Getting Started, Documentation, Tips & Tricks

I just got me a Fuel and wanted to set it up. So I installed IRIX 6.5.22 (the newest version I got) and I got till 94% and it stood there for an hour or more and I did give up this installation and pressed the power button. Then a menu showed up if I really want to stop and screw the installation or if I want to go on. So I gave it a try and did go on and it worked, I could finish the installation.
Now when IRIX is starting up I only get till it says that no ethernet cable is inserted and then the same again, it stands there till judgement day

Does anyone know what the problem is and how I can fix it?

Could you give us some details on the installation: Did you install IRIX by means of a guide, and if so, which one? And did you use CD media or an install server?

The Fuel should not take a lot of time installing IRIX. Maybe the drive has issues. Perhaps perform a drive test with fx to rule that out.

Is there anything else the Fuel moans about? Fan/temperature problems?

Hi FlasBurn,

Was it a clean disk you installed IRIX on? or Did you make a new file system on your install procedure?
Just wondering if there are left over remains from NFS/NIS ?

Although stopping an install before it's finished is never ideal.

Ok, I installed from CD. First I cleaned the disk with creating a new label/filesystem. The installer then asked for formating the drive, which I did.
Then the normal procedure in reading all wanted CDs and so on. I can give you a link to the guide when I'm at home.

I will look if I have another spare drive to test. But wouldn't the installer report any hdd problems?

FlasBurn wrote: label/filesystem

Label/filesystem is not the same thing old chap. You can label a drive and keep the filesystem.

Does the following ring a bell..


Just want to make sure the drive was completely clear.

I created a new label in the fx program. Then the installer started and said it need to format the drive and call mkfs.
So to be sure I have to install it once more and really clean the drive!?

If it's called mkfs, then you can safely say it's clear. But I would if it were I, restart the install again..

Ok, so I started the installation again and I also changed the disk.

I use this guide:

http://www.sgidepot.co.uk/6.5inst.html

But I use the 3 Overlay disks of 6.5.22, the application disk of 6.5.22 and the 2 foundation disks to install.

This time it hang by 51% and I pushed the power button and it went on. After getting to 94% it hang again (30mins) and I again pushed the power button, but as expecting the Fuel went off

So all I can say is, I tried 2 drives and both times it hang at 94%. So are my 2 drives defect, is the Fuel defect (and if yes what could be defect) or could it be that I install something wrong?

Is it possible to try another operating system like OpenBSD to check if the hardware is working?

uunix wrote: If it's called mkfs, then you can safely say it's clear. But I would if it were I, restart the install again..

Yes, very important. My new Octane2 was giving me grief because the HDD wasn't completely wiped. The install would error out and it almost looked like the drive was faulty, but after completely wiping it, the install proceeded without issue.

FlasBurn wrote: But I use the 3 Overlay disks of 6.5.22,

Can someone Confirm that 6.5.22 is compatible?

I cannot recall the earliest IRIX version.

uunix wrote:

FlasBurn wrote: But I use the 3 Overlay disks of 6.5.22,

Can someone Confirm that 6.5.22 is compatible?

I cannot recall the earliest IRIX version.

smj's system ran 6.5.18 when he purchased it, see viewtopic.php?f=14&t=16724549
Moreover, the wiki states that the Fuel is supported by IRIX versions 6.5.17 and up so it definitely should be possible to install it with 6.5.22 media.

Maybe start with doing an IDE? I'm not sure if anything useful can be observed from it, but it could reveal a hardware issue.

Ok, sgistuff says the Fuel is supported by version 6.5.15 and wanted to give 6.5.16 a try.

What does IDE mean?

How can I test the hardware?

Fuels definitely work with 6.5.22. As others have pointed out, to do a clean install on a Fuel, you need to wipe the drive and lay down a new filesystem by using mkfs. Adding a disk label or repartioning does not remove filesystem data that's already on the disk. To be certain that you blow away any old copies of the "mini root" installer in the swap partition, you might consider first partitioning the disk as an option drive and then running mkfs (i.e. essentially the whole drive gets set up as an xfs filesystem, blowing away the swap partition), and then repartition and mkfs again as a root drive with a swap partition and an xfs partition.

You might also try using a different drive cable.

If you are using a SCSI drive, also check that termination and IDs are correct.

FlasBurn wrote: What does IDE mean?

IDE is the "Interactive Diagnostic Environment" diagnostic program. Sometimes you can find it in a hard disk's header, but you can find it in the "stand" directory of the installation CD, for example in /CDROM/stand/. It's a program that you boot into. I haven't run it in a while, so I hesitate to comment further and risk sending you in the wrong direction, but you should be able to find details by searching the net for IRIX Interactive Diagnostic Environment.

If you have 6.5.22 CDROM media you can start the Diagnostics by inserting the first overlay CD in the CDROM drive, then pressing <esc> when starting the Fuel and in the firmware screen, select "Run Diagnostics"