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VAXstation 2000 Troubleshooting Guide

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VAXstation 2000 rear view (EK-VSTAA-MG-001 Figure 1-2)
Rear of the system box; the halt button sits beside the printer port (DEC, EK-VSTAA-MG-001, Figure 1-2)

Fault finding on the VAXstation 2000, from DEC's VAXstation 2000 and MicroVAX 2000 Maintenance Guide (EK-VSTAA-MG-001), the VAXstation 2000 Owner's Manual (EK-VAXAC-OM-003) and owners' reports. All the diagnostics are in ROM on the system module and run from the console prompt.[1] The supply itself is covered on VAXstation 2000 Power Supply Guide, and opening the box on VAXstation 2000 Maintenance Guide.

First checks

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The owner's manual flowchart (Figure 2-1):[2]

Owner's troubleshooting flowchart
Question If no
Is the system unit fan running? Check the power cord at both ends and the wall socket (try a lamp). Turn the system off for 10 seconds and on again. Unplug the video, communication and printer cables, plug them back in and power up.
Does the power-up display appear within 20 seconds? Check the monitor's power cord and socket, the video cable, the brightness and contrast controls and the keyboard cable. The monitor fuse may have blown.
Is the power-up display free of question marks and asterisks? Marks beside 7 or 6 (disk and tape controllers): see the owner's troubleshooting table. Marks beside other numbers: run the self-tests and the system exerciser.
Does the operating system appear within 30 seconds? Check that the operating system is installed, that the expansion box has power and its cables are in, and that the default recovery action is not set to halt.

Console mode

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Press the halt button on the back of the system box to stop the operating system and get the >>> console prompt.[3] On a VAXstation 2000 the console is the LK201 keyboard and the VR260 monitor; the keyboard works at 4800 baud.[3] If the keyboard or monitor is suspect, turn the power off, connect a VT100 or VT220 terminal to the printer port with the BCC08 cable at 9600 baud and turn the power on again: that terminal then becomes the console, and the BREAK key halts the CPU.[3][4]

At power-up, with no default boot device set, the system looks for software on DUA2 (only if a diskette is loaded), then DUA0, DUA1, the tape MUA0 if a cartridge is loaded, and finally the network as ESA0, which it keeps trying indefinitely.[5] If no boot message follows the ESA0 message, press the halt button to stop the network boot and run the network test utility, TEST 90.[6]

Power-up display

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The first line gives the CPU and ROM version, for example KA410-A V1.0. The tests then count down from F to 1, with a symbol after each number:[7][8]

Power-up symbols (DEC Figure 2-2)
After the test number Meaning
... Tested successfully, or a soft error
?.. Hard error; the device must be replaced
_.. Not installed or not tested
*.. Option installed but its ROM is destroyed (tests 4 to 1 only)

[8] Tests 4 to 1 are followed by _ when no option is fitted; on a MicroVAX 2000, so is test F, because it has no monochrome video.[7] After the countdown comes an error summary: one question mark for a status or soft error, two for a hard error, then the test number, the device ID and an eight-digit code. The screen often scrolls away when the system boots, so press the halt button and type TEST 50 to see the configuration table, which keeps the codes from the last power-up or self-test.[8]

Test numbers and devices
Test Mnemonic Device ID in DEC's examples
F MONO Monochrome video on the system module (VAXstation 2000 only) 00B0
E CLK Time-of-year clock 0040
D NVR Non-volatile RAM 0050
C DZ Serial line controller 0080
B MEM Memory 0010
A MM Memory management unit
9 FP Floating point unit
8 IT Interval timer
7 HDC Disk controller and drives 0090
6 TPC Tape controller and tape expansion box 00A0
5 SYS Interrupt controller and ThinWire Ethernet ID ROM
4 4PLN, 8PLN 4-plane or 8-plane graphics coprocessor 00D0
3, 2 Reserved
1 NI ThinWire Ethernet network interconnect module 00C0

[9][10][11][12]

To retest one device, type TEST and its number (for example TEST 7); TEST C 4 runs everything from C down to 4, and TEST F 1 runs the lot. A failure prints 84 FAIL; type TEST 50 for the code.[13][14]

Status and error codes

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The usual good code is 0000.0001. Some devices report status in the first four digits, in which case .0001 in the last four still means no error. Any code other than 0000.0001 on MONO, MM, FP, IT or SYS is a hard error, and DEC's action is to replace the system module. CLK, NVR, DZ, MEM, HDC, TPC and NI can show a status or a soft error and still work.[13]

Codes with a specific meaning
Device Code Meaning and DEC's action
CLK 0000.0005 Date and time not set. Set them from the operating system. Any other code except 0000.0001: replace the system module.
NVR 0000.0005 Battery below normal voltage. Leave the system on for five minutes and run TEST D again; if the code remains, replace the battery. Any other code except 0000.0001: replace the system module.
NVR ?14 TOY ERR on screen Fatal NVR error; testing stops. Read the keyboard LEDs (below).
DZ 0000.4001 Good when the diagnostic console (BCC08) is in use.
MEM 000X.0001 Good; X is the memory size in megabytes (hexadecimal, so 000E.0001 is 14 MB).
SYS 0000.0100 Keyboard disconnected.
SYS 0000.0004 Replace the ThinWire Ethernet ID ROM on the system module; if the code returns, replace the system module.
TPC 0000.4001 Tape controller good, nothing seen on port A. With a tape box connected, the box is off or not recognised.
TPC 0202.0001 Tape controller and a tape box at ID 1 both good.
NI 0000.7004 No ThinWire cable on the connector at the back.
NI 0000.7008 ThinWire cable not terminated properly.
4PLN or 8PLN ? 4 00D0 0009.0213 Monochrome monitor connected to a 4-plane or 8-plane coprocessor.

[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]

Keyboard LEDs

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When the NVR fails fatally, the screen shows ?14 TOY ERR and one keyboard LED shows the failing module. The two DEC books differ on the Lock LED:[5][21]

Keyboard LEDs
LED Maintenance guide (Table 2-2) Owner's manual
Hold Screen System module System failure
Lock Not used Video board failure
Compose ThinWire Ethernet option module Communication option failure
Wait Not used

The owner's manual also says that if the monitor shows nothing after the power-up sequence (about one second), the fault may be the monitor, the video or the system board, and to check the monitor's LED and then the keyboard LEDs.[23]

Disk drives

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The HDC code from power-up or TEST 7 carries one status digit for each drive: from the left, DUA2 (diskette), DUA1 (expansion box disk), DUA0 (system box disk), then the controller (0 is good). The last four digits are 0001 unless the controller has a hard error. Odd digits are soft errors or status; even digits, and A and F, are hard errors.[24]

Drive status digits (DEC Table 2-6)
Digit Meaning DEC's action
1 Good
2 Drive select error Replace the system module, then the drive
3 Read error in the read test; disk may not be formatted Run the verifier; back up and reformat if needed
4 Read-after-write error Replace the drive, then the system module
5 Invalid UIB (DUA0, DUA1); not formatted or not a DEC disk Run the verifier; back up and reformat if needed
6 Drive failed to restore Replace the drive, then the system module
7 Off line: no drive, no diskette in DUA2, or expansion box off
8 Drive not done Replace the drive, then the system module
9 Invalid status from controller DUA0 or DUA1: system module, then drive. DUA2: try another diskette first
A Drive select timeout Replace the drive, then the system module
F Not tested because the controller failed (FFF8.FFF8 for example) Replace the system module

[25] On a hard disk, DEC's rule is to replace the device electronics board before the whole drive.[26] The configuration table's second HDC line identifies each drive: 146B8 is an RD32, 22000 an RD53, 4C437 an RD54, and 960 an RX33 diskette.[27]

If DUA1, the disk in the expansion box, fails:[28]

  1. Check that the expansion box has power and is switched on.
  2. Check that the disk cable is in port B of the expansion adapter and in the back of the box.
  3. Run the tests again. If DUA1 shows off line, troubleshoot the expansion box's power supply.
  4. Disconnect the cable from port B and run self-test. If DUA1's status is anything but 7 (off line) or F (not tested), the disk controller on the system module is at fault.
  5. If DUA1 shows off line, check its drive select jumper.
  6. If the jumper is right, replace the device electronics board on the drive, then the drive.

Owners report that the original RD32, RD53 and RD54 drives are now often faulty; see the hard disk notes on VAXstation 2000 Maintenance Guide.[29]

System exerciser

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The exerciser runs each device once and then runs them all together as a worst case; DEC says this usually finds intermittent failures.[30] TEST 0 is the customer-mode exerciser, which needs no loopbacks and takes up to 11 minutes.[31][27] TEST 101 and TEST 102 are the field service modes: fit loopback 29-24795 on the 25-pin communication port and 29-24794 on the 9-pin printer port, and load a diskette and a TK50 cartridge marked with the special diagnostic key (TEST 72 and TEST 73) if write tests on those drives are wanted. TEST 102 runs until CTRL/C; do not stop either before every device has had two passes, and do not use the halt button to stop it.[31][32][33]

The first line of the exerciser display shows the CPU, the ROM version and a ROM status, which should be 01; anything else means the ROM is corrupted. A single question mark in the left column is a soft error, two are a hard error.[32]

MEM exerciser error codes (DEC Table 2-5)
Code Meaning
0001.001F Compare error on the system module
0002.001F Compare error on the memory option module
0001.002F Parity error on the system module
0002.002F Parity error on the memory option module

[34] When there is no error, the first four digits of the MEM code are the number of 512-byte pages tested in the last pass.[17]

Network

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All network tests fail with 0000.7004 if no ThinWire cable is connected. A 7 in the fifth position is a loopback error, which points to the cable first. If the code is 0000.7000 or higher, replace the T-connector at the back with one fitted with two terminators and test again; if the error stays, replace the network interconnect module, then the system module. Digits 3 and 4 count retries before a success.[20][35]

Power

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Work through the flowchart and voltage table on VAXstation 2000 Power Supply Guide. A diskless system box needs its resistor load board, or the supply does not regulate.[36] The KA410 system board has a fuse of its own, F2, a 5 A 125 V axial pico fuse; if the supply voltages are correct but the board is dead, check it with a meter.[37]

VR260 monitor

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DEC's troubleshooting table (Table 2-11). Work through the actions in order.[38]

VR260 symptoms
Symptom Corrective action
No LED, blank screen Check the power cord, the 120/240 V setting and the fuse. Remove the rear bulkhead and check the connection to the transformer assembly. Check the deflection board connections; replace the deflection board.
LED flashing Check the deflection board connections, including the chassis ground. Check that the anode lead is connected to the CRT. Replace the deflection board.
Compressed raster, no video Check the monitor cable and the contrast and brightness controls. Run TEST F; if it fails, replace the system module first. Check the cables to the video amp board and the CRT pin connections; replace the video amp board.
Raster, no video Run TEST F; if it fails, replace the system module first. Check the CRT connections; replace the video amp board.
Good picture, no LED Check the LED bezel connection and the cable from the deflection board; replace the LED.
Picture out of specification Display the alignment patterns (TEST 60, 61 or 62) and adjust as in chapter 4.

[38] The VR260 has a CRT; see CRT Discharge Procedure before working inside it.

Community notes

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  • After flashing Wolfgang Moeller's SCSI-patched boot ROMs (v2.3, -W variant), one owner gets SYS 0000.0002 from test 5, which he traced to the patches not correcting the ROM checksum; he describes it as not fatal. Another owner with the same patched ROMs does not see it.[29]

References

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  1. ↑ Digital Equipment Corporation, VAXstation 2000 and MicroVAX 2000 Maintenance Guide, EK-VSTAA-MG-001, January 1987, p. 2-5, section 2.3 (File:VAXstation 2000 and MicroVAX 2000 Maintenance Guide (EK-VSTAA-MG-001).pdf). ROM-based diagnostics.
  2. ↑ Digital Equipment Corporation, VAXstation 2000 Owner's Manual, EK-VAXAC-OM-003, June 1988, p. 2-2, Figure 2-1 (File:VAXstation 2000 Owner's Manual (EK-VAXAC-OM-003).pdf). Troubleshooting flowchart.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 DEC, EK-VSTAA-MG-001, pp. 2-1 to 2-2, sections 2.2 to 2.2.2. Console mode, console devices, halt button and BREAK key.
  4. ↑ DEC, EK-VSTAA-MG-001, p. 2-4, section 2.2.4. Diagnostic console device.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 DEC, EK-VSTAA-MG-001, p. 2-7, Figure 2-3 and Table 2-2. NVR fatal error, keyboard LEDs, boot order.
  6. ↑ DEC, EK-VSTAA-MG-001, p. 2-3, section 2.2.3. Aborting an Ethernet boot.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 DEC, EK-VSTAA-MG-001, p. 2-5, section 2.3.1 and Figure 2-1. Power-up tests.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 DEC, EK-VSTAA-MG-001, p. 2-6, Figure 2-2. Power-up symbols and the error summary.
  9. ↑ DEC, EK-VSTAA-MG-001, pp. 2-10 to 2-11, Table 2-3. Self-test commands.
  10. ↑ DEC, EK-VAXAC-OM-003, p. 2-13, Table 2-2. Power-up and self-test display identifiers.
  11. ↑ DEC, EK-VAXAC-OM-003, p. 2-16, Table 2-3. Mnemonics.
  12. ↑ DEC, EK-VSTAA-MG-001, p. 2-15, Figure 2-8. Device IDs in the exerciser display.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 DEC, EK-VSTAA-MG-001, p. 2-9, section 2.3.2. Good codes and hard-error devices; self-test.
  14. ↑ DEC, EK-VSTAA-MG-001, pp. 2-10 to 2-12, Figures 2-6 and 2-7. Running a series of tests; self-test error display.
  15. ↑ DEC, EK-VSTAA-MG-001, p. 2-17, sections 2.4.2 and 2.4.3. CLK and NVR.
  16. ↑ DEC, EK-VSTAA-MG-001, p. 2-18, section 2.4.4. DZ with the diagnostic console.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 DEC, EK-VSTAA-MG-001, p. 2-19, section 2.4.5. MEM codes.
  18. ↑ DEC, EK-VSTAA-MG-001, p. 2-31. TPC status codes.
  19. ↑ DEC, EK-VSTAA-MG-001, p. 2-38, section 2.4.11. SYS codes.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 DEC, EK-VSTAA-MG-001, p. 2-39, section 2.4.12. NI codes.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 DEC, EK-VAXAC-OM-003, p. 2-12. Keyboard LEDs and common status messages.
  22. ↑ DEC, EK-VAXAC-OM-003, p. 2-15, Figure 2-2. Sample configuration with 14 MB.
  23. ↑ DEC, EK-VAXAC-OM-003, p. 2-11. Note on a blank monitor after power-up.
  24. ↑ DEC, EK-VSTAA-MG-001, p. 2-22, Figure 2-10. HDC power-up and self-test code.
  25. ↑ DEC, EK-VSTAA-MG-001, p. 2-23, Table 2-6. Error codes for each disk drive.
  26. ↑ DEC, EK-VSTAA-MG-001, pp. 2-25 to 2-26, Tables 2-7 and 2-8. HDC exerciser codes.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 DEC, EK-VAXAC-OM-003, p. 2-18, Table 2-5. Device numbers; system exerciser time.
  28. ↑ DEC, EK-VSTAA-MG-001, p. 2-27, section 2.4.9.3. Troubleshooting the hard disk expansion box.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 "VaxStation 2000", Vintage Computer Federation forum, August 2025 to March 2026, forum.vcfed.org, page 2. Posts by leegleason and majenko.
  30. ↑ DEC, EK-VSTAA-MG-001, p. 2-13, section 2.3.3. System exerciser.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 DEC, EK-VSTAA-MG-001, pp. 2-14 to 2-15, Table 2-4. System exerciser commands and loopbacks.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 DEC, EK-VSTAA-MG-001, pp. 2-15 to 2-16. Exerciser display and ROM status.
  33. ↑ DEC, EK-VSTAA-MG-001, p. 2-46, Table 2-12. Utilities.
  34. ↑ DEC, EK-VSTAA-MG-001, p. 2-20, Table 2-5. MEM exerciser error codes.
  35. ↑ DEC, EK-VSTAA-MG-001, p. 2-40. NI module replacement order.
  36. ↑ DEC, EK-VSTAA-MG-001, p. 3-31, section 3.9. Resistor load board.
  37. ↑ Digital Equipment Corporation, VAXstation 2000 field maintenance print set, MP-02400-01, revision A1, 1987, KA410 system board parts list 5416798-0-DBP, sheet A1 (PDF p. 54) (File:VAXstation 2000 Field Maintenance Print Set (MP-02400-01).pdf). Fuse F2, 12-05747-00.
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 DEC, EK-VSTAA-MG-001, pp. 2-42 to 2-43, Table 2-11. VR260 troubleshooting table.
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