[rescue] IBM 9111-285 Won't Power Up Anymore

[Mark Benson]

Hi,

I have a 285 and I've had it stripped down and removed parts for upgrades a
few times. I don't have a vast wealth of experience on IBM stuff but I know
the hardware reasonably well visually.

There's wee stick of a circuit board that sits between the fan assembly and
the DVD-Drive bay jsut above the DVD backplane connector. It's a plug in ID
board of some kind. It's illustrated in this shot:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pixel_mason/6694260993/in/set-72157628863218653

Top-centre labeled with a note.

As far as I know it contains important System ID information and identifies
the machines properties to the System Management Processor. If that's loose it
could be failing to initialise due to a lack of configuration info. Just a
guess but I had to reseat mine several times - it's very easy to knock when
working on the fan module or the DVD bay.

When fitting the fan module it can be tricky to refit. follow the guide on the
inside of the case top-right, ensure the slide rails are int the metal guides,
slide it in then it needs a firm push home in the top-right to seat the power
connectors.

As far as diagnosis goes, If you have never re-configured the System
Management Processor, you should be able to hook a Ethernet cable to the ports
on the back. The default IP addresses are:

192.168.2.147
192.168.3.147

I *think*. The details are in the RedBook and the system Quick Start leaflet
that came in the box. Try logging into one of these IPs and looking at the
diagnostic info in a browser. It has online help for diagnostic codes and
might tell you what you need to know. It might also never get that far. A lack
of startup and dropping to the '01' status on the LCD panel indicates the
pre-startup is failing, so something in there that is vital isn't working.

That's about all I've got.


--

Mark Benson

http://DECtec.info
Twitter: @DECtecInfo
HECnet: STAR69::MARK

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