Installing Linux on Indy
Hi,
Well, I am new to this mailing list and am thinking of installing Linux on
my trusty old Indy and was wondering if there was in fact any other way of installing the hardhat release instead of having another linux box to boot from? I was thinking of downloading the release onto jaz disk and installing it from there, is that possible? I believe it is great that there is a linux port happening for the SGI, especially since I use the computer for home use and spending $600 for a newer Irix (I'm using 5.3) just isnt worth it. Plux the fact the it seems the Indy is getting more popular as a second hand machine and its good to have an alternative OS running on it. Not that there is nothing wrong with Irix, in fact its great!! Just that its so expensive to upgrade! Another reason for installing Linux too is that from using Linux for several years now, I'd like to contribute software to the linux community.
Cheers,
- Trevor
Quoted 1 line · Trevor Jennings
Hi,
Hi Trevor,
Quoted 5 lines
Well, I am new to this mailing list and am thinking of installing Linux on
my trusty old Indy and was wondering if there was in fact any other way of installing the hardhat release instead of having another linux box to boot from? I was thinking of downloading the release onto jaz disk and installing it from there, is that possible? I believe it is great that there
Quoted 8 lines
is a linux port happening for the SGI, especially since I use the computer for home use and spending $600 for a newer Irix (I'm using 5.3) just isnt worth it. Plux the fact the it seems the Indy is getting more popular as a second hand machine and its good to have an alternative OS running on it. Not that there is nothing wrong with Irix, in fact its great!! Just that its so expensive to upgrade! Another reason for installing Linux too is that from using Linux for several years now, I'd like to contribute software to the linux community.
Same problem here:
I don't want to buy the very expensive IRIX (I would be glad to get IRIX5.3 without spending a trillion bucks). And so the important question again: Is it possible (will it be possible) to install Linux on an Indy without Irix?
Obviously - NO. And the SGI Hype for their new NT-Boxes is floating this mailing list too much. SGI has lost my respect - their treatment of second-hand-machine-buyers is #$%^@#.
For an old SGI disk I've searched 1 week in the web to get the jumper-settings to reset the spin-up-delay-at-boot - nothing (The disk was purposed to be built into my PS/2). So I called SGI
A call to SGI-Munich a few weeks ago:
T: "Hi, i'm desperately seeking for the specs of the disk blabla. Could you please tell me which jumper I have to set to blabla"
SGI: "No."
T: "You mean, you don't know."
SGI: "I mean, you have to pay 380 DM/hour to let us look, if we _have_ the information."
T: "I have to pay only for the information that the specs are
available or not?"
SGI: "Right."
T: <speechless>
(On the contrary Hyundai, where I called for the freq-range of an old 14" and get a handmade copy of the complete reference-manual and the Wiring Diagrams - 2 days later)
Sorry - this is another off-topic posting - but in the meanwhile I'm a little sick of those SGI-folks only writing about their new VW 320 and 540 and the gigantic milestones of those .....
No major breakthroughs in Linux/SGI - on the mailing list there is a huge traffic ? Something _is_ wrong.
//Tom
P.S.: I've re-read this mail. And I think it sounds a little bit too angry. But SGI to me as a customer is a disappointment; and the only reason that I haven't sold the Indy yet is that Linux exist for it.
Quoted 3 lines · Tom Woelfel
For an old SGI disk I've searched 1 week in the web to get the jumper-settings to reset the spin-up-delay-at-boot - nothing (The disk was purposed to be built into my PS/2). So I called SGI
To call SGI, you need a support contract. This is the way SGI does its support business. If you mail me the part number/model number/manufacturer of the drive, I'll see what I can dig up for you.
EAK.
Signature · 8 lines
---------1---------2---------3---------4---------5---------6---------7 Eric Kimminau [email protected] Field Technical Support SGI 39001 W. 12 Mile Rd. Farmington, MI 48331-2903 Vox:(248)848-4455 Fax:(248)848-5600 VNET:6-327-4455 "I speak my mind and no one else's." "I am a bomb technician. If you see me running, try to keep up..." http://support.sgi.com
Quoted 4 lines · Tom Woelfel
I don't want to buy the very expensive IRIX (I would be glad to get IRIX5.3 without spending a trillion bucks). And so the important question again: Is it possible (will it be possible) to install Linux on an Indy without Irix?
Sort of. In the end, you'll have to boot off of the network, and you'll need to install over the network too, but yes, it can all be done without Irix.
- Alex
Tom Woelfel wrote:
| I don't want to buy the very expensive IRIX (I would be glad to get | IRIX5.3 without spending a trillion bucks). And so the important | question again: Is it possible (will it be possible) to install Linux | on an Indy without Irix?
Not to cause a flame war, but $600 US isn't all that much (I realize that for somebody who has paid $1000 or less for a used system it can seem like a lot).
| For an old SGI disk I've searched 1 week in the web to get the | jumper-settings to reset the spin-up-delay-at-boot - nothing (The | disk was purposed to be built into my PS/2). So I called SGI
All the disk drive manufacturers that I know of have web pages for the drive jumper settings. SGI support doesn't have docs on most of them, even the current ones, because nobody ever needs to know; they come setup correctly from the factory.
By the way, with only 5 jumpers to play with on most drives, you can usually figure it out in less than 30 minutes.
I'm sorry you are so unhappy about it, but it does sound like you are frustrated over things that seem pretty easy to deal with.
Dave Olson, Silicon Graphics
http://reality.sgi.com/olson [email protected]
Quoted 10 lines · Dave Olson
Tom Woelfel wrote:
| I don't want to buy the very expensive IRIX (I would be glad to get | IRIX5.3 without spending a trillion bucks). And so the important | question again: Is it possible (will it be possible) to install Linux | on an Indy without Irix?Not to cause a flame war, but $600 US isn't all that much (I realize that for somebody who has paid $1000 or less for a used system it can seem like a lot).
Actually, I have been doing a bit of digging for someone else. I don't sell support for SGI, I give support for SGI. That is what I am paid for. Please don't flame me if any of this turns out to be false. I am only trying to help. None of what is written here is legally binding in any way, shape or form. The prices for SGI system and software support that you get for your system is between you and your SGI support contracts representative. All prices are in US dollars. It may be differnt elsewhere.
1) There is currently a promotion running to purchase IRIX 6.5 IF you have at least a Software only support contract. The promotional price is for $165.00 per seat. This promotion ends in a relatively short time. No official end date has been given for the promotion. It was supposed to end 12/31/98 but it has been extended "until further notice".
2) I am awaiting confirmation that you can purchase 1 month of software support. For a 133Mhz R4600 Indy this costs ~$45.00 a month (based on your system configuration).
3) The real question is whether you can purchase 1 month of OSCare support and then get the promotional 6.5 price. If you can, getting IRIX 6.5.x plus a month of support for $210.00 is a steal.
4) This is significantly less than "a trillion bucks".
If you are interested in exploring this for your own machine, contact a contracts representive in your local SGI sales office. Your mileage may vary. Locations of SGI sales offices may be found my looking on www.sgi.com.
Eric.
Signature · 8 lines
---------1---------2---------3---------4---------5---------6---------7 Eric Kimminau [email protected] Field Technical Support SGI 39001 W. 12 Mile Rd. Farmington, MI 48331-2903 Vox:(248)848-4455 Fax:(248)848-5600 VNET:6-327-4455 "I speak my mind and no one else's." "I am a bomb technician. If you see me running, try to keep up..." http://support.sgi.com
Quoted 11 lines · Dave Olson
Tom Woelfel wrote:
| For an old SGI disk I've searched 1 week in the web to get the | jumper-settings to reset the spin-up-delay-at-boot - nothing (The | disk was purposed to be built into my PS/2). So I called SGIAll the disk drive manufacturers that I know of have web pages for the drive jumper settings. SGI support doesn't have docs on most of them, even the current ones, because nobody ever needs to know; they come setup correctly from the factory.
Quoted 5 lines
By the way, with only 5 jumpers to play with on most drives, you can usually figure it out in less than 30 minutes.
I'm sorry you are so unhappy about it, but it does sound like you are frustrated over things that seem pretty easy to deal with.
The disk had no label on it. So I had to put it in an external SCSI-CASE an plug it in (risk). Linux reported an IMB/SGI S6(S8?) or so. The only model I found was the model S12. Simple Question: Are both jumper-settings equal? (For the MCA one needs special setting) If there is no answer for a simple question; not on the web, not after a call ...
Well, shit happens. Maybe I should have written a mail to someone in the list directly.
//Tom
[Thanx also to Joan Eslinger for the immediate response]
Quoted 6 lines
Well, I am new to this mailing list and am thinking of installing Linux on
my trusty old Indy and was wondering if there was in fact any other way of installing the hardhat release instead of having another linux box to boot from? I was thinking of downloading the release onto jaz disk and installing it from there, is that possible? I believe it is great that there
To boot the kernel, you need a root. You should be able to boot from a root created from IRIX, I'm however not sure which filesystem you should pickup. You can create a e2fs filesystem from IRIX but I'm not aware of any way to mount the filesystem to copy the root there. For other filesystems, you might need to use cross-compiler to build new kernel. [Maybe somebody else will see easier ways?]
So essentially, I'd say the answer is no. Note however that the other computer doesn't need to be Linux box, anything that can do tftp, bootp and nfs will be just fine. I myself boot from our Solaris server.
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Honza Pazdziora | [email protected] | http://www.fi.muni.cz/~adelton/
The total number of bytes in all expressions in the GROUP BY clause is limited to the size of a data block minus some overhead. --Oracle SQL Ref.
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