Is The M9312 Boot Module Essential?

[Chris Zach]

Speaking of which, what does the console rom "DO"? Is it like the 
interactive boot from a pdp11/23+ or better where you can type in the 
device name, run little memory diagnostics and such?

I recall that with the real boot chips on a unibus 11/34 you could just 
jump to the location of the ROM and the CPU would start right up 
unprompted.

C


On 2/19/2022 3:29 AM, Bill Degnan via cctalk wrote:
> You need some way to initialize the system to the peripheral that contains
> the.OS media.  The m9312 is a general purpose co ntroller for that
> purpose.  There are roms that install on the 9312 for almost any drive
> hardware.  When you get a system that comes with an M9312, it will have the
> appropriate peripheral Rom and console ROM installed from the factory.  The
> M9312 also had a console ROM monitor to allow a person to attach a terminal
> to enter bootstrap commands.
> 
> But yes the *function* provided by the m9312 is necessary.
> 
> Alternatively you can key in the bootstrap that tells your system how to
> boot your OS and communicate with your boot device.
> 
> The m9312 is less useful without at least a console ROM
> 
> Where are you located?  Maybe someone nearby has in you could borrow just
> to see what you need.
> Bill.
> 
> On Sat, Feb 19, 2022, 2:12 AM Rob Jarratt via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
> wrote:
> 
>> I have a PDP-11/24. I have never got very far with it because of power
>> supply problems which I am hopeful will be resolved soon. Looking at the
>> technical manual, it describes an M9312 bootstrap/terminator module. The
>> machine did not come with one of these.
>>
>>
>>
>> I am not sure how the machine could have been useful without it. It did
>> work
>> briefly before the PSU failed and I remember getting a console prompt. So,
>> is the M9312 essential to ever get this machine to boot up an operating
>> system?
>>
>>
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>>
>>
>> Rob
>>
>>