Getting Started, Documentation, Tips & Tricks

Hello guys. I just joined the forum and this is my first post. I have wanted an SGI for 15 years, always being intrigued by the design, the architecture, the power of these machines. I bought one back in 2004 or so, an Indy, but I never could get it to display video even with different 13w3 adapters. I ended up selling it breaking even.

I kept checking eBay for SGIs once a year or so, when I'd get "the fever" again. Was determined this time to get one and saw a Fuel on eBay that was bought as surplus. They had tons of pics but had no idea of what the CPU/memory/etc config was. Very thorough description and it shows the error stating that no disk was found so I know it powers on at least. Not hinv to show specs however. So I took a gamble, figured if I could get it cheap it'd be worth it but kept in mind that it might be the slowest CPU, little ram, and probably the V10 graphics. They said there was NO HD and "2 sticks" of memory so who knows.

I ended up getting it for $222. Which I thought was a pretty ok deal, but knowing I'll need to put a HD in, get IRIX installed, and hope nothing is wrong with it. There are other Fuels listed for $500-900 on there now so I'm hoping it was worth the gamble, but then again realize that eBay SGI prices are hugely inflated, especially the Buy It Now prices where someone might want $250 for an Indy with no HD and 'untested'

I'm hoping the SCSI HD I have works with the Fuel... It's a Seagate ST373405LW, which is a U160 10K drive with a 68pin D connector. That was part of my reasoning for buying the Fuel -- I already have a HD that works (I hope?).

Anyways, I'm ecstatic to find that there's an SGI community because there's not a ton of info online about these machines so I was afraid the community would be dead and there'd be no where to chat about SGIs, get help, and share resources.

Welcome! Looking forward to seeing some pictures of the Fuel, and a hinv once it's up and running.

Note that even a bottom end Fuel is still a nice little system overall, so as long as it works then I think you've picked up a bargain there!

Thanks!

The auction had some good pics but I'm very anxious to get this thing to my house so I can check it out in person, power it up, and get some more pics/info.

It did list the model number as CMN017, which I googled and kept showing results that all reported it was an R14K 600MHz so I'm not sure if CMN017 is a model number that always came with the 600MHz or if the google results are making it look that way. Either way, even if its low end I'm still excited and will be happy with the performance as I was originally looking at spending this much on an Indy or one of the slower O2s if I was lucky.

Edit: checked out the CMN017 model some more and apparently (I didn't know this) its not specific for a certain CPU. Saw lots of CMN017's listed that had the 500, 600, and 700MHz CPUs. So I guess it'll be a total mystery when I get it but that's ok

welcome sornywrx
just fire it up and at the "title screen" hit 5. this sends you to the prom where you can run "hinv". the output should be a nice overview of what you have so you can see the specs of your machine already

foetz wrote: welcome sornywrx
just fire it up and at the "title screen" hit 5. this sends you to the prom where you can run "hinv". the output should be a nice overview of what you have so you can see the specs of your machine already

Cool I didn't know that's how you got to where you can run hinv. I knew what hinv did but didn't know how to get there. Unfortunately the machine hasn't arrived yet. I bought it and paid yesterday and it's only 2 states away so I'm HOPING it shows up this week if they ship it soon.

I just couldn't wait to join the forum and also needed to research and see if my SCSI HD will work with the Fuel.

sornywrx wrote: I just couldn't wait to join the forum and also needed to research and see if my SCSI HD will work with the Fuel.

I think that disk will work. But does the system come with the SCSI cable? The cable used in the Fuel has an unusual connector on the mainboard side.

jan-jaap wrote:

sornywrx wrote: I just couldn't wait to join the forum and also needed to research and see if my SCSI HD will work with the Fuel.

I think that disk will work. But does the system come with the SCSI cable? The cable used in the Fuel has an unusual connector on the mainboard side.

I'm not 100% sure but I'm hopeful it does. The same looks to be there in the pics so unless they pulled it it should be there. I had read that the cable is odd and expensive so I'm hoping it's in there. I've got a regular ol' 68 pin SCSI cable from the server this drive came out of but it sounds like I better get one with the Fuel.

Welcome. I love the Indy for nostalgic reasons, but my "super Fuel" is the SGI I use the most, is more friendly to mainstream hardware and monitors, and definitely lends itself to upgrades. If it didn't have some residual value as a workstation, which as you noticed tends to drive prices up, it would be a great starter SGI.

ClassicHasClass wrote: Welcome. I love the Indy for nostalgic reasons, but my "super Fuel" is the SGI I use the most, is more friendly to mainstream hardware and monitors, and definitely lends itself to upgrades. If it didn't have some residual value as a workstation, which as you noticed tends to drive prices up, it would be a great starter SGI.

I was really looking at Indys but since I came across this Fuel for a decent price, not much more than an Indy, I had to have it. To be honest I'm not going to be doing any kind of 3D modeling/rendering so using this as a UNIX workstation will be a fun experience.

I've been a Windows guy (professionally) for 15 years and am currently a Windows/VMware systems engineer who works with a bunch of UNIX admins so it'd be cool to learn some basics past what linux experience i have from playing on my Raspberry Pi.

sornywrx wrote:

jan-jaap wrote:

sornywrx wrote: I just couldn't wait to join the forum and also needed to research and see if my SCSI HD will work with the Fuel.

I think that disk will work. But does the system come with the SCSI cable? The cable used in the Fuel has an unusual connector on the mainboard side.

I'm not 100% sure but I'm hopeful it does. The same looks to be there in the pics so unless they pulled it it should be there. I had read that the cable is odd and expensive so I'm hoping it's in there. I've got a regular ol' 68 pin SCSI cable from the server this drive came out of but it sounds like I better get one with the Fuel.

I'd be 99% confident about the drive, given that my Fuel came with a 73GB Seagate inside, and a 146GB version of the model you have has been fine as well.
Can you post a link to the auction page - we might be able to glean some useful hints on spec etc from the pics while you wait for the real thing.

As you've found, CMN017 just means "it's a Fuel" - Octanes and earlier had longer model numbers showing CPU type and speed (e.g. "ANF195" was R10K at 195MHz) so once you can check the label on the back you may find a suffix that shows at least what CPU was inside when it left SGI, before you get to hinv.

Welcome to the forum, btw!

Sure, here's the auction page:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/381354636898

I may be wrong but I'm thinking V10 graphics judging by the ports on the back. They list the serial number but I couldn't find anything that might exist that'd decode it and show stock specs, if even possible.

I was REALLY hoping this thing would have shipped by now so I could get it this week. Patience isn't one of my virtues, especially when I've bought something. The auction clearly states up to a 4 day handling period so I can't complain but I wish they had shipped it by now so I could get it by Friday (I'm in Tennessee, they're in Ohio). Was really hoping to get it in by the weekend so I'd have some time to play with it but I'm just glad I won the auction. I figured someone would outbid me at the last minute -- which they tried but I outbid them with 2 seconds left and won it at $222. Hope I didn't overpay.

I posted a very large box of Software from little old England to Ohio and it took less than 2 days...

This obviously doesn't help, nor does it make you feel any better.. but thought it worthy to note.

Welcome to the board btw.

Thanks for the welcome, haha, I think once it gets rolling it'll be here quick. It's just that this place is pretty slow to package and ship. Should be a 2 day trip via FedEx Ground if they'll ever get the thing out the door.

I've got a spot cleared on my desk ready to go!

I can use USB KB and mouse on the Fuel, right?

Really hope they pack it well. It looks in very nice cosmetic condition. Even the front flap is intact!

Trippynet wrote: Really hope they pack it well. It looks in very nice cosmetic condition. Even the front flap is intact!

I was very excited that they took such good pics and that it's in good cosmetic condition. I saw so many SGIs on eBay that were beat to hell and were missing doors or had broken plastic.

I read reviews before I even bid and their feedback record makes me optimistic that they're going to pack it well.

That does look like a machine in stellar condition. Unfortunately, no way to tell on the V10/V12 from the outside. Both cards look like that.

Bet on it being a V10, which is still decent, and be delighted if it's a V12.

Fingers crossed! You'll see all manner of previous nightmare stories here about dreadful packaging, poor shipping, and people having to pour the broken bits of plastic out of the box.

Of course on the other hand, there's good sellers too. Both my main systems in my signature came from Ian on these forums. He's well known for his armageddon-proof packaging, and is evidence that SGIs can easily survive rough shipping if they're packed properly.

Hopefully the good feedback means your seller will fall into the latter category

Oh I really hope they package it well. I hadn't even considered that but since SGIs are so heavy and are plastic clad I can now see why it's common for them to get busted up in shipping.

I was surprised that shipping was "only" $35 including "handling and packaging" with as heavy as these PCs are.

That moment between paying and receiving is so long and tense!

I wanted a fuel once, actually I'd still have one, but I think for me, they'd only offer USB support.. oh and another sexy beast in my sexy beast lair..

The description says it gets as far as looking for the boot drive from which to load sash, which shows that all the diagnostics must be passed. Sounds very promising that the lack of HD is the only reason why it's "parts or spares".

From the pics:
- internal SCSI cable is there
- you get a PCI-X dual-channel SCSI card as well (QLogic QLA12160 perhaps?)
- the DIMMs don't look fully "packed" with RAM ICs (compared to 1GB DIMMs) so I'd suspect 256MB each, but they might be 512MB
- good external condition, which hopefully means it's been generally looked after
- the label on the back is "copyright 2002", year of launch; of course that label may never have changed so (c)2002 might appear on all Fuels but if I'm right about the RAM I'd tend to assume an earlier rather than later model, so more likely to be 500 or 600MHz
- BUT the bolt that secures the drive cage to the cross-bar is missing! the horror! :-O

Shipping is always a gamble, but at least a Fuel's case is metal on 5 out of 6 faces. More plastic to get broken on an Octane or O2.

Enjoy!