From: GWDVMS::MOELLER [moeller@gwdvms.dnet.gwdg.de] Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 1999 11:46 AM To: Info-VAX@Mvb.Saic.Com Subject: Re: SCSI drives for VAX3100 Tom Linden replies to my post: > > If the Vs3100/76 identifies itself as "KA43-A V1.4", it has ROMs > > [EPROMS, in fact] that (in essence) can't boot from a disk greater > > than 1 GB, and in that case, the corresponding PATCH in my '3100 > > ROM-patch collection at > > ftp://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/vms/ka420/ > > ought to be of help to you, if you'd venture to roll your own ... > > > It identifies itself as follows: > KA43-A V1.20C-184-V1.6-267 > where ^ ^ ^ ^ > | | | | > CON PST VMB ROM > Sorry I mis-typed - I know of "KA43-A V1.2", this being the "short" id shown with "T 50", not the long one you give above (I'd expect to get it via "T 80000050"). Unfortunately, the digit following the first period is not necessarily the same with either display ... I have no /76 to easily check the "long" id your ROM gives, but anyway VMB "V1.6" is the one I have the patch for, so even if there'd be a mismatch in short id, the patch would apply with just some offset. To summarize: indeed your ROM does _not_ support disks greater than 1 GB ('cause it only knows about "6 byte" SCSI read/write commands), and my "KA43AROM12W2" patch might either apply as is, or could be easily adapted. >[...] > > There is a separate storage controller ROM that has the SCSI self-tests > > and the code for ">>> SH DEV". It's not used at all during booting, or > > with the system up, so it really doesn't matter much what it "thinks" > > about your disks. > > > So I take it that this ROM is not important for the boot sequence? Yes indeed. (However it could well be that over time you got annoyed by some newer disk causing the SCSI self-test to fail. I've just patched two versions of the "V1.30" storage controller ROM - id shown by "T 50" in the "SCSI-A" line - to bypass this bug, and would like to learn what other versions of this ROM are around, and if they also get a 000000D4 error. BTW, with the 4.3 GB IBM DDRS and V1.30 ROM, the power-on self test would happen to succeed, while any subsequent "T 7" or "T 6" - chioce of test number depending on the kind of storage controller and SCSI bus used with that disk - would fail.) Let me know if you'd be interested in 'rolling your own' ROMs ... Wolfgang J. Moeller, Tel. +49 551 2011516 or -510, moeller@gwdvms.dnet.gwdg.de GWDG, D-37077 Goettingen, F.R.Germany | Disclaimer: No claim intended! ----- -----