By the past, I read a lot here on Vogons, but this is the first time I'm starting a thread myself.
Context:
I'm trying to revive an IBM PS/2 57 SLC2. Most of the components are in pretty good shape and I'm using mTCP to exchange files and accessing Internet through a Serial COM1.
My goal would be to have a more reliable and faster way to access the internet. In order to achieve this, I would like to use an Ethernet MCA card with, if possible, a classic RJ45 connector.
Problem
I bought an IBM 48G7172 LAN Adapter for Ethernet, 16/32 bits on Ebay. The card seems in good shape, however my PS/2 57 doesn't recognize it.
I already read and double check what was proposed in the official documentation and on http://ohlandl.ipv7.net/NIC/LAN_A.html
I have a hard to determine if the issue is coming from the PS/2 57 or from the card per se. Especially since this is the first time I'm dealing with MCA.
Question
Does anyone hit the same issue by the past?
A PS/2 57 is actually a kind of "super" 386 (16 bits). The CPU is indeed a 486 fully compatible with 32 bits instruction, however the rest of the components are actually running on a 16 bits bus. Could that play a role here? The IBM 48G7172 is branded for 16 and 32 bits.
PS/2 MCA bus requires working setup in different way. I have one model 70 and had 85 and knew what to to.
Model 57 SLC2 is all 16 bit MCA slots due to 386SX-like CPU means has to be 16 bit MCA cards.
Second, you need a diagnostic and setup disk with needed ADF files (that takes much doing to find correct ADF) for your cards copied onto it. You need a vintage computer running XP and floppy drive attached, (regular or USB floppy will do) to create disks from downloaded files. They executes and creates disks for you, ADF files just this, very small files.
Third, you need to make sure CMOS battery is fresh by simply swapping out, there's a CR2032 battery on the slot riser.
Finally, there is no MCA perfect sound cards except one and this is rather rare that works properly with any DOS games. This why my 70 is a curiosity thing for me at this moment.
This why I switched to Compaq in my quest for a real OEM that cost so much back in the day and more compatible especially sound cards (ISA and PCI).
The @FFE0.ADF and option disks containing adf and drivers are linked on the mentioned site.
Problem might indeed be located in the 32 bit interface of the card and the 16 bit PC. The 486slc2 is a kind of overclocked 386sx, no real 486 at all.
There are no references for the board to be compatible with 16 bit systems, but I might ask Alfred who wrote the Linux driver for it.
Does the system detect the board and loads the adf correctly?
486SLC2 is by IBM is not Cyrix's. It is well designed CPU by IBM with powerful 8K cache built in. Very nice processor, I wish Intel did same way in place of 386SX. At one time I had IBM made motherboard 486SLC with external cache (2 filled, 2 socket empty), all ISA slots, mini baby AT.
IBM did make a very nice 486DLC series as well, but never seen in the wild as 32bit enabled. This same 486DLC was used in later PS/2 with 16bit mode pin set permanently.
Thanks for waiting. I wanted to get a bit deeper into this before reporting here.
- I inspected carefully the card, and I didn't notice any issue or leaked component. Some pins on the bottom side of the PCB are a bit crooked, but I guess this is expected with a device which is 30 year old.
- I can confirm this card is expected to work on a 16-bit Micro Channel bus. (a) From the documentation https://www.ardent-tool.com/NIC/laninst.pdf: we can read "Remove the workstation’s cover and install the adapter as instructed in your workstation’s manual. You can install the adapter in any available 16- or 32-bit expansion slot" (p. 10). This card is expected to work on "An IBM PS/2 computer equipped with Micro Channel architecture." (p. 7), which includes 386 architecture with 16 bit bus.
(b) Additionally, we can cross-reference this with Comparison of the Performance of Various MCA Ethernet Adapters (http://john.ccac.rwth-aachen.de:8000/misc/mca_lanperform/). We can read "IBM LAN Adapter/A for Ethernet: A relatively late Ethernet board made by IBM. Can run both in 32- and 16-bit slots and uses a National Semiconductor SONIC-T chipset. All connector options (AUI/BNC/TP) are available, the AUI connector is however non-standard and requires special adapters.". A round of that comparison is reported on a IBM PS/2 56SX, which is a 16-bit Micro Channel Bus.
- I re-installed the card in the Slot 1 of my PS57, and this time, it was recognized. I exactly followed bullet by bullet the documentation to install it. If it wasn't clearly stated in this thread before, I confirm here that I do have the reference and diagnostic disks for my PS/2 57 SCL2, and in addition, I'm using IBM LAN Adapter/A Option Disk v2.2 (9-15-95) kindly shared on https://www.ardent-tool.com/NIC/LAN_A.html .
- Installation of the ADF files went fine, however, I successively hit:
PR001 - POST/RPL ROM integrity error. ROM incorrectly inserted in socket or defective.
Verify ROM is correctly inserted in socket U9 / X1. Verify ROM is not damaged (no pins are bent or missing).
And then a:
PR005 - Buffer memory integrity error. On-card RAM is defective.
Have adapter serviced.
- In this configuration, at startup, I'm hitting a code error '000114':
114 (PS/2) External ROM checksum error or Test 80386 32-bit addressing mode
- To double check those error messages, I ran a 'Test the system' from the BIOS:
I first hit:
1System Unit - Type # F838-A4 2Error Code = 00010200 3 4Have your system unit serviced
which seems to correspond to:
102 BIOS ROM checksum error. (Try reseating the ROM chips!)
And then, when testing the memory, I'm hitting:
1Slot = 0 28064Km Memory 3Error code = 0002050B 4 5Defective memory was found. 63 MB of memory has been turned off. 7Have the system unit serviced.
This is a lot new findings. I'm wondering where should I look next.
It seems we can categorize the error messages into 2 broad categories: (a) defective ROM and (b) defective on-RAM. Consequently, possible next steps could be to:
- (a) Looking at the IBM ROM chip: 25H3518 PS/2 Micro Channel ROM. If defective, I believe I could replace it with a EEPROM Programmer using the image of the 25H3518 IBM ROM here https://www.ardent-tool.com/jshorney/ibmroms.htm
- (b) Looking at the IDT 7164 CMOS Static RAM chipsets. I found a datasheet (https://www.idt.com/us/en/document/dst/7164sl-data-sheet). Possibly, I guess I could check the pins with a multimeter and see if one of those chip is defective.
Update
I realized that, strangely, the card needed to be raised slightly once in the slot, probably for the bottom pins to be properly connected. I haven't investigated further but it seems that simple trick allows the card to be recognized and send the POST/RPL Message.
I may be close to have a working Ethernet card, but it's not done yet. It seems I need to have some TCP/IP packet drivers to allow the ethernet card to communicate with MTCP: http://www.brutman.com/mTCP/
However, I'm not sure (a) how packet drivers work with LSP and DOS NDIS drivers, and (b) where I can find packet drivers for this Ethernet card?
Anyone has some experience in TCP/IP stack with vintage IBM hardware?
I only use 3com cards in my MCA machines. They are fall-down simple to setup. the only command line is usually "c:\drivers\ethernet\3c529.com 0x62" I set mtcp to look at 0x62 and its done. I crave simplicity and I've been known to toss any ethernet card that I have to search for a driver for. It's why 3com and Intel became the defacto standards of the 90's.
It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes.
Thanks a lot for the share. I didn't mention it in my previous post, but I did use the file referenced on that doc p.15: http://ps-2.kev009.com/pccbbs/options_iso/drvlist.pdf: ETMLAN.EXE. This is from that file I installed the DOS NDIS driver. However, ETLMAN.EXE doesn't pack the LSP.
I dug a bit over the weekend into NDIS, ODI and Packet Drivers approaches. It seems the modern way today with mTCP and (less modern) WatTCP is to rely on packet drivers. My next step will be to try wrapping the NDIS Driver as a packet driver.
yea, that's outside of my wheelhouse. I don't have the knowledge to go into software that far to make it work. That's why I take the easy path and use use 3com or intel cards. I'm a hardware guy, I can (and usually will) play with hardware all day long. However, give me a software problem, and I shut down like a 3 Y/O having a tantrum.
Did you find the error with the system memory you previously mentioned? It sounds like a loose dimm module. usually re-seating the memory and a bit of deoxit will cure that in 8/10 cases.
It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes.
