11 Feb
2003
11 Feb
'03
6:57 a.m.
On Feb 11, 15:07, Patrick Finnegan wrote:
I picked up an Iris 4D/80 'deskside' monster,
sans drives, with
digital
video I/O capabilites and 'analog' video
output and 'VTR' control
today
from Purdue Salvage. I don't have a whole lot of
documentation on
the
system (well, basically none), and about all I do know
is that the
processor board seems to be filled with RAM and it has BNC jacks on
the
back panel for connection to a monitor.
Can anyone tell me what versions of IRIX might work with this system
and/or where to pick up a copy? I'd love to see if I could get this
thing
running again.
It should be capable of running IRIX 5.3, but unless it's unusual and
has more than 16MB of RAM, you'd be better off with 4.0.5 (last version
was 4.0.5f). Also the graphics may not be supported fully in 5.3,
depending on what options you've got. A useful place to start looking
for information is the 4DFAQ (also known as "This Old SGI") which
you'll find at
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Pines/2258/4dfaq.html
Don't forget the comp.sys.sgi.* newsgroups, there are a few people
there who either have or fondly remember the 4D series and can help.
Look on Ebay (yes, really) for IRIX. 5.3 is more common than 4.0.5 but
they do appear fom time to time. I have a 4.0.5 CD which I'd offer to
copy, but some kind soul scratched it rather badly and it won't read
now :-(
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Network Manager
University of York