[comp.sys.dec] How do you set the default BOOT device on a VS3200?

KENCB@SLACVM.SLAC.STANFORD.EDU (12/08/90)

    Can anyone out there tell be how to set the default BOOT device
on a VAXstation 3200??

    Situation is as follows: Our collaborators originally brought their
VS3200 to our site diskless.  All was fine, just hooked it up to the
Ethernet and ran that way for about a year and a half.  We have a
mixed-interconnect cluster of 2-11/780s and and 11/785 on the CI talking
to an HSC50, plus 3-VS2000's and a VS3100 (in addition to the VS3200) on
the E-net.

    I finally talked them into buying a local disk and 8mm tape. Now when
the system boots, it tried DUA0, then MUA0, and finally gets to XQA0
before booting.  That assumes the 8mm drive is empty.  If there's a tape
loaded, even a user tape of binary data, the VS3200 tries to boot from
MUA0.  Period.  If I let it get that far, it generates an error on MUA0
and I can't recover the drive (or sometimes the VS) without powering down
and up again!  (I know I can type "B XQ", but that does help if I'm
REBOOTing from a SET HOST session on another node...).

    Since this thing was bought diskless (and tapeless), I don't have the
various diagnostic tapes/diskettes referred to in the hardware manual (I'm
not sure they'd help anyway...).  On the VS2000, I can just type ">>> T
51" to set the boot device; similarly on the VS3100 from the menu.

    PLEASE, how can I set the default BOOT device to XQA0 on a VS3200!?

    Please reply by E-mail.

                         Thanks in advance, Ken
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  Kenneth H. Fairfield         | Internet: Fairfield@Tpc.Slac.Stanford.Edu |
|  Stanford Linear              | DECnet:   45047::FAIRFIELD                |
|  Accelerator Center           | BITNET    Fairfield@SlacTpc               |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

wherry@alazif.cxo.dec.com (bradley g Wherry) (12/09/90)

In article <90341.154758KENCB@SLACVM.SLAC.STANFORD.EDU>,
KENCB@SLACVM.SLAC.STANFORD.EDU writes:
|>    PLEASE, how can I set the default BOOT device to XQA0 on a VS3200!?
|>

did you try

>>> set boot xqa0

??

brad
--
brad wherry                |  Ex ignorantia ad sapientiam; 
wherry@alazif.enet.dec.com |     e luce ad tenebras.

murphy@ufp.dco.dec.com (Rick Murphy) (12/11/90)

In article <90341.154758KENCB@SLACVM.SLAC.STANFORD.EDU>,
KENCB@SLACVM.SLAC.STANFORD.EDU writes:
>    PLEASE, how can I set the default BOOT device to XQA0 on a
>VS3200!?
Brad Wherry had the right answer (SET BOOT XQA0) but..
There are two major revisions of the console ROMs on KA650 processors.
The early ones
used the same sort of 'sniffer' boot as the MicroVAX II.. which, it
appears, is what you
have. The newer ROMs have a bunch of new commands, including the ability
to
set the boot device.

I doubt that there's any FCO to upgrade the ROMs. 
	-Rick
--
Rick Murphy, WA1SPT/4			DEC Washington ULTRIX Resource Center
Domain:  murphy@burfle.dco.dec.com -or- murphy@ufp.enet.dec.com
Bang:    decwrl!ufp.enet!murphy		Ding:  (301) 306-2985
Disclaimer: This nonsense came from an AI program written in TECO. Ignore it.

seymour@milton.u.washington.edu (Richard Seymour) (12/12/90)

In article <1990Dec11.154251.9252@decuac.dec.com> murphy@burfle.dco.dec.com writes:
>In article <90341.154758KENCB@SLACVM.SLAC.STANFORD.EDU>,
>KENCB@SLACVM.SLAC.STANFORD.EDU writes:
>>    PLEASE, how can I set the default BOOT device to XQA0 on a
>>VS3200!?
>Brad Wherry had the right answer (SET BOOT XQA0) but..
>There are two major revisions of the console ROMs on KA650 processors.
  <stuff deleted...>
>I doubt that there's any FCO to upgrade the ROMs. 
>Rick Murphy, WA1SPT/4			DEC Washington ULTRIX Resource Center

actually, there is... but you get it for a different reason...
If you unpacked your old 3xxx family machine (prior to March 1989)
and snooped around, you found a "release note" in the box warning you
of a bug in the CQBIC chip (Cmos Q Bus Interface Chip).
This only affects those of us who use foreign, or old DEC peripherals
in gay profusion on the Qbus....
So DEC does have an FCO out on the 3200's CPU card, which involves swapping
it.  Which is how --> i <-- found out about the two ROM codes, as we had
all of ours swapped (under warranty).
good luck
--dick