Identification of an HP minicomputer

On Monday, August 12, 2019 at 15:48, Guy Sotomayor Jr via cctalk wrote: You didn't list the cards in the rear I/O cage (the IDs should be on the card ejectors). However, if you have a 12821A HP-IB Disc Interface, you could run the standard HP diagnostics, which are quite thorough. They're available here: http://www.hpmuseum.net/display_item.php?sw=567 You'd also need the 12992J CS/80 Disc Loader ROM, if it's not installed (the binary is available at Bitsavers, and the chip is a fairly common 256 x 4-bit bipolar PROM), a $50 GPIB card for a PC, and Ansgar Kueckes' HPDrive program: http://www.hp9845.net/9845/projects/hpdrive/ ...which emulates a cartridge tape drive (among other HP mass-storage peripherals). That setup (12821A card/GPIB card/HPDrive program) also opens up the possibility of running some of the HP disc-based operating systems without requiring an HP disc or tape drive. Without removing the CPU, you can't easily tell which loader ROMs are installed in sockets on the PCB (there are up to four, with the first being a paper tape loader), except by loading each one into memory and comparing it to the binary listings in the 12992 manual. Also, you can't easily determine if any optional firmware instruction set PCBs are installed (they mount to the CPU board via standoffs). Removal of the bottom chassis panel is simple, which will reveal the firmware PCBs, but the part numbers are on the underside, i.e., facing the CPU board, typically requiring their removal from the CPU PCB for identification. -- Dave