Hi,
(This isn't really on-topic. If anyone knows of a place or mailing list which
covers obsolete but not classic computers, please let me know.)
Today I picked up a DECstation 316. Since I'm in the UK, this European model
may or may not be the same as the DECstation 316 machine which was sold in the
US.
This is a 386SX-based PC, presumably running at 16MHz. Useful to me because it
has 4 ISA slots. The machine came with 5MB RAM and an IBM 171MB disk drive,
probably added as an upgrade after purchase.
This PC seems to be a rebadged Olivetti; motherboard, PSU and BIOS code say
Olivetti. A label on the rear of the unit says Model:PC 651-A3
CMOS battery is almost dead, but the machine seems to work okay. Though when I
first tried it the Base unit system test (part of the power-on tests) reported
an error. Now it doesn't.
There is no reset button on this machine, and it came with a somewhat
nonstandard DEC LK250 keyboard.
Things I would like to find out:
- Does anyone have setup disks for this machine? I downloaded a DECstation 316
setup disk from the Digital web site, but the
SPEED316.COM program on that
reports "SPEED316 ONLY WORKS ON A DECstation 316." (Which is why I suspect
the American machine of the same name is different.)
- There is no predefined setting in the BIOS setup menu for the 171MB IBM hard
disk (which is IBM-H3171-A2 P/N: 84G3902). There doesn't seem to be a way to
set user-defined drive type. What can I do about this?
- Does anyone have docs for this machine? There is one jumper and a 26-way IDC
connector on the motherboard. What are these for? How is the drive cage
supposed to be removed? I can't see any way to do this.
-- Mark