• Please review our updated Terms and Rules here

SBUS "Invalid fcode start byte" error

BloodyCactus

BloodyCactus

Experienced Member
Joined
Oct 18, 2015
Messages
272
Location
Lexington VA
So.... I think this one is on me :(

I have a sbus fast ethernet 2.0 card in my sparcstation 20... and it was all detected fine etc.

I accidentally typed "set diag-switch? false" in OBP (instead of setenv). then did a reset... as soon as I did that the happy meal is no longer detected and I get an "Invalid FCode start byte at " error message on boot....

I assume I corrupted its eeprom? but dont know how to fix it.

anyone got any ideas?
 
With the card in, I get the fcode error and the card does not list in "show-sbus".

When I pull the card, the fcode error goes away.
 
I would probably remove the card, get back into OBP and then go through the process of resetting the NVRAM and just start again with it.
 
I pulled the SFE2.0 card, reset the nvram defaults and did a reprogramming of it, reset. no fcode error. show-sbus gives me the correct results. I put the SFE2.0 back in, fcode error. reset nvram defaults and did it again. fcode error.

so SFE2.0 eeprom is corrupt I guess.

It has an 27c512 in PLCC package, I wonder if someone has the rom that I can burn or know where I can find the rom for it?
 
I got an fcode error with a TurboGX graphics card once in my SS1+, I assume that the ROM on it was making some call that my OpenBoot was too old to handle. That said, yours already worked.

I'd be surprised if you could actually wipe the ROM with a diag-switch change. I don't know Suns enough to speculate if there's some kind of patch/shim that OpenBoot had that might have gotten nuked.
 
BloodyCactus said:
so SFE2.0 eeprom is corrupt I guess.

It has an 27c512 in PLCC package, I wonder if someone has the rom that I can burn or know where I can find the rom for it?
Click to expand...

A 27C512 in a PLCC package is a OTP 64KB EPROM, not an EEPROM. It can't be erased or modified after it is programmed.

If there is an EEPROM on the card, it would be a different chip.
 
Always worth trying a different SBUS slot as well, just in case there is some weird hardware issue on the slot you are using. Just FYI I have had QFE cards fail on me in the past, although generally they just fail to identify rather than give fcode errors.
 
I asked around at work and one of the guys had one (score!) I think he said it came from an Ultra1.

so now were booting without error;
2w1v7EO.png
 
Nice dual hypersparc + VSIMM + SunPC system. I was going to suggest a firmware upgrade and try the original card again, but you are already running 2.25. Glad the new card is working

What are you doing with the GPIB?
 
Ive got a bunch of electronic test equipment, thought I'd attach a few and poke em. (right now I have a ethernet to gpib box I use instead to get stuff on my network easily). Hunting for the NI iso was tough though. The next goal is to get the zuluscsi in. I've got about 10 cdrom blanking plates and I'm going to see if I can fit one to the zuluscsi plate so I can shuffle SD cards from theoutside, then I can have 1 sd card per OS (gonna install netbsd 11, sunos 4.1.4 and solaris 2.5.1.... heres hopeing my original sunos4 cdrom will image ok!).

I was kinda annoyed to find out that sunos4 does not support the SX vsimm in graphical mode so probably won be running X on os4 :(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top