[rescue] OT: RS/6000 6611

[BSD Bob the old greybeard BSD freak]

> Anyone have any info/idea on how to get into an IBM 6611 router?

Not sure on that router, but I run a few toy rs6K boxes, though.

> I have tried all kinds of things, including serial (null modem and
> straight-through) connections to a VT100 and to my Linux laptop with
> minicom. I have tried several odd cables, adapters, a breakout box,
> different baud rates, all three key switch positions, both serial ports,
> and so on. I've also tried uncasing it and plugging a keyboard in since
> I read somewhere that that's supposed to trigger a request for a new
> console redirection.

Hit a carriage return at a number of 260 or 262 (forget which, offhand).
That will cause the serial port 1 to poll you.

You may have to pull any existing video cards, although some boxes may
ask you if you want to change to the serial port, and note that in nvram.

The first time up, you may want to pull the battery plug for an hour and
let the nvram clear.  Mine work better that way, if I have changed things,
or am trying to do a complete overwrite install off cd.

> Everything I have tried yeilds the same output on the attached display:
> absolutely nothing.

Hey, been there, done that.....  Remove the display, remove the keyboard
and mouse, remove the internal video card.  Hook up a 9600/8/n/1 terminal
on serial port 1 with a null modem cable (e.g., my vt320 uses a DEC mmj
cable to a 25 pin female dongle that nulls).

> The box appears to boot. The front panel display cycles through several
> different numbers before settling on one number (different according to
> the position of the lock switch on the front) consistent with the
> manuals I can find.

What numbers exactly.  If it cycles through the floppy/HD/CD devices
continuously, then it is stuck waiting for a bootable drive.  Insert
AIX boot cd into a cdrom and it should boot that, at that point in time.
Put the keyswitch in service mode first, to boot, and then later it will
ask you to put it into normal mode.  Usually press 1 to accept the serial
terminal at that point, then it should come up in a menu asking for which
device to boot.

Typical boot cycle numbers are 253/291/260/262 or close to that, cyclically.
That means it is polling the devices on the scsi bus and the ethernet looking
for something to boot.

If it is cycling between boot devices, it can't find anything to boot.
Find a boot cd and let it boot that to start up and then reinstall or
run a maintenance mode single user boot to check it out or reset root
passwd, etc.

> Any thoughts? Can I add a frame buffer, maybe? Anyone have the magical,
> mystical, (mythical?) configuration diskette mentioned in the manuals
> I've found?

Find an AIX cd and boot that.  Pull any video cards if there are any,
and then let the nvram clear for an hour and try again.  It should come
up on a serial terminal (use a real terminal or kermit, everything else
is problematic in my hands).

That is all I can think of, offhand.  My cdromdrive was bad, so on
boot it cycled forever trying to find something.  When I put a good
cdrom drive on, they came up fine off cd and serial ports.

Bob