[rescue] ISO: NCD firmware

[Don Y]

Sheldon T. Hall wrote:
> Don Y says ...
> 
>> Does anyone happen to have access to an NCD-19c/88K running
>> firmware (i.e. boot ROM) more recent than 2.6.0?  (this is
>> displayed at the top of the screen during memory test/IPL;
>> it is also visible from the NCD "console" once NCDware is
>> loaded)
>>
>> If so, I would love to get my hands on a copy of the ROMs (I
>> can duplicate them if you are willing to loan them to me for
>> 2 * mailing_time).
> 
> I rescued some kind of NCD thing ... Lemme see ... It's a "Model NCD 88k".
> The sticker on the bottom has "2.6.0" on, though, so it might be that.

That *sounds* like a ROM revision -- though I don't recall mine having
that written on the bottom (I'm not too excited about lifting the
*&%*&% monitor off of base *just* to see what is written there!  :> )

> I got it with my SGI Challenge L, but I haven't even tried to fire up the NCD.
> I'll be happy to do so, and check the date and version of the ROM if you'd
> like.  I got a monitor with it, but no keyboard or mouse.  

They use a fixed frequency monitor.  If the monitor has the NCD logo
on the front *and* the right cable, I'd imagine it will work (YMMV).
If you're really concerned, I can dig up the specs for the monitor...

> A question for you ... The keyboard socket looks PS/2-ish ... Will a PS/2
> keyborad work?  And the mouse port is a male DB-9, so will an old PC serial
> mouse work?

Let me answer that indirectly... NCD made several different keyboards
(I believe they are all interchangeable -- though I haven't tested
that exhaustively).  I have one of those keyboards attached to a
PC so I assume they are functionally equivalent.

The mouse appears to be a standard logitech 3 button serial mouse.
I haven't tried anything else in place of the mouse.  Nor have I
tried the mouse on a PC (or any other 9 pin port).

Regardless, you can power up the NCD with neither a keyboard
nor a mouse.  It will announce the monitor version at the top
of the screen (Boot Monitor Vx.x.x).  This will be followed by
a test of CODE memory and then DATA memory (this can take a
while if you have lots... i.e. 8/96 takes probably 20 seconds
or more to test).  It then displays the ethernet address for the
interface.

*Then*, it will complain that the keyboard is not present.
*But*, it will still proceed to the bootstrap process (which
one would expect would fail miserably as it is highly unlikely
that your network provides the services that it expects *where*
it expects them, etc.)

I suspect your Boot Monitor will be 2.6.0  :-(

If you decide you want to play with it, feel free to drop me
a line off list...

--don