On 15.07.2002 20.20 Uhr, "Ray Phillips" <r.phillips@jkmrc.uq.edu.au>
rambled:

> The "home" page for HP/Compaq/DEC Alpha systems' firmware now seems to be
> 
>    http://ftp.digital.com/pub/DEC/Alpha/firmware/
> 
> Perhaps the appropriate name for your machine on that page would be
> "Digital Server 3300" in which case its firmware is available at
> 
>    http://ftp.digital.com/pub/DEC/Alpha/firmware/readmes/as800.html
> 
> so apparently it uses the same firmware as the AlphaServer 800.
> 
> According to the list at the bottom of this page
> 
>    http://www.netbsd.org/Ports/alpha/
> 
> the AlphaServer 800 and Digital Server 330x systems have been able to
> run NetBSD since version 1.4, so I'm sure they'd both run Tru64.  (In
> fact I've just noticed
> 
> http://ftp.digital.com/pub/DEC/Alpha/firmware/readmes/v6.2/alpha800/fwreadme.t
> xt
> 
> says firmware version 5.8 is qualified to run Digital Unix V5.0 and V4.0G.)
> 
> I expect there's an option somewhere in the ARC console the machines
> you referred to are using now to switch to SRM instead.
> 
> 
> Ray

Ray:

Thanks for your assistance.  I've been looking at the Digital site some more
after you provided the links above, and have made the floppies under Windows
for updating the firmware.

However, this particular system does not currently have the SRM console
installed - only the ARC console.  I'm trying to determine how to boot off
of the floppy disks I've made per Digital/Compaq/HP instructions, but just
can't pull it off.

I did note one troubling phrase in the readme at this address:

http://ftp.digital.com/pub/DEC/Alpha/firmware/readmes/v6.2/doc/alpha800_v58_
fw_relnote.pdf

According to the release notes, page 10, Section 2.4.3.5:

"V5.1 or greater console firmware supports the Digital Server 3xxx systems.
These systems are physically similar to the AlphaServer 800 systems and
support _only_ the WindowsNT operating system.  OpenVMS or Tru64 Unix is not
supported."

This leads me to the question of how do I install an SRM console on this
system in the first place and if I can do that, why would Compaq's site
indicate that this system can run Tru64 when they contradict themselves in
the readme above?

I'm slightly less confused than before, but now I'm confused in a different
direction.


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