Hello! Here is a brief description of what happened during the reanimation of my old zx2000 machine. Really need advice on what to do next ))

I have 3 zx2000 system boards at hand:
- the original one, worked without problems for many years and eventually died (it still can run EFI and fails with machine checks when loading OS; HP diagnostic utility finds a number of damages);
- 2 ebayed replacements, both are of older hardware revisions and with outdated firmware. Every attempt to boot ends with a swf hang. I tried several single core Itanium chips, including a 1.0Ghz Deerfield (the original system was equipped with it), 1.4Ghz and 1.5Ghz Madisons (not specified in the zx2000 docs however the original machine was OK with both), and finally an old 900Mhz McKinley - however, with minor differences the result is the same: ia64 firmware hangs and after the timeout BMC reports a firmware error.
I assume that the probability of having 2 physically damaged replacements from different sellers is close to 0 and what I see is really a firmware hanging. What could have caused this? Besides a newer Itanium chip, it can be a scsi (excluded trying different versions of Lsi adapter and even by unplugging it at all), VGA (not fully excluded bacause I have a limited number of AGP VGAs at hand, but the old system is OK even with newer Radeons), and a priori anything else (it seems paranoid, but I have changed the pw supply, fans and the front panel card).

I guess there's something I don't know. Why I was so successful with the original system board and everything ends in failure with new ones?

There is a surgical solution: solder off the AMI chip from the old board and attach it to the new one. A softer version of that is to use the ISP interface, of course, undocumented. Are there any other ways?

I would be grateful for any advice ))

Regards,
Valery

On Friday, March 18, 2022 at 9:08:58 AM UTC-4, valer...@gmail.com wrote:
> Hello! Here is a brief description of what happened during the reanimation of my old zx2000 machine. Really need advice on what to do next ))
>
> I have 3 zx2000 system boards at hand:
> - the original one, worked without problems for many years and eventually died (it still can run EFI and fails with machine checks when loading OS; HP diagnostic utility finds a number of damages);
> - 2 ebayed replacements, both are of older hardware revisions and with outdated firmware. Every attempt to boot ends with a swf hang. I tried several single core Itanium chips, including a 1.0Ghz Deerfield (the original system was equipped with it), 1.4Ghz and 1.5Ghz Madisons (not specified in the zx2000 docs however the original machine was OK with both), and finally an old 900Mhz McKinley - however, with minor differences the result is the same: ia64 firmware hangs and after the timeout BMC reports a firmware error.
>
> I assume that the probability of having 2 physically damaged replacements from different sellers is close to 0 and what I see is really a firmware hanging. What could have caused this? Besides a newer Itanium chip, it can be a scsi (excluded trying different versions of Lsi adapter and even by unplugging it at all), VGA (not fully excluded bacause I have a limited number of AGP VGAs at hand, but the old system is OK even with newer Radeons), and a priori anything else (it seems paranoid, but I have changed the pw supply, fans and the front panel card).
>
> I guess there's something I don't know. Why I was so successful with the original system board and everything ends in failure with new ones?
>
> There is a surgical solution: solder off the AMI chip from the old board and attach it to the new one. A softer version of that is to use the ISP interface, of course, undocumented. Are there any other ways?
>
> I would be grateful for any advice ))
>
> Regards,
> Valery

This may sound a little strange, but I would look at the power supply. Check to see that the voltages are what they should be. If you have (or know someone that has) an oscilloscope, you should check the power rails. Excessive noise (AC on the DC line) can cause all kinds of strange behavior.

Not sure where you are located, but I have a working larger version (ZX6000) available for short money. This unit is located in Ma. USA

Dan

Thank you for the reply, Dan. In my situation, nothing seems strange. I'll try to measure currents.
As for where I am, it's a very problematic place on earth. Aesopian language, the maximum that is now (in the recent 3 weeks) allowed by our Caesar. Under other circumstances, I would immediately take the chance of having zx6000.

Regards,
Valery

Am 18.03.2022 um 14:08 schrieb Valery Zaporozhchenko:
> Hello! Here is a brief description of what happened during the reanimation of my old zx2000 machine. Really need advice on what to do next ))
>
> I have 3 zx2000 system boards at hand:
> - the original one, worked without problems for many years and eventually died (it still can run EFI and fails with machine checks when loading OS; HP diagnostic utility finds a number of damages);
> - 2 ebayed replacements, both are of older hardware revisions and with outdated firmware. Every attempt to boot ends with a swf hang. I tried several single core Itanium chips, including a 1.0Ghz Deerfield (the original system was equipped with it), 1.4Ghz and 1.5Ghz Madisons (not specified in the zx2000 docs however the original machine was OK with both), and finally an old 900Mhz McKinley - however, with minor differences the result is the same: ia64 firmware hangs and after the timeout BMC reports a firmware error.
>
> I assume that the probability of having 2 physically damaged replacements from different sellers is close to 0 and what I see is really a firmware hanging. What could have caused this? Besides a newer Itanium chip, it can be a scsi (excluded trying different versions of Lsi adapter and even by unplugging it at all), VGA (not fully excluded bacause I have a limited number of AGP VGAs at hand, but the old system is OK even with newer Radeons), and a priori anything else (it seems paranoid, but I have changed the pw supply, fans and the front panel card).
>
> I guess there's something I don't know. Why I was so successful with the original system board and everything ends in failure with new ones?
>
> There is a surgical solution: solder off the AMI chip from the old board and attach it to the new one. A softer version of that is to use the ISP interface, of course, undocumented. Are there any other ways?
>
> I would be grateful for any advice ))
>
> Regards,
> Valery

I have the (probably) latest firmware (system firmware 2.31 / BMC
firmware 1.52) on CD and as a zip file (size 12.674 kB). Also have the
zx2000 Technical reference Guide (20.025 kB). If you are interested and
have an idea how I can transmit the file(s) to you please let me know.

If you want to contact me directly please use n.schoenartz (at) gmx.net

Norbert

Thank you Norbert for the reply. The problem is - if it comes to the low-level firmware replacement - how to rip out the portion of firmware update which should be placed directly to the AMI chip (via ISP?). The size of 12kb zip is really close to what I meant!

Regards,
Valery

Am 18.03.2022 um 17:41 schrieb Valery Zaporozhchenko:
> Thank you Norbert for the reply. The problem is - if it comes to the low-level firmware replacement - how to rip out the portion of firmware update which should be placed directly to the AMI chip (via ISP?). The size of 12kb zip is really close to what I meant!
>
> Regards,
> Valery

Valery,

I just sent you the release notes describing how to perform the upgrade
using the CD image contained in the zip file.

Norbert

On 2022-03-18, Valery Zaporozhchenko <valeryz2001@gmail.com> wrote:
> Thank you Norbert for the reply. The problem is - if it comes to the low-level firmware replacement - how to rip out the portion of firmware update which should be placed directly to the AMI chip (via ISP?). The size of 12kb zip is really close to what I meant!
>

Given where Norbert may come from, I suspect that 12KB is actually 12MB. :-)

Parts of Europe have commas and dots changed around compared to
the rest of the world when it comes to writing numbers.

Simon.

--
Simon Clubley, clubley@remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP
Walking destinations on a map are further away than they appear.

Simon, yes, it appeared to be 12mb )) However by Norbert's link I saw a page which describes eloquently what would see anyone who dares to downgrade the firmware - it's not far off from what I have ((( It convinces that the reason is actually firmware.
Regards,
Valery

Am 18.03.2022 um 20:16 schrieb Simon Clubley:
> On 2022-03-18, Valery Zaporozhchenko <valeryz2001@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Thank you Norbert for the reply. The problem is - if it comes to the low-level firmware replacement - how to rip out the portion of firmware update which should be placed directly to the AMI chip (via ISP?). The size of 12kb zip is really close to what I meant!
>>
>
> Given where Norbert may come from, I suspect that 12KB is actually 12MB. :-)
>
> Parts of Europe have commas and dots changed around compared to
> the rest of the world when it comes to writing numbers.
>
> Simon.
>

Of course, this time you are correct, Simon. I just copied and pasted
the size values from the Windows explorer forgetting about the special
German notation.

Norbert