info-3b2@lamc (Info-3b2 Mailing List) (10/04/88)
Info-3b2 Digest, Number 21 Saturday, October 1st 1988 Today's Topics: upgrading Re: Help needed booting 3B2/400 Re: Info-3b2 Digest, Number 20 Re: Help needed booting 3B2/400 Re: Help needed booting 3B2/400 New Info Please post New WE 32200 VMEbus board Re: Help needed booting 3B2/400 Re: Help needed booting 3b2/400 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: lll-tis!ames!mailrus!umix!neti2!neti1!cak (Carol Kamm) Subject: upgrading Date: Fri, 30 Sep 88 8:54:32 EDT We are an Independent Developer of 3B2 software. Our poor little 3B2-300 has never been upgraded to a 310, and is running Release 3.1 of System V. Several of our customers, however, have release 3.1.1 and I'm now hearing about 3.1.2, and even 3.2.1! We have applied to AT&T's Vendor Involvement Program, hoping that some support will be forthcoming from them, but in the meantime I thought I'd ask this group for answers to my questions as well, so here goes. How can we get an upgrade to the latest release of Unix, whether 3.1.1, 3.1.2, or 3.2.1? Do we have to upgrade the 300 or not? (I suspect not, although I'm sure performance would improve if we did. Cost is definitely a factor.) Does anyone else out there have experience with the VIP group at AT&T, and if so, was it useful at all? Thanks in advance for any advice/assistance. Carol Kamm Product Manager Marae Groupware, Inc. 1565 Eastover Place Ann Arbor, MI 48104 (313)/995-4030 e-mail: ...!umix!marae!cak ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 30 Sep 88 08:50 CDT From: sysop@killer.Dallas.TX.US (Charles Boykin-BBS Admin) Subject: Re: Help needed booting 3B2/400 You can disconnect the battery which will default nvram. This will get the FW password back to the default. Then, when in firmware, try booting from /etc/system rather than /unix ( after running through diagnostics ). Charlie ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Info-3b2 Digest, Number 20 Date: 30 Sep 88 12:55:47 MDT (Fri) From: lll-tis!ames!scicom.alphacdc.com!cyrill (Cyro Lord) A short time ago, someone replyed about upgrading hard drives on the 3b2's with larger drives not from ATT. They made reference to the DEVTOOLS disk and i have been trying to get information about this disk ever since. Does anyone out there know what this disk is, or where to get one. --- Cyro Lord Alpha Comm. Dev. Corp. - DOMAIN cyrill@scicom.alphacdc.com UUCP {ncar,nbires,boulder,isis}!scicom!cyrill Being alive is learning to make love with what you most fear. - James Baldwin ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 30 Sep 88 16:23:51 BST Subject: Re: Help needed booting 3B2/400 From: hoptoad!quaduk!graham (Graham Glen) > > So, the question is, how to I get the machine to try to boot from somewhere > other than the (presumably corrupt) hard disk, or how to do get it to have a > sane firmware password. At the moment I'm completely lost. > Well, it is easier to do on a /300, but it can still be done on a /400, here's how: 1. Remove the Lid. 2. When you look at the machine from the front, you will see on the right hand side near the front a small rectangular thing with two wires leading out of it. This is the battery which powers the NVRAM. Unfortunately this battery has been encapsulated. 3. If you follow the wires from the battery back to the motherboard you will see that the go into a plug which is plugged into the motherboard. 4. Attempt to remove this plug. 5. Step 4 can't be done - the card cage gets in the way (sorry, my attempt at humour, or as you people spell it humor.) 6. Remove the screws which hold the cardcage down to the chassis (we spell that one the same at least). 7. Either remove the cable from the CTC controller, or if that card is located somewhere down at the bottom, remove the other end from the drive so you have room to play with. 8. Lift the cardcage off from the motherboard. 9. If you have taken too many screws out, you may find the motherboard comes out as well. (It's at least 2 years since I did this). 10. Remember that plug on the end of the battery lead which you discovered about 45 minutes ago? Well, you should now be able to unplug it from the motherboard. 11. Keep it disconnected for at least 2 minutes, 5 or 10 for safety. 12. By now, the NVRAM should have reverted to its default settings (among other things, the firmware password will now be MCP again). 13. Put the whole lot back together, probably in the reverse sequence to how it came apart. I hope this is of some help to you. Graham ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Help needed booting 3B2/400 From: pacbell!sactoh0!pacengr!smp jhhAsaAs far as a firmware password, make sure your terminal is not using parity and if you only have the option of setting the terminal to send a space or mark as the parity bit, set it to space. If you still cannot get into firmware, then as an absolute last resort to get back to the default firmware password, you can disconnect the NVRAM battery. This wil vaporize any firmware password mods. as well as any configuration info. Be cautious about disconnecting the battery, as you will lose all config.(which boards are installed) info. your non-volatile clock and your firmware password. The filledt firmware utility will rebuild your Equipped Device Table when you get into firmware, read the System Administration Utilities Guide on filledt. Other than that, good luck..... . ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 30 Sep 88 19:52:28 edt From: len@netsys.COM (Len Rose) Subject: New Info Here is something that was sent to me.. Hope it sparks your interest!! >From uucp Fri Sep 30 15:47 EDT 1988 >From att!houxs!mlh Fri Sep 30 15:47:34 1988 Received: by netsys.COM (4.12/2.5/04-02-88) id AA19619; Fri, 30 Sep 88 15:47:43 edt Date: Fri, 30 Sep 88 15:47:34 edt From: att!houxs!mlh Message-Id: <8809301947.AA19619@netsys.COM> Received: by att.ATT.COM (smail2.6 att-mt) id AA03070; 30 Sep 88 13:57:24 EDT (Fri) To: att!rutgers!ukma!uflorida!haven!grebyn!netsys!root Subject: Please post Your posting of the following would be appreciated. Thanks, Marc Harrison AT&T - Holmdel ------------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: New WE 32200 VMEbus board Keywords: University discount, 3B compatible Those of you who are avid 3B2 enthusiasts may be aware that Microproject Corporation has had a VMEbus Single Board Computer based upon the new AT&T WE 32200 chipset under development. The first board was delivered to us here in Holmdel last month, and this posting reports our experiences and impressions thus far. (The board is 100% 3B2 object code compatible). The board was plugged into an existing 32100-based system with the clock speed at 24 MHz (the top speed of the 32100 is 18 MHz). Our initial thrust was to get the existing release of UNIX System V/VME for the 32100 to boot --- and it booted the first time. We were able to successfully put the system through its paces and log multiple users on simultaneously. So far no hitches and several pleasant surprises. Our next effort was aimed at enabling the on-chip 4 Kbyte two-way set associative data cache, a new feature of the 32200 which adds significant performance over the 32100. This required some firmware and operating system modifications. Again, we were able to boot and execute flawlessly. In absolute terms, the sheer performance of the board is what is most impressive, offering roughly 8 MIPs of system throughput. The bottom line - at a system level the performance is roughly twice that of an 18 MHz 32100 system and 2.6 times that of a 14 MHz box (this is quite impressive considering that neither the bus nor disks get any faster). Microproject can supply a more complete and detailed benchmark report to anyone who's interested, call them at (213) 306-8000 or ...!uunet!mpusa!inquiry . For anyone who's interested, the board is currently in (very) limited production, with high volumes available by years' end. We at AT&T are in the process of completing the UNIX System development and should also have this done in a few months. What follows is a press release from Microproject. (Normally, I would post only to the new products group, but I've gotten so many calls from readers of this group, please use 'N' key if you're not interested!) Marc Harrison AT&T - Holmdel (201) 949-1779 Cornet 233-1779 ...!att!hotps!mlh (PLEASE NOTE NEW E-MAIL ADDRESS!) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > MICROPROJECT INTRODUCES 8 MIPS, WE32200 UNIX SYSTEM > Offers Special Prices for Universities > Microproject Corporation has announced the introduction of its UNICORN > B200 UNIX computer system. Based on the 24 MHz WE32200 microprocessor, > the UNICORN B200 offers 100 percent software compatibility with AT&T's > 3B2 line of computers. Initial industry standard benchmark tests of the > UNICORN B200 have demonstrated performance in the range of 8 MIPS. > The UNICORN B200 also features the open architecture of the VMEbus, > providing tremendous flexibility to the user. At the heart of the > UNICORN B200 is a single-board computer, the MP322SBC, which has been > designed by Microproject to maximize UNIX performance. In addition > to the AT&T WE32200 chipset, it features either 4 or 8 on-board, > dual-ported RAM, an MMU with 4 KB cache, as well as 2 RS-232C serial > ports. > The UNICORN B200 is available in either 6, 12, or 20 VMEbus-slot > configurations. An intelligent (68020-based) SCSI controller and 16 > intelligent RS-232C serial ports are standard with either > configuration. Using these intelligent modules to handle > computationally intensive I/O tasks greatly improves the overall system > performance. A wide range of disk and tape storage options are also > available, as are specially priced upgrade packages for current users > of AT&T's WE321SB VMEbus Single Board Computer. > For the next two months, Microproject will be extending a special > discount on the UNICORN B200 to universities and other academic > institutions. Microproject is offering the 12-slot UNICORN B200 to > these customers for $39,995. This compares favorably with AT&T's > WE32200-based 3B2/700, which lists for $70,000 to $75,000. > "We are anxious to establish a strong presence in the university > environment," said Ken Sims, Microproject's marketing manager. "The > UNICORN B200 offers superior system performance and provides full > compatibility with existing AT&T UNIX System V applications software. > In addition, AT&T maintenance coverage is available for the UNICORN > B200," Sims added. Special pricing has also been established for > AT&T organizations. > For information about the UNICORN B200, please contact either Ken Sims > or Zion Bar-el at (213) 306-8000 or write to: > Microproject Corporation > 4551 Glencoe Avenue, Suite 225 > Marina del Rey, CA 90292 > FAX: (213) 305-1493 > Email: ...!uunet!mpusa!inquiry UNIX and WE are registered trademarks of AT&T Len Rose - Netsys,Inc. len@ames.arc.nasa.gov or len@netsys.com -- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 30 Sep 88 17:52:37 cdt From: sun!emx.utexas.edu!mybest!paddock (Steve Paddock) Subject: Re: Help needed booting 3B2/400 This failure to reconize the firmware password sounds like it could be a terminal parity problem. Use a 4410 terminal with space parity and try again. It'll fool you, because the <CR> appears to work. Then refer to the magic mode stuff, boot off the floppy and change initdefault in /etc/inittab from 2 to S. Boot the root partition and start poking around. I had a similar deal recently; one of the net files in /etc/rc2.d was corrupt and that was all there was. Steve -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Steve Paddock uunet!bigtex!mybest!paddock ut-emx!mybest!paddock {attmail|gbsic5|bscaus}!uhous1!paddock ------------------------------ From: ucsfmis!ide!uunet!3b2!danno Date: Fri, 30 Sep 88 10:20:18 EDT Subject: Re: Help needed booting 3b2/400 > I have a sick 3b2/400, and don't know what to do. I'd appreciate any help I > can get. > > Symptoms: The machine passes diagnostics, and begins to boot, does the fsck's > and echos > mount ... /usr2 > > A this stage nothing more happens. OK, so I guess there is something wrong > (probably) on the root partition. > This may sound _VERY_ odd, but I know for a fact that if the console terminal's parity is not set properly, (Let's see... is it even, or none?) Two things may occur: 1. The firmware password is not recognized. 2. The system does not completely boot. The above have happened to me on two occasions in the past two years. In both instances, changing the parity on the console cured it. Don't ask me why... > So, I try to get the machine to fail diagnostics (so that I can get it into > firmware mode). Disconnecting the ethernet is a good way to acheive that. My personal favorite is pressing the RESET switch while the system is in firmware diagnostic mode. After a few seconds, you will get the standard GENERAL SYSTEM FAILURE... message. I know the above possisble cure sounds strange, but I've seen stranger things. (Like a water-logged 3b2 coming to life with the use of a blow-dryer) -- danno Daniel S. Notov | {monster,uunet}!onm3b2!danno Ogilvy & Mather, Inc. | New York, NY | ------------------------------------- To join this group or have your thoughts in the next issue, please send electronic mail to Ken Davis at the following address; {pacbell,netsys,hoptoad,well}!lamc!info-3b2-request The views expressed in Info-3b2 Digest are those of the individual authors only. ********************* End of Info-3b2 Digest *********************