21 Dec
2000
21 Dec
'00
3:27 a.m.
Can anyone on the list help me out with my SGI's?
I made a trade a trade for 2 Personal Iris 4D/35's. Cool lookin' computers,
however, I have a few problems.....
Neither one has a KB, Mouse or Monitor, and although a decent SVGA works
fine, I can't for the life of me find the KB/Mouse for these anywhere (they
have the ps2 style connector, but are *not* ps2 compatable).
After hooking them up to a Dumb Terminal I find that they both work (at least
up to the prom) and 1 actually will boot into Irix 4.0.2... The other has no
detectable OS.
The one that *does* boot to Irix has a root password that I don't have (of
course).
Is there any way to gain root access on that machine other than removing the
drive and mounting it on another box to change the passwd / crack it?
After I do actually get the one box running can I somehow transfer the OS
from one to the other? I read somewhere there was a
prom command to
duplicate hard drives???
Is there someone on the list willing to part with an old copy of Irix? These
machines will only run up to 5.0.3 I think.. Anyone have a spare KB/Mouse
for these machines? I can run them (when I get them working) from a Dumb
Terminal, but would rather experience the famous SGI GUI.
Any other hints / tips / suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
-Linc F.
21 Dec
21 Dec
3:57 a.m.
Can anyone on the list help me out with my SGI's?
I made a trade a trade for 2 Personal Iris 4D/35's. Cool lookin' computers,
however, I have a few problems.....
Neither one has a KB, Mouse or Monitor, and although a decent SVGA works
fine, I can't for the life of me find the KB/Mouse for these anywhere (they
have the ps2 style connector, but are *not* ps2 compatable).
After hooking them up to a Dumb Terminal I find that they both work (at least
up to the prom) and 1 actually will boot into Irix 4.0.2... The other has no
detectable OS.
The one that *does* boot to Irix has a root password that I don't have (of
course).
As you have discovered, the monitor is easy. The keyboard and mouse
are the hard parts. They are an SGI design, so you need to get an
SGI keyboard. You can occassionally find them on eBay or some
of the resellers have them as well. You are probably looking at
$30 at the minimum.
Note, CDC used to resell SGI workstations rebadged as CDC machines,
so there are some CDC keyboards that will work as well. The
CDC part number is 9500802, just in case you come across one.
Is there any way to gain root access on that machine other than removing the
drive and mounting it on another box to change the passwd / crack it?
After I do actually get the one box running can I somehow transfer the OS
from one to the other? I read somewhere there was a prom command to
duplicate hard drives???
Is there someone on the list willing to part with an old copy of Irix? These
machines will only run up to 5.0.3 I think.. Anyone have a spare KB/Mouse
for these machines? I can run them (when I get them working) from a Dumb
Terminal, but would rather experience the famous SGI GUI.
Any other hints / tips / suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Since you can boot at least one of them, I assume you can get to
the prom monitor. In the prom monitor look to see what is on
partition 8 (I think that's the right number) of you main disk.
On most machines the default path is set to that partition. Do
an ls of that directory and see what you have there. If there is
a miniroot there (which is not always the case) you can boot it
and edit the password file. Most of the systems I've seen haven't
been set up this way, so this fix may not be possible. The other
solution is to boot a miniroot off of disk or CD and edit the
password file.
What external media do you have? CD or tape?
I don't think you can do a remote copy from anoher machine, but
you can do remote boots and installs. On your machine without an
OS, the disk as probably been wiped and you will need to relabel
and format it. I think the fx program is the correct one, there
is a standalone version which is usually on partition 8 of the
main disk (but again, not always, depends upon who set the
system up).
--
Dr. Mark Green mark(a)cs.ualberta.ca
McCalla Professor (780) 492-4584
Department of Computing Science (780) 492-1071 (FAX)
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2H1, Canada
5:26 a.m.
As you have discovered, the monitor is easy. The
keyboard and mouse
are the hard parts. They are an SGI design, so you need to get an
SGI keyboard. You can occassionally find them on eBay or some
of the resellers have them as well. You are probably looking at
$30 at the minimum.
Hmmm, I know I have a SGI keyboard, but didn't they make a couple flavors
that are different. I really need to get my stuff in a list.
4:08 a.m.
New subject: obsoletecomputermuseum.org
I noticed that the Obsolete Computer Helpine at
http://www.obsoletecomputermuseum.org broke and was taken down a couple of
weeks ago, but now the whole server is unresponsive. No website anymore.
Anyone know what's up with this?
--
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
| .:Bill Layer:. | Viking Electronics,Inc. 1531 Industrial St |
| .:Sales Technician:. | Hudson, WI 54016 USA + 715.386.8861 x210 |
| b.layer(a)vikingelectronics.com | http://www.vikingelectronics.com |
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Telecom Solutions for the 21st Century" + Powered by Slackware Linux 7.1.0
22 Dec
22 Dec
12:33 a.m.
New subject: obsoletecomputermuseum.org
I haven't been on there in a while but didn't realize that it was down/gone.
I have to look and see if I have the owner's email address and write to find
out if this is it or if there is a new site now.
Maybe it's time to see about getting someone to sponsor a site similar to
that, with the posted messages and such online? The possibilities are
endless I guess...
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org
[mailto:owner-classiccmp@classiccmp.org]On Behalf Of Bill Layer
Sent: Thursday, December 21, 2000 12:09 PM
To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org
Subject: obsoletecomputermuseum.org
I noticed that the Obsolete Computer Helpine at
http://www.obsoletecomputermuseum.org broke and was taken down a couple of
weeks ago, but now the whole server is unresponsive. No website anymore.
Anyone know what's up with this?
--
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++
| .:Bill Layer:. | Viking Electronics,Inc. 1531 Industrial St
|
| .:Sales Technician:. | Hudson, WI 54016 USA + 715.386.8861 x210
|
| b.layer(a)vikingelectronics.com | http://www.vikingelectronics.com
|
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++
"Telecom Solutions for the 21st Century" + Powered by Slackware Linux 7.1.0
1:02 a.m.
New subject: obsoletecomputermuseum.org
The site was run by Tom Carlson, his email address is/was
tcarlson(a)ncsc.dni.us.
His format was a *little* outdated, but it was still a really great site. If
the site doesn't reappear in the next few weeks, I'm considering creating my
own, using Phorum.
http://www.phorum.org
You out there Tom?
On Friday 22 December 2000 08:33, you wrote:
I haven't been on there in a while but didn't
realize that it was
down/gone. I have to look and see if I have the owner's email address and
write to find out if this is it or if there is a new site now.
Maybe it's time to see about getting someone to sponsor a site similar to
that, with the posted messages and such online? The possibilities are
endless I guess...
--
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
| .:Bill Layer:. | Viking Electronics,Inc. 1531 Industrial St |
| .:Sales Technician:. | Hudson, WI 54016 USA + 715.386.8861 x210 |
| b.layer(a)vikingelectronics.com | http://www.vikingelectronics.com |
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Telecom Solutions for the 21st Century" + Powered by Slackware Linux 7.1.0
1:13 a.m.
New subject: obsoletecomputermuseum.org
At 08:33 AM 12/22/00 -0600, you wrote:
I haven't been on there in a while but didn't
realize that it was down/gone.
I have to look and see if I have the owner's email address and write to find
out if this is it or if there is a new site now.
Maybe it's time to see about getting someone to sponsor a site similar to
that, with the posted messages and such online? The possibilities are
endless I guess...
I have the Abandoned Computer Shelter site at
http://www.computershelter.org. At the moment it's rather small and
juvenile, but I'm looking to expand it. I need some Perl CGI stuff done to
make bulletin boards and to automate the signup procedure for getting your
name on the ACS list. (anyone? anyone?) <shrug> Who knows. It'd be
nice to have a consistent site, I think. Plus, then have a museum section
to feature different old computers. I'd probably ask that people
contribute pictures of their "museum-able" pieces, some history behind
them, and what you use them for now. I think those are more interesting
than the old "well, I use it as a coffeetable" stories. "I use my VAX for
a wetbar!" <--- classic example. :)
So....at any rate, if anyone has ideas, let me know. :)
Tarsi
210
3 Feb
3 Feb
12:59 a.m.
New subject: obsoletecomputermuseum.org
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Layer" <b.layer(a)vikingelectronics.com>
To: <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org>
Sent: Thursday, December 21, 2000 1:08 PM
Subject: obsoletecomputermuseum.org
I noticed that the Obsolete Computer Helpine at
http://www.obsoletecomputermuseum.org broke and was taken
down a couple of
weeks ago, but now the whole server is unresponsive.
No
website anymore.
Anyone know what's up with this?
I stopped by today and found it back up at:
http://www.obsoletecomputermuseum.org/cgi-bin/helpline.pl
21 Dec
21 Dec
5:50 a.m.
----- Original Message -----
From: <LFessen106(a)aol.com>
To: <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org>
Sent: Thursday, December 21, 2000 12:27 PM
Subject: Old SGI's?!
Can anyone on the list help me out with my SGI's?
I made a trade a trade for 2 Personal Iris 4D/35's. Cool lookin'
computers,
however, I have a few problems.....
Neither one has a KB, Mouse or Monitor, and although a decent SVGA works
fine, I can't for the life of me find the KB/Mouse for these anywhere
(they
have the ps2 style connector, but are *not* ps2
compatable).
After hooking them up to a Dumb Terminal I find that they both work (at
least
up to the prom) and 1 actually will boot into Irix
4.0.2... The other has
no
detectable OS.
The one that *does* boot to Irix has a root password that I don't have (of
course).
Is there any way to gain root access on that machine other than removing
the
drive and mounting it on another box to change the
passwd / crack it?
After I do actually get the one box running can I somehow transfer the OS
from one to the other? I read somewhere there was a prom command to
duplicate hard drives???
Is there someone on the list willing to part with an old copy of Irix?
These
machines will only run up to 5.0.3 I think.. Anyone
have a spare KB/Mouse
for these machines? I can run them (when I get them working) from a Dumb
Terminal, but would rather experience the famous SGI GUI.
Any other hints / tips / suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
-Linc F.
Nice find! They're a little slow for running IRIX 5.3 (it will run, though,
with
performance variable depending on how much RAM you have), but they
will run IRIX 4.X really nicely.
If you're looking for parts for them (such as keyboards and mice), you can
purchase them from Reputable Systems (http://www.reputable.com) at an
extremely reasonable price. I've purchased parts from them before (for my
Indigo) and they're great to work with!
Probably the best resource for information regarding older SGIs, especially
Personal IRIS and Professional Series systems is probably This Old SGI,
which is at http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Pines/2258/4dfaq.html
Both your questions (gaining root access via single user mode, and
duplicating
a hard disk drive from the PROM) will be answered there.
--Sean Caron (root(a)diablonet.net) | http://www.diablonet.net
25 Dec
25 Dec
5:08 p.m.
I looked in my keyboard bin and I have two SGI model 9500801 keyboards in
pretty good condition, but no cables (that I noticed).
8723
days inactive
8767
days old
9 comments
8 participants
participants (8)
-
b.layer＠vikingelectronics.com -
KenzieM＠sympatico.ca -
LFessen106＠aol.com -
mark＠cs.ualberta.ca -
mikeford＠socal.rr.com -
russ＠rbcs.8m.com -
sean＠techcare.com -
tarsi＠binhost.com