SGI: Hardware

Hey there,

How do i remove the PROM battery from and SGI fuel box or otherwise reset the PROM. I keep getting solid red light errors,

http://techpubs.sgi.com/library/tpl/cgi ... /ch05.html

I don't think resetting the PROM is going to fix that problem.

I'd suggest connecting a serial terminal to the L1 port on the motherboard. The L1 port is a standard DB9 serial port located just to the right of the SCSI connector on the mother board - you can follow the SCSI cable from the hard drive back to the motherboard to find it quickly.

You'll need a null modem cable, set the serial terminal to 38,400 - 8 - N - 1 <Hyperterminal, Putty, CU or numerous others will work>. Disconnect the power cable, keyboard and mouse, then connect the null modem serial cable to the L1 port. Then reconnect the power cable but don't press the power button yet <and leave the keyboard and mouse disconnected>. Capture any output as the L1 powers up and post it here. If you don't get anything on the terminal after you connect the power cable <the L1 will power up as soon as the power cable is connected>, I'd suggest double checking the serial cable and or serial terminal communications settings.

If the L1 powers up without error, attempt to power up the Fuel by depressing the power button. Record and post any error messages or other output and post the results here. *If* the system seems to power up, you can switch from L1 output to the PROM/IRIX console by pressing the "control" and "d" keys simultaneously <on the serial terminal>, and switch back to the L1 controller by pressing the "control" and "t" key combination.

There are null modem serial cable pin-outs available on the nekochan wiki, as well as other suggestions on the use of serial terminal programs. As unintuitive as it might seem <if you're new to unix>, those wiki articles include the word "headless" in the titles <and are located in the "How to" section of the wiki>.

understood. Man thank you for the info. I'm going to get that cable and connect via hyperterminal tomorrow when I get of work. I'll report back when the results are in.

The terminal is working and I have had a response:

ALERT: Unknown PSC: 2

Interesting - what happens if you try to start the system?

Have you changed the power supply <or any other internal components> or upgraded the L1 firmware recently? If not, has the Fuel worked correctly since it came into your possession?

Could you post a complete copy of the output of "log", "serial all" and "flash status" run at the L1 command prompt? It won't be necessary to power the system up <to get to the L1 command prompt>, just attach the terminal to the L1 port and connect the power cable to the Fuel.

The system is heavily upgraded. I purchased it for immediate upgrading to its present state. The RAM, HDD, Sound card, and CPU are all new. I never powered it on after purchasing it because it didn't have all the needed pieces, i.e. RAM, CPU. the system was described as "working" by the man who sold it to me. He has a lab and plenty of SGI machines.

Outputs coming.

Upon attaching the the serial cable to the box and reading the outputs, it started working flawlessly. All is registering normal and the speed is out of this world. I don't know what happened but I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth.

Sounds like it was a Heisenbug ...

Obvious upgrade ...

Ian.