NeXT New Old Stock NeXTSTATION and NeXT Cube 100% Compatible Panasonic Bios batteries
Easy to replace 1 single screw back center of case
Case hinges forward.
Remove old battery from Motherboard replace with new battery.
I about 3 out of 4 systems this solves the issue.
You will also need to reset the default boot device as all NeXT's default to booting from a network ,
this is done in system parameters . When you buy the battery from me I will be happy to help you
troubleshoot your system.
If your NeXT doesn't power up from the keyboard:
Make sure your NeXT keyboard is plugged into the NeXT sound card in a NeXTMonitor or NeXT soundbox or one of custom sound cards and not the NeXT computer.
Make sure you have a good power cord and it is plugged into a good wall socket and or surge protector.
Try replacing the bios battery 75% of the time it works
NeXT on the list would be the power supply , if it is not the battery it is probably the power supply or both.
Then faulty keyboard then components fail on motherboard or soundbox
##### VERY IMPORTANT for NeXT Hard ware owners when you replace the BIOS battery!
When you turn on or restart a NeXT computer, programs in the computer's ROM chips perform self-test diagnostics and initiate the bootstrap procedures, which load the system files from the startup device. You can observe and control these processes with the ROM monitor during startup.
Each NeXT computer has two system monitors--the ROM monitor and the NMI (nonmaskable interrupt) mini-monitor. Each monitor has a set of commands you can use to access the system on a basic level. The ROM monitor controls the system directly, while the NMI mini-monitor is used while the operating system is running. This section describes how to use the ROM monitor. For information about the NMI mini-monitor, see "Using the NMI Mini-Monitor," in this chapter.
Using the ROM Monitor
Normally you don't see the ROM monitor when you turn on a NeXT computer. Instead, you see a small graphical window that displays a few messages about the progress of starting up the computer. However, you may want to use the ROM monitor interactively to perform certain specialized functions, such as setting the hardware password or booting from a nondefault device.
Note: Older NeXT computers might have an earlier version of the EPROM chip, which means that the ROM monitor commands may not exactly match the ones discussed here.
You can access the ROM monitor in several ways:
When you first turn on your NeXT computer, hold down the right Command key and press the ~ key (without pressing Shift) on the numeric keypad immediately after the "Testing system" message is replaced by the "Loading from disk" message. (If you have a NeXT computer with an ADB keyboard, press the Command bar and the ~ key.) The ROM monitor window opens and displays the NeXT> prompt.
Note: If you're late interrupting the boot process and the Restart/Power-Off panel appears instead of the ROM monitor, press the Power key and try again.
When the system is running, you can access the ROM monitor through the NMI mini-monitor (described later in this chapter). Open the NMI mini-monitor by holding down both Command keys while you press the ~ key (without pressing Shift) on the numeric keypad (if you have a NeXT computer with an ADB keyboard, hold down the Command bar and press ~ ). The NMI Mini-Monitor window opens and displays the nmi> prompt. Type halt at the prompt and press Return. The halt command attempts to shut the system down gracefully, saving all files to disk.
Warning: Although the monitor (or mon or m) command also takes you to the ROM monitor, it does not perform a graceful shutdown. If you turn off the computer or reboot after using m to reach the ROM monitor, you can cause file system corruption.
If no default boot device is set, you'll see the ROM monitor prompt when the computer is turned on. From here, you need to enter one of the boot commands (see "Booting from a Device," later in this chapter).
A set of special commands allows you to interact with the ROM monitor. To see the list of monitor commands, type ? (question mark) at the NeXT> prompt and press Return.
Many of the ROM monitor commands control system test diagnostics and are not discussed in this book. The following sections describe the ROM monitor commands most commonly used for system administration purposes.
Inspecting or Modifying Configuration Parameters
You can inspect or change several system parameters with the p command. Execute this command at the NeXT> prompt by typing p (in lowercase) and pressing Return. All parameters are stored in nonvolatile RAM and will survive if the power is turned off.
When you type p, the ROM monitor begins an interactive session that prompts you for a value for each parameter. If you respond to a prompt by pressing Return, the parameter remains at the current value.
Note: If the hardware password is set, you cannot change the values of any parameters without that password. (See "Setting the Hardware Password" later in this chapter.)
Example:
############### this is what you need to do:
p
boot command: od? sd (Make the SCSI drive the default boot device.)
DRAM tests: yes?
perform power-on system test: yes?
sound out tests: no? yes (Enable sound tests: system beeps after power-on.)
SCSI tests: no?
loop until keypress: no?
verbose test mode: no?
boot extended diagnostics: no?
serial port A is alternate console: no?
allow any ROM command even if password protected: no?
allow boot from any device even if password protected: no?
allow optical drive #0 eject even if password protected: no?
enable parity checking if parity memory is present: no?
The following sections reference the parameters in this example.
Boot Command
This parameter sets the default boot device. Possible values are:
en Ethernet (either thin-wire or twisted-pair)
fd Floppy disk (internal only)
od Optical disk (internal only)
sd SCSI disk
tp Twisted-pair Ethernet
Note: The value en automatically switches the boot attempt between the thin and twisted-pair Ethernet connectors until the system finds a connection to a functioning network. The thin connector is checked first. If you want to boot from the twisted-pair connector without checking the thin connector (for example, for testing purposes), use the value tp. Otherwise, use en.
Optional flags and device selectors can be appended to the boot command in the format:
device [[(ctrl,unit,part)] [file] [flags] [kvars]]
For information on these arguments, see "Booting from a Device" later in this chapter. The boot command parameter may be up to 12 characters long.
DRAM Tests
Because these tests check main memory and take the longest amount of time, they can be enabled separately from the other system test options. A yes or y response enables them; a no or n response disables them.
Power-on System Test
If this parameter is set to no, none of the other diagnostic tests are run. If it's set to yes, the four additional parameters determine which tests are performed:
sound out tests
This parameter causes the sound tests to be performed.
SCSI tests
This parameter enables more comprehensive testing of the SCSI interface (but only if a SCSI device is installed either internally or externally).
loop until keypress
This parameter runs the diagnostics repeatedly until interrupted.
verbose test mode
This parameter causes the name of each test to be displayed as it runs. Note that this parameter not only displays the test names but also the system messages that are printed at each step of the boot process. Verbose mode can be extremely useful in diagnosing system problems because these messages can help you pinpoint just where a problem occurs.
Boot Extended Diagnostics
This parameter allows secondary diagnostics to be booted from the default boot device. When set to yes or y, a reboot attempts to load the file diagnostics from the root directory of the default boot device. This program is not shipped with the system and is for use by NeXT Authorized Service Providers.
Alternate Console
If the ROM monitor detects that the display monitor or keyboard is disconnected when the computer is turned on, the ROM monitor attempts to communicate with a terminal connected to serial port A if this parameter is set to yes.
Password-protected Commands
The next three parameters determine which ROM monitor commands can be used if the hardware password is set (see the section "Setting the Hardware Password" later in this chapter):
allow any ROM command even if password protected
If set to yes, any ROM monitor command can be executed without entering the hardware password (the one exception is the P command). This is useful if you want to set the hardware password without disabling any other ROM commands. Booting in single-user mode always requires the hardware password, if set.
allow boot from any device even if password protected
If set to yes, any boot device can be specified with the b command without entering the hardware password. This can be used to allow booting from any device while disabling other ROM commands.
allow optical drive #0 eject even if password protected
If set to yes, the disk in optical drive 0 (assuming you have one) can be ejected without entering the hardware password. If the computer is installed in a public access area, it may be important to prevent the optical disk from being ejected. In this case, you should leave this parameter set to no.
Parity Checking
The last parameter is used to turn on error checking. If you have installed parity memory, set this parameter to yes.
Booting from a Device
The ROM monitor lets you boot the system according to parameters that you specify. To do this, use the following command at the NeXT> prompt and press Return:
b[device [(ctrl, unit, part)] [file] [flags] [kvars]]
If you execute b with no arguments, the system boots the default kernel file from the default device. If you include the device argument, the system boots from that specified device. You can also boot from an alternate partition on that device with ctrl, unit, and part. If you include the file argument, the system boots from the kernel specified by file. The flags and kvars (kernel variables) provide additional boot options.
For information on setting the default boot device, see the preceding section, "Inspecting or Modifying Configuration Parameters."
Possible values for device are:
en Ethernet (either thin wire or twisted-pair)
fd Floppy disk (internal only)
od Optical disk (internal only)
sd SCSI disk
tp Twisted-pair Ethernet
The optional device selectors are:
ctrl Controller number (default 0).
unit SCSI logical unit number (default 0). Almost always set to 0.
part Partition number (default 0). These are 07, corresponding to partitions ah.
For SCSI drives, the controller number is the logical device number, not the actual target number of the drive. For example, if the first drive is set to target 0 and the second drive target 5, then controller number 1 refers to the second drive.
Possible values for flags are:
-a Ask for the name of the root device.
-b Boot without running /etc/rc.boot.
-s Boot in single-user mode instead of multiuser mode.
-i Ask for the name of the init program (the default is /etc/init).
-p Don't automatically reboot after a system panic.
The kernel variables (kvars) useful for system administration are:
rootdev=xxx Use the device specified by xxx (such as sd1, en0, fd0, od0) as the root device when obtaining the kernel from a different boot device.
rootrw=1 Initially mount the root file system as read/write. Normally, the root file system is initially mounted as read-only. Then, if fsck indicates the file system is clean, it's remounted as read/write.
You can press any key to stop booting from the Ethernet. To stop booting from any other device, hold down the right Command key and press the ~ key (without pressing Shift) on the numeric keypad. (If you have a NeXT computer with an ADB keyboard, hold down the Command bar and press ~ .)
Here are some example boot commands:
b Boot from the default boot device.
bsd Boot from the SCSI disk.
ben Boot from the Ethernet.
bod test Boot test from the optical disk.
bfd -s Boot in single-user mode from the internal floppy disk.
ben mach -as Boot mach in single-user mode from the network, and prompt for the root device.
bsd(1,0,0) Boot from the second SCSI disk.
bod - rootdev=sd0 Boot, taking the kernel from the optical disk, then use sd0 as the source for the root device. The "-" is required if the kernel name is not given.
Setting the Hardware Password
You can set a hardware password, which allows you to limit the ROM monitor commands that can be used without first supplying the password. If the hardware password is set, the three parameters described in the earlier section, "Inspecting or Modifying Configuration Parameters," determine how the ROM commands will be limited.
Warning: If you set the hardware password, protect it carefully. If it should be lost, recovery is a complex procedure.
To set the password, type P (in uppercase) at the NeXT> prompt and press Return. Enter the new password (no more than 6 characters) at the prompt "New password." You're then prompted to confirm the new password by retyping it.
Once the hardware password is set, you're prompted for the password in these circumstances:
When booting the system in single-user mode
When issuing a ROM monitor command that is password protected
When changing the hardware password
You are only required to enter the hardware password once per session. Once you have successfully entered the hardware password, you can execute any protected command without having to supply the hardware password again.
Displaying Memory Configuration
You can display information about system memory configuration by entering the command m. This command displays information about the memory installed in memory sockets 0 through 15.
The output from the m command will be something like this:
Memory sockets 0 and 1 (front) have 8MB of page mode SIMMs installed
(0x4000000-0x47fe000)
Memory sockets 0 and 1 (back) have no SIMMs installed (0x0-0x0)
Memory sockets 2 and 3 (front) have no SIMMs installed (0x0-0x0)
Memory sockets 2 and 1 (back) have no SIMMs installed (0x0-0x0)
The ROM monitor reserves some space in the last SIMM to store its internal information.
Displaying Error Codes
For debugging purposes, you can display the last two system test error codes recorded in nonvolatile memory. These error codes can be produced during the power-on self test routines. This command can be helpful in tracking down intermittent errors that can't be produced on demand.
To display these error codes, type the following at the NeXT> prompt and press Return:
ec
For a list of possible error codes, see Appendix E, "System Test Error Codes."
Ejecting Optical Disks
You can eject the disk from the internal optical disk drive by typing the following command at the NeXT> prompt and pressing Return:
ej
The command eo has the same effect.
Ejecting Floppy Disks
You can eject a floppy disk from the internal floppy disk drive by typing the following command at the NeXT> prompt and pressing Return:
ef
Resuming Execution
The continue (or c) command resumes execution at the point where it left off, if you reached the ROM monitor by entering m in the NMI mini-monitor. The screen display is not restored when you resume execution, which means that most of the objects on the screen will be invisible until they are redrawn. One way to do this is to drag the (invisible) main menu back and forth across the entire screen, causing all the objects to be redrawn. In general, avoid using c from the ROM monitor.