Deadstart Panel from a Cyber 830 (Later derivative of the CDC 6600)

This is a deadstart panel from a later machine that derived its architecture from (and was compatible with) the CDC 6600. The deadstart panel on the orignal machine was matrix of 12 rows of 12 switches - these reflected the 12 bits in 12 words of PP (Peripheral Processor) memory. The boot instuctions ware keyed into these switches, and then when the operator pressed a button on the central console, the machine would execute these 12 instructions - which were just enough to read in more program instructions from some peripheral device (like a card from the card-reader, or a block from magnetic tape). These further instructions would then be enough to cause the loading of a slightly more sophisticated loader which could then load the operating system and so the machine was "pulled up by its bootstrap". This particualr deadstart panel came from a later generation machine which had two separate personalities. It could "look like" and behave as a 60-bit 6000 series machine (or its compatible successors the Cyber 70 and Cyber 170 series) or it could "look like" and behave as a completely different machine with 64-bit words in the CPU and 16-bit words in the PP's. Thus this deadstart panel has 16 rows of 16 switches, rtather than the original 12 by 12.   Return to Home Page