[SunRescue] 3/160 SCSI controller

[Robert D. Keys]

> Hi,
> 	Finally persuaded my 3/160 to boot last night however it refuses to
> boot of the internal scsi HD.  The Processor is in slot 1 and the
> 501-1045-05925 (scsi controller) is in slot 7 however when I got the 3/160
> the HD cable had been unplugged thus i don't know which way to connect it
> (pc style red towards power plug or otherwise)  also it tries to boot from
> the network when first booted so how can I get it to boot from the hd.
> Alternatively does anyone have any references to a quick way to get it to
> netboot of either my sparc1 or my sparc4. I tried boot sd(0,X,0) x 0to6 and
> they all appeared to fail.

Several things to worry about on the old sun toyz.

1.  Some HD's won't work on the sun2 controllers, most will work on the
    sun3 controllers.  I don't remember offhand what the 501-1045 is,
    but it sounds like a sun2 controller.  That is funky hardware.

2.  Contrary to ancient wisdom, I set the first HD in the machine to
    id 0.  It finds it just fine booting:   b sd(0,0,0)vmunix

4.  Check to see that the drive cable in the top bay is actually
    connected into the bus backplane.  Open up the power supply end
    and look inside to make sure.  (power off of course).

3.  Check to see exactly what kind of drives are in the top bay.
    Stock sun3's came with ESDI drives and not with scsi drives.
    They had an MD21 controller that adapted the ESDI drives to
    the scsi bus.  If you have ESDI drives, they should be numbered
    0 and 1 on the ESDI bus, terminated on the far drive, and the
    MD21 controller should be set up as controller 0.

4.  IFF you use scsi drives, the numbering is even, by twos.  The
    first drive is 0, the second 2, the third 4, etc.  Targets should
    be 0,0,0 or 0,2,0 or 0,4,0.  If you set the first one to 0,0,0
    it should find it correctly.  NOTE:  I have never been able to
    get more than ONE internal scsi drive on a sun3, for some reason.
    It will take two devices on that line without barfing.  ONE is
    usually the builtin MT02 controller to the tape drive, and the
    second is usually the builtin MD21 controller to single or pair
    of internal ESDI drives.  Any size ESDI drives will work, from
    the original 72MB drives up to at least 730MB drives that work
    in one of my sun3 machines.  If you build up an internal/external
    scsi controller by combining parts (there was one supposedly
    done that way, but I don't remember its number offhand), you
    can put a pair of internal ESDI drives off an MD21 controller
    plus external drives, OR, a single internal scsi drive plus external
    drives. I usually use the large shoeboxes or the 386I shoeboxes,
    with things like the SUN0669 drives.  IFF anyone actually knows
    HOW to get more than two scsi devices on the internal scsi line,
    do holler, I need that info.  I usually take a small PC internal
    metal 3.5-5.25 inch bracket and hang a 3.5 inch scsi drive off
    the righthand (looking from the front) wall of the top bay drive
    tray, between the wall and the MT02 controller, so it can hook
    up to the original scsi bus cable (mounting the drive tail end
    forward with the top of the drive to the tray wall).

5.  The scsi line does go with the 1 pin to the power connector on
    most drives.  BE CAREFUL to get the internal scsi bus cable on
    the correct pins of the backplane.  FAILURE TO DO THIS WILL
    DESTROY the MD21 and MT02 controllers AND MELT the internal
    scsi bus cable (possibly creating a fire if you are slow to
    recognize what has happened).  Don't ask me why I know this
    (duh.....(:+{{.....).

6.  Throw a boot tape in, and away you go.  Netboot.... wasdat.....?
    I always standalone boot machines the first times up.  Less hassle
    and no requirement for local networks, etc.

7.  You may find it advantageous to reset the EEPROM contents at 
    around locations 14-20, so it will not force boot on unknown
    devices, but come up into the monitor.  You can then boot
    anything you happen to throw on it, to suit.  Typically, they
    are zeroed, but check the hardware FAQ or a sun3 EEPROM book.
    (Can anyone make me a copy of the EEPROM table of values from
    that book if they have one handy?).

Good luck, good juju, and happy sun3toyz.....

Bob Keys