[jwhat]

Hi Weblacky,

yes all this SGI retro stuff is test and see ... ;-)

I put in IP53 with Quad 700.

I think this board was the same one that was in the Tezro originally,

I went with the IP53 as it is likely original Tezro board and so should work with the L1.

I cannot recall the L1 Version , as it was so long ago since I had this running, but do believe I updated it some time back to more current version than it originally had, so it should have the original which works with the IP53 and possibly a newer version, so likely ok either way.

I am pretty sure the problem is the Dallas, I think the (120 old) chips I had either came out of Numalink Router or possibly the G2 brick, so neither of these are typical Chimera configurations.

Agree that it is booting, but it appears to have hung.

I agree 100% that bad clock should not be a problem, but bad data could be...

Problem is without any L1 it is very hard to get any diagnostic input.

A solution might be to put in a known good Dallas in. But this risks killing a working machines, which I am not keen to do.

My purpose here is not to get the Tezro going but rather to find if there is a way to initialise Dallas chips so I can put them in other machines.

Thanks for suggestions, was hoping that we could get the mystery of Tezro eeprom resolved....

I need a Fuel ;-)

Cheers from Oz,

John

[weblacky]

OK, well that does sound reasonable that those parts should work together without a newer firmware. On another question since there wasn’t actually a log posted did you ever have the L1 complain about bad checksums during any of this?

I’m just wondering if perhaps you have a dead snaphat battery. Because I was led to believe the L1 bad checksums was a symptom of a low/dead IO9 battery? Thought I’m at a loss if that really fits the current facts.

But it’s worth a check, the data sheets tells you the pin out if you wanted to check battery voltage on the Snaphat?

[Irinikus]

I had an issue when I upgraded my Tezro to an IP59, I had to go through the process of upgrading the L1 firmware in stages, which I covered in this thread:

http://forums.irixnet.org/thread-75.html...1+firmware

The system complained about various voltages and also didn't see the extra 3 fans on the IP59 node-board.

---

One thing that you might also want to note is that a Dallas chip replacement might not help at all!

Here's an excerpt from the thread which I posted above, which gives a possible location for the L1 EEPROM:

[hamei]

Hi Weblacky & Geoman,

bit the bullet and pulled IP53 out of O350.

this got rid of the (L1 Console) error:

ALERT: NODE EEPROM read error, no acknowledge

But the L1 still never came up and you could see the LED on system board cycling GREEN/RED and L2 getting USB opened/closed message as it cycled.

....

I think what is needed is for someone with Fuel & Tezro to see if you can swap Dallas chips from Fuel to Tezro as way to get new chips going.

j - took all the laundry off the top of the O350 to double-check a few things. This is an O350 but it calls itself a Tezro when I stick the graphics card in.

First, don't need a nodeboard to get to the L1. Mine is running right this second, the "running" display comes up immediately on the front display and works from the serial cable connected to the console port.

No IP 53 installed. If you do a pwr up you get

ERROR: ChiWS_ScanInitSICs: jmstr_sel_sic failed

but the eeprom command works and the help command and a bunch of others. < serial all > is one.

I am pretty sure it won't go to the L1 if the riser card is not installed ? but I am not going to take it out to see, that one is a bitch.

I am also pretty sure I changed the serial number on one dallas chip (I had three, one came from godknowswhere and didn't match my software, so I changed it. "Security" is not enabled in my proms.

I hate to say this, but even with just the interface board and the riser board installed, nothing else, your L1 should work. It sounds like an interface board problem (or whatever the deskside has that corresponds.)

If you want to mail one Dallas, I'd be happy to initialize it and set whatever serial number and rack position you want in one of these non-working boxes (my L1 works but that's about as far as it goes, pretty sure something is fubar with the interface card. Got a spare ? I have three, and each one displays a different failure mode :( )

Stinking hardware :(

edit: wull ah'll be damned, maybe I can be useful for a change. Just remembered I have a Fool mainboard in the closet, lo and behold it had a good Dallas. PLugged it in, L1 comes right up on the O350/Tezro. Then

Data Location Value
------------------------------ ------------ --------
Local System Serial Number NVRAM L0000000
Reference System Serial Number NVRAM L0000000
Local Brick Serial Number EEPROM MTV605
Reference Brick Serial Number NVRAM MTV605

Then if you try < pwr up > you get

001e01-L1>pwr up
ERROR: SerNum:No assigned System Serial Number. See log for details.

Notice it also kept the rack position label from the fool, you'd have to change that also maybe, or maybe not, what the heck, but at least it appears a Fool Dallas will come up in a Tezro.

Strange that it didn't retain the Fool serial number but .... anyway, looks like possibly you could find a fool closer and initialize the Dallas, then transfer to the Tez and write the serial number. Or mail up here if you like, but I still don't like the way your L1 is behaving.

[jwhat]

Hi Hamei,

your experience is similar to mine.

For example with the G2 node, this originally had no processor board and no I09 board and yet the L1 used to come up ok.

I do think the issue is with the actual Dallas chips both which come out of Numalink Routers.

When I did my original Numalink serial flip, I tried the simple thing, which was to just put then old Numalink Dallas into O350 and go from there, but had issues then.

It would be easy to send the two chips your way and for you to see they work in your O350.

This would help solve the mystery of the Dallas chip initialisation on O350 (Chimera) ...

I also have quite a few working O350's myself so I could also try on one of these.

I have since broken up the remains of the Tezro as without a processor board it is of no use to me anymore and it has just been taking up space in the garage.

I am also looking to see if I can do a swap via know good chip using Fuel (Fool ;-) ) , but this requires me to spend significant $$ ....

Seems like way to solve the problem is to go: Dallas -- into --> Fuel (to initialise Dallas) -- into --> [ Chimera (O350/Tezro) || Numalink (to get around security) ]

Let me see how I go on the weekend and I will get back to you on offer to try on your O350.

Much appreciated.

Cheers from Oz,


John.

[hamei]

I will get back to you on offer to try on your O350.

Happy to do it but if you have working O350's, you don't need me ....

but ummm ... so, umm .... how many working O350's do you have ? even without nodeboards or IO9's ..... or spare parts, even .... ?

Was the Tez you euthanised a deskside or a racker ?

[jwhat]

Hi Hamei,

did not get to trying alternate Dallas on O350, as I spent some considerable time playing with the Linux L3/L2 software.
I think I managed to finally get the L3/L2 running within a QEMU/KVM Virtual Machine, which is kind of cool, as it avoids having to dedicate a PC to running this.
I posted a link to my notes in the Software forum area.
On O350s, I have 6 chassis including the G2 (ATI Graphics).
I got them all a few years back from Mopar150 who seemed to have an endless supply back then...
I have 5 of them Numalink'ed and the G2 gathers dust ;-)
The Tezro was a deskside, but it's chassis got bent in shipping, Shortly after I got couple of O350's from Mopar150 and after ripping out V12 and DM3 from the Tezro never really looked at it again. I think the O350 are way more versatile, better designed and built and more interesting than the deskside Tezro (no flames please it is just my opinion).
You can see the O350s hinv on my technical notes blog: https://tips.graphica.com.au/sgi-irix-notes/
Where I have also added picture of various Dallas positions, to help others who might need to do some swapping.

Cheers from Oz,


John.

[khral]

As I have "accidentally" render my Tezro unbootable with "no system serial number assigned" error message at the front LCD display, after I gutted the battery out of the Dallas RTC/NVRAM and replace it with typical CR2032 socketed battery that use in PC, thinking it would fix annoying clock reset every time I turn the Tezro off. With no null-modem cable to try to set the serial number through L1, that method is out of reach for me (for now).

I have an idea of how to initialize Dallas DS1742W-120 without using Fuel or L1 to initialize it, by using chip programmer that can read/write Dallas RTC/NVRAM chip (but you also need the dumped image of it first) to initialize it with good chip data and change the serial number later in L1 console once the system is turned on.
I have try using my TL866A programmer with DS1220 (RW) setting (as from the datasheet the pinout are identical) to read and write data to/from Dallas DS1742W-120 (the one from my Tezro that I have modified it) with success.

This way, we can backup or clone the known good RTC/NVRAM and set the serial to match the machine later. and maybe reverse the NVRAM format so we can make a program that automatically generate correct NVRAM image file from machine serial number.

also, if anyone who could dump the DS1742W-120 from freshly initialize by Fuel or from a Tezro and share it for me and others to try would be greatly appreciate

[weblacky]

KHRAL -
The yellow snaphat battery on your IO9 controls OS date and time, that's what needs replacing for that time issue.

Secondly, this is all we know about the Dallas RTC serial issue, Fuel and Tezro are similar architectures, Jan-Jaap's old findings for Fuel MIGHT work for Tezro...no one has tried it. Buy the Null-Modem serial cable, every SGI has some kind of serial terminal, if you own any SGIs...you need a terminal cable eventually.

This is all that's known right now (it's for FUEL, but likely works for Tezro): https://gainos.org/~elf/sgi/nekonomicon/...655/3.html

L1> set serial <Sticker on back of your Tezro, starts with a letter>
L1> reboot_L1
L1> serial all

See if it took, then you're good...let us know.

Thanks

[khral]

Hello weblacky.
I have obtain null-modem cable and connect to my Tezro using putty with 38400 8N1 serial setting.
Seems for my Tezro, I can't enter L1 if the Dallas RTC/NVRAM get wiped, as it display

INFO: Cannot enable VRM: 9
INFO: Cannot enable VRM: 10
INFO: Cannot enable VRM: 11

and the console is silent after this, while the front left LED lit red light and the LCD is display

001c01
No system serial number assigned