jonathan@cc.odu.edu writes:
> Thanks for all who said they'd be willing to answer some UDB/Multia 
> hardware questions for me.  What I have is an VX40A-F2.  Here we go:

[Just for reference, my Multia is a VX40F-F3]

> UDB questions:
> *  What is the latest firmware, ARC & SRM?

The info at:
ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/DEC/Alpha/firmware/interim/udb/readme.txt
would seem to indicate that 3.8-36 is the latest version of SRM.
I don't know about ARC...

>  It sounds like there's 
> different versions of each; true?

Not sure.

> *  The machine holds both ARC and SRM software, and you can switch 
> between each (mostly dependent on which style your OS can boot from); true?

Yes, although I seem to recall reading somewhere that some of the Multias came 
only with ARC firmware (I'm not 100% sure on this -- maybe someone else knows 
for sure...).  

> *  Should I worry about upgrading my firmware?  I'm running "Alpha 
> Firmware 4.33  950516.0838", which doesn't seem to correspond to the 
> firmware revs. available from DEC's ftp site.

I was wondering this too... Unless there is some compelling reason for me to 
upgrade I think I'll just leave it alone...

> *  Is this floppy 2.88 or 1.44?  Not that it matters too much, but I 
> can't seem to find out for certain.

Not sure...

> *  What are the jumpers for the Toshiba MK1824FBV 340mb. 2.5" SCSI disk?  
> I'd like to add another internal disk (see below), but will need to 
> disable termination on that drive, I suppose.

I don't know the answer to this one either... (I've got a Maxtor 7345 345MB 
3.5" SCSI drive)..  I doubt if you've got enough SCSI cable though.... 

> *  My UDB is an F2, but I'd like to add an internal 3.5" disk.  I'd heard 
> this was possible, but haven't cracked the case yet to make sure the 
> power & data cables are there.  I want to run both the 2.5" and 3.5" disk.

I don't know if you'll have the necessary mounting bracket to hold the drive...
That, and I'm not sure how the 2.5" is hooked up..  On my machine, the PCI
daughter-card has the SCSI controller, and a single ribbon cable to the 
internal 3.5" drive.  (no external SCSI on mine -- had to push the ribbon 
outside the case and crimp on a female Centronics connector.  Hence the 3.5" 
drive now lives externally too.).  As well, the PCI daughter card on mine 
doesn't have the PCI connector on it (the "holes" for the connector is there, 
but things are so tight that if the connector was there, the 3.5" drive 
probably wouldn't fit! )  On my PCI daughter card there are also "holes" 
for a 50-pin connector.  I suppose it could be for a "squished SCSI" 
connection of some sort (my guess is that's where the external SCSI connector 
is connected to the card).

I kinda doubt if there are enough cables (SCSI and power) to make it work... 
after that, I still doubt if there's physically enough room for the 3.5" drive 
with the PCI card...  (BTW: I'm curious as to where the 2.5" drive is mounted 
on your machine... it must be under the floppy, no? )

> *  Sub-question to the above:  can the UDB's power supply feed 2 disk drives?

I recall seeing 75 Watts on the top of the power supply...  I don't know how 
much the Alpha CPU draws, but it's probably a fair chunk of that...
 
> If you can answer any of these for me, it would be greatly appreciated.

Later...

Greg Oster

oster@cs.usask.ca
Department of Computer Science
University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, CANADA