if you have an RA81 and you do not access it via CI and HSC,
> you most probably have a KDB50 pair in the BI cage. Cards are
> called T1002 and T1003. 

I'll check.  Those numbers sound familiar.  Why is it that everyone wants
to call the cards by a number that isn't etched onto them anywhere?  :)

> 
> Are you sure you have all your cards in the right slots? Did you take
> out the cab kits? I hope not, 'cuz otherwise there is lots you could
> have done wrong reassembling.

Pulled the cage out as an assembly with the cab kits still attached, and
what a job it was!

> 
> Ah, and another thing, my inspection of the Ultrix 4.2 source 
> left an impression with me that the 6300 is not supported. May
> be in a later Ultrix version. Or you have a *lot* of pressure
> to get the NetBSD port going in order to get off the VMS stuff.
> 
> take care,
> -Gunther

Bob