Hi,

finally I got around branching off a power line from my 220V 60A
dedicated computer power circuit :-) I have all three phases of
the VAX connected to a single 110 V phase.

Matt, I fiddled with the fuses and found that I had to have F1 and
F2 connected or else more than half of the outlets would habve no
power. This whole power distribution and interlock system is still
a mystery to me, does anyone have schematics for it? What worries
me is that the key switch seems to have no effect whatsoever, it
doesn't provide any more or less power, and throwing it from OFF
to LOCAL doesn't effect any reboot attempt on the console system.

Anyhow, I can get to the console and do some

@140200G

and indeed the RX01 starts klicking and up comes the console
program. It tells me that the WCS and FPLA versions mismatch,
(0E-xx vs 0F) but that isn't fatal, I gather.

Then I did a TEST with the MIC diagnostics floppy and that
runs through sections 01 to 07 and then has an error to
report with module M8234 (PCS CPU PROM CONTROL STORE, as I
gather.) The appropriate course of action would be to call
DEC field service and replace the board, I guess. Too bad.

I suppose the trick with replacing the M8234 will be the
PCS version. I noted that if WCS and PCS versions mismatch,
that would be a fatal error to begin with. That means it
will be extremely hard to replace the PCS, or won't it?

Could one do anything to repair that PCS? I suppose so, but
not if one has no idea what's wrong with it. Any advice?

Back in normal console mode, I tried to do a BOOT anyway,
just to see if that PCS problem may be not that bad. But
that's a no go, it comes up to a failure pretty quick. Could
be that it's just because the default boot device isn't there,
but it's too quick with the error.

So, that will be a more difficult start then. But I guess I'm
still lucky because at least I can get to the MIC diagnostics
at all (poor Matt.) But of course one wonders what else might
be broken?

Is there a way to copy console floppies? I noticed some
serious bit rott, as only one out of three standard console
floppies actually worked. I guess it's about time to back
up the good ones before they go too.

thanks
-Gunther



-- 
Gunther Schadow, M.D., Ph.D.                    gschadow@regenstrief.org
Medical Information Scientist      Regenstrief Institute for Health Care
Adjunct Assistant Professor        Indiana University School of Medicine
tel:1(317)630-7960                         http://aurora.regenstrief.org