AST RESEARCH TECHNICAL BULLETIN TB-0172                   4-24-86


                   AST-5251/11 TROUBLESHOOTING


The intent of this Technical Bulletin is to help the user of AST-
5251/11  troubleshoot situations  that may arise  at installation 
time.   It is assumed that the user has read all manuals supplied 
by  AST for the installation procedure,  and is familiar with all 
terminology contained within.  

The  following are the most common symptoms that may  occur  when 
initially installing the AST-5251/11:

While using AST-5251/11, if you encounter:

     KERNEL error code 1 or 3:

          -Try reseating the board.

          -Error  code  3  with possible  I/O  address  conflict.  
           Select  another I/O address on AST board.

     KERNEL error code 2 or 4:

          -Indicates  an interrupt or DMA conflict.   Reconfigure 
           our board to use a different interrupt or DMA channel.

While using AST-5251/11, if you encounter:

     Successful execution of KERNEL and APS, but no sign-on screen 
     is displayed:

    *If SA indicator is "not" in reverse video:

          -Make  sure  only  the last terminal  on  the  line  is 
           terminated.

          -Be sure that the model terminal which the AST board is 
           emulating,  is one that AST supports, and the software 
           is  configured to reflect that on both the PC side and 
           the SYS. 3X side.

          -Check  the system console for any messages  that  have 
           been generated and need to be responded to.
 
          -Check  cabling,  both the twinax stub cable which  AST 
           provides  and  long twinax cable that is connected  to 
           SYS. 3X.

    *If SA indicator "is" in reverse video:

          -Verify  that the address number,  in the lower  right-
           hand side of the screen,  is the same station  address 
           number that is in the host configuration.
                             
    *If SA indicator is blinking:

          -Verify  that  you  are not having  a  station  address 
           conflict with another terminal.


                     GENERAL TROUBLESHOOTING

If you are experiencing problems, try the following:

     1.  Take  all extra cards out of PC  (e.g.  other  emulation 
         cards,  network  cards,  etc.) and set the AST board  to 
         factory configuration.  If emulation comes up okay, then 
         add the other boards in one at a time.

     2.  See if the same symptom occurs in another PC.

     3.  Move  the PC to a different location to determine if the 
         problem follows the location or the PC.

     4.  Move the PC so that it is the first terminal on the line 
         and terminate it, then see if the problem still exists.

     5.  If you change any of the jumpers on the board,  be  sure 
         to modify the software to reflect those alterations.

     6.  If you are getting an error on KERNEL, remove the twinax 
         stub  cable  from the back of the board,  and  then  run 
         KERNEL.

If  you  are  still  encountering problems and  need  to  contact 
Technical  Support  for assistance,  please  have  the  following 
information available:

         Type of PC (PC, XT, AT, or compatible)

         Version of DOS

         Total memory in PC

         Other cards that are in the PC

         Version of AST emulation software

         Host computer

         Release of host software

         Station address of display

         Station address of printer

         Specific  configuration  of  line (other  terminals  and 
         their station address)