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AlphaMicro Systems AM1000, AM1200, & maybe AM100L drive replacement

Been playing with my am1200 for a few days, the self test runs clean and I actually got the old HD to boot (once only). Turns out its a 1.3 system with AlphaBase. Knew no passwords so was stuck when it stopped (^C didn't do it). Wanted to try to ^C before it finished booting but cant get it to actually boot again - it just hangs with a front panel code 11. Since the disk itself MIGHT still be OK I'll probably send it off to a recovery service.

So far no luck getting a zuluscsi image to boot. Have tried a 1.4 image from an am1000 (no leading MBR) and a 2.4 image from an am1400 (leading MBR). I've tried using 1.0.2 zuluscsi firmware, and 1.0.9. Here is the zuluscsi.ini I'm using:

# Settings that apply to all devices
Debug = 0 # Same effect as DIPSW2, enables verbose log messages
SelectionDelay = 255 # Millisecond delay after selection, 255 = automatic, 0 = no delay

# Settings that can be needed for compatibility with some hosts
Quirks = 1 # 0: Standard, 1: Apple, 2: OMTI, 4: Xebec, 8: VMS <--- also tried '4'
EnableUnitAttention = 0 # Post UNIT_ATTENTION status on power-on or SD card hotplug
EnableSCSI2 = 1 # Enable faster speeds of SCSI2
EnableSelLatch = 0 # For Philips P2000C and other devices that release SEL signal before BSY
MapLunsToIDs = 0 # For Philips P2000C simulate multiple LUNs

# Settings that can be specified either per-device or for all devices.
Vendor = "QUANTUM" # 8 char max string
Product = "FIREBALL1" # 16 char max string
Version = "1.0" # 4 char max string
Serial = "0123456789ABCDEF" # 16 char string
Type = 0 # 0: Fixed, 1: Removable, 2: Optical, 3: Floppy, 4: Mag-optical, 5: Tape
TypeModifier = 0 # Affects only INQUIRY response
SectorsPerTrack = 18 # For floppies
HeadsPerCylinder = 255 # Drive geometry

# Where the images are
Dir = "SamplerZone"

# Settings can be overriden for individual devices.
[SCSI0]
Vendor = "QUANTUM" # 8 char max string
Product = "FIREBALL1" # 16 char max string
Version = "1.0" # 4 char max string

...

zuluscsi.log looks like

[1173ms] -- Opening SamplerZone/HD6_am1400.img for id:6 lun:0
[1184ms] ---- Image file is contiguous.
[1184ms] ---- NOTE: Drive geometry is 18x255=4590 but image size of 985088 is not divisible.
[1236ms] SCSI ID:6 BlockSize:512 Type:0 Quirks:1 ImageSize:492544kB

Any thoughts appreciated...
 
mike,

DIAG 11 comes from the execution of TRMDEF when no terminal driver (.tdv) is found. ^c issue sound like a :R .INI. Due to the one boot only, it sounds like a disk error affecting boot.TDV, was that testing done in Florida or Alaska, I’m curious if that was a cold (as in temperature) drive when you booted it?

I wouldn’t send the drive away just yet, if you get the 1200 running on a SCSI2SD or the like, you could just setup up the Quantum as a SUB: DSKANA the SUB: the DSKDDT any errors, may not fix it, but if it did it would be a cheap and easy fix. The ^c fix is also easy, just remove the AlphaBase launch from AMOSL.INI.

Don’t know anything about the Zulu but maybe jubjub07 will weigh in.

good luck,
curbie
 
curbie said:
mike,

DIAG 11 comes from the execution of TRMDEF when no terminal driver (.tdv) is found. ^c issue sound like a :R .INI. Due to the one boot only, it sounds like a disk error affecting boot.TDV, was that testing done in Florida or Alaska, I’m curious if that was a cold (as in temperature) drive when you booted it?

I wouldn’t send the drive away just yet, if you get the 1200 running on a SCSI2SD or the like, you could just setup up the Quantum as a SUB: DSKANA the SUB: the DSKDDT any errors, may not fix it, but if it did it would be a cheap and easy fix. The ^c fix is also easy, just remove the AlphaBase launch from AMOSL.INI.

Don’t know anything about the Zulu but maybe jubjub07 will weigh in.

good luck,
curbie
Click to expand...
Thanks, I suspected the '11' was something like that. I'm still in Alaska for a couple weeks, but the am1200 had been inside (low 70's) a few days so it was pretty warm.

I think you're right about doing the HD image myself from a working SCSI2HD setup, still working on that. I've a real SCSI2HD buried in a powerbook but still trying to get the zuluscsi 'equivalent' going. May have to shelve that soon thou, not gonna drag this project to Florida with me!

Do you happen to know whether the am1200 boot rom wants an hard disk with a leading MBR (partitioned drive) or not? My am1000 image does not have one, but the am1400 image I've been trying does.
 
when recovering data off these old hard drives, i like bringing the hard drives up to operating temperature before booting (~100 degrees F) and keep it there for an hour (for settling), it helps heat expand platters into the position that they were written in.

Does MBR = master boot record, sorry but we mainly sold 1000's, 1200's, 2000's and dropped AM around 1.3 so i'm not familiar with an AM MBR.
 
i disassembled a lot of am boot proms, at least the ones i looked at did the same thing:

1 get boot id.
2 jump to boot id routine.
3. check secondary boot routine. VCR, STR, FLOPPY, ...
4. read block one MFD.
5. find UFD for 1,2.
6. read UFD and load BADBLK.SYS if it exists.
7. find UFD for 1,4.
8. read UFD and load AMOSL.MON, it better exist.
9. jump to monitor init routine (which finds and executes AMOSL.INI).
 
curbie said:
i disassembled a lot of am boot proms, at least the ones i looked at did the same thing:

1 get boot id.
2 jump to boot id routine.
3. check secondary boot routine. VCR, STR, FLOPPY, ...
4. read block one MFD.
5. find UFD for 1,2.
6. read UFD and load BADBLK.SYS if it exists.
7. find UFD for 1,4.
8. read UFD and load AMOSL.MON, it better exist.
9. jump to monitor init routine (which finds and executes AMOSL.INI).
Click to expand...
Yep, my experience as well. Even older am100 ROMs similar except device specific so skipped steps 1-3. Was really surprised to see an MBR on the front of the am1400 image I found. Was thinking I should strip that off before I try to use it for the zuluscsi.
 
at least on the SCSI2SD, I think i had to FMTSCZ and initialize the media, so i think that would have to be be after the FAT32 formatting?
 
curbie said:
mike,

DIAG 11 comes from the execution of TRMDEF when no terminal driver (.tdv) is found. ^c issue sound like a :R .INI. Due to the one boot only, it sounds like a disk error affecting boot.TDV, was that testing done in Florida or Alaska, I’m curious if that was a cold (as in temperature) drive when you booted it?

I wouldn’t send the drive away just yet, if you get the 1200 running on a SCSI2SD or the like, you could just setup up the Quantum as a SUB: DSKANA the SUB: the DSKDDT any errors, may not fix it, but if it did it would be a cheap and easy fix. The ^c fix is also easy, just remove the AlphaBase launch from AMOSL.INI.

Don’t know anything about the Zulu but maybe jubjub07 will weigh in.

good luck,
curbie
Click to expand...
Joy! Successfully imaged the am1200 hd using the new "initiate" zuluscsi feature. Found that I must have done something when it first booted 'cause the tdv it was looking for was indeed missing (the '11' code). So changed amosl.ini to use ANSI tdv instead, and commented the trailing 2nd level BOOT command. Comes up just fine now and I have an sdcard backup.Think I'll get another scsi2sd and/or zuluscsi and replace the HD thou -- lots lighter & quieter.

Appreciate all the helpful replies!!

When i get back from FL next spring I can begin side-by-side testing my VAM/L emulator with the real hardware :)

As I mentioned the am1200 has AlphaBase installed. Apparently also known as 'Metropolis'. Any scanned manual(s) for that?
 
don't know if it is important to you, but you can dump the UFD for DVR: and look at the .TDV entry which should still be there for a ":80" (erased) or garbage over the entry (machine fart), to try to determined what happened, erase was a mistake, machine fart may mean still a problem.

what are you going to do with your VAM/L emulator, if for sale, i'm interested.
 
curbie said:
don't know if it is important to you, but you can dump the UFD for DVR: and look at the .TDV entry which should still be there for a ":80" (erased) or garbage over the entry (machine fart), to try to determined what happened, erase was a mistake, machine fart may mean still a problem.

what are you going to do with your VAM/L emulator, if for sale, i'm interested.
Click to expand...
VAM/L will be a free enhancement to VAM.
 
Just found this thread - there is so little out there about these machines. I used to work on them in the late 80's as a service tech and I used to travel to sites and work on them, though in fairness I was still pretty green back then. I recently dug out an old AM-1000E I had in storage, and it is of course failing to boot. I considered recapping it first, but gave it a shot anyway. I picked up a little terminal box (no longer have any serial terminal hardware unfortunately - picked up "Legacy Pixels ASCII VT 100 Compatible Terminal Emulator RS232 Serial" as found on eBay) so I could hook up to the serial and try for some level of communication, no dice. I am getting just a '6' error, so I will be going through the socketed chips and hitting them all with DeOxit to clean them up and see where that lands me. If anyone has any other advice for me on this - my failing memory of all things Alpha Micro would love the advice.

Just really glad to find you all. I was just at Maker Faire Orlando, and had this machine setup in the Vintage Computer section, just wish it was functional to show more people. I was amazed at just how many avid vintage fans have absolutely no idea what Alpha Microsystems machines are.
 
ok, first, you need to make sure the status is actually showing a '6' not a 'b', the difference being the top segment (of 7 segment display) being lit for a '6', and for the 'b' it's not.

The 'b' typically means it can't find either the primary (i think a 55mb. vertex on a stock 1000-e) or secondary (vcr,str,flp) boot device, and the '6' means the boot code can't be moved from the proms to ram, for some reason.
 
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