IRIX and Software

100% dundee here ( fu:el 6.5.29f)

thanks a ton harry
(more booze on me)


(would it be easy for u to come up with a script that turns any disk/volume/folder into a permission-agnostic one?)

Glad you like it!


I don't know, but I like to "fix" the things in the IRIX GUI that I think is missing on tasks that I often perform.
I haven't had the problem that you describe. So I have had no interest in fixing it.

But if you can write a script that does what you want I can help out binding it to a menu.

//deBug

Sorry to reply to an old thread, but does anyone have a copy of this.

Thanks heaps

~Ivy

Cant you get it from [url]zachrisson.net/sgi[/url] ?

Ah ha, the links I was using was giving me a 404.

thanks heaps.

So I've a new o2 and am loving learning about IRIX I just had a couple of questions for more experienced users.

I'd really like to get a set of OEM cds for my machine (it came with everything preinstalled), I have seen some online for just the foundations cds of like 6.5.5, if I was to by a set like that at a later date if I got a 6.5.29/30 overlay could I install it after using a 6.5.5 foundation version? Also is there anywhere to buy any of the IRIX software anymore?

I was able to get my hands on a 1600SW and adapter, I was really hoping to be able to plug one monitor into the VGA port and then use the 1600SW on the adapter. A quick google search found that people were not recommending that and after trying it just for testing purposes it seems to only mirror the signal from the 1600SW onto whatever is plugged into the VGA port. Has anyone found a fix for this or is it just not possible?

I've gone through quite a few of wiki pages/howtos to try to find tips to speed up my o2, but if anyone has any good tips please let me know!

Thanks a ton and loving my o2!

What do you mean by OEM? There were quite some branded SGI workstations sold, e.g. from control data, but as far as I know, they all ran standard IRIX.
The set of installation CDs for IRIX 6.5 is splitted into two parts, one is version specific (overlays, (complementary) applications) and one is not (foundations, dev. libs). In theory, developer foundations are also not version specific, but as it turns out, there exist two revisions of dev. foundations and later IRIXes want the later one (part-nr. ending with -03 instead of -02).

btw, you can get IRIX 6.5.22 overlays from SGI for free after registering in supportfolio

The Foundation cds are identical for all versions of IRIX, so, yes, if you have a full set of IRIX 6.5.5 cds, including the Foundation cds, then all you would need to upgrade to a later version of IRIX is the overlay cds.

If you plan on developing software, there were different sets of development libraries included with some versions of IRIX 6.5, so you may need additional cds in those cases. See http://www.nekochan.net/wiki/ ... nd_CD_Sets for more information.

Thanks very much for the information! I'll definetly be registering to get a copy of hte 6.5.22 overlay, my machine right now has 6.5.21f on it. Basically what I was doing was looking at getting something like this off ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Silicon-Graphic ... 637wt_1163

I had thought that something like that would be just the foundation, so if I used that library set and got the 6.5.22 overlay CDs from SGI would that be enough for a clean install on a machine? Also I was hoping to get official copies of some software, like Maya or eclipse (or some other good paint/texture creation program) but I'm not really sure where to look accept for hoping they pop up on ebay. Does anywhere still sell old IRIX software?

The set you point to on eBay will not help you -- it is an "overlay" set, not a "foundation" set. Think of Overlays as "updaters," not as full installer cds. Foundation sets generally have significantly more than three cds. Take another look at the wiki link I included in my previous post for details.

At an absolute minimum, you will need a "Foundation 1" cd, a "Foundation 2" cd, and version-specific "Installation Tools and Overlays," the latter either as cds or downloaded from SGI, to perform a basic IRIX installation.

If you're still not certain what to get, the safest route is to find a full "Advanced Workstation Environment" bundle, which will include everything needed for a full, clean installation, plus a few extras.

Gotcha, thanks a lot for the info. Glad I asked before buying any CDs! I'll be on the lookout for an Advanced Workstation Environment bundle. You don't happen to know any places where IRIX software can still be acquired do you?

Be mindful of the Forum rules .... IRIX itself appears on fleabbay from time to time as "IRIX diskset 6.5.xx" with xx = 30 for the last edition but other commercial software and cracks like SoftImage, LightWave, MIPS Pro compiler, etc, exists on private ftp sites across the internet, but is not to be discussed publicly here as nekochan is provided free as a hobby by Pete and he really doesn't need legal hassles. Some IRIX software is still supported on vendor sites... For example some in this list ( http://www.nekochan.net/wiki/ ... X_software ) . For free open source software (gimp, blender, etc) take a look at nekoware ( http://www.nekochan.net/wiki/what-is-nekowar.html ) in the 4th section at the top of the forum, hundreds of applications provided your IRIX version is greater than 6.5.21. Older versions of GNU software (~2004) and the like are available at http://freeware.sgi.com/ and a few other places.


This also requires patch 5086 from versions of IRIX before 6.5.22.



R.

Roger about the forum rules, I was actually trying to find way to purchase real copies of the old IRIX software. I've been searching ebay pretty heavily for IRIX software, there are a couple setup there now for around $600. Slightly outside my price range Sorry if I gave any indication I was looking for pirated software. I have been using Nekoware, and I installed Aterm and nano immediately. I just wanted to get a legitimate set of CDs so if I had to reinstall my system from scratch I would be able to do so. That actually leads me to another question, my system came with quite a bit of software installed on it. Is there a way me for me to back up the licenses or the local flexlm server so that I won't lose the licenses if the hard drive ever dies?

Doesn't sound like you're seriously considering that $600 dollar set on eBay, but just for the record last time I asked SGI would sell a complete standalone version of IRIX 6.5.30 AWE for the same price, and the SGI supplied version included 90 days of full access to SupportFolio. Full access to SupportFolio means you could also get a complete set of the restricted-access patches that have been released since the original release of IRIX 6.5.30.
You can make a copy of the license file. Most (but not all) licenses are contained in /var/flexlm/license.dat. Not all programs follow that licensing methodology, if you're not certain you can open License Manager (from inside Toolchest > System) and compare the contents of license.dat to the list that appears in the Manager GUI. Highlight any that appear in the GUI (that aren't in license.dat) and click the "Get Info ..." button to see where those are located.

Even if you do acquire a full copy of IRIX, I'd recommend cloning the hard drive(s) in your SGI system so you have a ready-to-go bootable backup. That'd save you having to reconfigure/restore your personal settings, user files and licenses - stuff that can easily require more work that a complete reinstall. I clone at least once a month in a three-drive rotation so I always have a good fall-back copy available - more often if I've got something specific I want to protect.

There's a cloning guide in the wiki: http://www.nekochan.net/wiki/ ... ystem_Disk
and another frequently cited version at Ian Mapleson's site: http://www.sgidepot.co.uk/disksfiles.html

Yet again I second the GOBI, recondas'es advice. Cloning a disk is an excellent idea.

IRIX USD $40.00 ... I know nothing about the seller and have nothing to do with the sale
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Silicon-Grap ... _648wt_907

Definitely better than $600.

For reasons unknown its listed on Australian Fleabay but is located in the USA.

R.

Thanks a lot for the information! I'll definitively begin looking into some cloning options.

But yet another set of overlay discs I'm afraid.

Look at that picture:

A box set of foundation discs is 2 or 3 times thicker.

If you google for 'sgi 013-2478' you'll get all sorts of IRIX overlay versions. This one is 013-2478-006, so I believe what we're looking at here is an unopened set of IRIX 6.5.6 overlays.

Whoa Nelly ! Whoa there, I say !

In a lot of ways 6.5.21 is the best version of Irix there is. It's also hard to find now. You can run nekoware on it if you install a patch (I forget the number.) Beware "upgrading" to 6.5.22. That particular "upgrade" screws up some of the best parts of the user experience. Also, there is a bit of debate about this but one of the more reputable 'channers found significant slowdowns on an O2 at release levels higher than ... 6.5.22 ? Somewhere in there.

The fixes in x.x.30 are useful for Octanes, Fuels, Oxxx'es and so on but much less so for an O2.

With an O2 I'd patch 6.5.21 and stay there. At the very least, do a xfsdump and save it for when you want to go back. Display Postscript and Impressario and a whole lot of other utilities that SGI dumped at 6.5.22 are good. *

If I weren't running a Fool , that's where I'd be.

* They dumped them to save money, not for performance or quality reasons.

If you're careful you can have a .22 that keeps Impressario and DPS and all the like. The really irritating bit is the part where they have a recommended patch for .22 that removes DPS. You heard right, all it does is delete DPS and replace it with nothing.

I seriously doubt Adobe gave them any money back for that number, so why did they bother?

Do you have that patch handy, SAQ ? Maybe we can reverse engineer it to do the opposite. I've tried (half-heartedly) putting DPS back in once or twice without any great success.


Because by that point in time the management of SGI was a bunch of certified jerks ?