Dear alpha osf managers,
My original posting was:
>Dear alpha people,
>Well, it's an old story, sad but true.
>The network interface card on my DEC Alpha 3000/800
>running OSF/1 version 2.0 crapped out.
>I took it to DecService down in Tukwila.
>They replaced the card. I brought the machine back.
>I powered it up.
>I got
>"warning mismatched roms. sys=3.2 -I/O = 5.2
>update system firmware"
>Any hints, advice, suggestions on how to go about this ?
>I've got a manual around here somewhere, but I have to find the
>firmware upgrades. Anybody know if it is on the net somewhere ?
>Thanks,
>Phil
I received answers advice from:
anthony baxter <anthony.baxter_at_aaii.oz.au>
Jim Belonis <belonis_at_dirac.phys.washington.edu>
Kathleen Berry 617-377-2411 <berry_at_AM.PLH.AF.MIL>
Don Bovee <bovee_at_math.washington.edu>
Jay Cotton <jay_at_tippecanoe.com>
morten.hanshaugen_at_usit.uio.no
Hellebx Knut <bgk1142_at_bggfu2.nho.hydro.com>
"G. Del Merritt" <del_at_giant.IntraNet.com>
"Sherry Q. He {regular}" <heqianho_at_cps.msu.edu>
Oisin McGuinness <oisin_at_sbcm.com>
Arrigo Triulzi <a.triulzi_at_ic.ac.uk>
David Warren <warren_at_atmos.washington.edu>
"DEBRULER, BONNIE" <DEBRULER_at_eglin.af.mil>
Thanks very much to all of you.
What I did was:
0. I read all your responses.
1. I got the firmware upgrade cd from our campus site license
people. It was version 2.9 that comes with OSF/1 version 3.0.
2. I popped the cdrom in another alpha with a cd player.
Mounted it re the documentation and dumped the postscript
documentation dec3000_v51_fw_relnote.ps to printer.
3. I was smelling a rat because my error message said 3.2 and
5.2 not 5.1.
4. I read the documentation
5. I read the documentation again
6. I crossed my fingers, and slapped the firmware upgrade
cd in the dead alpha cd player.
7. I assumed the ROM update jumper was in the factory set,
ENABLED.
8. I did the boot the way the documentation said. Using the
>>>show device command and checking the device id number
>>>boot -fl 0,80 dka400
EVEN THOUGH I DIDN"T KNOW IF IT WAS A TURBOCHANNEL DEVICE OR
A SCSI DEVICE. There were little nagging messages about "See
appendix for booting from turbochannel devices."
9. The boot worked. So I did the update. Hoping that since
this was only a 5.1 version, the 5.2 i/o rom wouldn't be
screwed up. EVEN THOUGH THERE WERE WARNING MESSAGES ALL
OVER THE DOCUMENTATION SAYING DON'T LOAD A LOWER VERSION
NUMBER THAN WHAT WAS ON THE MACHINE.
I was a desperate man. I had no choice except wait for a new
cd to show up on campus someday !!
The update seemed to go ok. I had uprevved the cpu and downrevved
the i/o card. I hoped....
10.As per directions, I powered off the machine, waited not 15
seconds but 2 minutes and then powered back up.
11.Everything went smoothly for awhile . Then, during the
NI self-check, I got a "Machine Fault" error message and a
register dump !!!! Arrrrrrrghghhghghghghgh!!!!!
I was sure it was the down rev on the i/o board that had
screwed up everything. I sat and thought about doing
C++ code for an accounting firm for a few minutes, and then
out of desperation, I power cycled the machine again.
12.Everything went ok on the second power cycle. Phew !!
Attached are some of the responses I received.
Thanks again to everybody.
Phil
---------------------------------------------------------------------
When you get a new major release of the O/S, you also get a CD and/or
a floppy disk containing a new version of the firmware for the machine.
You need to boot off the media to upgrade the firmware.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are on the CSLG, you can talk to cw-soft_at_cac and get
the firmware update CD-ROM and if you have a CDROM drive, you can
install it.
If not, you might have to talk to DEC or get the CDROM behind someone's back.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
There is a "firmware" cd that shipped with your osf/1 software. If you can mount it somewhere (it mounts under
either vms or osf/1), you should print out the release notes that tell you how to upgrade the firmware. It is
a relatively easy process. You bring the system down, boot of the firmware cd and follow the instructions (I think you type "upgrade" and then specify which executable to load - which depends upon the type of system you have.)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
By now, Rick may have a copy of the necessary CD-ROM for updating your
firmware. If not, you can get it from Gretchen Sorenson. In one of your
hardware manuals it should talk about system firmware and how to update
it with the correct CD-ROM. Of course, if you don't have a CD drive, your
screwed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
You need the firmware upgrade CDROM v2.9 or better.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
You have to have the "Firmware Upgrade" CD.
Halt the machine, attach a CD-player to the machine, put the CD in the
player, we assume the CD-player is on SCSI=0, ID=4. Say boot dka400
-fl 0,80. You get a question about type and version respond with
"[DEC3000]M800_V?.?" (where ?.? is the firmvare version, which is
described in the documentation, the last I installed was 3.2).
Choose upgrade and then verify. (It is possible that you have to set
the firmware-jumper to be able to do this).
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Along with your latest release of the OS you got a CD containing 'Firmware
Update version x.x' the latest probably 2.9. Install it as described.
The Firmware updates come on CD's with new versions of
the OS, and have a manual with them. For example,
the CD that came with OSF3.0 is labelled 2.9 (version number
of the Firmware upgrade utility). I couldn't find the
printout of the manual/release notes, but there are copies on
the CD somewhere. Basically, you need to shutdown,
and follow the instructions to start the utility from the CD.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The firmware upgrade comes on a separate CDROM that came with your OSF/1 V3.0
upgrade kit. The doc's are a combination of PostScript and .txt files; I used
what appeared to be the "latest" version of the .ps and upgraded the firmware
on my 3000/800 no sweat. (Hint: Mount the CD and print the .ps file(s)
_before_ you go to the ">>>" prompt ;-)
I then ran OSF/1 V2.0 for several months before upgrading to V3.0 just last
week.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
I believe you have to get a new firmware CD from your
DEC representive. The instructions are in the CD.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
5.2 is the firmware upgrade needed to run OSF/1 3.0, 3.2 was sufficient for
2.0. What happened is that you got given a card with the new firmware. I
believe you' ll have to upgrade yours. This comes on a CD-ROM from DEC,
generally with a manual (you boot from the CD at the >>> prompt and update
the firmware). I think you' ll have to contact DEC support for the CD as
the firmware is not on the net as far as I know.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
You need to load from the CDs. Get several versions, just in case the newer
one requires something in a previous one. You can get them from cw-soft.
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------
You are in a world of hurt! I hope you have DIGITAL Field support.
The ALPHA 3000/xxx boxes have two cards which are THE processor: the SYS card
and the I/O card. You will need to get the appropriate CD to upgrade the ROM
-- which BTW should have come with the new I/O card.
But wait, there's more.... You WILL NOT be able to boot off the CD with v3.2
of the SYS card and v5.2 of the I/O card. When you have a significant
mismatch of the firmware on the two cards, the power-on tests do not complete
and you cannot boot. (You need the SYS side to be somewhat higher than v3.2
as a minimum.)
ASIDE: I just upgraded 3 ALPHA 3000/800's to ALPHA 3000/900's which is a swap
out of the I/O card. Only one came off without any major problems. DIGITAL
delivered two of the I/O cards with v4.1 of the ROM installed but delivered
the firmware CD accompanying the card with v5.1 of the ROM and you upgrade the
firmware BEFORE you install the new I/O card ostensibly to avoid the
mismatched ROMs. For one of these upgrades I had our DIGITAL support return
the card 4 times before we were able to complete the upgrade successfully.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Phil Neal, Systems Programmer, Statistics Department GN-22
University of Washington, Seattle, Wa. 98195 USA | 206-685-1627
http://www.stat.washington.edu/phil.html
----------------------------------------------------------------
"Reading snow is like listening to music.
To describe what you've read is like explaining music in writing."
--- Smilla. In "Smilla's Sense of Snow" by Peter Hoeg ---
Received on Tue Jan 31 1995 - 19:59:43 NZDT