carlini@bulean.lkg.dec.com wrote:
> 
> Dan,
> 
> I think you need to establish exactly what you have in your VAX and exactly
> where the boards are.
> 
> >From the console try
>         >>> SHOW QBUS
> and
>         >>> SHOW DEVICE
> 
> Then you need to take a look inside and report exactly which card lives in
> which slot and which slots are empty. If you have a real MicroVAX 3800 this
> will be pretty easy since all the covers come off very easily and most modules
> will have an easily visible number stamped on them (M7164 and M7165 for the two
> KDA50 modules). You should be able to see this without removing the card.
> 
> You also need to know which KDA50 your drives are plugged into (assuming you
> have more than one KDA50). It doesn't matter which port  of the KDA50 your
> drives are connected to - the unit number comes from a plug on the front (RA8x)
> or from the OCP (RA9x).
> 
> OpenVMS will quite happily play with DUB0 but the device/bus naming scheme used
> by OpenVMS can differ from that used by the console. However, since SAB told
> you you had DUB0 and then couldn't access it, it suggests that something else
> is wrong. Obviously it can talk to the KDA50 enough to query it but presumably
> not enough for any data transfers to work.
> 
> To test the KDA50, get to the console and powr cycle the CPU (I'm sure there is
> a better way, but I cannot remeber it right now - this will do). The KDA50 will
> now go through its ROM based diagnostics. If all goes well the LEDs on the
> M7164 and M7165 will follow "blink" from top to bottom every five or ten
> seconds or so. It looks like it's strobing from top to bottom, very quickly.
> Once the system is booted the pattern changes.
> 
> Describe the pattern (both modules, top to bottom) once the self-test has
> finished and that will hopefully pinpoint your problem.
> 
> The most likely display for a problem is M7164: on-on-off-off M7165: all off
> The easiest way I recall of getting this is to mess up the grant-passing.
> 
> If you dig out the above info it should help pinpoint your problem.
> 
> Antonio

Okay, I'll do it this (Thursday) evening. I've been away from E-Mail for
the last couple of days and also haven't had time to play with the Vax.

What I find more worrying is that the Vax was taken out of use around 5
years ago, and apparently never touched, yet I can't physically find the
disks with a quick overview of inside the front of the case (unless
they're hiding deeper in the BA213). Still, if the disks *really* aren't
there (and I can't think why they wouldn't be), the controller shouldn't
detect them (should it?).

Oh well, I don't want to give up just yet....

Dan
-- 
dankolb@ox.compsoc.net  Oxford University Computer Society Secretary

--I reserve the right to be completely wrong about any comments or 
  opinions expressed; don't trust everything you read above--