SGI: Hardware

The mechanism is a Pioneer DVD-304S slot-loader; 10x DVD, 40x CD. This one has HP firmware version 2.00, and was apparently intended for use with HP-UX based systems.

The drive has a jumper to allow selection of a 512 or 2048 block size. It successfully booted IRIX while connected to an Octane2 and an Onyx 300. As a bonus, audio-over-SCSI also worked <on either platform>.

The HP part number for this one is C4315-63001. That part number is for the drive in an external case that * was not * intended for stand-alone use, the SCSI connector is an SCA variant meant for use in a modular rack frame via a SCSI backplane. These can be found on a fairly regular basis on eBay <this one went for the opening bid - 99 cents>.

The HP case is a fairly nice tool-less design. To use the HP case the SCA-style connector would need to be replaced <some light-duty modification or fabrication would be involved>. The drive could also be removed from the case for use, but be aware a faceplate is not attached to the drive, it's part of the case. I have also seen the drive in a similar HP case that *was* intended for external use.

Here's how the dive <with HP firmware> identifies itself to IRIX:


Pioneer still lists some info on their version of the drive: http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/ ... SI.Support

I'll put up a few photos later.

Damn! I've got a 10x/40x Pioneer slot loading scsi DVD-ROM in the attic. Need to try this myself

jan-jaap wrote: Need to try this myself

It'd be nice to find out that the Pioneer firmware works as well with IRIX - let us know what you find out.

So, I dug it up. Mine is a Pioneer DVD-305S, a SCSI 10x/40x DVD-ROM in the usual form factor with a 50pin scsi connector. I set the 512byte blocksize jumper.

I attached it to an Indy running IRIX 6.2. The Indy will boot from an original IRIX CD just fine (I didn't try audio).

IRIX reports:

But, and this is where it gets interesting: it also boots IRIX DVDs . Yes, and that's no a typo!

First, I used a PC with Nero to burn a 'dd' image of an IRIX 5.3 CD to a DVD. This boots just fine, just a lot quicker than you're used to from 'Indy vintage' external CD-ROMs

Encouraged by this initial success, I added a second (4.5GB) disk to my PowerIndigo2 and 'dd'-ed the first IRIX 6.2 CD onto it. I then used fx to grow the partition to the size of the actual harddisk, changed the partition type back to 'sysv' (?) and used growfs to grow the EFS filesystem. Next, I copied the second IRIX 6.2 CD into this filesystem, unmounted it and 'dd'-ed the entire harddisk to my server where I burned it to a DVD.

This boots too!

IRIX reports:

As far as IRIX is concerned, this is just a very large CD-ROM. And it seems it doesn't care, as long as the device utilizes a 512byte block size. Somehow, this was to be expected since you can perform similar hacks using a harddisk.

I am quite excited. Imagine an entire IRIX distro including all patches etc. on one or two DVDs. I've only used systems and software from well before the DVD was invented so this hack is completely transparent

Oh, there are some thing that don't work:
* UFS. This would require modifications to IRIX. Think of this as a large EFS CD-ROM
* DVD video. Ditto.
* You may need IRIX 6.2 to make one, I believe IRIX 6.5 has read-only EFS support
* My PowerSeries doesn't want to boot from the Pioneer, either from a CD or DVD. I tried with the 4D/440VGX which has PROMs that are new enough that they recognize a CDROM (doesn't need those 'I'm a harddisk' hacks).
* I didn't try dual layer DVD, and I don't even know if the Pioneer supports them. There's an upper limit of 8GB to EFS filesystems.

Have fun

That's actually a cool idea, I thought about it before too as the CDs are not any normal standard but didn't know how to actually accomplish the task.

D-EJ915 wrote: That's actually a cool idea, I thought about it before too as the CDs are not any normal standard but didn't know how to actually accomplish the task.

JJ - The specifics/differences of your bootable DVD recipe would make a great addendum to the Bootable EFS CDROM article in the neko-wiki.

As an additional note for anyone looking for a SCSI DVD-ROM that can also be used to boot IRIX install CDs - I recently acquired an HP StorageWorks Model C7499B DVD-ROM. The drive mechanism in the HP StorageWorks Model C7499B is OEM'd by Pioneer - the HP label and firmware identify the mechanism as a <Pioneer> model 305S. The HP7499/Pioneer 305S are rated to read DVDs at 10x, and CDs at 40x.

Unlike the HP C4315 listed above, this one has a faceplate attached. The face plate one this one is black, they appear to also have been released with a beige faceplate <with a slightly different model number - C7499 A >. Either version of the C7499 comes with a proprietary HP mounting bracket/SCA converter that's easily removed <as a bonus you'll end up with a nice 50-to-68 pin internal SCSI converter>.

The C7499B was tested with an Onyx 300 and an Origin 350. When attached to either system, the drive successfully booted an IRIX 6.5 Installation Tools CD-ROM <be sure to install a jumper on the header marked 2048/512>. Once either system was booted, the C7499 also successfully provided audio-over-SCSI. Because of the similarities with the other Pioneer DVD-ROMs listed in this thread, I suspect it also has the ability to boot a user-made DVD installation disk <see jan-jaap's post above for details>.

....and as a nice fringe benefit, this C7499B arrived with an hp-ux 11i version 2 for Itanium 2-based systems DVD inside the drive.

I looked in my stock closet and it looks like the HP DVD-305SKRB is the same Pioneer 305S drive under a different SKU (P/N 0950-4488 and replacement P/N A9879-67001).

The Pioneer 305S is the way to go. I've personally used them to load Irix 6.2 and 6.5 on an Indy, Indigo2, O2 (externally with a 68 -> 50 pin adapter), and on an octane 2. They are fast, quiet, and smooth operating. They support audio over the bus (verified) and they are usually plentiful on Ebay and elsewhere. You might get "lucky" and end up with a really weird one like this one I bought recently after this thread reminded me I loaned out my 305S and never got it back:

Long-arse link to ebay:
http://tinyurl.com/q7m6dag

I have no idea why it's light blue like that. I have some fantasy that it came from a a cool Unix machine from a secret back room at Bell Labs, but it was probably pulled from the belly of a light blue Pop Star! Karaoke machine which fritzed out after the clown fell on it during the birthday party.

sevenspirals wrote: The Pioneer 305S is the way to go. I've personally used them to load Irix 6.2 and 6.5 on an Indy, Indigo2, O2 (externally with a 68 -> 50 pin adapter), and on an octane 2. They are fast, quiet, and smooth operating. They support audio over the bus (verified) and they are usually plentiful on Ebay and elsewhere. You might get "lucky" and end up with a really weird one like this one I bought recently after this thread reminded me I loaned out my 305S and never got it back:

Long-arse link to ebay:
http://tinyurl.com/q7m6dag

I have no idea why it's light blue like that. I have some fantasy that it came from a a cool Unix machine from a secret back room at Bell Labs, but it was probably pulled from the belly of a light blue Pop Star! Karaoke machine which fritzed out after the clown fell on it during the birthday party.

What a wacky colour. Anyway, mine is the same slot loader, except it's Fuel-drive-bay-black.

They made these blue so Jan-Jaap could eventually get one to put in his proto-Fuel .

Since recondas mentioned this thread in another post ( viewtopic.php?f=3&t=16728527 ), I went looking for these again. Searching for a Pioneer 30[45]s only found one $75 unit. Searching for CHC's "HP A9879-67001" part number netted two at an offer of $15 each, plus shipping.