Personal DECstation 5000/25
Configuration
| Machine | Personal DECstation 5000/25 |
|---|---|
| Model | PM30A-AA |
| Serial | AB21302PPD |
Documentation
| EK-PM30E-RB-003 | Personal DECstation 5000 User's Guide |
| EK-PM30F-MG-004 | Personal DECstation/DECsystem 5000 Series Maintenance Guide |
Pictures
Inside the DECstation 5000
RZ25-E hard drive
Power supply
CPU card
Serial number
Front badge
Front view
DS1287 clock chip
Notes
The Personal DECstation 5000/25 entered my collection some time around 2005 when it came with some other machines. It was immediately relegated to storage because of the fact that it wasn't a VAX.
2013/03: After reading about DEC's Ultrix operating system, and remembering this machine in storage, I decided to put it on the bench and see what is going on. Upon powering up, I soon discover that the Dallas DS1287 clock chip has failed. Unfortunately, it's soldered to the motherboard. It lives just below the CPU card, and there's no clearance to install a socket, so the replacement will have to be soldered in.
Other than the clock chip, the machine appears to be in good health. All other self tests pass. I am able to pass a boot string and get the hard drive to boot up. The operating system complains of a missing (second) drive and drops to single-user mode. From here, I was able to grab the /etc/passwd file and pass it through John the Ripper to decrypt the passwords.