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From: dhayes@hoasy5.isd4.tafensw.edu.au (David Hayes - TAFE NSW, Australia)
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms,comp.sys.dec,vmsnet.alpha
Subject: Re: Q: Any PALcode upgrade gotchas with DEC3000/300 ?
Message-ID: <1995Nov17.131136.8462@hpal02>
Date: 17 Nov 95 13:11:36 +1000
References: <47j6d1$1vc@st-james.comp.vuw.ac.nz>
Organization: TAFE NSW Network
Lines: 45

In article <47j6d1$1vc@st-james.comp.vuw.ac.nz>, srshmgr@alpha.gns.cri.nz (Andrew Carman, GNS) writes:
> I'd appreciate some advice here ...
> 
> My DEC3000/300 AXP is still running VMS V1.5-1H1, and I want to install 
> VMS V6.2 on a spare disk so I always have a usable system - ready to boot 
> at a moments notice.
> 
> Booting off the VMS Alpha V6.2 CD, I get the message:
> "PALcode revision 5.44 is below the supported minimum of 5.48",
> but it DOES continue to boot.
> 
> Should I upgrade the firmware (using the Alpha Systems Firmware Update V3.3 CD, 
> August 1995), or will that mean I will no longer be able to boot from my VMS 
> V1.5-1H1 system disk without first "downgrading" the firmware again?
> 

Regarding performing the actual firmware upgrade,...
I got caught trying to upgrade our 3000-500 with it saying something like
"firmware update jumper not enabled" (I can't remember the exact wording).

We had followed the documentation and HAD removed the jumper on the CPU
board.

Unfortunately, there is also a jumper on the IO processor board which is
undocumented. Since the firmware update utility updates BOTH the CPU & IOP
firmware, both jumpers need to be disabled/enabled.
To get to the IOP, you need to open up the system from the RIGHT hand side
and remove the IOP to see the jumper. 

It was a bit messy, and very annoying that it wasn't documented!
(note - it was an engineer that showed me all this after we logged a call,
having given up in frustration!)


> Andrew Carman                                   email: Andrew.Carman@gns.cri.nz
> Institute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences      phone: +64 4 474 3671
> PO Box 1320, Wellington, New Zealand.           fax:   +64 4 471 0977
-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
David Hayes             david.hayes@tafensw.edu.au
TAFE-NSW                Wrk: +61 2 9950 1679
Australia
Opinions expressed are my own, and not those of my employer.
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