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Sony HIT BIT HB-F1XD

I've recently been playing the original A-Train on an MSX emulator and wanted to know more about the MSX world. I quickly fell in love with the Sony line of MSX products and vowed to track one down in Japan. I was successful on my most recent trip!

The hunt for retro gaming goods started in Recycle Shops in Kyushu, but there were no MSXs to be found. I actually stumbled across a Famicom Disk System for 5000yen, but stupidly passed on the offer! Once in Osaka, Den Den Town was going to be the best bet and it didn't disappoint. I'd known there was a Super Potato on the main road down the far end near Shinsekai, but upon arriving we found the sign still there but the building vacant.

Retro TV Game Revival

Fortunately, across the road, next to Burger King, was Retro TV Game Revival. Here I was to meet my first pile of MSX consoles.

There were even Sony HIT BITs! But they started at AUD$400. I noted that they had the consoles that I was looking for, and vowed to return as a last resort. The asking price was a little too high, regardless of the fully-working status.

Super Potato

If you haven't heard of this store, then you're missing out. Super Potato has stores all over Japan and is famous for selling second hand (and vintage) gaming products. Thanks to mobile international data sims, we tracked down the shop. It had moved to the following location...

Once inside, a Sony Hit Bit HB-F1XD was quickly found for the handsome sum of AUD$180. This was purchased on the spot, along with the classic 1942.

It had a sticker on it declaring that the floppy drive didn't work. Another point to note was that, on checkout, the clerk handed over a laminated A4 page that declared that this machine would not function on LCD TVs. I didn't feel like explaining that it would indeed work, but just ... not ... retro-esque. It is good of them to avoid disappointment though. They could easily get customers coming back who just expected 30-year-old tech to work fine.

From here, I didn't have anything to plug this in to whilst in Japan. No places I stayed at had TVs, let alone CRTs!

Welcome to Australia, MSX-2

I purchased extra luggage. I didn't want Jetstar raping me at the check-in counter ... I'd worked out the math that extra luggage (purchase online, prior to check-in!) was still cheaper than posting this bad boy, and the Famicom (just a regular Famicom, from another retro store), that were obesifying my suitcase.

In the end, all made it back to Oz safely and everything was quickly checked for in-transit damage. Safe!

Thanks to the creepy Japanese Massage Chair that I previously acquired, I had a nicely capable step-down transformer ready to go for this MSX. Of course, in the heat of the moment I accidently plugged the MSX straight in to 240v! It made a lovely humming noise; the transformer was trying to deal with cycles/current that it just wasn't meant to. I quickly corrected this mistake and all powered up perfectly well. It even worked on my crappy AUD$10 Samsung LCD TV!

I'll post again shortly on how to use this thing, the best way to hook it up to an LCD TV and flash cartridges.

DEC 4000 AXP – Initialisation and OS Installation

I was finally able to see init screens and boot diagnostics after getting my newly acquired DEC 4000 AXP to talk over serial. PuTTY could be configured into DEC ANSI and displayed everything perfectly.

VMS PALcode V5.56A, OSF PALcode V1.45A
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
¦                      13:26:22  January 9, 2061                               ¦
¦                                                                              ¦
¦                       Digital Equipment Corporation                          ¦
¦                                                                              ¦
¦                             DEC 4000 AXP (tm)                                ¦
¦                                                                              ¦
¦                   +------------------------------------+                     ¦
¦                   ¦ | Executing Power Up Diagnostics   ¦                     ¦
¦                   +------------------------------------+                     ¦
¦                                                                              ¦
¦                                                                              ¦
¦                                                                              ¦
¦                CPU   Memory     Storage    Net    Futurebus+                 ¦
¦                0 1   0 1 2 3   A B C D E   0 1   1 2 3 4 5 6                 ¦
¦              +-----------------------------------------------+               ¦
¦              ¦ P -   - - P P   ? ? ? ? ?   ? ?   ? ? ? ? ? ? ¦               ¦
¦              +-----------------------------------------------+               ¦
¦                                                                              ¦
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------¦
¦ *  Test in progress   P  Pass   F  Fail   -  Not Present   ?  Sizing         ¦
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Diagnostic Name        ID             Device  Pass  Test  Hard/Soft   9-JAN-2061
io_test          0000003e       scsi_low_con     1     1     0    1     13:26:29
Expected value:fc  Received value: fffffffd
Failing addr:    0

*** End of Error ***

*** Soft Error - Error #11 - TOY Clock Valid bit not set

Diagnostic Name        ID             Device  Pass  Test  Hard/Soft   9-JAN-2061
io_test          0000003e                toy     1     2     0    2     13:26:29
Expected value:80  Received value: 0
Failing addr:    d

*** End of Error ***

*** Error (eza0), Mop loop message timed out from: 08-00-2b-3d-df-18

*** List index: 0 received count: 0 expected count 1

+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
¦   Console V4.0-1                    VMS PALcode V5.56A, OSF PALcode V1.45A   ¦
¦                                                                              ¦
¦   CPU 0         P    B2001-BA DECchip (tm) 21064-3                           ¦
¦   CPU 1         -                                                            ¦
¦   Memory 0      -                                                            ¦
¦   Memory 1      -                                                            ¦
¦   Memory 2      P    B2002-DA 128 MB                                         ¦
¦   Memory 3      P    B2002-DA 128 MB                                         ¦
¦   Ethernet 0    P    08-00-2B-3D-DF-18                                       ¦
¦   Ethernet 1    P    08-00-2B-3D-DF-17                                       ¦
¦                                                                              ¦
¦                      ID 0   ID 1   ID 2   ID 3   ID 4   ID 5   ID 6   ID 7   ¦
¦   A     SCSI    P    RZ28   RZ28   RZ28   RZ28                 MATSHI Host   ¦
¦   B             P                                                            ¦
¦   C             P                                                            ¦
¦   D             P                                                            ¦
¦   E             F                                                            ¦
¦   Futurebus+    P                                                            ¦
¦                                                                              ¦
¦   System Status Fail        Type 'cat el' to see errors                      ¦
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
DEC 4000 AXP (tm) console V4.0-1, built on Apr 13 1998 at 16:21:03
>>>

Initialisation indicated 3 errors: SCSI device, TOY and MOR. The SCSI can probably be attributed to the fact that I removed the whole 'B' drive chassis. TOY is the Time Of Year clock and I'm going to assume that the battery is dead. MOR is pointing to Ethernet port 0.. Nothing is plugged in.

Time Of Year

To fix this error, we needed to remove the KFA40 I/O Module. This is located in the right-most slot on the back of the machine. Extricating the board turned out to be a challenge in itself. It looks like someone had already snapped the brackets that hold the face-plate from the main board. This face-plate includes the levers which 'jimmy' the board out of the rear sockets, and so they no longer successfully applied pressure where required. Instead they just further wrecked the face-plate!

To get the board out, I first tried a hand each on the network BNC sockets, but this was also a dangerous idea as they would only be soldered on. I ended up cutting a coat-hanger and slotting it in at the back of the board, between the two plugs where the board plugs into the back-plane. A slight amount of pressure saw the whole board pop out.

I had a quick glance over it and found nothing that looked like a cell battery. I then went back to the diagram of the board in the Technical Manual and freaked out.

It's a bloody DS1287! This is the same as the Compaq Deskpro 386/20n. Total nightmare.

I tried to de-solder it, but I'm really not talented in that department. I therefore decided to perform open-chip-surgery on the unit whilst still on the board. If I failed, then I'd hack the thing off entirely and replace it... if I succeeded, then I'd have a coin-cell slot on top for anyone to replace!

Once this was in place... the machine started differently?

VMS PALcode V5.56A, OSF PALcode V1.45A

Lbus & Fbus have been reset and Lbus enabled
initializing timer data structures
lowering IPL
counted 15741191 cycles in 100 ticks
CPU 0 speed is 6.20 ns (161 MHz)
entering idle loop
Starting Memory Diagnostics
Leaving back-to-back transactions turned off
Testing CMIC on Memory Module 2
Turning off the stream buffers
Testing CMIC on Memory Module 3
Turning on the stream buffers
Testing 1st 2MB(s) on memory module 3
Testing all memory banks in parallel
Testing Memory bank 0
Testing Memory bank 1
Testing Memory bank 2
Testing Memory bank 3
Module   Size    Base Addr   Intlv Mode  Intlv Unit
------   -----   ---------   ----------  ----------
  0              Not Installed
  1              Not Installed
  2      128MB   00000000      1-Way         0
  3      128MB   08000000      1-Way         0
Configured memory size = 10000000
Memory Diagnostics completed
access NVRAM
test Script RAM
enable ncr4 ACK
test Storage Bus E
Initializing driver eza0.0.0.6.0.
Driver eza0.0.0.6.0 initialized.
Initializing driver ezb0.0.0.7.0.
enable ncr0 ACK
test Storage Bus A
Driver ezb0.0.0.7.0 initialized.
enable Fbus
Start of FBUS sizer
Fbus sizer completed
environment variable etherneta created
environment variable ethernetb created
enable ncr1 ACK
test Storage Bus B


*** Soft Error - Error #1 - Lower SCSI Continuity Card Missing (connector J7)


Diagnostic Name        ID             Device  Pass  Test  Hard/Soft  153- -2053
io_test          0000003d       scsi_low_con     1     1     0    1     25:153:4
Expected value:fc  Received value: fffffffd
Failing addr:    0

*** End of Error ***


environment variable aa_lp_cnt00000040 created
environment variable aa_value_bcc created
environment variable aa_2x_cache_size created
Warning: ncr1, loopback connector attached  OR
SCSI bus failure, could not acquire bus; Control Lines:ff Data lines:ff
Warning: ncr1 not tested
enable ncr2 ACK
test Storage Bus C
enable ncr3 ACK
test Storage Bus D
DEC 4000 AXP (tm) console V4.0-1, built on Apr 13 1998 at 16:21:03
>>>

From here I started digging for firmware updates as it seemed that I'd taken the system backwards? I randomly landed on Firmware Update Release Notes for v4.0, but calling show config seems to indicate that I already have that version.

>>>show config


     Console V4.0-1                    VMS PALcode V5.56A, OSF PALcode V1.45A

     CPU 0         P    B2001-BA DECchip (tm) 21064-3
     CPU 1         -
     Memory 0      -
     Memory 1      -
     Memory 2      P    B2002-DA 128 MB
     Memory 3      P    B2002-DA 128 MB
     Ethernet 0    P    08-00-2B-3D-DF-18
     Ethernet 1    P    08-00-2B-3D-DF-17

                        ID 0   ID 1   ID 2   ID 3   ID 4   ID 5   ID 6   ID 7
     A     SCSI    P    RZ28   RZ28   RZ28   RZ28                 MATSHI Host
     B             P
     C             P
     D             P
     E             F
     Futurebus+    P

     System Status Fail        Type 'cat el' to see errors

Reading the documentation... v4.0 of the firmware is only good to support up to 4.0D of Tru64 UNIX (well, DIGITAL UNIX.) That can be obtained from here, so let's try that.

...actually... let's get the hardware correct first.

SCSI Drive Bay B

This has always been in the init error logs. I previously removed the actual drive bay chassis to prevent the hard error... but the soft error remained. I initially tried to swap the working disk set into slot B, but it still threw the same error meaning that it was the socket or the back-plane... or the connection through to the IO board. This, of course meant that it was time to pull the thing to bits.

The modularity of the case made tearing it down easy enough to try and diagnose the problem. The machine was apart in no time! Unfortunately nothing obvious came up. This was all the nether-regions of the system that wouldn't have been touched for 25 years. I re-seated a few plugs, but that was about it. Meanwhile, putting it back together took a little longer. It seems that jiggling the cables did the trick though! Upon power up there was no more error B and the power light stayed on! I then reassembled the drives and slapped it all in.

>>>show config


     Console V4.0-1                    VMS PALcode V5.56A, OSF PALcode V1.45A

     CPU 0         P    B2001-BA DECchip (tm) 21064-3
     CPU 1         -
     Memory 0      P    B2002-DA 128 MB
     Memory 1      -
     Memory 2      -
     Memory 3      -
     Ethernet 0    P    08-00-2B-3D-DF-18
     Ethernet 1    P    08-00-2B-3D-DF-17

                        ID 0   ID 1   ID 2   ID 3   ID 4   ID 5   ID 6   ID 7
     A     SCSI    P    RZ28   RZ28   RZ28   RZ28                        Host
     B     SCSI    P    RZ28   RZ28   RZ28M  RZ28                        Host
     C             P
     D             P
     E     SCSI    P                                              MATSHI Host
     Futurebus+    P

     System Status Pass        Type b to boot dkb0.0.0.1.0

Wait, what's that last line? We now have a bootable partition?

>>>b
FMBPR and Fbus devices have been reset
(boot dkb0.0.0.1.0 -flags 0)
block 0 of dkb0.0.0.1.0 is a valid boot block
reading 16 blocks from dkb0.0.0.1.0
bootstrap code read in
base = 1f4000, image_start = 0, image_bytes = 2000
initializing HWRPB at 2000
initializing page table at 1e6000
initializing machine state
setting affinity to the primary CPU
jumping to bootstrap code
can't open osf_boot

halted CPU 0

halt code = 5
HALT instruction executed
PC = 20000030
>>>

Sure, it's got the boot block... but it's missing files. Back to trying to boot off CD.

Digital UNIX 4.0D

>>>b dka6
(boot dka600.6.0.0.0 -flags 0)
block 0 of dka600.6.0.0.0 is a valid boot block
reading 16 blocks from dka600.6.0.0.0
bootstrap code read in
base = 1f4000, image_start = 0, image_bytes = 2000
initializing HWRPB at 2000
initializing page table at 1e6000
initializing machine state
setting affinity to the primary CPU
jumping to bootstrap code

Digital UNIX boot - Mon Dec 29 18:50:44 EST 1997

Loading vmunix ...
Loading at fffffc0000230000
Current PAL Revision <0x2000000010538>
Switching to OSF PALcode Succeeded
New PAL Revision <0x200000002012d>

Sizes:
text = 4961776
data = 1324288
bss  = 2884976
Starting at 0xfffffc000042d420

Alpha boot: available memory from 0xf08000 to 0xfffe000
Digital UNIX V4.0D  (Rev
halted CPU 0

halt code = 1
operator initiated halt
PC = fffffc00004351a4
>>>

Tru64 UNIX 5.0

>>>b dka6
(boot dka600.6.0.0.0 -flags A)
block 0 of dka600.6.0.0.0 is a valid boot block
reading 16 blocks from dka600.6.0.0.0
bootstrap code read in
base = 1f4000, image_start = 0, image_bytes = 2000
initializing HWRPB at 2000
initializing page table at 1e6000
initializing machine state
setting affinity to the primary CPU
jumping to bootstrap code

UNIX boot - Tue Jul 20 21:02:13 EDT 1999

Loading vmunix ...
Loading at 0xffffffff00000000
Mapping Image Address Space: Complete

Sizes:
text = 6284160
data =  1728208
bss  =  1934480
Starting at 0xffffffff00242230

Alpha boot: available memory from 0x121a000 to 0xfffe000
Digital UNIX V5.0 (Rev. 910); Tue Jul 20 22:13:21 EDT 1999
physical memory = 256.00 megabytes.
available memory = 239.99 megabytes.
using 325 buffers containing 2.53 megabytes of memory
emx: dynamic addressing enabled
Firmware revision: 4.0
PALcode: UNIX version 1.45
DEC 4000 Mod
halted CPU 0

halt code = 1
operator initiated halt
PC = ffffffff0024cfa4

Tek Tips has a forum post here on trying to get Tru64 booted. They indicate that you might need to set some parameters first for Unix to boot.

set os_type unix
set auto_action halt
set bootdef_dev ""
set boot_osflags 0
set eia0_mode fastfd
init

Tru64 UNIX 5.1B

>>>b dka6
(boot dka600.6.0.0.0 -flags A)
block 0 of dka600.6.0.0.0 is a valid boot block
reading 15 blocks from dka600.6.0.0.0
bootstrap code read in
base = 1f4000, image_start = 0, image_bytes = 1e00
initializing HWRPB at 2000
initializing page table at 1e6000
initializing machine state
setting affinity to the primary CPU
jumping to bootstrap code

UNIX boot - Wednesday October 16, 2002

Loading vmunix ...
Loading at 0xffffffff00000000

Sizes:
text =  7922752
data =  2044560
bss  =  2433008
Starting at 0xffffffff00011d70

bcm: DEGXA driver V1.0.6 NUMA lanlog
failed configuring ev7_ocla subsystem
Alpha boot: available memory from 0x1670000 to 0xfffe000
Compaq Tru64 UNIX V5.1B (Rev. 2650); Wed Oct 16 17:45:54 EDT 2002
physical memory = 256.00 megabytes.
available memory = 233.55 megabytes.
using 307 buffers containing 2.39 megabytes of memory
panic (cpu 0): platform not supported by this kernel configuration

DUMP: Warning: no disk available for dump.

DUMP: first crash dump failed: attempting memory dump...
DUMP: compressing 19536KB into 215807KB memory...
DUMP:  Starting Address      E
halted CPU 0

halt code = 1
operator initiated halt
PC = ffffffff800e6be0
>>>

Right, the kernel on the CD is not built for my hardware!
Does this need NHD-7? Seems there's 'New Hardware Delivery' disks that provide additional hardware support... although this doesn't make sense, as 5.1B was released AFTER this hardware came into existence.

Wait... WinWorld has the NHD cds and firmware updates! I'll try these at some point.

OpenVMS 8.4

>>>b dka6
(boot dka600.6.0.0.0 -flags A)
block 0 of dka600.6.0.0.0 is a valid boot block
reading 1230 blocks from dka600.6.0.0.0
bootstrap code read in
base = 1f4000, image_start = 0, image_bytes = 99c00
initializing HWRPB at 2000
initializing page table at 1e6000
initializing machine state
setting affinity to the primary CPU
jumping to bootstrap code


    Op
halted CPU 0

halt code = 1
operator initiated halt
PC = ffffffff83188df4
>>>

Arrghhhhh... There's an underlying trend here! It seems that every OS, whilst trying to boot, is failing even trying to print out its own name! I bet that Op above is meant to be the start of 'OpenVMS' and, like all the other attempts above, it's throwing a CPU fault whilst initialising the CPU?
I wonder if the CPU is actually faulty? Or the Memory boards?

Ethernet and Boot Server

This forum post has information on updating firmware via the network. Seems that I need a *NIX server with mopd running. The firmware then just needs to be the MAC address of the machine in question with the '.SYS' extension. I used a VM that I still had available running A2SERVER. mopd was installed via apt-get and all was well.

Running this inside a VM on a windows machine has proved problematic before. When I was trying to network boot the 386, the installer from the floppy couldn't see the NFS server in A2SERVER on my other windows PC. I therefore built a real physical Linux box hard-wired into the network. I've chosen to do this again with my Let's Note CF-Y7 Toughbook that's been gathering dust for quite some time.

I installed Linux Mint 18.1 only to find out that 'mopd' wasn't in the package repository. Googling for it, I found that it was last included back at Trusty Tahr. Fortunately, we can work around this. Download the mopd package directly from here (or here if you're running i386) and then also get libelfg0, as this isn't in the newest repo either.

From here, run sudo dpkg -i libelfg0_0.8.13-5_amd64.deb and then sudo dpkg -i mopd_2.5.3-21_amd64.deb. This'll get mopd installed. Run man mopd to see where it expects its server directory to be; in this case /srv/tftp/mopd. Create this directory, grab the firmware file from here and copy it in.

Based on the forum post instructions above, we need the file to be mac_address.SYS. We can get this from the intialisation log: 08-00-2B-3D-DF-18. I therefore ran cp cfw_v40_updp3.sys 08002b3ddf18.SYS. Yes, use lowercase for the address and uppercase for the extension.

steven@letsnote-y7 /srv/tftp/mop $ wget https://modelrail.otenko.com/assets/dec4000axp/cfw_v40_updp3.sys
--2017-05-19 18:37:37--  https://modelrail.otenko.com/assets/dec4000axp/cfw_v40_updp3.sys
Resolving modelrail.otenko.com (modelrail.otenko.com)... 119.15.98.75
Connecting to modelrail.otenko.com (modelrail.otenko.com)|119.15.98.75|:80... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 1915904 (1.8M) [application/octet-stream]
Saving to: 'cfw_v40_updp3.sys’

cfw_v40_updp3.sys   100%[===================>]   1.83M  1.21MB/s    in 1.5s    

2017-05-19 18:37:39 (1.21 MB/s) - 'cfw_v40_updp3.sys’ saved [1915904/1915904]

steven@letsnote-y7 /srv/tftp/mop $ cp cfw_v40_updp3.sys 08002b3ddf18.SYS
steven@letsnote-y7 /srv/tftp/mop $ sudo mopd -a -d
mopd: not running as daemon, -d given.
MOP DL 802.3 8:0:2b:3d:df:18   > ab:0:0:1:0:0      len   71 code 08 RPR 
My address is 00:13:e8:2d:c0:b1
MOP DL 802.3 0:13:e8:2d:c0:b1  > 8:0:2b:3d:df:18   len    9 code 03 ASV 
MOP DL 802.3 8:0:2b:3d:df:18   > ab:0:0:1:0:0      len   71 code 08 RPR 
My address is 00:13:e8:2d:c0:b1
MOP DL 802.3 0:13:e8:2d:c0:b1  > 8:0:2b:3d:df:18   len    9 code 03 ASV 
MOP DL 802.3 8:0:2b:3d:df:18   > 0:13:e8:2d:c0:b1  len   71 code 08 RPR 
MOP DL 802.3 0:13:e8:2d:c0:b1  > 8:0:2b:3d:df:18   len 1492 code 02 MLD 
MOP DL 802.3 8:0:2b:3d:df:18   > 0:13:e8:2d:c0:b1  len   71 code 08 RPR 
MOP DL 802.3 0:13:e8:2d:c0:b1  > 8:0:2b:3d:df:18   len 1492 code 02 MLD 
MOP DL 802.3 8:0:2b:3d:df:18   > 0:13:e8:2d:c0:b1  len   46 code 0a RML 
MOP DL 802.3 0:13:e8:2d:c0:b1  > 8:0:2b:3d:df:18   len 1492 code 02 MLD 
MOP DL 802.3 8:0:2b:3d:df:18   > 0:13:e8:2d:c0:b1  len   46 code 0a RML 
MOP DL 802.3 8:0:2b:3d:df:18   > 0:13:e8:2d:c0:b1  len   46 code 0a RML 
MOP DL 802.3 0:13:e8:2d:c0:b1  > 8:0:2b:3d:df:18   len 1492 code 02 MLD
...

And that was the unit actually accepting the firmware and running the update utility!

>>>b eza0
(boot eza0.0.0.6.0 -flags 0)

Trying MOP boot.
.................................

Network load complete.
Host name: ipc
Host address: 00-13-e8-2d-c0-b1

bootstrap code read in
base = 1f4000, image_start = 0, image_bytes = 1d3a00
initializing HWRPB at 2000
initializing page table at 1e6000
initializing machine state
setting affinity to the primary CPU
jumping to bootstrap code


VMS PALcode V5.56A, OSF PALcode V1.45A

Lbus & Fbus have been reset and Lbus enabled
initializing timer data structures
lowering IPL
counted 15626232 cycles in 100 ticks
CPU 0 speed is 6.25 ns (160 MHz)
entering idle loop
Starting Memory Diagnostics
Leaving back-to-back transactions turned off
Testing CMIC on Memory Module 0
Turning on the stream buffers
Testing all memory banks in parallel
Testing Memory bank 0
Testing Memory bank 1
Testing Memory bank 2
Testing Memory bank 3
Memory size = 8000000
* Warning * Console image larger than Bcache
Memory Configuration skipped
Memory Diagnostics completed
access NVRAM
test Script RAM
enable ncr4 ACK
test Storage Bus E
Initializing driver eza0.0.0.6.0.
Driver eza0.0.0.6.0 initialized.
Initializing driver ezb0.0.0.7.0.
enable ncr0 ACK
test Storage Bus A
Driver ezb0.0.0.7.0 initialized.
enable Fbus
Start of FBUS sizer
Fbus sizer completed
enable ncr1 ACK
test Storage Bus B
enable ncr2 ACK
test Storage Bus C


                ***** Loadable Firmware Update Utility *****
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Function    Description
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Display     Displays the system's configuration table.
 Exit        Done exit LFU (reset).
 List        Lists the device, revision, firmware name and if found by LFU.
 Update      Replaces current firmware with loadable data image.
 Verify      Compares loadable and hardware images.
 ? or Help   Scrolls this function table.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Type Help  for additional information


UPD> help update
 Update a particular device with LFU's firmware.
   The command format is: UPDATE  [-PATH ]
   For example:
           update *

   Will update all LFU supported devices found in this system

           update io

   Will update the device named IO
   Use the LIST command to see the supported LFU devices

   You can optionally update a device with different firmware than
   defaulted to by LFU, by using the -PATH switch.
   For example:
           update io -path mopdl:new_firm/eza0

   Will update the device named IO with firmware NEW_FIRM from the
   network.


UPD> update *

Confirm update on:
io
[Y/(N)]y
WARNING: updates may take several minutes to complete for each device.

                          DO NOT ABORT!

io              Updating to 4.0...  Verifying 4.0...  PASSED.

UPD> list

device            FW Rev           Filename               Found

io                 4.0             cfw_e43                  Y

UPD> display

                                 Rev                    Events logged
 Slot   Option  Part#           Hw Sw   Serial#         SDD     TDD
   1    IO      B2101-AA        J2 34   AY34507889      00      00
   2
   3    CPU0    B2001-BA        B2 34   AY33479304      00      01
   4    MEM0    B2002-DA        C1 0    GA33306138      00      00
   5
   6
   7

Futurebus+ Nodes
                           Rev
 Slot   Option  Part#    Hw   Fw   Serial#              Description
   1
   2
   3
   4
   5
   6

UPD>

Rebooting showed no changes and CDs still failed when trying to print out their OS names...

Operator Initiated Halt (Update: 19/01/2021)

Ahhh crap. I've just done a 'proper' google for the error message I was getting above: operator initiated halt. It turns out that, one of the first hits is a really cool forum post on community.hpe.com that describes the reason for that error! It seems my actual front-panel HALT button may have been faulty! This hindsight makes me sad... it would've been fun to get the unit up and running and serve a text file to my network... whilst draining the apartment block's power. Such is life.

DEC 4000 AXP

I promised myself not to spend further money on junk. I promised myself to keep away from the Vintage Computers column on eBay. I tried my hardest... I really did... until I saw a DEC 4000 AXP going for ~AUD$100. Probably too much to pay... I really didn't even know what it was... but then, whilst browsing through the photos, I saw that it had somewhere around 8 SCSI disks in it and new that I could part it out if the need arose.

Whilst investigating the machine, I read a tag line on a brochure: The DEC 4000 AXP system is a high-performance superserver for multi-user environments. 'Superserver'? Take. My. Money! After purchasing it, I looked at the photos again and realised how large the machine actually was... would it even fit in my car?

Here it was, waiting for me (under a very nice paperweight!) in the corner of an industrial yard.

Back to that question: Would it fit in my car? No way. Fortunately, nearby the pickup point was an Avis rental shop. I picked up a Triton for a cheap daily rate and managed to get the unit onto the back of it. It was heavy enough to nearly pop a vertebrae; therefore also heavy enough to stay where it was placed in the tray. Another disc was nearly popped getting it back off the tray in the car park under my building.

It stayed down there for 12 hours whilst I regretted my purchase and I decided to just chop it up and part it out down there. Fortunately the MR2 happily fit with it in the car park. After a few beers, I'd decided it was worth the gamble and drove it up to the apartment. I paused for a few seconds next to my car just to compare the size!

And then in the lift...

And it looked great in the corridor...

Power cables and requirements

This machine is rated at 8 Amps, 1920W. Due to this, they've manufactured it with a 15A power cable that requires an associated 15A wall socket. It's known as an IEC C19 and I was able to purchase the cable from Jaycar. I also purchased a standard Australian power plug.. with the idea to swap them over so I could use my normal power points.

WARNING: This machine is just within the limits of a standard 10A wall socket. Hence why, after asking a few professionals in the industry, I had decided to actually plug it into a home electrical socket. If you don't own your house, you don't pay the power bill or you don't have insurance... then don't plug something like this in!

First things first, I pulled the power supply unit out of the machine and opened it up. You really know you're playing with real industrial-level hardware when you see the scale and quality of the components. I quickly realised that replacing the power socket in the PSU was not going to happen... it was happily housed in a sealed and riveted box.

I was about to start hacking the new cable when I thought of something. Those shitty international power adapters with the one-size-fits-all socket on the female side would probably accept this plug... and well, I just happened to have one that would!

From here, life was easy... plug it in and switch it on. I was on tippie-toes when doing this... all internal self-preservation systems were on high-alert knowing that I was going to plug a machine that needed a lot of power into a wall socket that might not be able to cope. Then I realised that the wall socket was on a 10A breaker and that'd go first. Of course, that'd only go if the machine actually drew the current it suggested. Chances are that on startup and idle it consumed a lot less!

I had another beer and then flicked the wall switch. Not much yet... so I hit the main 'breaker' at the rear-left of the unit. AC light! The box to the right of the power supply then started doing it's initialisation. This resulted with a Fan Failure and Error Code 9. The Owner’s Guide told me that the number indicated the number of the fan which had failed. There's only 4 fans though, so what would 9 be? Is it binary and do I therefore have a multitude of dead fans? The Service Guide came in much handier!

Fan, LDC, and Temperature Faults
1 + Fan Failure LED on	Fan 1 failed	Fan 1
2 + Fan Failure LED on	Fan 2 failed	Fan 2
3 + Fan Failure LED on	Fan 3 failed	Fan 3
4 + Fan Failure LED on	Fan 4 failed	Fan 4
9 + Fan Failure LED On	Cable guide is not secured or 2 fans failed
A + Disk Power Failure LED on	LDC A failed	LDC A
B + Disk Power Failure LED on	LDC B failed	LDC B
C + Disk Power Failure LED on	LDC C failed	LDC C
D + Disk Power Failure LED on	LDC D failed	LDC D
7 + PSC Failure LED on	Temperature sensor bad—low reading	PSC
8 + PSC Failure LED on	Temperature sensor bad—high reading	PSC
0 + Overtemperature shutdown LED on	System temperature in red zone

Turns out that, yes, '9' either means multiple fan failure or a missing cable guide. What's a cable guide? Oh right, it's that metal plate lying on the floor which I had unscrewed as I was inspecting the machine. Somehow it has a sensor to know if that plate is installed or not and ... well ... it wasn't, so the error was legit.

The cable guide was screwed back on and the rear of the unit powered up green. What's next? The 'DC' side on the front. Hitting this switch saw the second-stage initialisation begin. Hard disks started blinking and you could even hear the disks searching. After a short while... there was nothing. Looking back at the rear of the machine showed the 'Disk Power Failure' light on now, with error code 'B'. Back to the front of the machine, this error indicates that there is something wrong with the disk power supply in the second drawer.

I power-cycled the machine again and saw that, during the initialisation of the second drawer, the second-left LEDs did not light! Damn. There's a PCB on the inner-right of these drawers that converts the supplied power to your standard 12v/5v HDD power plug. It seems that drive 2's power supply was rubbish. Time to pull the thing to bits!

Just to quote Sesame Street: One of these things is not like the others. Usually I don't discriminate, but someone has actually put a foreign Seagate SCSI HDD in here and therefore the display/ID cable does not plug in! They've just jumpered the ID on the drive itself. Makes sense... but stops the front LEDs from working. Might have to make an adapter in the future... or find a proper DEC drive.

Either way, this meant that it really was the power board at fault. There's a little metal tab (see above, just above the '1' sticker) at the front of the drive bay chassis that, once pulled up, allows you to wrench out the entire mechanism. This gave me better access to the power board. I brought the whole drive chassis over to the workbench... but I had a hunch: Is this drive bay actually needed to get the machine to power up?

I returned to the machine and threw the power switch without drive-bay B installed. The machine initialised without error! I'll return to this drive bay later. At this point I could see it systematically checking the disks... probably for a boot partition?

Talking to it...

The console port on this machine uses a DEC Modified Modular Jack type plug and socket. This is very similar to standard phone sockets, but with all 6 pins used. The 'tab' is also aligned to the side to prevent incorrect cables from being plugged in. The serial protocol is similar to RS-324 and can be translated to RS-232 by bridging the TX and RX signal ground wires. There's a lot of great information on MMJ here.

I purchased a 6P6C 5m cable from Jaycar and cut down the tab to make the plug fit. From there, it was a simple follow-the-instructions above to get the other end of the cable wired in to a standard DB-9 serial port.

Following the diagram here (UPDATE: The diagram in that link is wrong, use the wiring diagram here for the null-modem cable) was easy enough and a cable was created. Don't look too closely at the soldering.. the wires in the phone cable weren't single-core and stripping them wasn't easy. The plastic insulation also melted as soon as it came anywhere near a heat source.

Once hooked up, I dragged my 486 DX2/66 over as it was the closest serial port I could source. Windows for Workgroups 3.11 was booted and Terminal was executed from the Accessories folder. After setting the expected settings (9600-8-n-1), the following was received...

At least something is being transmitted! Rubbish data usually means an incorrect baud rate, so I returned to the Service Guide. Turns out that the baud rate can be configured! There's either a hardware switch behind the panel, or a software configuration option. I assumed that the software setting wasn't in-play yet as there was no real software installed. Therefore I pulled another part off the machine to see what the configuration was.

Further com port setting adjustments resulted in more rubbish. I then stumbled across this site. It seems to indicate that the wiring is the other way around? I re-wired the port and had no luck on Windows 3.11 with Terminal. So I booted another machine with Putty and connected it to COM1. Holy shit...

VMS PALcode V5.56A, OSF PALcode V1.45A
lqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqk
x                      11:45:34  January 9, 2061                               x
x                                                                              x
x                       Digital Equipment Corporation                          x
x                                                                              x
x                             DEC 4000 AXP (tm)                                x
x                                                                              x
x                   lqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqk                     x
x                   x   Powerup Diagnostics Finished     x                     x
x                   mqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqj                     x
x                                                                              x
x                                                                              x
x                                                                              x
x                CPU   Memory     Storage    Net    Futurebus+                 x
x                0 1   0 1 2 3   A B C D E   0 1   1 2 3 4 5 6                 x
x              lqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqk               x
x              x P -   - - P P   P P P P P   P P   - - - - - - x               x
x              mqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqj               x
x                                                                              x
tqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqu
x *  Test in progress   P  Pass   F  Fail   -  Not Present   ?  Sizing         x
mqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqj
lqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqk
x   Console V4.0-1                    VMS PALcode V5.56A, OSF PALcode V1.45A   x
x                                                                              x
x   CPU 0         P    B2001-BA DECchip (tm) 21064-3                           x
x   CPU 1         -                                                            x
x   Memory 0      -                                                            x
x   Memory 1      -                                                            x
x   Memory 2      P    B2002-DA 128 MB                                         x
x   Memory 3      P    B2002-DA 128 MB                                         x
x   Ethernet 0    P    08-00-2B-3D-DF-18                                       x
x   Ethernet 1    P    08-00-2B-3D-DF-17                                       x
x                                                                              x
x                      ID 0   ID 1   ID 2   ID 3   ID 4   ID 5   ID 6   ID 7   x
x   A     SCSI    P    RZ28   RZ28   RZ28   RZ28                        Host   x
x   B             P                                                            x
x   C             P                                                            x
x   D             P                                                            x
x   E     SCSI    P    MATSHI                                           Host   x
x   Futurebus+    P                                                            x
x                                                                              x
x   System Status Pass        Type b to boot dkb0.0.0.1.0                      x
mqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqj
DEC 4000 AXP (tm) console V4.0-1, built on Apr 13 1998 at 16:21:03
>>>b
(boot dkb0.0.0.1.0 -flags A)
failed to open dkb0.0.0.1.0

Probably the wrong character set chosen, but we're in!

Installing an optical drive

All pictures of this machine on the web show it with a tape and CD drive in the front-bottom-right slot. Mine came with that area gutted. Fortunately, the housing was still there. I just had to re-install using a SCSI drive I had lying around.

Yes. It's in backwards. I defaulted it to ID 0 and mounted it into the parts that had been lying around... by fluke I had some screws long enough to fit through the rubber suspension joints!

On a reboot, the machine showed the drive on BUS E. (Actually, I lie, I took this text after I'd moved the CD back to its external case, so it's actually on dke0.)

>>>show device
dka0.0.0.0.0               DKA0                           RZ28  D41C
dka100.1.0.0.0             DKA100                         RZ28  D41C
dka200.2.0.0.0             DKA200                         RZ28  D41C
dka300.3.0.0.0             DKA300                         RZ28  D41C
dke0.0.0.4.0               DKE0         MATSHITA CD-ROM CR-504  ST23
eza0.0.0.6.0               EZA0              08-00-2B-3D-DF-18
ezb0.0.0.7.0               EZB0              08-00-2B-3D-DF-17
p_b0.7.0.1.0                                          Bus ID 7
p_c0.7.0.2.0                                          Bus ID 7
p_d0.7.0.3.0                                          Bus ID 7
pka0.7.0.0.0               PKA0                  SCSI Bus ID 7
pke0.7.0.4.0               PKE0                  SCSI Bus ID 7

Nice! The drive is there!

Operating System

This model can run either OpenVMS [Here's a whole bunch of ported software for OpenVMS] or Tru64 UNIX. I burnt a Tru64 Unix CD and tried to boot it with boot pke4. The drive seemed to have trouble reading the disc whilst vertically mounted (the drive didn't actually have the physical tabs on the tray to support this) and so it was returned to its external case and plugged into the SCSI port on the left of disk bay A. It then became 'dke0'.

>>>boot dke0
(boot dke0.0.0.4.0 -flags A)
dke0.0.0.4.0 has no media present or is disabled via the RUN/STOP switch
dke0.0.0.4.0 has no media present or is disabled via the RUN/STOP switch
block 0 of dke0.0.0.4.0 is a valid boot block
reading 15 blocks from dke0.0.0.4.0
bootstrap code read in
base = 1f4000, image_start = 0, image_bytes = 1e00
initializing HWRPB at 2000
initializing page table at 1e6000
initializing machine state
setting affinity to the primary CPU
jumping to bootstrap code

UNIX boot - Wednesday October 16, 2002

Loading vmunix ...
Loading at 0xffffffff00000000

Sizes:
text =  7922752

It then sat there for a REALLY long time.... but there was CD activity... well... it blinked around... but didn't seem to get anywhere. I let it go for an hour (there goes the power bill) but nothing happened. Maybe it's handed off console output at this stage to the 'Auxillary Console Port'. Urgh... do I need to interface with the DB25 socket on the back?

Then again, the service manual says the port is used for external devices, not console terminals. I wonder if the CD image is just crap or the drive can't handle the CD-R? I might try buy some new and more reliable CDs today... or try OpenVMS just to see if something else will boot further?

Stay tuned...

Ancient Fujitsu M2654ST 2.1gb SCSI HDD

Found this at trash and treasure for AUD$20. It's huge! This is a serious server hard disk, built in February 1994. Configuring this thing requires some form of rocket-science degree as nothing is clearly labelled and there are connections for monitoring hardware as well? A little research found this document that has sparse information on this drive.

I installed this into my external SCSI enclosure and initially it just went click... click. I had the internal SCSI cable plugged in and the terminator was on the external SCSI housing's 'out' port. I'd given it up for trash (as opposed to treasure) and was about to print out the manual to check if the jumper settings would help.

Later on, I thought I'd try a separate power supply. It was an ATX power supply with an AT converter (see more information here) and the drive sat there clicking at a different rate to the previous attempt. This indicated that the ATX wasn't happy with zero load on the motherboard wires and a LOT of load on the drive wires.

I decided to put the drive back in the external SCSI enclosure, for prosperity and safe-keeping, but hadn't plugged in the SCSI data cable. Upon hitting the power switch the drive powered up!

Holy moly. Listen to that jet engine! Turns out that the drive doesn't like a data cable connected. Well, it loves it, but you need to provide it a signal to spin up once the cable is connected. Based on this, removing the terminator at the back of the SCSI enclosure saw the drive happily spin up with the 50-pin SCSI cable connected.

OK.. so... I plugged everything together properly and hooked it to my old Windows 98 SE machine. Well shit... it spun up and was detected fine. It actually holds the SCSI card BIOS screen for ransom whilst the drive spins up. Not a quick process. Can only imagine what server rooms used to sound like with these babies all firing up at once.

Once in windows.. everything reported a very empty drive... I'll grab some parition restoration utilities and give this a scan before I use it for it's full 2gb of storage...

GParted to the rescue

Here I was thinking that Windows would list any partitions... turns out that Windows doesn't understand all types of partition tables. See below for the results from GParted and then what happened when I plugged the drive into my my Power Mac 7220. It was even bootable!

The drive has partition checking software... the disk checked out. I then quickly formatted it. Don't dig through other people's memories!

var southbound_pax = [
    0530,0611,0633,0703,0714,0725,0733,0743,0752,0808,0823,
    0830,0841,0859,0917,0928,0944,1006,1029,1053,1109,1128,
    1148,1209,1230,1251,1309,1327,1348,1409,1427,1448,1512,
    1532,1550,1607,1618,1631,1651,1709,1726,1737,1754,1808,
    1818,1831,1844,1902,1915,1925,1937,1955,2014,2029,2050,
    2102,2121,2143,2208,2227,2255,2349
];

> var number_array = [0000, 0001, 0002, 0003, 0004, 0005, 0006, 0007, 0008, 0009, 0010, 0011, 0012];

> number_array
[0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 8, 9, 10]