• Please review our updated Terms and Rules here

need help with xerox 6060

allmacs

Member
Joined
Dec 17, 2016
Messages
49
Location
South Carolina , United States
When i turn on the motherboard seems to do some request. up until the keyboard is initialized. And then stops for some reason.

I don't hear a start up bong , the screen does not get energized, neither do the floppy drives. The hard drive spots up and seeks . The Keyboard flashes , signaling the boot up phase, but that is all
There is a ATS model 116 installed that had a bit of corrosion from the clock battery , I assume the dip switches to be set correctly as they are glued in position.
What do I need to do next to get her to boot?
 
This is a rebadged Olivetti M24 (others are the AT&T PC 6300 and Logabax 1600) and, unfortunately, there is a pattern of trace damage if the battery has leaked. You can see if the boot process is getting anywhere by plugging in a parallel-port POST card and reading the codes; there is a partial analysis here: http://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?54605-How-to-read-parallel-port-POST-diagnostic-codes

The keyboard lights flash for about 3 seconds, then the screen is supposed to initialize. Are you sure your monitor is working?
 
FF is not a good thing, because CPU can not start to execute BIOS.

BUT... I read you have installed a POST card. That's an ISA card, right? This one displays POST codes which are written on port 80h by AMI/AWARD BIOS. That will not work, M24 has Olivetti BIOS. That outputs it's post codes to the LPT1 parallel port. You need one of these: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Laptop-PC-...189619&hash=item3afa9fc4a9:g:xSUAAOSwc2FaMqlb

If you read FF from parallel port, you need to deep dive into the functionality of that mainboard to fix that. But you are a lucky guy, because M24 is one the best documented PC in Internet.

https://sites.google.com/site/att6300shrine/Home
http://olivettim24.hadesnet.org/doc.html

Here you find "M24 Theory of Operations" which explains in detail how that mainboard functions, and you find circuit diagram, BIOS files and much much more. Additionally trixter has analyzed the BIOS power on self test (post) in the previously linked thread.
 
Don't worry, as you can see, they are very cheap. On ebay there are several different vendors selling this thing. So you can choose the closest/cheapest vendor of that.

You also can use just 8 LED with resistor on the data bits of the Data0 to Data7 lines of the parallel port and convert binary to hex by yourself.
 
Don't worry, as you can see, they are very cheap. On ebay there are several different vendors selling this thing. So you can choose the closest/cheapest vendor of that.

You also can use just 8 LED with resistor on the data bits of the Data0 to Data7 lines of the parallel port and convert binary to hex by yourself.

Well, the one you've linked on ebay comes from china , so that will be some time before I do anymore troubleshooting.
 
If I go to ebay.com (from Germany) and search for "olivetti post parallel port" I get about 10 offers for that thing. From US you might get more.
 
Im really pissed off right now. This trixter guy couldn't tell me that i need to get this specific parallel port card ? SMH

In my reply to you earlier in this thread at http://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?71352-need-help-with-xerox-6060&p=584486#post584486 I wrote "plugging in a parallel-port POST card" and referring you to a thread called "How to read parallel-port POST diagnostic codes". I'm sorry you're frustrated, but I didn't tell you to get an ISA card.

You have less than 20 posts on this board. Is this a new hobby for you? The Xerox 6060/Olivetti M24/AT&T 6300 is a difficult system to start the hobby with if it isn't working because of the proprietary monitor and keyboard. Maybe you might want to start with an IBM PC with composite CGA output? IBM keyboards are easier to come by, there are great troubleshooting docs on the web for it, and you can connect the composite CGA output to almost any TV or composite monitor.
 
In my reply to you earlier in this thread at http://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?71352-need-help-with-xerox-6060&p=584486#post584486 I wrote "plugging in a parallel-port POST card" and referring you to a thread called "How to read parallel-port POST diagnostic codes". I'm sorry you're frustrated, but I didn't tell you to get an ISA card.

You have less than 20 posts on this board. Is this a new hobby for you? The Xerox 6060/Olivetti M24/AT&T 6300 is a difficult system to start the hobby with if it isn't working because of the proprietary monitor and keyboard. Maybe you might want to start with an IBM PC with composite CGA output? IBM keyboards are easier to come by, there are great troubleshooting docs on the web for it, and you can connect the composite CGA output to almost any TV or composite monitor.
Thanks for your advice.
 
Try "parallel port diagnostic". Sometimes it has to be sweet and simple. But some terms can be fiddled with to get the desired results.

You can opt for listings originating from the US only. You'll pay a couple dollars more, but far less of a wait.
 
Last edited:
You guys like to talk around in circles a lot, I see. Thats the card you linked to in the first place.

Anyway, to get back on track, I bought a new screen, new motherboard and a new video card. That will make trouble shooting a lot easier with something to compare with.
I saw someone post schematics for the system in another thread. Is there a link for that?
I have a convoluted service manual, but I don't think I saw schematics in that pdf.

Also, some have suggested that the lack of PMOS battery (or voltage) can cause the system to hang up. Is that confirmed to be all of these computers, or some versions of bios or different motherboard revisions?
Mine is a rev D. , btw with a 3.31 BIOS I think.
 
...because M24 is one the best documented PC in Internet.

https://sites.google.com/site/att6300shrine/Home
http://olivettim24.hadesnet.org/doc.html

Here you find "M24 Theory of Operations" which explains in detail how that mainboard functions, and you find circuit diagram, BIOS files and much much more. Additionally trixter has analyzed the BIOS power on self test (post) in the previously linked thread.

Here you have all technical documents, drivers, special M24 enabled software, ...

The battery is only for the realtime clock, nothing else. All hardware-configuration settings are done by DIP switches and Jumpers. Not needed for using the M24, as long as you don't need the actual date in your files.
 
Back
Top