🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <25833@shamash.cdc.com>, rrr@u02.svl.cdc.com (Rich Ragan) writes:
> 
> Stuff deleted...
>
> I heard a 6603 story (possibly apocryphal) that at some site
> the heads crashed and the motors kept on turning. Supposedly
> the magnesium platters soon ignited and the equivalent of
> "meltdown" occurred in the computer room.
> 
> --
> Richard R. Ragan (408) 496-4340
> Control Data Corp., Silicon Valley Operations

I have another meltdown story to relate regarding CDC equipment.  A friend
of mine was doing performance testing on our then in-house Cyber 205, 
serial #501 (the first production machine).  At this time, the machine
had been installed in the Arden Hills computer room for several years, and
was frequently used as a testbed for new hardware updates, such as new memory
configurations.  

It seems that the in-house engineers had developed a non-standard method of
removing memory boards in a new type of memory unit, and over time the
connectors became slightly loose.  My friend began to run a very memory
intensive test that read/wrote patterns through various banks of memory as
fast as possible.  After this program had been running for some time, someone
in the computer room smelled smoke, and discovered that there was smoke
coming forth from the vents at the top of the 205 memory bay.  An emergency
powerdown was accomplished and everything "put out".  It was later surmised
that the increased current flow to/from the memories during the performance
test had heated the chips, then the boards, and then the connectors to the
point where some of the loose connectors began to melt.

Now that's a hot computer!


Zeke

(Apologies to Bernie if I got the details a little wrong, but I stand by
the scenario)

-- 
~~~~~~~~~~~ From the Shrine of the "Last Gasp of ETA Systems" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Extra zesty disclaimer:  MINE! MINE! ALL MINE! <chortle snort froth drool>
Robert K. "Zeke" Scott        internet: zeke@eta.cdc.com
Control Data Corp, Supercomputer Support Group