[DVE]

Hi all and sorry for n00b questions,

I'm trying to restore and boot the Indigo 2 computer. I bought it in the "Untested" condition on eBay, so the functionality is not known. There were also no SCSI drive and cables included.

First attempt: no boot at all, after switching on, I feel only a smell from inside

As it turned out, the tantalum capacitor on the audio module is burned, it has a short circuit. I disconnected the audio module from the motherboard, will try to fix it later. By the way, can the disconnected audio module prevent the system from boot? In theory, it should not, but I am not 100% sure.

The result after removing an audio board: it's better, I can hear a single 'beep' from the speaker and the LED goes green after 5-10s. But I have no SGI monitor anyway, so I started to look for a 13W3 to VGA adapter.

Second attempt: There are no 13W3 to VGA adapters for SGI in stock (many 13W3 adapters for Sun are available, but are they not compatible?), it looks that they were discontinued many years ago. Finally, I ordered the "Universal 13W3 Male to SVGA" cable with DIP switches on eBay.

Result: nothing, black screen. There are many switches on that adapter, which mode exactly do I need for SGI Indigo 2? Adapter's manual shows 3 possibilities: "SGI Comp Sync Out", "SGI HV Sync Out", "SGI Sync On Green Out", which one is needed for Indigo 2? For each mode, there are also 4 "Mon Type 0" - "Mon Type 3" sub-modes, which one is better?

There is a second connector on the video card which looks like RGB CGA, is there any way to connect it? Is there any way to verify that the video card is not dead? I can check the CGA pins with an oscilloscope, should be some signals on it? Too many unknowns and I have no second working machine to replace parts one by one and find the failed component :(

At least, a single "beep" from the speaker after power on gives hope that the motherboard is booting, but should it display something like BIOS on the screen without any SCSI drive and without an audio module? I think it should, but I never used SGI before.

For now, I've ordered RS422 to USB adapter, will try to see the boot log via serial, will try when the post will arrive. But I'm not sure yet if it works for Indigo 2.

Any more ideas?
Tnx

[indigofan]

For the adaptor with the switches, I have mine set at 1 & 2 on and 5 & 6 on, all others are off... Works better and better quality image than other adaptors that I have tried.

[robespierre]

There is a second connector on the video card which looks like RGB CGA, is there any way to connect it? Is there any way to verify that the video card is not dead? I can check the CGA pins with an oscilloscope, should be some signals on it? Too many unknowns and I have no second working machine to replace parts one by one and find the failed component :(

The DE9 port on Impact cards is for one thing only, stereo glasses. Earlier generation boards used an industry-standard MiniDIN-3 port for this which caused less confusion.

At least, a single "beep" from the speaker after power on gives hope that the motherboard is booting, but should it display something like BIOS on the screen without any SCSI drive and without an audio module? I think it should, but I never used SGI before.

The machine displays a "Welcome to Indigo2" screen at 1280x1024 resolution. No audio card isn't a problem, although without it there are no boot tunes to use for diagnostics.

For now, I've ordered RS422 to USB adapter, will try to see the boot log via serial, will try when the post will arrive. But I'm not sure yet if it works for Indigo 2.

I successfully used such an adapter with a MiniDIN-8 null modem cable, sold as "ImageWriter II cable". Note that the machine displays its interface on the graphics output when it detects a keyboard, and on the serial port otherwise. So to see output over RS422, the keyboard should be detached.

[Shiunbird]

I have a spare 13W3 to VGA that I'd be the happiest to lend you. It's paired to my spare SI card.
Since you are in Europe, I can just put it in a small box and mail it to you.

PM if interested.

PS: I get perfect output at 1280x1024 on my 1080p Dell P2418HT screen with firmware M2T102.

[DVE]

Thanks all for the help, it is really useful.

I've got a serial connection to the Indigo2. It's, by the way, confusing, that on the https://wiki.preterhuman.net/SGI_Indigo2 page is written that the computer has an RS422 serial port. I've ordered an industrial RS422 to USB adapter, but it looks like the standard serial is in use, and it is not RS422, so I spent 15 Euros for nothing (not a big deal compared to the full costs anyway). Anyway, a MiniDIN-to-Serial adapter works well, I've got a PROM menu:

>> version
PROM Monitor SGI Version 5.3 Rev E IP22 Sep 28, 1995 (BE)
>> hinv -v
                  System: IP22
                Processor: 250 Mhz R4400, with FPU
    Primary I-cache size: 16 Kbytes
    Primary D-cache size: 16 Kbytes
    Secondary cache size: 2048 Kbytes
              Memory size: 64 Mbytes
                Graphics: MG10 Impact

When I select "Diagnostics", I've got something like "No partition found", so it looks, I need to connect SCSI first. I am going to use SCSI2SD and waiting for the SCSI-2 to DB25 adapter now from post. By the way, is it possible to write a full IRIX OS image to SD card using Win32Imager or a similar tool? 

As for the display, it is for me not clear, why I have a black screen. Can it be possible that my monitor is just not supporting this Green Sync mode? Or should I get at least something? VGA is an analogue signal, should I get at least blinking or something like this?

[callahan]

It's possible/likely that the refresh rate of the display is set to to 75Hz, which was perfect for CRTs but too fast for many modern displays. If you have a fancy gaming monitor handy, I would try that. I assume there is a way to fix that via serial in the PROM, but I'm not sure how.

Also, what sort of 13W3 adapter are you using? I've had great luck with the sun cables as long as you remove all non-ground signal pins (of course leaving the round signal connectors).

[DVE]

I am using this 13W3 adapter from eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/270832512031 , at least, in theory, it should support SGI.

I will try to find another display for testing.

[weblacky]

I am using this 13W3 adapter from eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/270832512031 , at least, in theory, it should support SGI.

I will try to find another display for testing.

I recommend these cables as well however it doesn't eliminate the need for a compatible monitor. Some people mistake that since this cable has all these switches that means they can just use whatever monitor they want. My findings have shown this not to be true. You still need a SGI compatible monitor this just gives you a few more choices for monitors that would become confused by having the horizontal and vertical sync signal on top of the sync on green signal.   This does not eliminate SOG, so you either need an SOG tolerant monitor that will accept the horizontal and vertical signals while ignoring/clamping SOG or you need an LCD that will accept SOG and then you can just decide to eliminate the horizontal and vertical sink pins using the dip switches to prevent confusion.

I use Dell UltraSharp 4:3 monitors (like 1708fp) or similar that accept SOG (stated on its datasheet too).  Quite a number of Samsung SyncMaster and MultiMaster monitors work as well as BenQ monitor from that era. This was back when monitor manuals actually said the truth and you could just read the specifications and see what sync signals they supported.

Just find yourself a 4:3 aspect 15", 17" or 19" Monitor that was made somewhere in the early 2000's up to about 2010 and check it's manual online with your phone if you're looking to buy in person or at a PC recycler, and see if it's sync says it supports synchronizing on green.  If it does, then you should be good.

Also, until very recently, a lot of recyclers wanted to get rid of these monitors because the average people don't want them. So you'll find them from businesses and other places in near mint condition with no scratches at all but they want to get rid of them for around $10 or so.  I recently picked up five monitors for under $10 each because of this. Now with the resurgence of retro gaming for DOS prices of older monitors are rising because many of these older LCD monitors could do CGA and EGA resolutions. Not all of them, some of them.  So that is unfortunately driven a new market. Either way I don't recommend people go with a widescreen monitor unless you're dealing with a DVI-based SGI.

[Shiunbird]

The Dell screen I have is quite modern (it even has touch capabilities) and you can force the aspect ratio to 4:3, so it looks perfect.
The three inputs (HDMI, DisplayPort and VGA) mean that I can have my Octane connected at all times and only switch inputs.

(In case you are looking for something more modern)

[weblacky]

The Dell screen I have is quite modern (it even has touch capabilities) and you can force the aspect ratio to 4:3, so it looks perfect.
The three inputs (HDMI, DisplayPort and VGA) mean that I can have my Octane connected at all times and only switch inputs.

(In case you are looking for something more modern)

Model info?  I'd like to see it's specs.