SGI: Hardware

Well, I picked up an SGI Fuel for $150 very recently, a 4GB/700MHz model. The owner said it didn't work, says it flashes the video card fault code.

I'm not at home right now, but I plan to revive this machine very soon. Any advice on what to look for? I plan to take the card out, clean all the contacts with isopropanol, clean the circuits and such. Anything else I can or should try?

TeamBlackFox wrote: Anything else I can or should try?

Before you do any disasssembly I'd suggest connecting a serial terminal to see if you can get a better idea of what's wrong from either the L1 or PROM.

TeamBlackFox wrote: The owner said it didn't work, says it flashes the video card fault code.

If you're lucky the issue might be easily corrected. If you power up the somewhat-similar Tezro without a keyboard and mouse connect, the L1 display will advise "gfx cfg err". The Fuel User Guide advises the brinking red-white lightbar your seller seems to suggest he's seen also indicates the same "graphics configuration error". Perhaps the seller didn't have the kb&m connected, or had the connections reversed (I can't recall for certain if the Fuel and Tezro share the no-keyboard/mouse=gfx cfg err. Still have a Fuel but haven't had the occasion to start it in over a year).

If you're less lucky, the Fuel version of the V10 can usually be had for not too much. That would let you find out if other than graphics the Fuel will run (without having to invest more than you paid for the Fuel in a V12).

BTW, to avoid potential confusion in the future I'll mention in the SGI/IRIX world the terms graphics and video are not interchangeable. Your post may well have missed some potentially helpful input because the title of your thread implied you had a Fuel *video* problem rather than a Fuel *graphics* problem.

recondas wrote: That would let you find out if other than graphics the Fuel will run (without having to invest more than you paid for the Fuel in a V12).

In case you were going to try this, my Fuel would refuse to boot without a graphics card. I tried the setenv console d thing, too. Maybe it failed post ?

Maybe there is a way around that but I didn't find it.

recondas wrote: The Fuel User Guide advises the brinking red-white lightbar your seller seems to suggest he's seen also indicates the same "graphics configuration error". Perhaps the seller didn't have the kb&m connected, or had the connections reversed (I can't recall for certain if the Fuel and Tezro share the no-keyboard/mouse=gfx cfg err. Still have a Fuel but haven't had the occasion to start it in over a year).

Seen this a couple of times, panicked, restarted with a serial console and through some combination of PROM variables / ioconfig / setmon got it back to a working graphics configuration. So I'd second the recommendation to put off a hardware fix until you've tried through software.

But if you do need a V10, I have one spare after a V12 upgrade (which cost less than the Fuel itself, but then I paid twice what you just have, for 700/1GB!). Transatlantic postage, though

I just got the Fuel working. Loose connections. The hinv says its only 2GB RAM, with a single back dead . Lying fuckhead of a seller, but its still a bargain so I'm not gonna complain. Gotta install IRIX now to find out if its a V10 or V12.

Where did you find this lying fuckhead of a seller, if I may be so bold as to enquire? Does he have any other broken systems he'd be willing to let go for a similar song? A hundred and fifty for a 700 Fuel is an amazing deal even with the bait-n-switch RAM swindle...

I got it from a company called CMI here in Virginia. They called a client of mine I lent some help with doing some IRIX installs for a few O350 render farms, said they had some SGIs come in from a local DoD contractor. I headed over after my client got all of their rackmounts. All they had left was this Fuel, and 2 Challenge M that had seen better days. I salvaged some network cards and RAM from the Challenge Ms and took the Fuel home. As I said, I have a client in the area who uses these for CGI/rendering because they've never seen the need to upgrade.

I know it's speaking the obvious, but have you tried re-seating all the RAM? If this doesn't work, do you know if it's a faulty DIMM or a fault with the socket?

i guess you had problems with the graphics card?
if it's a video card problem it might not be critical unless you wanted the box for editing and such

Yes definitely reseat the RAM, when I upgraded my Octane to 8 gigs it took me a couple of tries before all 8 were actually recongized, during which time I too was blathering to myself about the fuckhead seller who'd sold me the upgrade with "bad" modules...