1 Apr
2005
1 Apr
'05
8 a.m.
At 11:21 AM +0100 4/1/05, Witchy wrote:
Folks,
(eep, is a Sparc5 on topic?!)
While clearing out the soon-to-be dining room where all my stuff has been
stored for the last couple of years I found a Sparc5 that I'd completely
forgotten about. It's been completely robbed of bits that I can see -
memory, floppy drive, CD, HDD - so what's the minimum I can get away with
before at least powering it up to see if it works? The only spare memory
I've got is PC100 (may even be PC66) 168-pin DIMMS.
The bad news is that the memory it requires is specific to the Sparc
5 (*maybe* the Sparc 4 might use the same RAM, I can't rememeber).
Can I use a serial console on it or do I need a 13w3
monitor cable? The
Either, I typically run Suns with a serial console.
HDD looks like it's a standard SCA-80
connection....
Yes, though you'll want one that runs as cool as possible.
keyboard and mouse are
there but I hope I don't need one of those foil mousemats!
Depends, is the mouse mechanical, or optical. If it's optical I'd
personally junk it and get a mechanical mouse. I assume some people
like the optical mice.
Assuming it does work does anyone have a floppy and CD
spare for this thing?
To the best of my knowledge you can use ones from a 4 or 20.
Realistically I don't see need for the floppy drive. I don't think
I've ever used one on a Sparc.
You might want to take a look at getting a dual CPU Sparc 20 rather
than reviving a Sparc 5. If the memory for a Sparc 5 is still up
there like it used to be 2-3 years ago, a loaded 20 might be cheaper!
Zane
--
--
| Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Administrator |
| healyzh at aracnet.com (primary) | OpenVMS Enthusiast |
| | Classic Computer Collector |
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