Accessing console on PWS500au

Greetings, programmes!

This is not exactly a Tru64 Unixish question, but has to do with
laying the groundwork.

I've disinterred a PWS500au (Digital Personal Workstation 500au,
an Alpha processor I think was called 'Miata') from a pile of
systems, and I want to get it running again.  (It used to run,
anyway.)  Unfortunately, I'm having trouble getting to the
console >>> (SRM?) prompt.

On power-up I get a couple of blurbs about BIOS, and then it goes
to a solid blue screen with the cursor blinking in the upper left
corner.  It stays like that indefinitely.  Nothing on the keyboard
seems to have any effect.  If I unplug the keyboard, I'll get some
'kbd test 6 failed' messages but that's it.  If I try powering up
without the keyboard, I get some 'kbd test 4 failed' messages after
the blue screen, and then part of the countdown and then the >>>
prompt.  Which I can't use, since I can't persuade the system to
acknowledge the [re]connexion of the keyboard.

Now perhaps the fact that I'm going through a ConnectGear 8-port
KVM might have something to do with it, although I don't think
so.  It's clearly seeing the keyboard through the KVM, since it
gritches when I disconnect it.

It's like it's in some endless keyboard-test loop.

I haven't found anything online about anything like this
yet.  Anyone have any suggestions or ideas?

Thanks!
-- 
#ken	P-)}

Ken Coar, Sanagendamgagwedweinini  http://Ken.Coar.Org/
Author, developer, opinionist      http://Apache-Server.Com/

"Millennium hand and shrimp!"