[indigofan]

Finally got my Fuel (only took a month for shipping...). I am using a newish Acer monitor that has a DVI connection, it starts to boot but nothing is showing on the screen, so either the default resolution does not like the monitor, or the monitor just won't work with the Fuel. During the boot up sequence, it gets to the point where it revs the CDROM, thinks for a bit, then flashes Red once then shuts off... 

From the manual, I take it that it does not like the monitor or video settings. I looked it up and the Fuel supports many refresh rates and sizes..

Blinking red and white = Graphics configuration error

So it blinks white while booting, one red flash then shuts down..

If memory serves me correctly, (which it probably does not) that as long as you have a keyboard and a mouse, it should still boot.??

Any help would be greatly appreciated, been waiting a while to get back in the game.

[CB_HK]

Do you have a terminal you could attach during boot? You should be able to disconnect the monitor, leave the keyboard and mouse connected, and then attach another computer to act as a terminal. This could be a laptop or desktop, as long as it's running terminal software set to 9600 baud, 8 bits, no parity, 1 stop bit. You'll need to connect a serial cable between the Fuel and the computer acting as a terminal. That should allow you to see the startup sequence and talk to the Fuel without having a monitor attached.

Using the terminal it should be possible to run diagnostics and see if you're having a problem with the Fuel itself or if it's just the monitor causing issues.

[indigofan]

Do you have a terminal you could attach during boot? You should be able to disconnect the monitor, leave the keyboard and mouse connected, and then attach another computer to act as a terminal. This could be a laptop or desktop, as long as it's running terminal software set to 9600 baud, 8 bits, no parity, 1 stop bit. You'll need to connect a serial cable between the Fuel and the computer acting as a terminal. That should allow you to see the startup sequence and talk to the Fuel without having a monitor attached.

Using the terminal it should be possible to run diagnostics and see if you're having a problem with the Fuel itself or if it's just the monitor causing issues.


Even with the monitor unplugged, it is acting the same, so think that the RAM might need to be pulled and reseeded..?

[CB_HK]

That could absolutely be an issue as well. I'd recommend pulling the RAM and reseating it, along with anything else you can easily pull and reseat. That may clear up your error altogether.

Fingers crossed!

[indigofan]

I think that it is the environmental fault monitoring that's causing the system shut down. Reseeded everything. Looks like this one is going back to get swapped out, shame as the skins are in fantastic shape. So close, yet so far.

I had RAM issues on my old High Impact, had to reseed every once in a while, finally took it on the chin and got new RAM. I think that I might still have some of it in a box, somewhere. I went from 8 boxes down to 0, so this was going to be +1.

[Raion]

Replacing the environmental monitoring chip is a pain but it is possible and it's a lot cheaper compared to swapping the motherboard or something.

it would be nice if somebody would pop up to do these repairs because a lot of people who have fuels do not have the capability to replace it. I'm also curious if the power supplies are actually the cause behind the failures

[vishnu]

Do you have a terminal you could attach during boot? You should be able to disconnect the monitor, leave the keyboard and mouse connected, and then attach another computer to act as a terminal. This could be a laptop or desktop, as long as it's running terminal software set to 9600 baud, 8 bits, no parity, 1 stop bit. You'll need to connect a serial cable between the Fuel and the computer acting as a terminal.

Just for the sake of clarity it needs to be a null modem cable, a regular serial cable won't work...

[CB_HK]

Do you have a terminal you could attach during boot? You should be able to disconnect the monitor, leave the keyboard and mouse connected, and then attach another computer to act as a terminal. This could be a laptop or desktop, as long as it's running terminal software set to 9600 baud, 8 bits, no parity, 1 stop bit. You'll need to connect a serial cable between the Fuel and the computer acting as a terminal.

Just for the sake of clarity it needs to be a null modem cable, a regular serial cable won't work...

Good catch! Thanks for clarifying that part!

[hamei]

Just for the sake of clarity it needs to be a null modem cable, a regular serial cable won't work...

Good catch! Thanks for clarifying that part!

Another point or two ... the O350 is definitely 38,400 and I remembered Fuel as being that speed also. I set mine to 19,200 as all the Cisco stuff here was 19,200 and remembering to switch was sort of a pain but pretty sure that's not standard.

You can set the initial pre-boot graphics to low-res from the prom, I believe. < setenv monitor l > maybe ?

You can also boot into single-user and change the running resolution with the setmon command if it fails to display after boot.

No need to guess if no-booting is caused by the environment or not, from L1 do < env off >. If it boots after that, then can either look at temps and volts (quickly) from the L1 or from inside Irix at a terminal, < l1 cmd env  > I think. It gives you thirty seconds before shutting down.

And last but not least, it's not video. It's graphics.

[Trippynet]

Correct hamei, Fuel is 38,400 baud. It won't work at 9600.

I highly recommend connecting the L1 serial port (middle of the motherboard) to a laptop or something as if it is environment monitoring, you'll see the relevant warning flashing up and can see what has failed (or bypass it all as hamei says with "env off").