The collected works of itsvince725 - Page 1

After a good while of looking around I managed to obtain a SGI Indigo2 (teal, don't know what processor) locally! Of course, since I've never owned one of these before (or any non-x86/68k/PPC computer) I have more than a few questions...

1. Where can I find a really good service manual with nice pictures for doing work on this machine? The guy who sold it to me says it doesn't boot properly which sounds like it could be NVRAM, but I won't know for sure until I get a monitor adapter.

2. What kind of hard drives do these things take? Obviously SCSI, but what kind of SCSI? I only have a system disk, no storage disk (was likely pulled and destroyed by whatever company originally owned the machine) and no sled for it either.

3. Is there any way of determining the processor configuration without tearing the machine apart or booting it, perhaps through the model number? I know you can do it with Macs but I'm not sure about SGIs. I have the model number right here:

http://i.imgur.com/hHKpXQp.jpg

4. How upgradeable is a teal Indigo2 like mine? I'd like to upgrade mine to a R4600 if it has a R4000 or R4400 (cost permitting, of course) because more power is always good, and I might want to upgrade the graphics system as well because I don't know what the specs of the current card are.

I appreciate any and all advice you guys are willing to give me!

I just got an Indigo2 but it's missing a few things I'd really like to have, namely a storage disk and matching sled, an optical drive, and a 13W3 to VGA adapter so I can run it off my multi-sync monitor. I honestly don't need a SCSI disk itself as much as I need the sled for one, but I definitely need the optical drive and monitor adapter. A mouse and keyboard would be nice too, but not as necessary since the Indigo2 uses PS/2 connectors.

Thanks!

Mine says CMNB007Y75 so that means 150MHz R4400, correct?

I did take a look inside but I didn't really know what I was looking at (aside from obvious stuff like drive connectors and the graphics board) so I don't know whether it's been internally upgraded or not. All I could say for sure is that all the RAM slots are populated, which is certainly nice to see.

I suppose I'll have to get two disks then, the system disk currently in there is only 1GB.

I have found some drives on eBay of decent capacity for relatively low prices ($59 for a 73GB drive pre-loaded with IRIX 6.5.22 and some other software) but I'd like to get a second sled...

I do have the feet and the faceplate!

Video card has a 13W3 and a 3 pin DIN connector so it must be either Newport or Express then.

I'm not expecting maxed out RAM but I'm used to buying Macs with like one slot populated and the original factory minimum RAM so getting a machine that was upgraded a bit during its lifetime is a nice surprise.

Are you sure it's SGI compatible though? The listing doesn't say and I don't want to buy a Sun one by mistake...

Oh, this is the seller with the SCSI hard disks I was looking at! Well, I suppose if he really knows his stuff I'd be wise to buy from him.

Trippynet wrote:

itsvince725 wrote: 4. How upgradeable is a teal Indigo2 like mine? I'd like to upgrade mine to a R4600 if it has a R4000 or R4400 (cost permitting, of course) because more power is always good, and I might want to upgrade the graphics system as well because I don't know what the specs of the current card are.

Welcome to the Indigo2 club!

Bear in mind that a higher number doesn't automatically make it better. The R4600 was a derivative that was more geared towards Integer applications (it's good at these, but its FPU performance is weaker), plus the only speed it was released for in the Indigo2 was 133MHz, whereas the R4400 went up to 250MHz (these are a bit more pricey as they're still used by some medical scanners and the likes).

I did not know that, thank you!

Well, if it's cost-effective going from 150MHz to 200Mhz would still provide a noticeable improvement, especially if I maxed the RAM.

What about 68-pin drives with an adapter? 68 pin drives are pretty common.

I'd still need a drive sled though because the interface on the backplane doesn't match any hard drive I've ever seen...

Do I need a sled for an optical drive too? That also is an odd connector.

Well, I suppose it will depend on the parts cost and availability then.

How much RAM do these things take, anyway? I know R10000 Indigo2s can apparently take a full 1GB, but I'd imagine teal R4xxx I2s have a lower RAM limit.

I guess I still need another hard drive sled and possibly also an optical drive sled then. I'd really like to have an optical drive.

Alright, that's certainly a good amount for a mid-90s computer.

And thanks for that link, I imagine I'll be using that site often.

I have some spare Apple internal SCSI drives (since I have a collection of 68k and PPC Macs) but I didn't think they would work in a SGI.

Unless you're talking externals. I don't have an external SCSI CD drive yet.

Caddies are relatively easy to find so it's not a big deal...

I looked on that Mashek website and they have both a 3.5" caddy for a second hard disk and a 5.25" caddy for an optical drive but wow, not cheap. Will have to either shop around or put money aside for that.

I found someone on this very forum with very affordably priced drive sleds, several affordably priced internal SCSI optical drives, and hard disks and video adapters on Acronym1's eBay page.

If only I wasn't going on vacation so I could buy all this stuff right now and get the Indigo2 up and running!

Was it the one with the option to make an offer? Darn, I wanted that one.

*checks watch list*

Yep, it was...oh well, I need to get the Indigo2 up and running and I'm getting an Indy as well so I can wait.

I honestly kinda love the G3 beer dispenser...

Well apparently I need a new R4400 CPU board now.

I need at least a 150MHz unit.

I've only done it once and it was through eBay...so I won't be any help.

Well it looks like I might not need a CPU board. What I'll need instead is a graphics board compatible with the IP22 (?) motherboard and backplane.

God I hope it isn't the motherboard...

All I know is that the graphics board causes the hard disk to not work, as it spins up when the graphics board isn't installed. That tells me at the very least that I need a different graphics board.

I don't smell anything when the machine is running (and I'm familiar with that fishy capacitor smell) so I don't think it's the PSU. It's a R4400 system so it's pre-Impact.

The way I see it, if I buy a graphics board (especially a slightly better one) and it turns out the PSU is at fault, I'll still have a graphics board.

Replacing the PSU wouldn't guarantee the current graphics board would work again...

Dragon Maid is a nice bright comedy show, but I need to catch up.

Oh I don't plan on throwing away any old proprietary PSUs I have to replace.

Though honestly I'd rather get one I have rebuilt (I just don't have the inclination for that sort of thing) than buy another one.

I actually purchased the sleds I need from another Nekochan member and a CD drive off eBay that I'm hoping will work, but I'll keep you in mind if the CD drive isn't good!

Chatting on IRC.

duck wrote:

itsvince725 wrote: Chatting on IRC.

As to imply, there's a time when you're not?

When I'm sleeping or at college, that's about it.

guardian452 wrote:

itsvince725 wrote: This Frankenstein's monster of an AT PC.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/232266046242?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

The case and motherboard are like 5 years apart, it's so weird.

Eh, I reused the same compaq case and psu for about 15 years. Started life as a p4 with geforce 2 mx in 2001, upgraded with core 2 duo and geforce 9400. Gave it to a friend and afaik it's still running as-is.

One of those compaqs that had the interchangable color translucent panel on the front.

I actually am looking for a PIII Deskpro right now, hoping to find one this weekend at an old computer store.

An IBM PC XT 286! It's missing a hard drive and it's slightly rusty but I paid a lot less than eBay prices AND I got a Model M keyboard with it!

Trash-80 Model 4. Super low serial number too, it's serial number 238.

It comes and goes. After the Model 4 I'll go back to buying mostly parts for a while.

Yeah, I've got some Macs and PCs that will be sold off over the summer. Probably some of them will be replaced with other machines though.

Oh yeah, I'm still on again off again looking for a Sun pizza box. I have a C64 too but since it doesn't work I'm just going to sell it for parts. Probably will sell the 1541 floppy drive I bought with it too.

I've got at least 20 machines all told, counting laptops. It miiiight be time to downsize a tad.

I figured out what my Indigo2 needs is not a graphics board, but a power supply...what's the part number(s) for teal Indigo2 power supplies? Found some PSUs on eBay but don't know if they're for R4x00 or R10k systems.

Raion-Fox wrote: 060-0021-001

R4k and R10k PSUs are the same, its the non-impact graphics you want. So there you go

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SGI-Silicon-Gra ... 4902.l9144

Does that mean this is an Impact PSU?

Ah, I didn't know Impact PSUs had a blue power cable! That helps a lot, thank you.

I might as well get an Impact PSU, unless they're significantly more expensive.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SGI-Silicon-Gra ... Ciid%253A2

That's honestly not a bad price for a proprietary PSU, and I could easily knock a few bucks off by making an offer...