28 Nov
2011
28 Nov
'11
6:18 a.m.
To (sort of) answer my own question:
Looks like a "soft" error w.r.t. memory for this particular case means
that it's a fault found on a memory expansion board -- the system can
run (in a degraded state) in this situation by simply ignoring the
expanded memory. Checking "SHOW MEMORY" under VMS confirms this
suspicion. Further, removing said memory expansion allows the memory
self tests to pass with flying colors.
So, my 8MB expansion board appears to be toast. On closer inspection it
looks like there's some corrosion around one of the memory chips that
may have destroyed some traces underneath it. Anyone have any of these
boards going spare? (it's labeled as a "4/8 MB Memory Option") 4MB is
a little tight :).
Thanks as always,
Josh
On 11/27/2011 12:35 AM, Josh Dersch wrote:
Hi all --
Picked up a Vaxstation 3100 today at the SRCS meeting. There is some
minor corrosion on the memory and motherboard PCBs, some due to
prolonged exposure to moisture, and some due to a leaking clock
battery. I've cleaned up the corrosion and it doesn't appear to have
done any serious damage.
At POST it identifies itself as a KA42-A, which I believe makes it a
Model 30.
I'm getting error messages from the POST and I'm unsure how to
interpret them -- the manuals have not been 100% clear. Here's what I
get:
KA42-A V1.3
F...E...D...C...B...A...9...8...7...6...5...4...3_..2_..1?..
? E 0040 0000.0005
? C 0080 0000.4001
? B 0010 000C.0081
?? 1 00C0 0011.700E
The (E) error I expect since there's no clock battery. The (C) is
also expected since I don't have a keyboard/mouse plugged in (just
using the serial console). Similarly, (1) is also expected since I
don't currently have the ethernet interface hooked up to anything.
(B) is what's confusing me -- my understanding is that a single
question mark indicates a "soft" error, described in the manual thus:
"Usually, a question mark (?) in the power-up summary indicates a soft
error and the system may be usable without replacing any FRUs." OK.
What does that mean for memory, and how do I interpret the error
code? I know that the "000C" part indicates the amount of memory
installed -- what does "0081" mean in this context, and should I be
concerned?
For further reference, "test 50" gives the following for memory:
? MEM 000C.0081
00400000
The machine does boot (VMS 6.0 off of two very noisy 104MB drives) and
it seems to work OK, though I haven't stressed it much yet.
Any suggestions here would be much appreciated.
Thanks!
Josh