> -----Original Message----- > From: cctalk [mailto:cctalk-boun...@classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Mouse > Sent: 24 August 2016 16:35 > To: cctalk@classiccmp.org > Subject: Re: MicroVAX II Console Garbling Characters > > >> I have a MicroVAX II which has started garbling and losing characters > >> output to the console. [...] > > IĆ¢??ve seen similar with under two occasions. [...] > > Furthermore, "garbling" is horribly imprecise.
Fair enough, let me see if I can answer more precisely. > > If certain characters always get corrupted, and a given character always gets > corrupted to the same thing? No, the corruption appears to be random. Unfortunately I don't have a protocol analyser to help, but I could try to get a log using Putty connecting via a DECserver 90M. I will try that later. > > If it's always the same characters getting corrupted, but they get corrupted > to different things on different occasions? > > If there's no uniformity on which characters get corrupted, but a given > character, if corrupted, always gets corrupted to the same thing? > > If both which characters get corrupted and what they get converted into > show no consistency? Regarding all the above, it looks pretty random to me, but I will try to get a dump of the characters and compare with what they should be. > > Each of those scenarios points towards a different constellation of plausible > causes. (Furthermore "same characters" can be taken either of two ways, > either "characters with the same bit pattern, regardless of where they occur" > or "characters at the same place in the output, regardless of bit pattern". It > could even be a cross between those.) > > Similar remarks apply to "losing". Well, it does "lose" characters. It seems to be that after a short burst of characters it just gives up and I don't see anymore characters for a while, then it will show a few more after a bit of a pause (but not always). > > The post also said > > >> It had seemed that re-seating the processor board would fix it, but > >> that no longer seems to be the case. > > It occurs to me that it might not have been the re-seating that was > responsible, but something else incidental to that. For example, if the > problem is thermal, powering it off briefly might have helped; if (to continue > that theory) if the environment has been getting hotter, it may be that > leaving it off briefly now doesn't cool it enough. Unfortunately this happens both with the machine cold and warm. > > Without more details, we can't really do much but take stabs in the dark. I will try to get more info. Incidentally, the terminal and the machine *were* plugged into different sockets, but now they are connected to the same wall socket and the problem persists. Regard Rob > > /~\ The ASCII Mouse > \ / Ribbon Campaign > X Against HTML mo...@rodents-montreal.org > / \ Email! 7D C8 61 52 5D E7 2D 39 4E F1 31 3E E8 B3 27 4B