Replacement planar to 9557

[Pertti Helander]

I bought some time ago a 9557-0BA and can´t make it to work. I have a refdisk but its FDD didn´t read any disks properly so I bought an other FDD that was sold as working one but I can´t setup configuration either of FDDs. I made another refdisk but didn´t help so I guess that the planar FDD controller and/or SCSI controller is faulthy. My 9557 has a 320 MB HDD and when booting it tries to run but gives I999xxxx error at end and system boots again. So are 82077AA FDD controller or onboard SCSI controller changeable or must I replace the planar? If so I´m looking for a replacement planar FRU P/N 39G6407 to buy rather in Europa because I live in Finland. If you have one to sell please contact me here or by email.

[Louis Ohland]

Uh, you do know that the I999 tells us that it's an IML error?

Even more important, do you know that the last four digits tell us WHAT
went wrong?

So... throw us a bone, and tell us the COMPLETE I999 code? Maybe there
are more IML codes as well?

Heck, tell us all error codes.

Pertti Helander wrote:
> I999xxxx error

[Louis Ohland]

https://www.ardent-tool.com/trouble/IML_Errors.html

[Louis Ohland]

Both the FDC and SCSI controller are soldered to the system board.

We need error codes, please!

We need to fondle your erroneous zone!

[Pertti Helander]

When I boot my 9557 with refdisk in FDD it gives few CPs and after CP 80
HDD tries to start but I got error codes:
00370200 0000
00017300 (I changed the battery but got still this error)
00016300 0000 ( date and time error)
0208600U 5A6J
I999030
00018400 (password error?)
Then FDD tries to read refdisk but stops reading and FDD light stays on.
On display there seems nothing and it goes blank.
Without refdisk in FDD it gives the same errors without the last 00018400 and displays red circle + IBM and stops.
So I guess something is broken on planar or what?

[Louis Ohland]

KB plugged in?

There is no "370", but there is a "307"

00370200
0003 07XX 1. Keyboard
2. Keyboard Cable

00017300
0001 73XX Possibly a weak battery
1. Set Configuration / Features

This -MIGHT- be fixed with toggling J22, Power-On Password. If the old
settings are NOT erased completely, you can get nagging problems.

https://www.ardent-tool.com/95/Jumpers.html#JMP1

00016300

0001 63XX Date and time error [CMOS data duffed up?]
1. Set Date and Time

0208600U 5A6J
Odd, sounds more like a SCSI error, with an adv diags code.

In the case of a POST error, 0208 is memory failure, "6"

0002 0XXY / 0002 17XY Memory Failure
0 Configuration mismatch / Run Setup

I999030
Do you have the FULL "I999nnnn" ?

https://www.ardent-tool.com/trouble/IML_Errors.html
The 030x errors include 0301, 0302, 0303, 0304, 0305, 0306

00018400
0001 84XX Power-on password corrupted
1. User must reset the password

[Louis Ohland]

Can you swap KB?

3xx Keyboard errors
301 Keyboard did not respond to software reset or a stuck key failure
was detected. If a stuck key was detected, the scan code for the key is
displayed in hexadecimal.
302 System Unit Keylock is Locked
303 Keyboard or System Unit Error
304 Keyboard or System Unit Error; Keyboard clock high
305 PS/2 Keyboard fuse (on system board) error

The QEE code doesn't match, but it is possumble, IBM has screwed up
before. Did that drive work in that computer before? Can you set the
drive to spin up upon power on?

RDDDPL[S]C(B) QEET
0208600U 5A6J
0208 Unknown device type
6 PUN (SCSI ID #)
0 LUN (usually 0)

U Unknown capacity
The Slot Number is always given on the 12-digit error codes for
adapters; the Bus Code is shown on device errors in 8-digit error codes.
The Slot-number is then omitted.

QEET Errors (other than 0000) 5A6 ?
506x No track zero found - no 5x6 code found

T Device not ready (initial unit attention clearing)

[Louis Ohland]

https://www.ardent-tool.com/IBM_HD/IBM_Hard_Drives.html

[Pertti Helander]

Hi Louis,
This 00370200 0000 is not a keyboard error. Keyboard is recognized and works fine.
I think this tells that somethink is wrong with build-in SCSI on planar.
This 0208600U 5A6J like you said is probably for 320MB 50 pin HDD that is an unknown device.
That was in 9557 when I bought it.
I have a 1.2GB and 2.1GB HDDs and tried to install the first one instead but nothing happens.
It is I9990303 I think this is System partition boot failure.
As you said 00018400 is power on password corrupted?
There is two jumpers (JMP1 and JMP 2) for password. Where I can see for the right settings for those?
I will look for FRU and/or P/N to my 320MB SCSI HD when I open the box.
And I will try to replace HDD with 1.2 and/or 2.1 HDDs and see what happens.
Best Regards,
Pertsa

[Louis Ohland]

Been shoveling 4 inches of heavy global warming yesterday. And using a
snow rake to clear my porch roof. A bit stiff today.

486SLC2, correct? SurePath?

[Louis Ohland]

https://www.ardent-tool.com/9556/

[Louis Ohland]

http://www.mcamafia.de/mcapage0/scsi1gb1.htm

The following systems support drives over 1GB 'as is' without requiring
a rework:
IBM PS/2 9556 and 9557 with onboard-SCSI (1)
Note 1: IML machine, limited to 3.94GB for the primary drive due to IML
partition.

So... from this snippet, it -should- support the 1.2 -and- the 2.1 GB
drives...

[Louis Ohland]

https://www.ardent-tool.com/trouble/error_07.html

Nothing for a "00307nnnn" code, -BUT- there is

0037 XXXX Usually caused by SCSI controller on system board
1. System Board
2. Hard`Disk
3. Hard Disk Cable

It is possumble that the displayed code was messed up in the system BIOS
display, but the 0037 throwing the error is correct.

[Louis Ohland]

System Partition boot failure
- Restore System Partition

OK, fine. But where is the error for failing to boot off a reference
diskette?

I999 00Xn would be a failure with the diskette IML.

Grr. Just for snorts n grins, take the 9557 refdisk, pop it in your
8595, and power up. If the refdisk is functional, all you will get is a
message that the refdisk is not for the system. The refdisk splash
screen comes up, and it will tell you that you have been bad, and you
MUST be punished.

[Pertti Helander]

Yes I have looked for error codes in Ardent Tools and had a glue that problem is onboard SCSI on planar.
Yes it is 48SLC2 on planar FRU P/N 39G6407.
SurePath? Don´t know what this is.Has it on my 9557-0BA?
Password jumpers settings? On planar picture these are J14 and 15.
I know 9557 support drives 1.2 and 2.1 I had.

[Louis Ohland]

I do not fully grok what the heck is going on. I had to dig deep into
the announcement letter for a possumble confirmation. If it has a blue
switch assembly at the front of the system, it will be attached to J23
Cover-interlock (JMP3)

BUT this switch should prevent power-on. Since you got error codes, this
doesn't quite fit.

https://www.ardent-tool.com/9556/
https://www.ardent-tool.com/95/Jumpers.html#JMP3

https://www.ardent-tool.com/9556/192-222.txt
Electronically interlocked tamper evident covers

[Louis Ohland]

https://www.ardent-tool.com/95/Jumpers.html#JMP2

"If the server is forced open, a POST error occurs."

Researching, but I didn't see a PAP POST error, which is very good.

Setting the PAP and forgetting the PAP is a bad thing.

PAP -IS NOT- the admin password.

[Louis Ohland]

I see J14 and J15, next thing is to compare the outline...

[Louis Ohland]

J14 Password override (JMP1)

If the 9557 IML functions like the 90/95, moving J14/JMP1 to the other
end of the three pin header will force the system to boot off the
refdisk on the next power-up. The system detects the change in position,
not the position. Moving J14 back after booting [and powering down] will
force the system to run the refdisk again.

Assuming the floppy drive is good. Assuming the refdisk is good.

DO NOT TOUCH -
J15 Privileged-access password (JMP2) [do NOT touch!]

[Louis Ohland]

THE SCSI (SMALL COMPUTER SYSTEMS INTERFACE) IS NOT A FIXED
DISK CONTROLLER. IT IS A CHANNEL ATTACHMENT THAT MEETS
INDUSTRY STANDARDS AND IS CAPABLE OF CONTROLLING ANY DEVICE
WHICH MEETS THE SCSI SIGNAL PROTOCOL. IN TROUBLESHOOTING
PROBLEMS, WHEN THE SCSI DEVICE(S) WILL NOT CONFIGURE OR COME
"READY", THERE ARE A NUMBER OF POSSIBLE CAUSES. THIS TIP
IS TO HELP PROVIDE A BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF SCSI OPERATION
AND TO AID IN PROBLEM DETERMINATION.

FOR A SCSI DEVICE TO COME "READY" AND BE CONFIGURED, THE
FOLLOWING EVENTS MUST OCCUR:

A. UPON POWER-ON-RESET, SCSI POST ISSUES AN "INQUIRY" COMMAND
TO EACH SCSI ADDRESS TO POLL ALL DEVICES PRESENT.

B. ALL SCSI DEVICES ATTACHED TO THE SCSI BUS MUST ANSWER WITH
THEIR INQUIRY DATA.

C. A "TEST UNIT READY" COMMAND IS ISSUED TO ALL DEVICES
WHICH RESPONDED TO THE "INQUIRY" COMMAND.

D. IF A HARD DISK DRIVE ANSWERS "NOT READY," A "START UNIT"
COMMAND IS THEN ISSUED TO SEQUENTIALLY START THE DRIVE
(MOTOR START). THE DEVICES MUST THEN RUN "SELF TEST" AND
REPORT THEIR STATUS.

E. ONCE THE DRIVE IS READY, THE "READ DEVICE CAPACITY" COMMAND
IS ISSUED TO DETERMINE THE DEVICE SIZE (320MB, 1GB, ETC.).

F. ALL DEVICES RESPONDING ARE COMPARED WITH THE CONFIGURATION
DATA.
G. PS/2 POST BEEPS TWICE AND DISPLAYS ERRORS IF THERE ANY ARE
NEW, MISSING, OR DEFECTIVE SCSI DEVICES.

H. FOLLOWING A SUCCESSFUL POST (ONE BEEP), THE SYSTEM WILL
ATTEMPT TO LOAD THE OPERATING SYSTEM .

IF SCSI POST OR CONFIGURATION ERRORS OCCUR, THE FOLLOWING ITEMS
SHOULD BE CHECKED:

A. DIAGNOSTICS SHOULD BE RUN TO TEST THE EQUIPMENT. IF A
FAILURE IS INDICATED, USE THE ERROR CODE EXTENSION TO
ISOLATE THE CAUSE. COMPLETE SCSI DEVICE ERROR CODES ARE 12
CHARACTERS LONG.
*****NOTE THE FOLLOWING*****
THE FIRST EIGHT CHARACTERS OF THE SCSI ERROR CODE ARE DEVICE
INFORMATION, NOT ERROR INFORMATION. THE ERROR INFORMATION
IS IN THE NEXT 4 CHARACTERS (ERROR EXTENSION BYTES).
FAILURE TO USE THE ENTIRE ERROR CODE MAY RESULT IN INCORRECT
FRU PARTS REPLACEMENT.

B. EACH DEVICE MUST BE SET FOR A UNIQUE SCSI ID VIA JUMPERS,
SWITCHES OR REMOTELY WITH A CABLE CONNECTED SWITCH. RUN
"SET AND VIEW SCSI CONFIGURATION," FROM THE CONFIGURATION

MENU, TO CONFIGURE NEW OR POWERED-OFF DEVICES.

C. ARE ALL DEVICES RECEIVING POWER?

1. IS THE "POWER GOOD" (GREEN) LIGHT ON THE SYSTEM UNIT
TURNED ON?

"POWER GOOD" IS MORE COMPLEX THAN A "POWER-ON" LIGHT.
IT INDICATES THE POWER SUPPLY IS DELIVERING ALL THE
CORRECT DC OUTPUT VOLTAGES WITHIN SPECIFICATIONS. (+5
VDC FOR LOGIC AND +12 VDC FOR MOTOR, THOUGH SOME SCSI
FIXED DISKS MAY USE +5 VDC FOR THE MOTOR ALSO.) ANY
MISSING OR INCORRECT VOLTAGE WILL CAUSE THE SYSTEM TO
SHUT DOWN (SELF-PROTECT).

2. IS THE POWER CABLE CORRECTLY CONNECTED (NOT INVERTED)?

ARE ANY CONTACTS PUSHED BACK INTO THE CONNECTOR? CHECK
ALL CABLE CONNECTIONS. ARE ANY FEMALE CONTACTS EXPANDED

(DEFORMED), THEREFORE MAKING INTERMITTENT CONTACT? IF SO,
REFORM THEM USING THE TIP OF A SMALL SCREWDRIVER, ETC.

D. ALL CONNECTIONS AND CABLING MUST BE CORRECT.
1. IS THE SCSI ADAPTER FULLY SEATED?

TENSION ON THE EXTERNAL SCSI INTERFACE CABLE MAY CAUSE
THE SCSI ADAPTER TO PARTIALLY UNPLUG (UNSEAT) FROM THE
SYSTEM BOARD. (SYSTEMS JAMMED AGAINST THE WALL ARE
SUBJECT TO THIS.)

2. ARE THE CABLES FULLY SEATED?

E. IT IS CRITICAL THAT THE SCSI BUS IS PROPERLY TERMINATED.

1. THE PHYSICAL ENDS OF THE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL SCSI BUS
MUST BE TERMINATED AT THE LAST DEVICE. DEVICES CONNECTED
TO THE MIDDLE OF THE BUS MUST NOT BE TERMINATED.

__________________ ____________
| | | |
___TERMINATOR __----________ | ___TERMINATOR
|INTERNAL| | | | |EXTERNAL|
|DEVICE | |SCSI ADAPTER |______| |DEVICE |
|________| |_____________| |________|

2. TERMINATOR TYPES INCLUDE:

- SOCKETED DIP (DUAL IN-LINE PACKAGE) ON THE ADAPTER.
- CONNECTOR PLUG ON ADAPTER'S INTERNAL OR EXTERNAL
CONNECTOR OR CABLE
- TWO OR MORE SOCKETED SIPS (SINGLE IN-LINE PACKAGE)
ON A DEVICE.
- IN-LINE TERMINATOR ATTACHED BETWEEN THE DEVICE AND
CABLE.
- ENABLED VIA A JUMPER
3. THE POLARITY OF TERMINATORS MUST BE CORRECT.

- PIN 1 ON DIPS AND SIP ARE USUALLY INDICATED BY A DOT
OR ARROW.
- PIN 1 ON SOCKETS ARE USUALLY INDICATED BY A 1, DOT,
OR SQUARE SOLDER PAD.

F. READ ERRORS MAY BE CAUSED BY A BAD OR INTERRUPTED WRITE IF
THE DRIVE WAS BUMPED OR POWER FAILED DURING THE WRITE
OPERATION (SECTOR INCOMPLETELY WRITTEN).

1. IF ONLY THE DATA IS CORRUPTED, REWRITING THE DATA WILL
CORRECT THE ERROR.

2. IF THE ERROR OCCURS IN THE DIRECTORY OR THE OPERATING
SYSTEM'S FILE STRUCTURE, IT MAY BE NECESSARY TO PERFORM
A HIGH LEVEL FORMAT (FORMAT C: ), OR EVEN RECREATE THE
PARTITION WITH FDISK.

3. IF THE SECTOR ID IS CORRUPTED (ID OR SECTOR NOT FOUND
ERRORS), AN ADVANCED DIAGNOSTIC FORMAT SHOULD BE ATTEMPTE
PRIOR TO REPLACEMENT OF THE FIXED DISK. THE ADVANCED
DIAGNOSTIC FORMAT WILL REWRITE ALL SECTOR ADDRESS AND
DATA FIELDS. WHEN THE FORMAT COMPLETES, THE DIAGNOSTICS
SHOULD BE RERUN. IF THE DIAGNOSTICS THEN RUN ERROR-FREE,
IT IS UNLIKELY A HARDWARE FAILURE HAS OCCURRED.

G. IF FAILURES RETURN AFTER A PARTICULAR SOFTWARE APPLICATION
HAS BEEN LOADED, SOFTWARE MAY BE CORRUPTING THE FIXED DISK.
ASSISTANCE SHOULD BE SOUGHT FROM THE APPROPRIATE SOFTWARE
SOURCE.

NOTE:
FAILURES MAY OCCUR DURING SYSTEM OPERATION, YET DIAGNOSTICS
MAY RUN ERROR-FREE. THIS COULD BE DUE TO IMPROPER TERMINATION.
THE TERMINATOR IS CONSIDERED PART OF THE "CABLING BEING INTACT"
ASSUMPTIONS, AS NOTED ABOVE. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON
TERMINATION OF SCSI DEVICES, REFER TO RETAIN RECORD # H092645
OR "IBM PS/2 AND PS/VALUEPOINT SUBSYSTEMS, GG24-4002-00, WHICH
SUPERSEDES "SCSI-ARCHITECHURE AND IMPLEMENTATION, GG24-3507-00,
WHICH IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE.

[Louis Ohland]

" Note:
There is also a keylock activated micro-switch on the adapter
guide assembly; it does not affect system power-up. "

So what about this micro-switch on the adapter guide assembly?


SYMPTOM:
The 9556 or 9557 will not power up. There is no indication of
power from the fan, drives, power good LED, or keyboard lights.
There is no indication from the display that the system power
switch has been cycled.

PROBLEM ISOLATION AIDS:
Disconnect all external devices, printers, modems or switching
devices that are attached to the serial or parallel ports.
Remove the top cover and locate the Tamper-Evident Switches,
which are part of the Adapter Guide Assembly. Attached to this
assembly, and extending through the front frame, is the blue
service slider. As the slider is moved upward, it will contact
the metal actuator arms of two micro switches, allowing the
machine to be powered up with the top cover removed.
Both switches must activate for complete machine operation.
(The micro-switches produce a click that can be heard and
felt when activated.)

FIX:
If one or both switches fail to transfer, they must be
adjusted or replaced. To adjust the micro-switch actuator
arm, remove the adapter guide (with switches) from the system.
Move the blue slider to the bottom of its travel and form
the actuator arms, so that the switches activate when the
slider is moved up 1/2 to 3/4 of its travel. Caution should be
used when reinstalling the top cover. An extension on the inside
of the top cover will contact the slider and move it to the
bottom of its travel, then contact the actuator arms and
activate the switches approximately 1/2 inch before the cover
fully seats.

The 9556/57 HMS will be updated to identify the Tamper-Evident
switches as a possible cause of "No Power" symptoms.

Note:
There is also a keylock activated micro-switch on the adapter
guide assembly; it does not affect system power-up.

9556 adapter guide with switches: FRU P/N92F0243.
9557 adapter guide with switches: FRU P/N96F7758.

[Louis Ohland]

Google Patent search is a blank page.

[Louis Ohland]

https://www.ardent-tool.com/docs/pdf/ps2book.pdf

(LogicLock is a term comprising all security features on this model)

Security features:
Tamper evident cover
Privileged-access passwd
Power-on password
Cover key lock
U Bolt support
Security options

[Louis Ohland]

https://patents.google.com/patent/US5341422A

[Louis Ohland]

Interesting, but not conclusive. The double switches are tamper
detection, eg. removal of cover. The single switch goes to the RTC/CMOS.

Looking at your errors, I saw no password or tamper related errors. Dunno.

[Pertti Helander]

Password J14 is earlier moved from pin 1 to pin 0, is it OK?
Haven´t move J15.
Because my 8595 won´t run I removed its FDD and tried it in 9557
but it starts to read refdisk and stops like another FDDs.
Original 9557 HDD is 240 MB IBM FRU P/N 71G4875 P/N 74G8674.
HDD sounds noisy and can be broken.
I tried 2100 MB IBM Model DCAS-32160 P/N 73H7711 but got different errors:
E0
00030100 (CP80 and HDD led turns on ) .
00016300
00370200 0000
00860200 ( HDD led turns off and fdd runs once).
00017300
Two beebs and fdd stars to read refdisk then 00018100
and FDD stops with light on and display went blank.
No I999xxxx errrors I got.
Is it possible that J14 is in wrong position and stops refdisk to load?

[Louis Ohland]

Back from grocery run.

Reading

[Louis Ohland]

J14 is moved [then left on that pin-pair] to force loading from refdisk.
It does nothing on subsequent boots [power on]

[Louis Ohland]

https://stason.org/TULARC/pc/hard-drives-hdd/quantum/PRODRIVE-LPS-240-S-245MB-3-5-SL-SCSI1-SE.html

[Louis Ohland]

https://web.archive.org/web/19961219023921if_/http://www.quantum.com/support/archive/gmconfs.htm

[Louis Ohland]

You keep getting codes that point to a board level problem. I have tried
to stay happy-dopey. It's getting harder to be naive. It seems that no
IML drive has been identified.

It would be great if you could run diagnostics...

0003 01XX
1. Keyboard Cable
2. System Board

0001 63XX Date and time error

1. Set Date and Time

00370200

0037 XXXX
Usually caused by SCSI controller on system board
1. System Board
2. Hard`Disk
3. Hard Disk Cable

00860200
0086 0100 / 0086 02XX
1. Pointing Device (Mouse)
2. System Board

00017300
0001 73XX Possibly a weak battery
1. Set Configuration / Features

Two beeps
* * A problem exists, check config. Run diags, if no error code displayed

00018100
0001 81XX
The computer requires a network adapter for remote IPL or a hard disk
drive ID of LUN 0 for IML, neither of these were detected
1. Run Automatic Configuration
2. Network Adapter
3. Hard Disk Drive
4. System Board

[Pertti Helander]

I have looked at Quantum jumper settings earlier from web and set ID to 6 and EP on.

[Pertti Helander]

Yes I have also checked these error codes.
I would love to run diagnostics or run automatic configuration but I can´t load refdisk or diagnostics disk.
I guess there is something on the planar that is broken.
I´m looking for a replacement planar to buy if this can´t be fixed.
This 2100 GB HDD that is now in 9557 I bought from USA.It was tested and formatted and empty.
In sellers ad was a picture of formatting in which I can see that SCSI ID is 0.
Didn´t find from HDD jumpers to set SCSI ID to 6.

[Louis Ohland]

IBM loved the ANSI standard of ID6.

https://www.ardent-tool.com/IBM_HD/dcas3_ig.pdf

[Pertti Helander]

This is very helpful! I will check jumper setting for HDD.
Thank You Louis for your help and patience to me!
I have been at last dealing with IBM PS/2 MCA with my 8595 about twenty years ago and had forgotten everything since .
Now I start again and bought this 9557.
I´m lucky to have advice from community members and ardent tools!

[Louis Ohland]

You get what you pay for...

If we had drilled right down to "THE" answer in the first few days I
might feel a bit satisfied, but all this "left step, right step, double
to the rear, with a slight hesitation" makes me aware of limitations to
being helpful...

I am NOT satisfied. Should have been running -OR- pronounced as "daid as
a doornail" a while back.

[Louis Ohland]

Since we're past the frantic part, I wendt back to rightly dividing one
of your SCSI errors.

RDDDPL QEET
0208600U 5A6J

Leading zero, "208" Unknown device type [not a good sign!], "6" SCSI ID
6, "0" LUN 0 [duh!], "U" unknown capacity [not good].

QEET - Q = 0-8 SCSI POST codes, Q = 9 Adv Diags HD error code

5A6J

Error codes (EE) with Q = 4 or 5 may be reported that are not listed
here or can actually have a definition other than that given, depending
on the device. So, not finding "A6" is quite possumble.

So, if I understand, "5" does refer to the additional sense byte, but
"A6" is not listed, so what that is, dunno. The Test code is given

5 - Additional sense byte (byte 12) of sense information from device
A6 - Not listed
J - Device not ready (initial unit attention clearing)

So... the system DOES see the drive at ID6, but it can't tell what it
is, it is throwing a "Device not ready".

My furtive efforts would be to jumper it to start up as soon as power is
applied. But autospin might not fix "initial unit attention clearing"

Pertti Helander wrote:
> 0208600U 5A6J

[Pertti Helander]

I jumpered my IBM DCAS-32160 2100MB as SCSI ID 6 and termination enabled.
Booting with refdisk in FDD after some CPs fdd stars to read refdisk but stops
and I got error I9990010 and 9557 starts boot again and same chain happens over and over.
Because my hdd was formatted when I bought it there was no IML partition
and 9557 tries to load IML from FDD but fails and gives this I9990010 error.
No other error messages I got now.
Whal shall I do?

[Louis Ohland]

https://www.ardent-tool.com/trouble/IML_Errors.html

I999 001X
Only valid when running system from hard disk:
- Restore System Partition

Invalid hard disk IML record.
A valid master IML record was not found on the hard disk.

Well, the "restore system partition" is good, as it recognized your HD
as an HD.

How did you create the refdisk [and diags]?

The system isn't complaining that the reference diskette is the wrong
one, but it seems to be booting right past it, as if the refstamp was
damaged or deleted.

https://www.ardent-tool.com/config/refdisk.html

[Pertti Helander]

I asked and got this 9556/57 refdisk from Tomas with lan adapter he gave me.
I have used this refdisk.
I also made with WinImage and external 3.5 FDD in my Win10 laptop another 9557 refdisk and diags disk.
Both refdisks behaves the same way in my fdd. Starts to load but get error I9990010 or I9990011.
I will look at the link you sent!