Re: MCA PowerPC (250/41t) Documentation Scanned

[Chris Hanson <cmhanson%eschatologist.net@localhost>]

Is the format of this serial number information known so new ROMs can be created from similar ROMs?

E.g. if my POWERserver 220 loses an EPROM, (1) are there backups of the 220 ROM available and (2) can I tweak the bits in the ROM to still have an accurate serial number?

  -- Chris

> On Sep 17, 2021, at 7:55 AM, Jake the Snake <jake%pawlicker.com@localhost> wrote:
> 
> Oh definitely, your site's been a great resource for getting my RS/6000s working. One thing I'd mention too about the MCA machines is that if you get an MCA machine, you should dump or at the very least backup the EPROMs. The EPROM chips will eventually go bad and they also contain the machine serial number. I know for a fact at least a few RS6ks have died for this reason. These are usually on the CPU board or motherboard/planar.
> 
> On a related note, the Ardent Tool of Capitalism database actually has MCA RS/6000 information as well including motherboard layouts with listings of each component (for most models).
> 
> https://www.ardent-tool.com/RS6000/index.html
> https://www.ardent-tool.com/RS6000/7006/7006-41x.html
> 
> Jake
> 
> On 9/16/2021 3:48 PM, Kevin Bowling wrote:
>> http://ps-2.kev009.com/rs6000/rs6000-netbsd.html
>> 
>> http://ps-2.kev009.com/rs6000/docs/POWERstation%20Hardware%20Technical%20Information%20-%20General%20Architectures%20-%20cleaned%20OCR.pdf
>> 
>> Probably other interesting stuff in the dirs.
>> 
>> Regards,
>> Kevin
>> 
>> On Wed, Sep 15, 2021 at 9:56 PM Jake the Snake <jake%pawlicker.com@localhost> wrote:
>>> Hello, so in my free time I like to scan forgotten programming books and
>>> whatnot. Recently I picked up a copy of an IBM book titled "RISC
>>> System/6000 PowerPC System Architecture" and scanned it in. At first I
>>> thought it had to do with the PReP platform, but once I got ahold of it
>>> I quickly realized it's for the late MCA machines. The book contains
>>> information on the MCA models used in the RS/6000 port (namely the 250)
>>> and advertises itself as important for anyone porting a different OS to
>>> the RS/6000.
>>> 
>>> I've uploaded the book scans to IA and I'm posting it here since I know
>>> a while back there was interest in trying to scan RS/6000 MCA-era
>>> documentation. I'm hoping this will be of interest to anyone interested
>>> in that port.
>>> 
>>> Here is the book:
>>> https://archive.org/details/ibm-risc-system-6000-power-pc-architecture/
>>> 
>>> Jake
>>>