Norsk Data Nord-10/S restoration effort on the way!

From: Tony Duell <ard_at_p850ug1.demon.co.uk>
Date: Sun Nov 14 13:45:58 2004

> > It is an INCREDIBLY BAD idea to just go into a room full of
> > old computers and just randomly start applying power to equipment
> > in unknown condition. At an absolute minimum, you should check
> > the condition of the power supplies.
> The Nord-10 had at least been powered up in 1993 (I found a system disk
> backup with that date), and most likely later. The backup battery that

Which is 11 years ago....

> lets the CPU keep the contents of the memory and registers for a short
> while actually contained a charge. I flipped that switch without
> worrying the least bit.

I would not be so reckless!. It only takes one failure in the PSU
regulator to take out most, if not all, of the chips in the machine (I
don't want to trust that crowbar protection will work!). I, alas, have
had it happen once, fortunately I could get all the chips and had adump
of the EPROM, but it was not a cheap experience. Running the PSUs on
dummy load and making sure the output voltages are correct is something
that I always do now.

-tony
Received on Sun Nov 14 2004 - 13:45:58 GMT