15 Mar
2015
15 Mar
'15
6:05 p.m.
[Seen thanks to off-list assistance - thank you!]
Brief background: Real VAXes had real diagnostics.
MicroVAXes had diagnostic$
I'm fairly sure the MDM is not what I have, then.
Moving on: Are you aware of
EK-O19AE-SG-005_MicroVAX_Troubleshooting_and_Diagnostics_May89.pdf
I wasn't. I picked up a copy and it turns out to be unreadable for me;
the ghostscript I have says "Unable to process JBIG2Decode data. Page
will be missing data.". Modern Ghostscript is no longer suitable for
open-source use, so I'm looking for alternatives, either other
PostScript renderers or something to replace the JBIG2Decode code in
the version I have. I have a few leads, but even in the best of
outcomes it will take time.
Does your emulator have a console ROM like the real
thing? Does it have any $
Yes. It is an image of the ROM from a real KA630 I have. In
particular, it has the same set of tests the real thing has. The
simulator passes all of them, as far as I can tell.
I have a copy of EK-KA630-UG-001 and have scanned it, and read it
multiple times. As far as I can tell the tests there are all run at
startup, and they all pass. If there's any way to run any other tests
from the ROM, I don't know what it is.
I'll also see if I can find that MDM thing, though if you couldn't find
a copy it seems unlikely I will.
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15 Mar
15 Mar
7:49 p.m.
Moving on: Are you aware of
EK-O19AE-SG-005_MicroVAX_Troubleshooting_and_Diagnostics_May89.pdf
I wasn't. I picked up a copy and it turns out to be unreadable for me;
the ghostscript I have says "Unable to process JBIG2Decode data. Page
will be missing data.". Modern Ghostscript is no longer suitable for
open-source use, so I'm looking for alternatives, either other
PostScript renderers or something to replace the JBIG2Decode code in
the version I have. I have a few leads, but even in the best of
outcomes it will take time.
7:59 p.m.
On 03/15/2015 05:05 PM, Mouse wrote:
[Seen thanks to off-list assistance - thank you!]
I'm pretty sure there was a TK-50
diagnostics tape (I never
had one, but saw the DEC
techs use them). There may also have been floppies in the
very early MicroVAX
days.
There was a set of CPU diags on floppies that came with our
first 780. I think
we also had a set of additional diagnostics on 9-track tape
if the CPU
was fully operational.
Jon
Brief background: Real VAXes had real
diagnostics. MicroVAXes had diagnostic$
8:54 p.m.
On 2015-03-16 00:59, Jon Elson wrote:
On 03/15/2015 05:05 PM, Mouse wrote:
That would be the MDM. And yes, I think it existed for both RX50 and
TK50, but I've only used the TK50 version myself.
I still have the TK50, but I wonder if my TK50 drive is operational...
I can't remember how much CPU diagnostics is on that tape. My
recollection is that it's more about testing peripherials, but there
should be some basic tests in there as far as I remember.
[Seen thanks to off-list assistance - thank
you!]
I'm pretty sure there was a TK-50 diagnostics tape (I never
had one, but
saw the DEC
techs use them). There may also have been floppies in the very early
MicroVAX
days. Brief background: Real VAXes had real
diagnostics. MicroVAXes had
diagnostic$
There was a set of CPU diags on floppies that came
with our first 780.
I think
we also had a set of additional diagnostics on 9-track tape if the CPU
was fully operational.
That won't help. This would be the diagnostic supervisor, which do not
run on MicroVAXen.
Johnny
--
Johnny Billquist || "I'm on a bus
|| on a psychedelic trip
email: bqt at softjar.se || Reading murder books
pdp is alive! || tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol
9:28 p.m.
On Sun, Mar 15, 2015 at 5:54 PM, Johnny Billquist <bqt at update.uu.se> wrote:
That would be the MDM. And yes, I think it existed for both RX50 and TK50,
but I've only used the TK50 version myself.
I still have the TK50, but I wonder if my TK50 drive is operational...
I have a TK50 tape image of MicroVAX Diagnostic Monitor, Release 136,
Version V4.7 I forget were I found that tape image.
There are release notes for a newer version which I do not have,
MicroVAX Diagnostic Monitor (MDM), Release 139, Version 5.0.
http://manx.classiccmp.org/collections/mds-199909/cd1/vax/pk29ete.pdf
According to those release notes that version was also available on
CD. I'd like to find an image of that CD. It is supposed to contain a
MDMNET.SYS image which can be used to boot the MDM diagnostics from an
InfoServer, which could be pretty useful.
9:26 p.m.
On 15/03/2015 23:59, Jon Elson wrote:
On 03/15/2015 05:05 PM, Mouse wrote:
Here are the RX50 and TK50 versions of the MicroVAX II customer diagnostics:
http://www.9track.net/vax/mv2diag.zip
This includes the following media:
BL-GL3AG-DN - MVII DIAG CUST RX50 #1
BL-GL4AG-DN - MVII DIAG CUST RX50 #2
BL-GM2AG-DN - MVII DIAG CUST RX50 #3
BL-GM9AE-DN - MVII DIAG CUST RX50 #4
BL-FI50A-DN - MVII DIAG CUST RX50 #5
BL-GNRAA-DN - MICROVAX II MACROVERIFY(CUST)
AQ-GL5AE-DN - MVII DIAG CUST TK50
I used them when I added the MicroVAX II to Simh a few years ago. I had
some problems running them but that was largely due to the fact I didn't
implement memory parity, serial port loopback and other non-essential
features. I guess you have these though if you are able to pass all the
startup diagnostics.
If it helps at all, my code is in the main Simh repository:
https://github.com/simh/simh
Look for the vax630*.* files
Matt
[Seen thanks to off-list assistance - thank
you!]
I'm pretty sure there was a TK-50 diagnostics tape (I never
had one,
but saw the DEC
techs use them). There may also have been floppies in the very early
MicroVAX
days.
There was a set of CPU diags on floppies that came with our first
780. I think
we also had a set of additional diagnostics on 9-track tape if the CPU
was fully operational.
Jon
Brief background: Real VAXes had real
diagnostics. MicroVAXes had
diagnostic$
9:58 p.m.
Here are the RX50 and TK50 versions of the MicroVAX II
customer
diagnostics:
Ooh, thank you! Thank you very much.
I used them when I added the MicroVAX II to Simh a few
years ago. I
had some problems running them but that was largely due to the fact I
didn't implement memory parity, serial port loopback and other
non-essential features. I guess you have these though if you are
able to pass all the startup diagnostics.
Yes; those are both things I simulate. (I also had to simulate the
instruction prefetch buffer; it turns out the KA630 ROM code depends on
being able to execute out of the prefetch buffer briefly.)
If it helps at all, my code is in the main Simh
repository:
Look for the vax630*.* files
I suspect my issue, whatever it is, is not KA630-specific, in which
case the KA630-specific files from SIMH won't help.
Still, it can hardly hurt to look.
Hmm, perhaps I could rip the emulation core out of SIMH and run it in
lock-step parallel with mine, to see where they diverge. I wonder how
hard that would be to do...if I can't find anything more promising I'll
have a look at it.
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3413
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6 comments
6 participants
participants (6)
-
bqt＠update.uu.se -
cctalk＠beyondthepale.ie -
elson＠pico-systems.com -
glen.slick＠gmail.com -
matt＠9track.net -
mouse＠Rodents-Montreal.ORG