Subject: Flamingo Wont Boot

From: ".." <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri Jun 20 17:31:20 2003

No,  Its  Not  because it  has  those long flimsy skinny legs!

Really  I brought  my  Flamingo DEC 3000 Model 500 Home.  Set  it  in the
basement and  the  thing  won't  boot.   It  had  had  DEC UNIX  on it ....I
had  rescued  it from  from  my  former  employer-  it  wasn't  a PC  so  they
could  find  any  takers...

Now  the  Panel   cycles  up  and  goes through  a series  of  numbers   Gets
to  #63  and  retries  5 more  times   and  then  posts  a couple  of  numbers
in the  70's  like  72... 74....  and  then  stops  with  DD lit  in the
status indicators..  It  does  all this  without  bringing  up  the  console.
??  Any  help  out  there???.  I dont  have  the  distribution  media,  or
tape  media  for  back- ups,  for  this  machine  If  I could  force  a boot
off CD?

I have  one  CD  which  is an alpha  version of linux  called  Potato?

Any  thoughts?   I am  in central  Ohio.

---

From: Ethan Dicks <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri Jun 20 21:40:33 2003

--- ".." <[email-masked]> wrote:
> ...Flamingo DEC 3000 Model 500 Home...won't  boot.   It  had  had  DEC
> UNIX  on it

OK.  I *think* Ultrix was the only OS commercially available (not sure
about the later product named "Digital Unix" that was formerly OSF/1)

> ....I had  rescued  it from  from  my  former  employer-  it  wasn't  a
> PC  so  they could  find  any  takers...

No surprise there.  I do know a few people where you work, but I think
if they brought one of those home, it would have sown domestic discord.
> 
> Now  the  Panel   cycles  up  and  goes through  a series  of  numbers...

I don't know DEC 3000 specifics, but you might find some helpful info
in the install pages for either NetBSD or OpenBSD.
  
> I don't have the distribution media, or tape media for back- ups,
> for this machine  If I could  force  a boot off CD?

It should either boot off of CD or at least the network

> I have  one  CD  which  is an alpha  version of linux  called  Potato?

I am familiar with Debian "Potato"... AFAIK, your box has a MIPS CPU,
not Alpha.  
 
> Any  thoughts?   I am  in central  Ohio.

I'm just around the corner (working at another company in Metro Place,
H&R Block, doing VMS), but I could always try to come over some night
and puzzle over things with you.

-ethan

---

From: [email-masked] (Eric Dittman)
Date: Sat Jun 21 18:12:38 2003

> about the later product named "Digital Unix" that was formerly OSF/1)

VMS was/is also available.

> I am familiar with Debian "Potato"... AFAIK, your box has a MIPS CPU,

The DEC 3000 Model 500 has an Alpha 21064A, not a MIPS.
-- 
Eric Dittman
[email-masked]

---

From: "Eric Smith" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat Jun 21 18:13:33 2003

> about the later product named "Digital Unix" that was formerly OSF/1)

No, Ultrix was only available for the PDP-11, VAX, and MIPS.  On Alpha,
they went from OSF/1 to Digital Unix to Tru64.

> AFAIK, your box has a MIPS CPU, not Alpha.

You must be thinking of a DECstation.  That's an entirely different beast.

---

From: Jochen Kunz <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat Jun 21 18:15:06 2003

On 2003.06.21 00:00 .. wrote:

> Really  I brought  my  Flamingo DEC 3000 Model 500 Home. 
[...]
> Now  the  Panel   cycles  up  and  goes through  a series  of  numbers
[...]
> and  then  stops  with  DD lit  in the status indicators.
I have a DEC 3000-600 with the same problem. It run well up to the day
when I upgraded the RAM from 128 MB ot 192 MB. Power up, some numbers
flickering on the LEDs on the back and it stops at 0xDD. I reversed my
modifications but still 0xDD. :-(((
Maybe you should carefully reseat everything on the RAM boards. Note
that a RAM bank consists out of 8 SIMMs. 

> I dont  have  the  distribution  media,  or tape  media  for
> back- ups, for this machine If I could force a boot off CD?
You can get a hobbyist license and distribution media for OpenVMS (free)
or Tru64 UNIX ($99) from DEC^WCompaq^WHP. But AFAIK the latest Tru64
version doesn't support the DEC 3000 any more. 

> I have  one  CD  which  is an alpha  version of linux  called  Potato?
Linux does not run on the old Turbochannel Alphas. But NetBSD does very
well if you want a free Unix. There is a link to a ftp site on the port
Alpha page with various docs on Alpha CPUs and machines.
http://www.netbsd.org/
-- 

tschüß,
       Jochen

Homepage: http://www.unixag-kl.fh-kl.de/~jkunz/

---

From: Patrick Finnegan <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat Jun 21 18:15:52 2003

> about the later product named "Digital Unix" that was formerly OSF/1)

Umm, the DEC 3000s were Alphas, not MIPS (not a DECstation). So, you can
run Linux, Net/OpenBSD (FreeBSD?), Digital Unix/Tru64, and VMS on them.
I've got my 3000/600 at work running VMS right now...

> and puzzle over things with you.

One thing to check is that you're using the right console line -
check/togle S3 on the back. which goes between serial and video console.
If you're using a serial console, make sure it's connected to the MMJ and
wired properly.  I thought I couldn't get my machine working until I
realized that I had RX+/RX- and TX+/TX- reversed on the cable I made.

Pat
--
Purdue University ITAP/RCS
Information Technology at Purdue
Research Computing and Storage
http://www.itap.purdue.edu/rcs/