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Alpha Microsystems AM-6060, Owner'S Manual

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E-2

Appendix E

AM-6060 Computer Owner's Manual, Rev. 00

Programs that do significant random disk access (such as RNDRED) tend to slow down with this read-
ahead scheme. Most of the slowdown is caused by "thrashing" of the disk cache, where cache entries that
will be used again are removed from the cache due to the allocation requirements of the read-ahead
blocks (which typically are never used). The actual data transfer overhead is very little, as most SCSI
disk drives (especially fast SCSI-2 drives) have a track cache built into the drive allowing both the target
and read-ahead blocks to be transferred over the SCSI cable without delay.

Controlling Read-Ahead

For read-ahead to occur on the AM-176, both the AMOS disk cache (DCACHE.SYS) and the full SCSI
dispatcher (SCZR60.SYS) must be installed. The number of read-ahead blocks to be transferred into
cache on every physical disk read is contained in the disk driver. This can be set when using the FIXLOG
program to generate a disk driver with the appropriate read-ahead blocking factor.

When you use FIXLOG to create a driver for the AM-176 board, you are asked to specify the number of
read-ahead blocks. For example, type:

FIXLOG 

RETURN

FIXLOG.LIT Version x.x(xxx)

1. Change the number of logicals.
2. Create a sub-system driver.

Enter choice:

 

2

 

RETURN

Enter name of generic driver to be used:

 

SCZR60

 

RETURN

Enter number of logical units per physical unit: 10

 

RETURN

Enter SCSI id (0-6): 0

 

RETURN

Enter number of read-ahead blocks (0-7): 5

 

RETURN

Enter new driver name: DSK

 

RETURN

New driver is now in memory.

To save the driver you have created, type:

SAVE DSK.DVR 

RETURN

If you wish to disable or change the number of read-ahead blocks, simply use FIXLOG to generate a new
disk driver. If the disk driver is for the DSK: device, don't forget to use MONGEN and embed the new
driver into the system monitor.

The generic AM-176 SCSI disk driver (SCZR60.DVR) is set up for seven read-ahead blocks.

WRITE BUFFERING

AMOS (and therefore every application written for AMOS) understands only 512-byte disk blocks.
Therefore, when a disk write request is made by a program, a single block transfer is made to the disk
drive. If the program then writes the next sequential block, the system must wait the latency time of the
drive (i.e., the time it takes the drive to complete one revolution) before the next block can be written.
Latency, even on fast SCSI-2 drives, is around 7ms.

Summary of Contents for AM-6060

Page 1: ...DSM 00214 00 AM 6060 Computer Owner s Manual ...

Page 2: ... Il y a danger d explosion s il y a replacement incorrect de la batterie Remplacer uniquement avec une batterie du même type ou d un type recommandé par le constructeur Mettre au rébut les batteries usagées conformément aux instructions du fabricant For AM 3500 E100 E200 E300 E400 E500 and AM 990 01 systems replace battery with Panasonic or Ray O Vac BR2325 only For AM 3500 E550 AM 3500 6000 and A...

Page 3: ...anel 1 7 Add On Equipment 1 7 SOFTWARE FEATURES 1 7 SERVICE INFORMATION 1 8 For Further Assistance 1 8 CHAPTER 2 INSTALLATION 2 1 UNPACKING GUIDELINES 2 1 What You Will Need 2 1 Reporting Shipping Damage 2 2 Instructions for Reshipping the Computer 2 2 RECORDING THE SSD IDENTIFICATION NUMBER 2 3 OVERVIEW OF INSTALLATION PROCEDURES 2 3 Front Panel Controls and Indicators 2 4 AM 6060 Rear I O Panel ...

Page 4: ... 2 Primary Boot Device Type 3 3 Primary Boot Device Unit 3 3 Alternate Boot Device Type 3 3 Alternate Boot Device Unit 3 3 Boot Monitor File Name 3 3 Boot Initialization File Name 3 3 Saving the CMOS Settings 3 4 Important Note 3 4 DEVICE NAMES 3 4 The System Disk 3 5 DISK ACCOUNTS 3 5 LOGGING ON 3 6 THE TERMINAL KEYBOARD 3 7 Correcting Typing Mistakes 3 8 ABOUT STREAMING TAPE 3 9 Tape Capacity 3 ...

Page 5: ...ommand 5 11 DSKANA Options 5 12 The CHECK Option and Automatic Backups 5 13 FORMATTING AND INITIALIZING THE HARD DRIVE 5 13 CHAPTER 6 PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE 6 1 CARE OF STREAMING TAPE AND DAT CARTRIDGES 6 1 STREAMING TAPE DRIVE CLEANING 6 1 DAT DRIVE CLEANING 6 2 MAIN ENCLOSURE 6 2 CHAPTER 7 TROUBLESHOOTING PROCEDURES 7 1 THE SYMPTOMS 7 1 Symptom 1 No Display on the Operator Terminal Screen 7 1 Sy...

Page 6: ...nt Note A 2 CABLE CONSTRUCTION GUIDELINES A 3 Cable Length A 3 Cable Type A 3 RS 232 RJ 45 CONNECTOR SIGNALS A 3 CABLES AVAILABLE FROM ALPHA MICRO A 3 APPENDIX B THE CONTROL CHARACTERS B 1 APPENDIX C SUPER I O C 1 DISABLING SUPER I O C 1 APPENDIX D SCSI TERMINATION D 1 ATTACHING EXTERNAL DEVICES D 2 TERMINATOR POWER D 2 APPENDIX E READ AHEAD AND WRITE BUFFERING E 1 INTRODUCTION E 1 READ AHEAD E 1 ...

Page 7: ...re 5 1 Simple Initialization File 5 6 Figure D 1 Active External Terminator Installation D 1 List of Tables Table 1 1 Graphics Conventions 1 3 Table 3 1 Special Function Keys on the Terminal Keyboard 3 8 Table 3 2 Supported Streamer Data Cartridges 3 9 Table 3 3 Supported Tape Formats 3 9 Table 7 1 Self Test Checker 1 7 9 Table 7 2 Self Test Checker 2 7 9 Table 8 1 Front Panel Status Codes 8 2 ...

Page 8: ...ultaneously via network connections the AM 6060 lends itself to virtually any business data processing environment The AM 6060 is constructed in modular fashion Your organization can start with just the features and capacity needed then expand the system as processing demands increase The system can be field upgraded to provide more disk storage memory and tape backup capacity The AM 6060 is house...

Page 9: ...for your computer and lists the Alpha Micro documentation you can order to learn more about each subject Chapter 5 discusses some computer maintenance utility programs It also shows how to allocate system resources to set up terminals and jobs for network and multi user operation Chapter 6 contains information on the caring for your computer Chapter 7 is a handbook of troubleshooting procedures yo...

Page 10: ...nation of symbols tells you to hold down the first key and press the second key For example to type a CTRL C Control C press the CTRL key and while holding it down press the C key Table 1 1 Graphics Conventions HARDWARE FEATURES The AM 6060 uses a two board combination the AM 176 and the AM 301 10 boards to provide high performance and added versatility A number of physical components go into your...

Page 11: ...n memory SIMMs Single Inline Memory Modules are installed You must always install SIMMs in pairs of equal capacity The AM 6060 supports a minimum of 8MB of memory and a maximum of 512MB Always use PFB 00712 xx 60ns SIMMs See the specification sheet included with your computer for more detailed information on memory capacity and the AM 6060 Computer Service Manual for instructions on installing it ...

Page 12: ...upports only seven so you can potentially work with bigger configurations These busses are mutually exclusive That is all devices must connect to one of the two busses the other connector cannot be used Although not recommended using the appropriate adapters you can connect a mix of SCSI 2 drives and Wide SCSI 2 disk drives to either SCSI bus For optimum performance use Wide SCSI 2 drives attached...

Page 13: ...rminal one or more high speed modems and possibly a serial printer or other device Network Options The AM 176 board provides a high performance Ethernet interface through a 10BaseT connector Using the standard AlphaTCP TCP IP software you can connect via this interface to a local network WAN or the Internet The AM 6060 is specifically designed to have its users connected via the Ethernet rather th...

Page 14: ...ed Reseller VAR may have provided these items as part of your computer purchase If you want to expand your computer in the future by adding additional storage and backup devices see the AM 6060 Service Manual for a diagram of where additional peripherals should be located in your cabinet SOFTWARE FEATURES Computer hardware is all potential and no action until the software programs instruct it to d...

Page 15: ...mation Our customer commitment is maintained through the expertise and skills of our competent professional staff whose dedication assures all Alpha Micro customers the maximum benefits of quality support Alpha Micro warrants its products through our VAR network Alpha Micro will repair or replace a defective product under warranty without cost to the purchaser If you want to arrange for factory wa...

Page 16: ... the computer and save all packing material and cartons in case you ever need to transport the computer The shipping material was carefully designed to provide optimum cushioning and protection When re shipping or otherwise transporting your computer you must use the original packaging to ensure safe shipment When moving your computer handle it gently The hard disk in the main unit has moving part...

Page 17: ...checklist please call your VAR immediately Instructions for Reshipping the Computer If shipping damage has occurred or the self test indicates a problem with the computer your VAR may recommend that you ship it back If for some reason you cannot contact the VAR you bought your computer from please call the Alpha Micro Sales Department they will give you the name and address of an Alpha Micro VAR n...

Page 18: ...ERVIEW OF INSTALLATION PROCEDURES Now that you ve unpacked your computer and have everything you need to hook it up you can begin to physically install it Installing your computer is a matter of 1 Choosing and preparing a location 2 Making sure the computer is configured correctly for your local electrical requirements 3 Running an initial diagnostic test to make sure the computer is working corre...

Page 19: ...ctivity In some configurations the Turbo button lets you put the system into a special diagnostic state known as LEVEL7 This is necessary only if you are having certain hard to diagnose system problems Please see Chapter 7 for more information The Reset button lets you reset the computer from the control panel When you press the Reset button the hardware resets and the computer reboots To avoid lo...

Page 20: ...NNECTION EXTERNAL SCSI PORT BOOT PORT OTHER BACK PANEL CUTOUTS ARE NOT USED BY THE AM 6060 AND ARE COVERED 0 1 2 3 Figure 2 2 AM 6060 Rear Panel Configuration The cutouts which are covered on your back panel are for options which do not apply to the AM 6060 this panel is also used for other Alpha Micro computers As shown the back panel offers connectors for the four on board serial ports the Ether...

Page 21: ...puter failure In general you should install your computer in an area where people do not eat drink or smoke since all of these activities can cause contamination problems Try not to place the computer in a high traffic area This typically creates more dirt and dust which can clog the air intakes of the computer chassis or a fan inside the chassis This will cause cooling problems because of the dir...

Page 22: ... speed line transient recorder If over several days of testing the line voltage varies more than 10 percent from the rated line voltage you may need to install a power conditioner and a new dedicated AC power circuit Alpha Micro computers require a properly grounded power outlet for the system to run correctly All peripherals such as terminals connected via serial cables should also have properly ...

Page 23: ...oss walkways cover the cables with a cable bridge You must also take cable lengths into consideration Single ended circuits are susceptible to all forms of electromagnetic interference As line length increases beyond fifty feet the reliability of the RS 232C cable connected to a terminal or printer decreases rapidly If local terminals are to be located further than fifty feet from the computer we ...

Page 24: ... to Chapter 7 for troubleshooting help If the fan and the power light are on you can proceed with installing the operator terminal But first turn the computer off INSTALLING THE OPERATOR TERMINAL The terminal you use when installing software and running diagnostic programs is called the operator terminal You must do two things to install the operator terminal set its operating parameters and conne...

Page 25: ... the CPU chassis Alpha Micro cables are labeled at each end to indicate which end plugs into the CPU and which end goes to the terminal INITIAL TESTING Before you boot the computer under AMOS connect the AM 6060 to your network or hook up any additional serial devices to the other three serial ports you should use the self test feature to verify that the hardware is working correctly For full info...

Page 26: ...M 6060 Network Server Configurator Once you have the IP address to log onto the AM 6060 from a Windows 95 PC 1 Click the Start button and select Run 2 Type TELNET xxx xxx xxx xxx 3000 substitute the IP address for the xxx s 3 Click OK or press ENTER You should now be connected and logged on to the AM 6060 Using 3000 on the TELNET command line as shown above uses a non standard TELNET port on the A...

Page 27: ...eaming tape from the computer 3 If desired turn off all devices connected to the serial ports such as printers and terminals You do not need to turn off devices which are connected via the network 4 Press the AC power button on the front panel EXPANDING YOUR COMPUTER Your Alpha Micro VAR can assist you with setting up expanding or servicing your computer Once your computer is configured with the b...

Page 28: ... emulation software you re using you may also need to configure software on the workstation Please refer to the documentation for your software package GETTING ASSISTANCE If you have followed all of the instructions in this chapter but for some reason your computer is not working you probably want help First please turn to Chapter 7 Troubleshooting and see if one of the problems listed in The Symp...

Page 29: ...ntaining commands that define to the operating system AMOS all the hardware connected to your system As the computer boots it reads these commands and builds the operating system in memory correctly for your hardware configuration You can change the system initialization file whenever you want to add more hardware to your system If you want to learn more about the system initialization file and ho...

Page 30: ...ing If the RAM test fails the boot code displays CF on the front panel and attempts to bring the system up using the default CMOS settings shown in the next section If this happens contact Alpha Micro s Technical Assistance Center CMOS Menu Options To enter CMOS Setup first make sure no one else is using the computer Then press the system Reset button When the code C5 appears on the front display ...

Page 31: ...und the system will use the primary boot selection If you have a narrow SCSI configuration the CMOS menu will allow you to select a unit number from 8 through 15 although they are invalid Make certain you select VALID device numbers for both the primary and alternate boot devices Boot Monitor File Name This parameter lets you change the name of the monitor file to be loaded during boot Any valid f...

Page 32: ...he same piece of equipment All device names contain three letters and a number and end with a colon for example DSK where is a decimal number DSK is usually the name for a hard disk device and STR0 is the name of a streaming tape drive Having names for each device lets you specify which device you want to use for a specific command For example you can see a list of files from just one of your disk...

Page 33: ...own as a warm boot and is usually reserved for special circumstances when it s not possible to boot from your normal System Disk on the hard drive In such a case the streamer device is not called DSK0 after the warm boot Instead the warm boot will transfer that name to the disk device you specified when you created the special warm boot monitor on the tape DISK ACCOUNTS Disk accounts are an organi...

Page 34: ...wn files into accounts If you want to create more accounts on your hard disk see Chapter 5 You can find more information on the PPN and DIR commands in the System Commands Reference Manual LOGGING ON People accessing the AM 6060 using networking and terminal emulation software from their PCs may have to use a command or click an icon to connect to the AM 6060 and enter information about the type o...

Page 35: ...d the System Operator s Guide THE TERMINAL KEYBOARD The first step in communicating with AMOS is to be able to type your instructions on the terminal or workstation keyboard The keyboard is very similar to a standard typewriter s but it has a few extra keys with special functions Take a moment to look at your keyboard so you can easily locate these keys later Key Description ENTER ENTER sometimes ...

Page 36: ...mistakes you may make while typing a command line as long as you have not yet pressed the ENTER key You can Press RUBOUT to erase single characters Type CTRL U to move the cursor to the beginning of the line Type CTRL C to tell AMOS to ignore the line See the table above for explanations of RUBOUT and control characters If you press the ENTER key before correcting your mistake and the command you ...

Page 37: ...ed for use by the tape drive manufacturer Using tapes other than those recommended may result in excessive head wear 3M Cartridge Capacity Notes DC6037 40MB Not supported in AM 650 DC6150 150MB DC6250 250MB DC6320 320MB Not supported in AM 625 DC6525 525MB Not supported in AM 625 Magnus 1 0 1GB Not supported in AM 625 or 626 Magnus 2 0 2GB AM 628 and AM 650 only Imation 13GB 13GB or 26GB AM 650 on...

Page 38: ... AM 650 1 Hold the cartridge with the metal side down The end of the tape cartridge with the write protect switch will enter the drive first 2 Insert the cartridge into the drive When the cartridge is part way in the drive will take it and load it into the proper position If you insert a tape incorrectly the drive will reject it Do not attempt to force a tape into the drive If the tape does not lo...

Page 39: ... is loaded the status lights on the drive will indicate the status of both the drive and the cartridge See the manual that came with your tape drive for information on interpreting the status lights 4 To unload the tape cartridge from the DAT drive press the tape eject button which is shown above The drive will automatically eject the tape For information on maintaining the DAT drive see Chapter 6...

Page 40: ...hat run on your computer Regular updates to the AMOS operating system and its accompanying software are available from your VAR There are different revision levels of AMOS to use the AM 6060 you need AMOS 2 3A or later Networking The networking software is included with AMOS There are two different networking software packages AlphaTCP allows your system to transfer files exchange information and ...

Page 41: ... to your commands TXTFMT provides features such as right margin justification page numbering and titling automatic list creation and automatic index and table of contents creation Also see the section on Office Information Products below for information on the AlphaWRITE word processing package Utility Programs The standard AMOS release contains over 200 utility programs and device drivers In addi...

Page 42: ...ord and VP Search will find it See your VAR for more information on these and other Alpha Micro office information products ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION Now that your computer is up and running you are ready to start exploring the world of Alpha Micro Your guide to the new territory is the Alpha Micro software documentation This section gives you an idea of which documentation to consult for direction...

Page 43: ...phaVUE screen oriented text editor the TXTFMT User s Manual for information on the TXTFMT text formatting program and the AlphaVUE TXTFMT Training Guide a tutorial on document preparation for the computer novice Although AlphaVUE and TXTFMT are the text processing programs included with the standard AMOS software you may want to investigate the other word processing packages your VAR has available...

Page 44: ...d it take to re enter the entire company payroll all of your accounts receivable invoices or your research journal article if they were lost And what if you could not reconstruct the information no matter how much time you had All Alpha Micro computers come with some type of data backup device Whether your backup device is a streaming tape or DAT drive learn to use it Develop regular backup proced...

Page 45: ... your computer Passwords You can assign a password to any account if you wish If the same account exists on multiple disks each disk can have its own separate password for the account The password acts as a mild security measure to prevent a casual user from accidentally logging into the wrong account Passwords do not prevent files from being copied into or out of an account and can be easily chan...

Page 46: ...DSK1 RETURN 4 SYSACT responds with its prompt symbol an asterisk If you d like to see a list of all the things SYSACT can do type H RETURN 5 From the list you see next you can select different functions to perform You want to add a new account so type A and the account number you want to add and press RETURN For example A 100 5 RETURN 6 SYSACT responds Password SYSACT asks if you want to protect t...

Page 47: ...t will run on the computer and special programs which need to be loaded into memory It is often called simply the initialization file As your requirements change or you add devices to your computer you must modify the initialization file As described in Chapter 3 you set the name of the initialization file by using the CMOS setup feature When it ships from Alpha Microsystems the AM 6060 is set to ...

Page 48: ...with the results copy it back to AMOS32 INI AM6060 INI or whatever name you choose for your live initialization file Follow this procedure any time you modify the system initialization file Be careful not to rename your TEST INI file too soon You might want to let the computer run awhile to test out the new configuration before you rename it Then if you decide you don t want to keep the new config...

Page 49: ...Enable disk read caching SYSTEM DVR DSK N 100K 60 Enable disk write caching SYSTEM CMDLIN SYS SYSTEM SCNWLD SYS SYSTEM QFLOCK SYS SYSTEM TRM DVR 1 6 SYSTEM STR DVR 1 6 SYSTEM SET DSKERR MOUNT DSK MEMORY 0 Figure 5 1 Simple Initialization File Adding Users There are two types of users you may want to add to your AM 6060 Someone using a workstation connected to the AM 6060 via Ethernet Someone using...

Page 50: ... for the new users See Adding New User Names on page 5 4 and the MUSER reference sheet in the AMOS System Commands Reference Manual Serial Users The AM 6060 includes only four serial ports Port 0 is used for the boot terminal ports 1 3 can be used for terminals printers or modems You don t really need to add users for these ports they are already defined in AM6060 INI and all the system parameters...

Page 51: ...es all of the memory which is not used for any other purpose Each network user however may be able to request a specific amount of memory when he or she connects to the computer depending on the AlphaTCP configuration network users may be assigned a memory size automatically So rather than assigning memory individually to each job the initialization file merely allocates a pool of memory for netwo...

Page 52: ...has and how much memory the other jobs and the shared memory pool need 3 To change the amount of memory in the shared memory pool find the SMEM statement it should be just after the last SYSTEM statement Again you can increase or decrease this amount but be sure to take all of your users memory needs into account Remember the operator terminal the one the computer boots on connected to port 0 usua...

Page 53: ...r to report the location of any hard errors the diagnostic program finds If you don t use SET DSKERR the diagnostic tells you only that an error occurred not where on the disk it happened You must run the diagnostic program from the same job where you used SET DSKERR The next two sections discuss two very useful diagnostic programs REDALL and DSKANA You can find more information on disk diagnostic...

Page 54: ...n the disk to make sure the bitmap is accurate For example if DSKANA finds a disk block that is part of a file but the bitmap shows the block not in use DSKANA reports an error When DSKANA finishes analyzing the disk it rewrites the bitmap unless you tell it not to Use DSKANA frequently on all of your disks It is a good practice to use DSKANA on every disk just before you back up the files on that...

Page 55: ...f DSKANA finds any file errors see Recovering From Disk Errors in the System Operator s Guide DSKANA Options Following are the most common DSKANA options Please see the DSKANA reference sheet in the System Commands Reference Manual for a complete listing of options Option Function None Displays account numbers on disk and summary only C Same information as default but does not rewrite bitmap E Lis...

Page 56: ... the bitmap for the device When the person returns in the morning and writes the file to the disk it causes a bitmap error because the computer didn t know the file was open This could corrupt the disk causing you to lose data To run DSKANA without rewriting the bitmap use the C option switch You see DSKANA s normal display when you use the C option except for the Rewriting BITMAP message FORMATTI...

Page 57: ...more than 80 or less than 20 Store tapes on edge not lying flat That way the weight of the tape is supported by its hub not by the edge of the tape itself Cartridge tapes should be acclimated to computer room temperature and humidity conditions before use If the tape has been stored away from the computer it should be returned to the computer environment at least eight hours before use If it has b...

Page 58: ...shes you should clean the drive heads with a cleaning cartridge As routine maintenance the drive heads should be cleaned after every 50 hours of operation To clean the heads on the DAT drive use a DAT cleaning cartridge designed for your drive The cleaning cartridge contains the correct recognition holes to allow the DAT drive to identify it as a cleaning cartridge Follow these general guidelines ...

Page 59: ...VAR A software problem on the other hand might be something you can handle yourself However we do not give software checkout procedures in the sections below This is because such procedures require you to be a fairly experienced user of the computer With experience you should have no problem in tracking down and fixing such problems For information on software procedures refer to the System Operat...

Page 60: ...d not finish booting Perform these procedures in the order given Check Power and Activity Lights Procedure 1 Check the System Status Codes Procedure 2 Power up Reset Procedure 3 Self Test Procedure 5 Alternate Boot Procedure 6 Symptom 4 Job on Computer Locks Up After Bootup If after the system has finished booting the computer does not respond to your commands we say it has locked up or crashed Pe...

Page 61: ... voltage switch to the proper setting and perform Procedure 3 Power up Reset only ONCE If the computer does not come up correctly shut off the power and contact your VAR for help stop If it does your problem is fixed If your computer is configured correctly proceed 4 If the voltage configuration is correct and the power cord is OK and in place correctly but the power light is still not on call you...

Page 62: ... find the User File Directory UFD in account 1 2 on the boot device There could be a problem with your boot device contact your VAR for help 23 2F 33 or 3F The boot device may not be set correctly Verify the primary and alternate boot devices and unit numbers in the CMOS Menu refer to the instructions on page 3 2 Perform Procedure 3 Power up Reset If the computer does not boot normally call your V...

Page 63: ...computer make sure everybody is at AMOS command level which is when they see the AMOS prompt usually a dot If you reset while people are working on the computer they will lose whatever they were in the middle of If any files are being written or transferred to the disks wait until that process is finished if you reset while data is being written to the disk you might damage the data If anyone has ...

Page 64: ...nd reset the computer If it comes up normally and your terminals seem to work all right your problem is fixed B If you do not see anything on the screen type CTRL Q then CTRL C If you see C on the screen your computer is communicating with the terminal Type SYSTAT RETURN If you see a system status display your computer is probably up and running fine and your problem is fixed C Checking terminal c...

Page 65: ...set the computer Continue with Step I I Check the terminal cable If you suspect it might be damaged try substituting another cable and resetting the computer If it comes up normally and the terminal works you can assume the original cable is bad Remove the cable hoods if any from both ends of the bad cable and look for broken wires If you feel comfortable doing so review the cable constructions in...

Page 66: ... up Reset D Start the self test hold down the Reset button on the front panel while you turn on the power by pressing the power button on This enables the self test Release the Reset button E Let the self test know your terminal s baud rate The terminal you use for the self test must be plugged into one of the four serial I O ports on the CPU board The numbers 80 and 82 mark the beginning of the t...

Page 67: ...press the Reset button I If errors were found call your VAR for help To find out what the blinking number you recorded means refer to your Self Test User s Guide Be sure to keep your Self Test Checker since that information will be of help to your VAR J If the self test didn t find a problem return to the current troubleshooting procedure or perform the next procedure on your checklist Configurati...

Page 68: ...lp Stop 3 Enter the following command DIR SYS AMOS RETURN If your terminal displays a list of files including two with INI and MON extensions you know at least some of your System Disk is intact Although once you are familiar with the computer you can easily restore the System Disk yourself we recommend that as a new user you contact your VAR for help at this point Stop USING LEVEL7 LEVEL7 is a di...

Page 69: ...a power up diagnostic test that checks all major hardware components in the main chassis The self test is discussed in detail in the System Self Test User s Guide DSO 00156 00 that came with your computer FRONT PANEL STATUS DISPLAY CODES During normal operation when you are not using the self test the front panel status display shows a zero When you boot your computer a series of codes appears in ...

Page 70: ...eaker and be sure it s ON The system must be rebooted with a hardware reset 9 Memory parity error was encountered F During booting memory is being cleared and sized 10 An interface driver IDV defined in a TRMDEF statement in the system initialization file was not found in account 1 6 on first logical of the boot device 11 A terminal driver TDV defined in a TRMDEF statement in the system initializa...

Page 71: ...2b Beginning to execute the AMOS monitor program from the alternate boot device If an error occurs at this point try reloading the latest version of the system software 2d Bootup from the alternate boot device failed because of a time out error This may indicate a faulty memory or an addressing problem 2E Bootup from the alternate boot device failed because of a bootstrap loader program checksum e...

Page 72: ...imary boot device If an error occurs at this point try reloading the latest version of the system software 3d Bootup failed because of a time out error This may indicate faulty memory an addressing problem or it can t find the MON file specified in CMOS 3F Bootup failed because of an invalid primary boot device selection Access the CMOS setup routine by pressing Reset then pressing the ESC key whe...

Page 73: ...ine by pressing Reset then pressing the ESC key when the code C5 appears on the front panel Re enter CMOS settings C5 Do you want to enter CMOS setup You have three seconds to press the ESC key on the boot terminal which must be set at 19200 baud CC The computer is testing the CMOS RAM for proper operation after detecting a CMOS checksum error CE CMOS parameter checksum error This code will flash ...

Page 74: ...r SELF TEST FEATURE One of your computer s most helpful features is its ability to test itself and check its major hardware components for proper operation The major purpose of this diagnostic test is to check all hardware whose failure might prevent your computer from operating properly and to assure you all hardware components are working correctly If the diagnostic test reports a problem you ca...

Page 75: ...t meant that Ethernet would work over coaxial cable either thick or thin with 50 ohm termination at each end of the network and each computer would attach directly to the same cable With the introduction of 10BaseT Ethernet can be connected via inexpensive twisted pair Level 5 compliant cabling with each computer having its own RJ 45 termination As a result however the network topology is changed ...

Page 76: ...S 232C compatible it will probably be easy for you to connect it to your Alpha Micro computer system Before constructing the cable to connect a printer or terminal to your Alpha Micro computer system you need to consult the manufacturer s manual accompanying the device It will tell you how to wire the connector on the device end Few devices use all of the defined signals In most cases you need to ...

Page 77: ...lation in your facility Using a high quality twisted paired overall shielded cable helps minimize electromagnetic interference Reducing this interference protects your system from signal noise It also protects other devices around your Alpha Micro computer system such as a TV or radio from interference radiated by an improperly shielded system RS 232 RJ 45 CONNECTOR SIGNALS The table below gives p...

Page 78: ...s at each end PDB 00359 57 Designed for situations where an AM 6060 is replacing an AMOS computer which used AM 355 serial boards this kit includes four PRA 00243 04 cable assemblies Each assembly has a four foot parallel patch cord with an RJ 45 connector at one end and a modular female DB9 connector at the other Plug the RJ 45 connector into a serial port and the female DB9 into the male DB9 con...

Page 79: ... 6060 CRT or printer busy PDB 00359 54 External Cabling Kit WHT BLU BLU WHT WHT ORG ORG WHT WHT GRN GRN WHT WHT BRN BRN WHT P1 P1 P2 P2 P3 P3 P4 P4 5 4 3 6 2 7 8 1 RXD RTS TXD DTR CTS GND DCD SHLD 5 4 3 6 2 7 8 1 3 8 2 1 7 5 4 nc TXD CTS RXD DCD RTS GND DTR no connect SIGNAL PAIR RJ 45 AM 6060 GRN RED BLK YEL ORG BRN SLT WHT BLU RJ 45 SIGNAL DB9 PINOUTS PARALLEL PATCH CORD FEMALE DB9 ADAPTER PC AT...

Page 80: ...BRN BRN WHT P1 P1 P2 P2 P3 P3 P4 P4 5 4 3 6 2 7 8 1 RXD RTS TXD DTR CTS GND DCD SHLD 2 5 3 9 4 7 8 1 RXD RTS TXD DTR CTS GND DCD SHLD SIGNAL PAIR RJ 45 AM 6060 SIGNAL AM 355 PINOUTS FOUR FOOT CABLE FEMALE DB9 PDB 00359 57 Use this kit to connect to existing DB 9 male connectors PDB 00359 57 External Cabling Kit ...

Page 81: ... command level Other programs do recognize a Control C however if an exit command exists for a program it is usually better to use that command than to press CTRL C Many programs perform various closing functions when you use their normal exit commands and would not have a chance to perform those procedures for an orderly exit if you bypass them by using a Control C Control U At AMOS command level...

Page 82: ...thing happened Now press CTRL Q to release the display and you see first a list of the files in your account printed on the screen then a display of the files waiting to print Control R The command buffer is an area of memory where the computer stores commands that have been entered Pressing CTRL R shows you what commands are in your command buffer If the line editor is installed on your computer ...

Page 83: ...properly on a Super I O enabled serial port you can disable Super I O You can t disable Super I O on an individual serial port if you disable it it is disabled for all four ports To disable Super I O use the following procedure 1 Create a copy of your system initialization command file as described in Chapter 5 2 Use AlphaVUE to modify your TEST INI file Locate the first TRMDEF statement Disable S...

Page 84: ... external terminator and one of the SCSI devices inside the computer also has its terminators installed you will experience problems The SCSI bus must be terminated at each end of the cable The AM 176 terminates one end of the bus The other end must be terminated by an active style external terminator The correct type of active terminator for your computer either narrow PRA 00222 21 or wide PRA 00...

Page 85: ...cial case You must make sure all 16 lines of the Wide SCSI bus are properly terminated To do so 1 Use an external wide to narrow SCSI cable which actively terminates the high nine lines of the Wide SCSI bus Alpha Micro offers this cable in both three foot and six foot lengths PDB 00440 80 and PDB 00440 81 2 Plug the narrow active external terminator PRA 00222 21 into the unused SCSI I O port of th...

Page 86: ...r Also fast SCSI 2 disk drives will give better performance than an AM 520 using ESDI drives for the following reasons Physically SCSI 2 drives are faster than all ESDI drives They spin the platters twice as fast reducing latency and have significantly faster seek times Data transfer rates are higher with fast SCSI 2 drives ESDI drives have a maximum transfer rate of 2 25MB s whereas fast SCSI 2 d...

Page 87: ...ard you are asked to specify the number of read ahead blocks For example type FIXLOG RETURN FIXLOG LIT Version x x xxx 1 Change the number of logicals 2 Create a sub system driver Enter choice 2 RETURN Enter name of generic driver to be used SCZR60 RETURN Enter number of logical units per physical unit 10 RETURN Enter SCSI id 0 6 0 RETURN Enter number of read ahead blocks 0 7 5 RETURN Enter new dr...

Page 88: ...n or a hardware failure that causes a system crash To help reduce the possibility of data loss certain safeguards have been put in place Writes are not buffered indefinitely they are performed whenever the device is not performing reads Even if the drive is busy with read requests the buffer is still periodically flushed based on a user definable absolute flush time In addition if you have a UPS i...

Page 89: ... the file DSK DVR does not need to be created because it is already loaded into the system monitor Therefore for the DSK device only the file DSK WRC will be created in system memory In the three drive example mentioned earlier the added SYSTEM commands would look like this SYSTEM DVR DSK N 100K 60 Driver in AMOS will create DSK WRC SYSTEM DVR SUB N 100K 60 Load SUB DVR and create SUB WRC This wou...

Page 90: ...he computer 2 10 3 1 3 5 alternate device 3 3 primary device 3 3 warm boot 2 12 Buffer size E 4 Buffering features E 1 read ahead E 1 E 2 write E 2 C Cables A 2 connecting terminal 2 10 7 6 construction guidelines A 3 length 2 8 A 3 printer cable A 2 type A 3 Cabling network 2 10 CD ROM D 2 Central Processing Unit 1 4 CMOS error codes 3 2 menu 1 4 menu options 3 2 setup procedure 3 1 CMOS setup pr...

Page 91: ... 2 F FCC ruling A 2 FIXLOG E 2 Flush period E 4 FMTS2 Command 5 13 Formatting hard disk 5 13 Front panel deskside chassis 2 4 Front panel display 8 1 G Graphics conventions 1 2 Grounding 2 7 H H D D light 2 4 Hard disk drive 1 5 3 4 formatting 5 13 I I O ports 1 6 connectors A 2 terminal parameters 2 9 Initialization file See System initialization file Initialization routine 1 3 3 2 ISAM 1 8 J Job...

Page 92: ... 1 5 D 1 Self test 7 4 8 1 8 6 Self test checker 7 8 Serial I O 1 6 Service information 1 8 SET DSKERR command 5 10 SETJOB Command 5 8 5 9 Setup procedure 3 1 Shipping damage 2 2 Site preparation 2 6 environmental requirements 2 6 physical requirements 2 6 SLEEPR command 5 2 SMEM statement 5 8 Software 1 7 4 1 4 3 Software Security Device SSD 1 3 location 2 3 Static electricity 2 7 Status display ...

Page 93: ... 4 7 8 8 1 8 6 status display 7 3 7 4 7 8 8 6 symptoms 7 1 7 2 terminal 7 6 7 7 Turbo button 2 4 7 10 Turbo light 2 4 Turning off power 2 12 Turning on power 2 9 TXTFMT 4 2 4 4 U Unpacking 2 1 User names 5 4 Utility programs 4 2 V VersiCOMM 4 3 Voltage compatibility 2 8 VP Search 4 3 W Warm boot 2 12 tape 2 12 3 5 5 1 Wide SCSI disk drive 1 5 D 1 external termination 1 5 D 1 Word processing 4 4 Wr...

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