Anyone in the computer parts refurbishing business ? [SUN Hardware] - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / repair

author: resistance
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 02, 2014, 11:33:58 am
content: I would very much appreciate any help on refurbishing a SUN 25K CPU board (part number 540-6834-02).Any schematics, procedures will be invaluable.The board is already refurbished (alas unsuccessfully. == DOA) and gives out the following error on post:FAIL Proc SB4/P0: Serial number of CPU (########.########) doesn't match data in board SEEPROM (########.########)(Serial numbers omitted on purpose)Thanks in advance.

author: Whales
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 02, 2014, 11:40:40 am
content: I don't have schematics, but I assume the eeprom chip will be something obvious and separate. If so, you could try removing it (or accessing it in-circuit) and searching for the ID string + replacing it.Good luck

author: resistance
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 03, 2014, 08:14:27 am
content: Hello Whales, and thank you for taking the time to answer.You are correct, and this is my last resort.However, I strongly believe that refurbishers (!?) follow a more higher level technique.Like plugging the board somewhere and running some little application...Anyway thanks mate.Cheers

author: Whales
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 04, 2014, 10:07:49 am
content: That would be more advisable, as more than just the serial may be off.Are you refurbishing for personal pleasure, or is it needed for operation?

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 06, 2014, 10:40:16 am
content: I may be able to find you a replacement board if that helps? I'm not familiar with SUN gear myself but know someone who might have parts stashed away. Can you upload photos?

author: idpromnut
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 06, 2014, 02:18:12 pm
content: Years ago I remember recovering a SparcStation 2 's idprom (guess where the nickname came fromThese were stored in a Dallas timekeeper-style NVRAM. Perhaps the CPU serial number on your board is stored in a similar device.

author: wagon
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 08, 2014, 11:25:47 am
content: Quote from: idpromnut on September 06, 2014, 02:18:12 pmIIRC think those Dallas NVRAMs have a life of around 10years.

author: resistance
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 11, 2014, 12:23:31 pm
content: Hello again guys.Sorry for the delayed response (as opposed to yours).@Whales: I am trying to repair this just for personal pleasure. The "refurbisher" has already sent a replacement unit, which works OK. This should answer n45048's question as well.@idpromnut: I am familiar with what you're saying. I am in the UNIX/Solaris admin profession for more years than I'd like to admitBack in the day, there used to be a lot of chip swapping on SUN machines (for hostid bound apps mostly).Obviously there is some sort of serial EEPROM on the board. My last resort is to either in serial reprogram it or take it off and reprogram it. It would just be great if there was something like# eepromupdate -cpu0 XXXX -cpu1 YYYY -cpu2 .....@wagon IDK if there were actually Dallas chips or other brand, but those old beasts still work to this day.Anyway, a big thanks to you all guys.Cheers.

author: resistance
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 16, 2014, 06:58:22 am
content: Good news!I finally found it.It's on the bottom side and it's an Atmel AT24C64BN.

author: notsob
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2014, 07:36:46 am
content: From my faded memory of years ago, there is a key sequence to bring up a service program. I dont know if it will help - i did a quick google and here's the manualdocs.oracle.com/cd/E19127-01/sparc2.ws/800...10/800-5166-10.pdflooks like L1 + A keys to get into the menucheers

author: resistance
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 16, 2014, 11:42:02 am
content: Men that is really oldThe manual refers to:Whereas my board is from this:I'm sure there must be some SUN internal tool, but I don't have it.Anyway, I'll proceed with the traditional way