> On Dec 31, 2018, at 1:54 PM, Paul Koning <paulkon...@comcast.net> wrote: > > The standard idle pattern is in the data lights. I don't remember if the > "fancy" pattern appeared in V7.0 or earlier, but in any case it's an > undocumented SYSGEN option. > > In RSTS/E, the display register shows the system error count. That's from > I/O errors reported by the various drivers. > > Do you have a second disk pack? If so, you could use the DSKINT option in > INIT to initialize a pack, with pattern tests. That would show what the RSTS > disk driver thinks of your RK05. > > Something else you might try: when you start the system, don't enter > line-feed for the quick start, but the START command. That is a more verbose > version which will display some additional messages. If anything is getting > disabled, it would show there.
Thanks, Paul — that’s a bunch of helpful info! I have done some long-form starts, but no complaints are printed to the console. I do have an additional as-yet-untried pack that I got in a recent eBay option. I’ll give it an inspection and if its good to go I’ll give the pattern DSKINT a try. I only have one RK05 drive working at the moment, but I suppose I can swap after issuing “DS” to the “Option:” prompt? I’m also gearing up to throw the logic analyzer on the RK11 and see what sector(s) it is trying to read and what error/interrupt signaling may actually be happening. Last, any more info on that fancy light sysgen option, for future reference in case I ever get on to a later version? cheers, --FritzM.