>I just got my hands on a DECstation 3100 that has been stripped down to =
>the bones - i.e. no RAM, no HD and no framebuffer thingy ! I have a pair =
>of RZ23 in my VAXstation 3100 that I can plug into this little bugger =
>and may be able to get my hands on a little bit of RAM. BUT I imagine it =
>may be quite hard to find a replacement for the missing framebuffer. So =
>my question is: Is it possible to run this beast headless like the =
>VS3100 by hanging terminal off the printer port an flicking a switch ?

You need a mouse loopback connector.  I believe The setup for this is
in the microvax FAQ, and it may even be on the Web site.  If severely
pressed, a bent paperclip can serve, but you need to get the pins right.

A couple of people have told me that some PROMs can be
software-toggled to boot using a serial console, but I dont know how
to do that. And uness the PROM was set up that way, you'd need to do
the loopback thing in order to talk to the PROM in the first place
anyway.

You also need to get some SIMMs before you can boot.  AFAIK you need
to get DEC-proprietary simms; I've never heard of anyone trying PS/2
80-bin simms.