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IBM/400 Series B - Error while loading microcode

RetroAND

RetroAND

Experienced Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2023
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123
Location
Andorra
Hello,

We have an IBM 9404 at home, unfortunately we cannot IPL (boot) it. The tapes containing the microcode are in bad shape and as a result it does not load. My father, who has worked with some AS systems told me the microcode is compiled specifically for every single machine and having in account its serial number. Is there anything we could do to avoid it become a deadweight?

Thank you in advance
 
If the tapes are still recoverable, you can get a data recovery company to extract the data and store it onto something else.

This may not be a cheap option, and it does somewhat depend upon the condition of the tape itself. It may not be readable on a tape drive, but the data recovery process generally just looks for flux transitions independently of the tape format.

I managed to get a works DEC TU-58 data cartridge tape that had been stored in a fire proof safe for 30+ years recovered. There were a couple of blocks that were unreadable. Fortunately, I had two tape cartridges in the fire proof safe, so I was able to reconstitute the missing blocks from the second tape (that also had bad blocks - but different ones)...

The number of companies that can do this now are quite specialised.

Now, what you do with the data once it is recovered is another matter...

It also depends upon the 'value' of the machine verses the cost of the data recovery process.

Dave
 
daver2 said:
If the tapes are still recoverable, you can get a data recovery company to extract the data and store it onto something else.

This may not be a cheap option, and it does somewhat depend upon the condition of the tape itself. It may not be readable on a tape drive, but the data recovery process generally just looks for flux transitions independently of the tape format.

I managed to get a works DEC TU-58 data cartridge tape that had been stored in a fire proof safe for 30+ years recovered. There were a couple of blocks that were unreadable. Fortunately, I had two tape cartridges in the fire proof safe, so I was able to reconstitute the missing blocks from the second tape (that also had bad blocks - but different ones)...

The number of companies that can do this now are quite specialised.

Now, what you do with the data once it is recovered is another matter...

It also depends upon the 'value' of the machine verses the cost of the data recovery process.

Dave
Click to expand...
I have another tape drive unit which was removed from a more modern AS/400 that was scrapped long ago. Could it be modified in order to record such transitions? I know they are not the same as a cassette, and for this reason I would like to ask if audio was a suitable format to store a dump from it (every of those tapes are M3 150M tapes). I ask this because I have seen this process to dump cassettes to binary files first by dumping the audio and secondly finding the transitions as you say.

Thank you very much
 
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