I have an old AlphaStation 200 4/166, and decided to upgrade the
firmware. It's running OSF/1 3.0, but that doesn't really matter since
the OS isn't involved.
I went to the Digital site for firmware at:
http://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/Alpha/firmware/
and looked for AlphaStation 200. Naturally, it isn't listed since the box
is so old. I found the next best thing, AlphaStation 255. The README on
this page is for the 200/400 series, however, while the firmware link is
to the 255 firmware update. Digital makes life clear yet again.
I downloaded the AS255_V7_6.EXE and installed that on the 200, believing
through my glance at the README that the firmware was the same for 200/400
and 255. (It's all the same series, right?)
So I reboot after the firmware update, and the SRM console started fine.
I wanted to run the ARC console and attempt an NT install, so I typed "set
os_type NT", rebooted, and the ARC/AlphaBIOS 5.30 screen appears.
The AlphaBIOS checks my system, then complains about the NVRAM and says
that it will try to fix the NVRAM. The README mentions this, so I hit
Enter. It then says Device Error, and the system reboots. The system now
enters the ARC console and follows this path each time I reboot. Hitting
F2 to enter Setup does nothing except tell me to "wait until
initialization is completed" which never occurs.
This leaves me with an AlphaStation 200 in an infinite loop. I figured
out afterward that there is a *different* firmware update for the 200/250
than the 255, so I'm guessing that this is the problem. All I need to do
is get the system to boot from the 200 firmware update floppy. But since
the system boots straight to this ARC screen, I can't do this.
If I could just get the system back to booting to the SRM console and
then the floppy drive, I would be able to reprogram the firmware and life
would be better. Any ideas? Can I wipe the "use ARC not SRM" bit
somehow?
Many thanks in advance for any help.
--Pat McCormick
Received on Wed Sep 24 1997 - 04:19:24 NZST