[SunRescue] SPARCstation 330 questions...

[James Lockwood]

On Fri, 28 May 1999, Gregory Leblanc wrote:

> Well, I'm not getting any responses on the SunHelp list, I thought maybe you
> guys would know.  And this really is rescue related, I want to rescue this
> machine to that I can use it!  :-)
> 
> Someone on the SunRescue list was kind enough to help me open my eyes and
> figure out what the little beauty is(4/330).  Now that I know, I've looked
> it up in the Sun Hardware Reference, and found some nifty stuff.  The
> processor listed in part one is a CY7C601.  However, that's not what my CPU
> is labeled.  
> LSIL1A4839

That's not the CPU, that's the FPC (the big chip in the socket).  The CPU
and FPP flank this chip, with the CPU being closer to the center of the
board and the FPP near the edge.

> Next question:  Where on this board would I find the Sun P.N.?  I've removed
> the framebuffer, which connects directly to the mainboard, but I don't see a
> sun P.N. anyplace.  :-(

Look either near the VME connectors (near the P1 connector I think) or
next to the serial port connectors.  You won't find much, if it's a 4/300
it will be either p/n 501-1316 or 501-1742, both of which are basically
identical.

Lots of 4/300's (especially the 4/330's) had corrective wires soldered
onto the boards (usually colored green).  This usually indicates an early
(though not pre-FCS) rev board.

> Last question, for now:  How do I take the ram off of this board?!?

With the ever popular Sun tool p/n 345-1184, more popularly known as
"that funky T-shaped metal dingus with the hooks on the end".  At one
point in time I had a drawerful of these things.  They make it very very
easy to remove memory from both the angled sockets (like the 4/300) and
vertical sockets (like on the Sparc 1), but are by no means necessary.
Get a small flat-bladed screwdriver and push though one hole on the SIMM
to depress the plastic lever, then pry the SIMM out of the socket.  Don't
be afraid to use force, after 10 years those things are pretty well jammed
in there.  All 8 sockets on the mainboard must be filled.

Memory can be 1mb or 4mb true parity 30-pin SIMMs, 100ns or faster.  Some
3-chip SIMMs will work (Sun actually shipped 3-chip 4mb SIMMs for a
while), some won't.  Note that you need at least boot PROM 3.0.3 to
support 4mb SIMMs, and you have to jumper J1900.  If you have memory
expansion boards, they will have be be remapped as well.

-James