VMS newbie with sick VAXstation - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

22 Oct 2012

On Mon, 22 Oct 2012 19:56:00 -0700 (PDT), Cameron Kaiser <spectre at floodgap.com>
wrote:

...
      OpenVMS (TM) VAX Version V7.2     Major version id =
1 Minor versio [cut]
 %DECnet-I-LOADED, network base image loaded, version = 05.0D.00

 %DECnet-W-NOOPEN, could not open SYS$SYSROOT:[SYSEXE]NET$CONFIG.DAT  
 Bizarre, even missing DECnet/OSI configs (which is what that error points
 to) shouldn't cause a crash.

 Time for a conversational boot. At the dead sergeant prompt (>>>) do B/1

 You'll get a SYSBOOT> prompt. Type 'set startup_p1 "min"' then C
to
 continue. This will at least get you running. Once logged in do 'product
 show product' and give us the output. DECnet is obviously not happy.  
 So I did this. First time through, it appeared to boot happily and asked
 for the date and time, let me log in, and then crashed, so I never got to
 the point where I could PRODUCT SHOW PRODUCT.

 Next and all subsequent times through, it crashes at the same point above
 without even getting to a Username: prompt, MIN or conversational boot or
 otherwise.

 Ideas, or reach for the OpenVMS CD? Is there an easy way to use the SCSI
 port on the VAXstation 3100 (I hear it has a different pinout)? 
Are you assuming the hardware is operating properly? I went through this
a while back with one of my VAX Station 3520s. I could sometimes boot to
a usable point, but then crash - normally, it wouldn't make it that far. I put a
known good drive in and attempted to load a new version of VMS. It would
get partially through and then crash.

Turned out that a +5 volt supply had nearly 0.5 V of ripple. Changing a
few caps in the power supply fixed things up...

	->CRC