[tyfighter]

EPROMs typically have a very, very long data retention lifespan, but nevertheless <B>could</B> lose data at some point.
For very old SGIs, the EPROMs on boards have held their programming since leaving the factory, and without their PROM images would never boot again.

I've uploaded binaries of the EPROMs on my IP17 and IO3B (captured by pulling the ROM chips directly), for the sake of preservation, in hopes that other owners of old rare systems would backup the EPROMs from them as well. They may even be useful some day.

[CB_HK]

Outstanding. Thank you for uploading yours! I need to get the proper equipment for pulling EEPROM data and burning them. I have a few older computers that rely on EEPROMs and the SGIs are no exception.

[jan-jaap]

Many more: <URL url="https://www.vdheijden-messerli.net/sgistuff/nekochan/prom/"><LINK_TEXT text="https://www.vdheijden-messerli.net/sgis ... chan/prom/">https://www.vdheijden-messerli.net/sgistuff/nekochan/prom/</LINK_TEXT>

That's what I put on my web server a decade ago -- I've since dumped the ROMs of everything I disassembled so I have more (including several revsions of the PowerSeries PROMs)

Fun fact wrt the PowerSeries: there are two major generations of the CPU and IO PROMs: v3.x and v4.x. They are built from the IRIX 3.x and 4.x code base respectively (duh). The v4 ROMS support booting from a CD-ROM at the PROM level, the v3 ROMs don't. Every IP7 CPU has it's own PROM chips, so every IP7 has 2 sets, and e.g. a 4D/380 has 8 sets. The IO and CPU PROMs must match.

[tyfighter]

Thanks jan-jaap :). Would you be able to upload the more recent ROM dumps you've made to the FTP here?

The IO3B PROM images I uploaded contain the string "SGI Version 4.0.1 PROM IP5 OPT Aug 28, 1992".
As far as I can tell, these aren't used in the Crimson at all, and only exists for IP5 boot.

[jan-jaap]

<QUOTE author="tyfighter" post_id="2793" time="1535030194" user_id="237">

The IO3B PROM images I uploaded contain the string "SGI Version 4.0.1 PROM IP5 OPT Aug 28, 1992".
As far as I can tell, these aren't used in the Crimson at all, and only exists for IP5 boot.

Despite the pretty red clothes a Crimson might as well be called PowerSeries 4D/510. And the PowerSeries I/O board existed in a couple of generations (versions):
* The IO2: single channel SCSI
* The IO3: dual channel SCSI
* The IO3B: dual channel SCSI ("B" for "bi-endian") with R4000 support.

Early R4000 systems like the Crimson and the Indigo R4000 are from the time when people thought Windows NT might be ported to just about anything, and Windows ran MIPS in little endian mode. The IO3B has a couple of jumpers, one to switch between R3000 and R4000 host mode, and one to switch endianness. That's also why you can't put an IO2 or IO3 in a Crimson should the IO3B die. But you can put the IO3B in an R3000 PowerSeries, you just have to set the jumpers correctly. The IO3B always has the last revision (part# stickers on the EPROMs end in -010), but the same IO PROM will work fine on an IO2 or IO3. The corresponding IP5 CPU PROM (which runs on IP5, IP7, IP9 and 15 PowerSeries CPU boards) is part# 070-040x-010 and contains:

Code:

Version 4.0.1 IP5 OPT Fri Aug 28 15:49:10 PDT 1992 SGI
Version 4.0.1 IP7 OPT Fri Aug 28 15:49:10 PDT 1992 SGI
Version 4.0.1 IP9 OPT Fri Aug 28 15:49:10 PDT 1992 SGI

I need to sort out these files before I put them anywhere, they are intermixed with chip documentation, disassembly and what not.

[tyfighter]

Well, with that, I would again like to encourage other users with old rare, systems to pull, dump, and post prom images.

I would really like to get images for:

• Onyx (IP19, IP21, and IP25)
  
• Onyx 2 (IP27 and IP31)
  
• Very old PowerSeries (IP5, IP7, and IP9. I grabbed jan-jaap's IP15 from above).
  

I would also like to see all the various flavors of "IP35" proms.  I suspect there were a lot because the general system architecture was used in so many different systems, so it would be interesting to see how they were all differentiated.

Anyone with these systems, the time, and desire to preserve, any help would be greatly appreciated.

[jan-jaap]

The CPU PROM images are the same for IP5, IP7, IP9 and IP15. IP5 is the first (25MHz) CPU board, IP7 is 33MHz, IP15 is 40MHz and IP9 was a cost-reduced single CPU version with memory on the CPU board, eliminating the need for an MC2 memory board.

It's possible that you need at least a certain revision for the newer IP boards, but I'd stay with the last revision anyway so you have CD-ROM support. IIRC you needed at least rev -008 to support 8 CPUs (4D/380 and 4D/480)

I have the R4K, R8K and R10K CPU boards for my Challenge L so I could dump them, but don't hold your breath -- I have many things going on right now so this won't happen anytime soon.

The O2/Octane/Onyx2 and newer are all flash based and flash upgradable, so you might as well lift the images from IRIX media.

What I'd really like is the last IP4 (Professional IRIS) CPU PROM. Mine is

Code:

Version 4D1-3.1 PROM IP4 OPT Thu Dec  8 16:12:10 PST 1988 SGI

My Professional IRIS was not functional when I got it. I fixed most of that, but it still faults when I init the graphics. I've got two CPU boards and two GM boards for the GT graphics and no combination will allow the graphics to start, which means either both CPU boards have the same fault, both GM boards have the same fault, or the combination is somehow unsupported. The rest of the GT boardset has been verified to be OK in a PowerSeries (where you'd call it GTX graphics).

I have the feeling that this PROM, being version 3.1, predates the GT graphics, and supports only the older G graphics. That's why I'd like to hear from someone with a Professional IRIS, dead or alive. Mine has four EPROM chips, labeled 070-0093-010, 070-0094-010, 070-0095-010 and 070-0096-010

[tyfighter]

Thanks, again jan-jaap . Good to know that IP5, IP7, IP9, and IP15 are all the same.

If you've ever got time to dump from your Challenge L, that would be great, but I understand. We've all got a lot going on.

You're correct, I found lots of IP27, IP30, IP32, IP35, IO4, and IO6 flash images across the 6.5.(0|22|30) installation media, as well is in some patches. Thanks .