Subject: Re: Howdy!
To: NetBSD pmax <port-pmax@netbsd.org>
From: Uwe Lienig <Uwe.Lienig@fif.mw.htw-dresden.de>
List: port-pmax
Date: 04/12/2002 11:43:09
Collin Baillie wrote:
> 
> Hey guys,
> 
> Some of you make have seen me on the alpha mailing list before. Well, I just
> obtained a DECstation 5000/240 with PMAGB-B. Some months ago I bought 10 x
> 8MB boards for this beast, today I put them in and turned the machine on.
> 
> After it finishes all its tests and complains about no rz3/vmunix to boot ;)
> I ran a 'test mem' and got this:
> 
> ?TFL:  3/mem (1: board 8, MBE= 3088925, SBE= 0) [KNO3-AA]
I had many of those errors. May be the pins of the mem modules are corroded. But often I found that
the solder pads itself were broken that means the soldering points are disconnected or at least
"cold". Use your finger nail to check if some of the solder pins got loose.

> ?TFL:  3/mem (2: board 9: too many SBEs: 1048576) [KNO3-AA]
This is very likely that the solder pads got "cold".

To correct this get a soldering iron. Be careful to groud yourself. The mem modules are picky about
electrostatic charge. And then solder the pads again. This way I refurbished some 128MB of 32MB mem
boards (MS02-CA).

> ?TFL:  3/ni/ext-lb (3:(xmt [00000006, 00000040] cable)) [KNO3-AA
loopback ?? This usually shows up, if the AUI port has no receiver and there is no cable connecting
this to some other port. At least there should be a loopback plugged in.

> 
> The guy I got it from advised me to use a toothbrush and some alcohol to
> clean the pins if I had any ram issues. But I thought I'd ask first if
> anyone knew what these messages might mean. I think the 3rd one is video
> related as it ran some video test patterns before it came up.
> 
> I'm intending on installing 1.4.2 on my friend's advice. This box is better
I run 1.5.2 like a charm. Its solid as a rock.

> than the main server when I first started uni! (it was a 5000/200) Will make
> a nice addition next to my VAXstation 3100. And I can use the PMAD-A I have
> sitting (unused :( ) in my DEC3000/400.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Collin Baillie

-- 
Uwe Lienig  | fon: (+49 351) 462 2780 | mailto:uwe.lienig@fif.mw.htw-dresden.de
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