Re: Alpha Server 1200 memory configuration quiz

H Vlems wrote:

BTW Hoff, I was afraid that the white smoke would not only come from the
memory but also from the main board.

Smoked various parts of a Unibus BA-11 and its associated UBA after asking the requisite "are you _really_ sure I should use this board in there?" question. Insert board. Flip breaker. Most impressive sizzle and petite smoke. And no, that particular board never should have been inserted into any Unibus you cared about. I've certainly smoked a few other parts over the years. Been in attendance when an engineer smoked an SBI, for an arcing electrical feed for cluster of a dozen office cubicles, for various disk crashes (and back when that event involved serious quantities of rotating mass -- disk crashes now are far more boring) and for a lightning strike in the immediate vicinity of a VAX-11/730. Smoke happens...

A month ago a similar experiment with
memory boards destroyed an Alpha Server 1000A motherboard. And I haven't
been able to find a spare one (other than paying well over $700 for it).

I usually look at these cases as learning experiences. As for repair, I'm sure you've looked at replacement of the whole box. Older boxes can be more expensive to repair than can be to replace. And if I'm (still) using and supporting these older boxes in production, I invest in spares. Or replacements. Years ago, I thought of these VAX and Alpha boxes as huge purchases and as permanent fixtures. Now they're tools that I can need to update or replace and that I occasionally break, and I expect to eventually transfer the data and toss the boxes out. Much like I tossed a 1601, a 4361, Prime, PDP-11s, or that poor, slightly singed VAX-11/730. And more client-level boxes than I care to count. Ok, so tossing a 1601 didn't really happen. Dragging a 1601...

But I don't think you'll have ill effects with this AlphaServer 1200 box and with this memory configuration. But should you have a critical requirement for this or any other box, well, I'd look for a spare box or for spare parts -- regardless of the memory changes. This box is a tool. Do be careful with and don't mistreat the hardware, but do expect to replace it. (Well, this assuming you are not running some sort of hardware museum.)


--
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