Update, Re: SRC 918BB981

I tried pulling and reseating every card in the back panel, then trying
another power-up. No results.

I tried following the PIP that was recommended for 917B B981, and did a
manual IPL, intending to go into DST. About all that did was bring up the
dreaded yellow light and SRC about twice as fast.

I tried pulling off all the access panels on the right side (where 4 of
the 6 drives live). Nothing. I tried pulling and reseating the cables on
those drives. Still nothing.

Since, because my 3487 is dead, I had the 3477 in my office, and had the
console line patched through not only its switchbox, but also a pair of
matching units for unshielded twisted pair (and a couple dozen feet of
Cat5) into an old PS/2 with a Twinax card and Andrew 3XTWIN emulation
software, I tried putting the 3477 back in, hardwired into Twinax port 0.
It never got so much as a single poll before the dreaded yellow light came
on.

I tried pulling the access panels off the left side, and powered it up
with a finger on the outer case of each of the two drives on that side. I
didn't change a damned thing, didn't reseat anything, didn't rewire the
console line, didn't even blow off any dust, but this time, it started up
as if nothing were wrong. DST showed all 6 drives (3 mirrored pairs; we've
learned to take no chances with anything less than full mirroring) working
fine, including one that I'd tagged, years ago, as a potential trouble
source.

I think I'll be vacuuming old Jupiter out, while I have all the panels
off. (If anybody gives a rodent's fundament, we call our D02 "Saturn," and
our 200 "Pluto" [because it was always kind of a dog], but don't even try
to hack any of them from outside the building, because they're completely
isolated).

And I still don't know what in blazes a "918B B981" could be.

--
JHHL