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Robert Ramsey
*nix forums beginner
Joined: 27 Mar 2005
Posts: 20
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 Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2006 12:51 am Post subject:
Re: upgrading the SGI O2 PROM
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Hello,
I just did a fresh install of 6.5.27 on my O2, was 6.5.18, and the PROM
version went from 4.03 to 4.18. I think inst does it automatically during
the install. My O2 is running a R10K chip though so your mileage might
very.
Hope that helps,
Rob
"Igor Sobrado" <igor@nospam.invalid> wrote in message
news:e4ml1j$j96$1@string1.ciencias.uniovi.es...
| Quote: | It is probably an easy to answer question, but I was unable to find
an answer in the last weeks and prefer some advice instead of blindly
trying an upgrade.
I am trying to upgrade the PROM on my SGI O2 (R5k, *not* R10k) from
its current release (4.3) to the most updated release possible.
Using flashinst I get the known "/sbin/flashinst: bad PROM revision"
message. I guess that the firmware image available at /usr/cpu/firmware
is for R10k systems only (like all the O2 PROM rollup patches I found in
the last weeks).
Is a PROM upgrade possible on an O2 with an *R5k* processor?
Where can I find the latest upgrade for this system? I am aware that
R10k systems have a different motherboard and that the PROM rollup
patches are probably not the same.
Cheers,
Igor. |
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igor@nospam.invalid
*nix forums addict
Joined: 17 Aug 2005
Posts: 81
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| Posted: Sun Jun 11, 2006 3:32 pm Post subject:
Re: upgrading the SGI O2 PROM
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Robert Ramsey <ramseyrt@comcast.net> wrote:
| Quote: | Hello,
I just did a fresh install of 6.5.27 on my O2, was 6.5.18, and the PROM
version went from 4.03 to 4.18. I think inst does it automatically during
the install. My O2 is running a R10K chip though so your mileage might
very.
|
Hi Robert.
I can try an OS upgrade, indeed. But this machine has an old 2 GB HDD.
Installing IRIX 6.5.x on a 2 GB HDD is a real nightmare. Thanks a lot
for this advice. Before I try an upgrade, I will wait until the previous
owner of this machine finds the OS media that comes with the system.
In any case, I guess that upgrading the firmware on a R10k O2 is not
difficult at all, only missing patches for machines with R5k processors.
It is sad, as the latest firmware upgrade for R10k supports R5k too.
Thanks a lot!
Igor. |
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Robert Ramsey
*nix forums beginner
Joined: 27 Mar 2005
Posts: 20
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| Posted: Wed Jun 21, 2006 11:06 am Post subject:
Re: upgrading the SGI O2 PROM
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Hello,
Just took a quick look on ebay and there's a 9.1 GB drive for $25. The page
describes it for use on an Origin 200 but the drive will work just fine in
an O2. Irix becomes a lot more useful when you can do a full install (2GB
worth).
http://cgi.ebay.com/SGI-Origin-200-2000-9GB-Hard-Drive-w-Sled-Tray-064-0130_W0QQitemZ8773398815QQihZ005QQcategoryZ39973QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Nothing is free, but ebay makes it affordable!
Rob
"Igor Sobrado" <igor@nospam.invalid> wrote in message
news:e6hd2f$5rt$1@string1.ciencias.uniovi.es...
| Quote: | Robert Ramsey <ramseyrt@comcast.net> wrote:
Hello,
I just did a fresh install of 6.5.27 on my O2, was 6.5.18, and the PROM
version went from 4.03 to 4.18. I think inst does it automatically
during
the install. My O2 is running a R10K chip though so your mileage might
very.
Hi Robert.
I can try an OS upgrade, indeed. But this machine has an old 2 GB HDD.
Installing IRIX 6.5.x on a 2 GB HDD is a real nightmare. Thanks a lot
for this advice. Before I try an upgrade, I will wait until the previous
owner of this machine finds the OS media that comes with the system.
In any case, I guess that upgrading the firmware on a R10k O2 is not
difficult at all, only missing patches for machines with R5k processors.
It is sad, as the latest firmware upgrade for R10k supports R5k too.
Thanks a lot!
Igor. |
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Benjamin Gawert
*nix forums Guru Wannabe
Joined: 24 Mar 2005
Posts: 190
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| Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 3:10 am Post subject:
Re: upgrading the SGI O2 PROM
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* Robert Ramsey:
I wouldn't call 25$ for a 9GB drive affordable. Especially since Igor
can't use the sled which is probably the only thing that's really worth
some money in this auction...
Igor, just look around for a 3,5" SCSI disk drive that uses SCA
connector. There should be plenty around on ebay, and 25$ should bring
you at least an 18GB drive if not a 36GB drive. I'd not waste any money
on a 9GB disk...
Benjamin |
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josehill@canada.com
*nix forums beginner
Joined: 22 May 2005
Posts: 19
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| Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2006 3:29 am Post subject:
Re: upgrading the SGI O2 PROM
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As of this writing (and with IRIX 6.5.29), the latest version of the O2
PROM (both R5k and R10k/R12k) is 4.18. An earlier poster was correct --
the prom is automatically flashed when installing the OS.
You might want to take a look at the man page for "prom" for some more
information. I believe that you can manually flash the prom from the
prom command line, but flashinst should work fine, as long as the prom
version is good (i.e. newer than what is installed and uncorrupted).
I'm curious, however. Why do you need to upgrade the PROM if you are
not upgrading the OS? Unless you have a specific need to do so, it
really isn't something that is recommended practice, and you risk
trashing your system if the flash fails. |
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Benjamin Gawert
*nix forums Guru Wannabe
Joined: 24 Mar 2005
Posts: 190
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| Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 2:01 am Post subject:
Re: upgrading the SGI O2 PROM
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* josehill:
| Quote: | I'm curious, however. Why do you need to upgrade the PROM if you are
not upgrading the OS? Unless you have a specific need to do so, it
really isn't something that is recommended practice, and you risk
trashing your system if the flash fails.
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Right, and besides that, there also is the chance of experiencing
problems older IRIX releases might have with a newer PROM version...
The best bet probably is to go to the latest IRIX release with which
PROM update is done automatically...
Benjamin |
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josehill@canada.com
*nix forums beginner
Joined: 22 May 2005
Posts: 19
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| Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 6:35 pm Post subject:
Re: upgrading the SGI O2 PROM
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* Benjamin:
Exactly! The only reason I could think of for doing this as part of a
"normal" operation would be if someone has multiple, identical hardware
systems, and they want to upgrade their OSs by cloning system disks,
rather than by running a manual installation on each system. Since
cloning the system disk doesn't flash the PROMs on the target systems,
a manual approach would be appropriate, but even then, it shouldn't be
done casually.
-j
Benjamin Gawert wrote:
| Quote: | * josehill:
I'm curious, however. Why do you need to upgrade the PROM if you are
not upgrading the OS? Unless you have a specific need to do so, it
really isn't something that is recommended practice, and you risk
trashing your system if the flash fails.
Right, and besides that, there also is the chance of experiencing
problems older IRIX releases might have with a newer PROM version...
The best bet probably is to go to the latest IRIX release with which
PROM update is done automatically...
Benjamin |
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igor@nospam.invalid
*nix forums addict
Joined: 17 Aug 2005
Posts: 81
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| Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2006 9:18 pm Post subject:
Re: upgrading the SGI O2 PROM
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Robert Ramsey <ramseyrt@comcast.net> wrote:
Hi, Rob.
It would be great if the HDD bracket is compatible with the O2,
as there is a HDD bay empty on this machine. But I think that
these drives are not compatible with this workstation case.
Cheers,
Igor. |
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igor@nospam.invalid
*nix forums addict
Joined: 17 Aug 2005
Posts: 81
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| Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2006 9:24 pm Post subject:
Re: upgrading the SGI O2 PROM
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Benjamin Gawert <bgawert@gmx.de> wrote:
| Quote: |
I wouldn't call 25$ for a 9GB drive affordable. Especially since Igor
can't use the sled which is probably the only thing that's really worth
some money in this auction...
Igor, just look around for a 3,5" SCSI disk drive that uses SCA
connector. There should be plenty around on ebay, and 25$ should bring
you at least an 18GB drive if not a 36GB drive. I'd not waste any money
on a 9GB disk...
|
Hello, Benjamin.
Indeed, I have some SCA drives here (e.g., I have a Sun StorEdge
Multipack disk drive array with six 9 GB SCA drives on it... a fine
and very fast RAID-5!). I have not installed an SCA drive on that
machine as I prefer a drive with the right firmware on it... don't
know if SGI firmware is "recommended" on drives for reliable workstations,
but I am trying to avoid replacing the original HDD with a standard
drive if it is possible. Certainly, Sun firmware on the MultiPack
disks help supporting these disks on the OBP and SOlaris.
I can certainly replace the 2GB drive on that workstation with
a larger SCA drive.
Thanks a lot for this advice,
Igor. |
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igor@nospam.invalid
*nix forums addict
Joined: 17 Aug 2005
Posts: 81
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| Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2006 9:31 pm Post subject:
Re: upgrading the SGI O2 PROM
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josehill <josehill@canada.com> wrote:
| Quote: | As of this writing (and with IRIX 6.5.29), the latest version of the O2
PROM (both R5k and R10k/R12k) is 4.18. An earlier poster was correct --
the prom is automatically flashed when installing the OS.
You might want to take a look at the man page for "prom" for some more
information. I believe that you can manually flash the prom from the
prom command line, but flashinst should work fine, as long as the prom
version is good (i.e. newer than what is installed and uncorrupted).
|
Thanks for this advice. I will try to upgrade the firmware installing
a new IRIX release then. I tried a firmware upgrade from the operating
system, but the computer shows a "bad PROM revision" message. Forcing
an upgrade is certainly a bad idea. Better installing a new IRIX
release.
| Quote: | I'm curious, however. Why do you need to upgrade the PROM if you are
not upgrading the OS? Unless you have a specific need to do so, it
really isn't something that is recommended practice, and you risk
trashing your system if the flash fails.
|
As this machine is currently EOL'd, I suppose that 4.18 is the latest
firmware release. I usually upgrade the firmware in all devices I can
either when a serious problem is discovered or when the latest release
is available (and I certainly do not expect a newer firmware release
for the SGI O2).
When flashing any device (a PC BIOS, a HDD firmware, a wireless NIC
firmware, a CD-ROM firmware...) I usually download twice the driver
and check it using a hash function (usually MD5, but sometimes other
checksums too). I never try an upgrade if the device is not
connected to a UPS either.
I was just looking to fix some possible issues on the firmware.
Certainly upgrading the firmware without installing a new OS release
is dangerous and an unsupported configuration. I will install a new
SCA drive on that machine and install a newer IRIX relase then. It
is a very good advice. Thanks a lot.
Cheers,
Igor. |
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igor@nospam.invalid
*nix forums addict
Joined: 17 Aug 2005
Posts: 81
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| Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2006 9:33 pm Post subject:
Re: upgrading the SGI O2 PROM
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Benjamin Gawert <bgawert@gmx.de> wrote:
| Quote: | * josehill:
I'm curious, however. Why do you need to upgrade the PROM if you are
not upgrading the OS? Unless you have a specific need to do so, it
really isn't something that is recommended practice, and you risk
trashing your system if the flash fails.
Right, and besides that, there also is the chance of experiencing
problems older IRIX releases might have with a newer PROM version...
The best bet probably is to go to the latest IRIX release with which
PROM update is done automatically...
|
Hi again, Benjamin.
Agreed, these new firmware releases are probably not being tested
with old IRIX releases. An OS upgrade is the right way to update
the firmware.
Thanks a lot for this advice!
Igor. |
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igor@nospam.invalid
*nix forums addict
Joined: 17 Aug 2005
Posts: 81
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| Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2006 9:37 pm Post subject:
Re: upgrading the SGI O2 PROM
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josehill <josehill@canada.com> wrote:
| Quote: | * Benjamin:
Exactly! The only reason I could think of for doing this as part of a
"normal" operation would be if someone has multiple, identical hardware
systems, and they want to upgrade their OSs by cloning system disks,
rather than by running a manual installation on each system. Since
cloning the system disk doesn't flash the PROMs on the target systems,
a manual approach would be appropriate, but even then, it shouldn't be
done casually.
|
Indeed, a manual firmware upgrade should not be required when doing
a normal IRIX installation. I will install a new HDD on the O2 and
upgrade the operating system as usual. Thanks a lot for this advice.
Another reason for manually upgrading a firmware would be fixing a
known issue on a production system were an OS upgrade is not possible,
even if IRIX has not been installed by cloning a hard disk drive.
Best regards,
Igor. |
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josehill@canada.com
*nix forums beginner
Joined: 22 May 2005
Posts: 19
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| Posted: Fri Jun 30, 2006 6:19 pm Post subject:
Re: upgrading the SGI O2 PROM
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Igor Sobrado wrote:
| Quote: | Another reason for manually upgrading a firmware would be fixing a
known issue on a production system were an OS upgrade is not possible,
even if IRIX has not been installed by cloning a hard disk drive.
|
Yes! Good point -- I forgot about that.
Thanks and best regards.
-j |
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Benjamin Gawert
*nix forums Guru Wannabe
Joined: 24 Mar 2005
Posts: 190
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| Posted: Sat Jul 01, 2006 5:17 am Post subject:
Re: upgrading the SGI O2 PROM
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* Igor Sobrado:
| Quote: | Indeed, I have some SCA drives here (e.g., I have a Sun StorEdge
Multipack disk drive array with six 9 GB SCA drives on it... a fine
and very fast RAID-5!). I have not installed an SCA drive on that
machine as I prefer a drive with the right firmware on it... don't
know if SGI firmware is "recommended" on drives for reliable workstations,
but I am trying to avoid replacing the original HDD with a standard
drive if it is possible.
|
Well, the disks used in these desktop workstations usually don't contain
any special firmware. The only thing that differs from the generic disk
is the identification string and the much shorter warranty. There is
absolutely no advantage on a desktop workstation like an O2 to have a
disk with SGI firmware. More contrary, newer standard disks are usually
noticeably faster than the ancient drives that were sold with these
machines...
Benjamin |
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igor@nospam.invalid
*nix forums addict
Joined: 17 Aug 2005
Posts: 81
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| Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 7:03 am Post subject:
Re: upgrading the SGI O2 PROM
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Benjamin Gawert <bgawert@gmx.de> wrote:
| Quote: |
Well, the disks used in these desktop workstations usually don't contain
any special firmware. The only thing that differs from the generic disk
is the identification string and the much shorter warranty. There is
absolutely no advantage on a desktop workstation like an O2 to have a
disk with SGI firmware. More contrary, newer standard disks are usually
noticeably faster than the ancient drives that were sold with these
machines...
|
Same happens with Solaris and the Sun HDDs. It is a nice feature being
able to identify the HDDs from the SPARC OBP, but certainly not required
for a workstation.
Cheers,
Igor. |
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