Date: Sat, 13 Mar 99 19:21:07 EST From: Dwight McKay (The Moderator) Reply-To: Suns-at-Home@net-kitchen.com Subject: Suns-at-Home Digest V12 #8 To: Suns-at-Home-List Suns-at-Home Digest Sat, 13 Mar 99 Volume 12 : Issue 8 Today's Topics: Alternate internal drives for SS-1 ? Can't boot 5/98 SPARC Solaris CD CD-ROM drive (Subject: Need help with Sun Sparcstation IPX) Help with Toshiba on SS2 SunOS 5.5 kkey performance figures Sparc1 / Cdrom & Solaris 7 Suns-at-Home Digest V12 #7 (2 msgs) Update Welcome to Suns-at-Home +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Submissions: suns-at-home@net-kitchen.com | | Requests: suns-at-home-request@net-kitchen.com | | WWW Archive access: http://www.net-kitchen.com/~sah | +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 05 Mar 1999 09:53:44 -0800 From: Robert Reed Subject: Alternate internal drives for SS-1 ? To: suns-at-home@tigger.net-kitchen.com Matt Crawford wrote: |[snip] |Does anyone know whether some current, largish SCSI disk can go into |the internal SS-1 bays and work? I've had my SS-1 for at least that long and was one of the early (earlier?) stiction victims. It got to be a bloody pain in the arse to periodically lift this heavy monitor off the pizza box in cramped quarters (an attic room) in order to pop the drive(s) and apply the mechanical torque impulse to free the drive. So about two years ago I replaced both with a pair of new 2 GB drives. At that time I was told that to go to 4 GB drives might stress the power and cooling of the SS-1, but that 2s should be OK. I've had them for about two years now, without a problem. And I've had the LUXURY of plenty of space. No more panicked deletions of history and thread files to have enough room for news spooling. I'd say do it, poste haste. _____________________________________________________________________________ Robert Reed Home Animation Limited 503-656-8414 email: robert@slipknot.rain.com West Linn, OR 97068-3222 SHOOTING YOURSELF IN THE FOOT IN VARIOUS LANGUAGES AND SYSTEMS Ada: If you are dumb enough to actually use this language, the United States Department of Defense will kidnap you, stand you up in front of a firing squad, and tell the soldiers, "Shoot at his feet." _____________________________________________________________________________ - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 04 Mar 1999 08:02:50 -0500 From: Ray Pfaff Subject: Can't boot 5/98 SPARC Solaris CD To: Suns-at-Home@tigger.net-kitchen.com > > Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 16:52:15 -0500 > > From: Ray Pfaff > > Subject: Can't boot 5/98 SPARC Solaris CD > > To: Suns-at-Home@tigger.net-kitchen.com > > > > Awhile back I bought the 5/98 Solaris 2.6 SPARC Platform from Sun and > > I've been trying to install it on a Sparc IPC running SunOS 4.1.3. > > When I try to boot the CD at the boot prompt, I get: > > > root on sd0a fstype 4.2 > > not executable > > boot failed > > > I called Sun tech support and they originally told me that this was > > because I was using a Toshiba CD-ROM drive. I borrowed a Sun 2X > > CD-ROM drive and got the same result. My suspicion is that my ROMs > > are too old (running ROM rev. 1.6) Anyone have a definitive answer on > > what causes this? > Thanks to everyone for their help on this. The problem was apparently following Sun's installation directions. I tried to boot using "boot cdrom" at the ">" prompt and also in new command mode. The system would first access the CDROM and then give me the above error message. Booting with the command "boot sd(,6,2)" will correctly boot the CDROM. I might also add that the Toshiba drives work with no problem under Solaris :-) - ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 06 Mar 1999 14:44:19 +0000 From: "." Subject: CD-ROM drive (Subject: Need help with Sun Sparcstation IPX) To: Suns-at-Home@tigger.net-kitchen.com If you are getting a CD-ROM drive, i'd say always go for a plextor. These are good quality unit and so will last you, also, they will work with a wide variety of OS's/systems. They have a lot of settings you can use, switchable internal termination and all the rest of it. ---------------- Owen Hughes - ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 7 Mar 1999 10:53:49 -0600 From: "Cruz0025 @ The U" Subject: Help with Toshiba on SS2 SunOS 5.5 To: John Petty, I recently read in your reply to 'Jason' on the Suns at Home digest (Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1999 08:58:51 -0600 (CST) Subject: Can't boot 5/98 SPARC Solaris CD) that you had successfully been able to use Toshiba CDRoms on a Sun Sparcstation 2 and I am hoping that you could give me some helpful tips. I am trying to get a CD Rom to work in my SS2 clone (Super Workstation II+/50). The volume manager complained when I tried to access my Toshiba XM5401 B and it didn't seem to make any difference when I tried the hack mentioned in the CDROM FAQ (http://www.datamodl.demon.co.uk/suncd/tosh3401.htm , "Modifying a Toshiba 3301/3401/4101 CD-Rom for use on a Sun workstation" ) on the same CD rom. The CDRom thankfully still seems to work but I still get the same data overrun error. It's possible that I did not successfully cut the connections. However, I am also making the assumption that the architecture of the two CDroms did not change significantly enough to make this hack unusable. I did note that the half-moon connections that are mentioned in the FAQ are labeled JP 01 and JP 02 rather than 0 and 01 but I didn't think this was hugely significant. I tried the hack yet again with a Toshiba TXM4101 L1 after using the same setup and receiving the same errors. This time I thought I got it to work because I didn't receive the data overrun errors when the volume manager accessed it. Unfortunately, I believe this is because the volume manager didn't even recognize it; the CD did not appear in the PROM (ver 2.4) scsi probe. Nor did it appear when I used a scsi-probe utility that I downloaded for use in SunOS 5.5.1 (I have SunOS 5.5 but it worked with the previous CD Rom). The CD does show up in /devices and in /dev. However, I'm not sure if this is significant. In both cases I set up the device using SCSI ID 6 and except as mentioned above the device was recognized by the SCSI probe. Does it get any better than this? Any pointers would be appreciated. Justin Vanderziel zielot@thebestisp.com "I don't have any fancy quotes so this will have to do." - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 4 Mar 1999 10:24:29 -0500 (EST) From: Rick Leir EPS Subject: kkey performance figures To: Dwight McKay This surprises me, I thought a SS5 was faster than a 486 , even for purely integer loads. What OS? Was it paging wildly? What other factors? cheers -- Rick > Using the distributed.net client for SPARC/Solaris, the SS5 gives a rate > of 30 kkeys/sec, while my slowest PC (a 100 MHz 486) gives a 90 > kkeys/sec rate and the fastest (a 300 MHz Cyrix M-II) gives over 300 > kkeys/sec. Continuing this apples and oranges comparison, the SPARC > Ultra 1 that I am typing on now gives 321 kkeys/sec and it gives pretty > good response as a user. Rick Leir rleir@igs.net 613-828-8289 http://www.igs.net/~rleir/ - Fight for web standards. http://www.webstandards.org/ The WaSP! - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 4 Mar 1999 12:04:39 -0500 From: "Paul W. Zibaila" Subject: Sparc1 / Cdrom & Solaris 7 To: jasons@pcsupplies.com, Suns-at-Home@tigger.net-kitchen.com, raal@penn.com Interesting a friend and I just ran into a similar scenario. The success / failure of boot Solaris 7 or even back to 4.1.3 from the CD-ROM depends on several things. The prom version of the sparc, the model of your CD player and just how you hold you tongue when your booting ..... (:-) ) I've run into sparc 1's with version one of the boot prom and NO there is not a boot cdrom command in the new commands. It will boot from cd at the > prompt with an invocation of > sd(0,6,2) (if my memory hold up here) from the original sun supplied sony CD rom player and on of the Toshiba's with the jumper cut as indicated in the CDROM FAQ. It refuses to boot from a plextor and hitachi CD players listed in the CD rom FAQ. With a version 2.9 boot prom it seems to like the plextor but still nor the hitachi. With the version 2.9 boot prom both the 4.1.3 & Solaris 7 boot up using the (n)ew command boot cdrom. Don't know if this helps you or not just thought I'd pass it along. pwz ii - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 4 Mar 1999 00:20:34 -0800 (PST) From: davras Subject: Suns-at-Home Digest V12 #7 To: Suns-at-Home@tigger.net-kitchen.com >Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 09:30:11 +1100 (EST) >From: Craig Dewick >Subject: Can't boot 5/98 SPARC Solaris CD >To: Dwight McKay ... >They would tell you that since Sun preferred Sony CD-ROM drives over >Toshiba's. 8-) Presuming the problem is related to the CD-ROM drive... Sony 2x's were better than the Toshiba 2x's, now, we use 32x Toshiba (cause they are better than the Sonys....) >If it is, it's most-likely a SCSI termination issue. Older Sparcstations >are notoriously bad with external CD-ROM drives, presumably because the >SCSI signal tolerances are so much tighter with CD-ROM drives than for >hard drives. SS1's are bad. SS2's are amazingly forgiving. The old cdrom's weren't very well shielded (neither were the SS1 & 2's) and the noise generated on the scsi bus is really bad. Sun's lunchboxes used a ferrite damping core right before the 50-pin plug that went into the cdrom. The SS2's were designed to work with a _very_ wide variety of scsi devices (unlike the newer systems, ultra 1's & up). The tolerance for CD-ROM vs. HDD makes no difference. To the sun machine they are just scsi devices. If you use one of those old 2x cdroms, make sure it has the ferrite core, because the cdrom is susceptible to scsi noise. I used a 12x Toshiba to build an SS2 at home last week, no problems...the newer cd-rom's aren't as susceptible to the noise. >The solution that has worked for me quite a few times in the past has been >to use the shortest (and the fattest, so it really does have all the >ground wires present) SCSI cable, *and* use an active terminator on the >end of the SCSI bus. The scsi bus length must be 10ft or shorter. All 50 pins must be used. Do not use an active terminator. Sun machines do not supply termination power and expect none to be supplied. You'll know if you do, because it will blow the termination fuse (if there is one). The last device on the bus should have a passive terminator (dime a dozen, use a sun terminator if possible). If you don't terminate, don't run the bus longer than 2ft. >There is no reason why the IPC should not be able to boot successfully >from the CD-ROM since even Solaris [2.]7 still supports (afaik) all the >sun-4c series machines. Since Solaris 1 (SunOS5.1) all OS releases have supported all platforms. Solaris 7 supports anything from sun4, sun4c, sun4m, sun4u, to E10k. Later, \|/ o o ? David Ras \_/ Sun Microsystems +--------------------------------------------+ | "Java done here!" | +--------------------------------------------+ - ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 7 Mar 1999 01:44:17 -0600 From: "Cruz0025 @ The U" Subject: Suns-at-Home Digest V12 #7 To: David, Forgive me if I'm messing with protocol here -- I wasn't sure if I should respond to you or to the digest so I responded to both. I just inherited a SparcStation II+ clone and I would like to upgrade to Solaris 7.0 or preferably Linux. In my endeavers to get to know this new piece of sophisticated albeit antiquated equipment I've started pondering if it is worth it. True, I like the big 16 inch monitor and the 2 big SCSI drives I inherited and I like Linux and would like to experiment with it. Yet from all of the advertisements that I've been reading I get the distinct impression that Sparc computers are extremely overpriced. Your recent posting only re-emphasized that for me: >Rather than find out what was 'wrong' I lived with it until I saw an ad >from Memoryx (http://www.memoryx.com) saying they had some motherboards >left over from (er... I forget the name but it was one of the SPARC Clone >companies) that was an SS5 equivalent but in a form factor that fits an >SS1/2 pizza box. As an SS5 (still with 64 MB memory) it is still slow, >but only as slow as honey - not molassas. In other words, it is livable >for me since this is not my primary machine. >Using the distributed.net client for SPARC/Solaris, the SS5 gives a rate >of 30 kkeys/sec, while my slowest PC (a 100 MHz 486) gives a 90 kkeys/sec >rate and the fastest (a 300 MHz Cyrix M-II) gives over 300 kkeys/sec. >Continuing this apples and oranges comparison, the SPARC Ultra 1 that I am >typing on now gives 321 kkeys/sec and it gives pretty good response >as a user. I just went to the site (www.memoryx.com thanx for the link BTW) to check up on prices since the boards on Cycle-something -- another SS2 upgrade manufacturer, were priced at around $1000 plus new. I figured that a workstation from the early '90s ought to be around $150 or even less -- the price was ~$400! Given what you've said about being 'slow as honey' and kkeys/sec (whatever that is) especially in comparison to a 486/100 (!!), why would anyone spend such an enormous amount of cash? I just picked up a Pentium socket 4 mb less than 2 months ago for $10!! And if that wasn't enough, I fried the BIOS and went to pick up another one and the vendor gave me a used replacement for FREE! I'm beginning to think that I would be better off salvaging what I can from the parts while I'm still ahead... Justin Vanderziel zielot@thebestisp.com "I'd love to leave you with a fancy quote but this will have to do." - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Mar 1999 23:31:32 -0800 From: "Peter J. Harbeson" Subject: Update To: Folks on this list have helped me immensely in getting my system up and running -- here's an update about how everything's working. I've upgraded my Sparc2 with a PowerUp chip, and with 64MB it runs Solaris 2.6 and FrameMaker 5.6 pretty well. The chip gets HOT, but I've done what I can to optimize the airflow, and it's been up for 22 days without a problem. I've learned a bit about ethernet, including: - even short lengths of coax with the wrong impedence didn't work as 10Base2 cabling - it was cheaper for me to buy an inexpensive hub (a no-name 8 port for $35) and convert my whole (tiny) network to 10BaseT than to interface 10Base2 to 10BaseT. It's still possible to do useful work on a Sparc2 using the latest software. Thanks to everyone whose advice helped me get this working! --- Peter J. Harbeson ( harbeson@garlic.com ) Technical Writing, Instructional Design, Help System Engineering 408-779-4886 voice, 408-782-9525 fax, www.structions.com - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 4 Mar 1999 11:29:48 -0600 From: "Raul Perez" Subject: Welcome to Suns-at-Home To: "Suns at Home" Hello Is my fist on the list I have a question I have a partition with 0mb free i try delette some files but the partition continue whitout space. I think that is a swap file. This file use 200 MB of disk space but i dont erase because is danger In my console appear "/ is full" I dont now wath i can do help me - ------------------------------ End of Suns-at-Home Digest ******************************