so, some things i didn’t mention yesterday that i realized were strange after the fact.
the system test never actually fails, it just goes on forever. this is likely because i don’t currently have anything plugged into the internal scsi bus. my scsi2sd comes in today so i’ll be able to experiment with that more then.
the system test screen shows an image of a NeXTcube instead of a NeXTstation. turns out, it should be actually showing the hardware you’re running on. i have no idea why it’s doing this, i suspect the ROM is pulled from a NeXTcube but i have no idea why or how that would have happened. if that’s the case and it keeps things from working, i can get a new ROM chip fairly easily (the dumps are readily accessible and it’s a fairly standard chip.)
i’ll update again tonight once the scsi2sd is in! i’m impatient and keep fucking with it even though i know nothing’s going to be different for now, but, that’s just how it is!
(pictured: NeXTstation, non-ADB sound box, non-ADB mouse and keyboard, custom NeXT cable with VGA out, also my fiancée ellen)
i hooked everything up to test it all out, and it didn’t work. my initial guess, after checking the NeXTComputers.org forum (which has been an invaluable resource in this process), was that the PRAM battery was dead. i pulled it out and checked my multimeter and, sure enough, it was outputting ~0.9v instead of the needed 3v. i was able to get a suitable replacement from walgreens, hooked it all up, and
i got video out!!!! i got input!!!!! the system test fails because there isn’t a hard drive, but i’ve ordered a scsi2sd that will fix that problem. once i get that, i’ll be able to netboot into an os, and once i get in an external scsi cd rom drive, i’ll be able to install NeXTstep back on it!
so!
i’m extremely happy with the progress i’ve made on this so far and i’m really excited to keep making progress!!! everything is going very well and i’m very excited!!
NEXT GOAL: write one of these posts from the NeXTstation
the parts i ordered (sound box, keyboard, mouse, monitor cable) have shipped and are gonna be here wednesday! i don’t really have much to say until then but i’ll post a much longer update once they’re here!
great news y’all: i have a NeXTstation in my possession
it didn’t come with anything so i went ahead and purchased a sound box, non-adb keyboard and mouse, and a video cable with VGA out for connecting to a regular display.
my first goal is going to be getting video out, then booting from a floppy, then i’m going to get a SCSI -> SD adapter and external SCSI CD drive to actually install NeXTSTEP on it.
