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SGI Challenge M Troubleshooting Guide

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SGI Indigo2 and CHALLENGE M power button (FDDIXPress guide Figure 1-1)
The power button behind the front door of an Indigo² or CHALLENGE M (SGI, FDDIXPress guide Figure 1-1)

Fault-finding on the SGI Challenge M. The machine is an Indigo² without the graphics board and sound hardware, so the power-on sequence, the front LED, the power supply, the clock chip and the diagnostics are covered in SGI Indigo² Troubleshooting Guide.[1][2] What differs on the Challenge M is working without a monitor, the R8000 POWER CHALLENGE M, FDDI (a CHALLENGE M takes two FDDI boards, an Indigo² one) and the CHALLENGEvault M drive enclosure.[3]

Working without a monitor

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  • SGI's Indigo² guide says that when the front LED lights but there is no picture, the PROM's error messages can be read on an ASCII terminal at 9600 baud on serial port 1.[4] The Challenge M has no graphics board at all.[2]
  • After power-on the CHALLENGE M stops at the System Maintenance Menu by itself, where an Indigo² needs Esc to be pressed.[5] The menu works from a terminal by number; SGI's Indigo² guide, for example, gives 4 for Recover System.[6]
  • The IRIX installer on a CHALLENGE M asks for its software source at a text prompt, such as Load software from local CD-ROM? (y/n) [y].[7]

Checking the hardware with hinv

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From the System Maintenance Menu, enter the Command Monitor and type hinv -v.[5] SGI's expected listing for a POWER CHALLENGE M is:[5] 

System: IP26
Processor: 75 Mhz R8000
Primary I-cache size: 16 Kbytes
Primary D-cache size: 16 Kbytes
Secondary cache size: 2 Mbytes
Memory size: (as fitted)

An R4000-series machine reports an IP22 board. SGI's example from a 100 MHz Indigo² host shows "1 100 MHZ IP22 Processor", an R4000 with an R4010 floating-point unit, 8 KB primary caches and a 1 MB secondary cache.[8] Compare the memory size with the SIMMs fitted; SIMM handling is in SGI Challenge M General Maintenance#Memory.

After an R8000 conversion

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POWER CHALLENGE M problems covered by SGI
Situation What SGI says
Software after the board swap The R8000 needs the 64-bit IRIX 6.0.1 or later, installed from the miniroot as part of the upgrade[9]
Option boards Some option boards were not yet supported on the R8000 systems; check the board before relying on it[9]
The new power supply will not slide into place On some older chassis, bend the two tabs under the supply outwards by about 2 to 3 mm[10]
Power supply for an R8000, a 200 MHz R4400 or a 133 MHz R4600 These need a revision S or later supply (3.45 V on the 3.3 V rail); the revision is marked on the side of the supply[11][12]
Protecting the R8000 module SIMMs taller than about 32 mm in bank C or the last socket of bank B can damage it; do not use an ohmmeter on the module, and do not scrape or knock its underside, where it carries clock capacitors[13][14]
64 MB SIMMs Only two of the three banks may hold 64 MB SIMMs; the third must hold 32 MB or smaller[14]

FDDI boards

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SGI's LED descriptions assume the board's driver is installed and built into the kernel. The driver is not available while the machine shows the System Maintenance Menu or the PROM monitor prompt.[15]

FDDIXP board LEDs (SGI, 007-2144-002 chapter 2)
Green Yellow Meaning and action
On or flashing Off Normal: the board has passed its tests and is passing packets. Steady green means a steady stream.
Off for over two minutes Off for over two minutes No power to the board, or the board is dead. Check that the front LED of the machine is green; if it is, reseat the board firmly in its GIO connector. If that has already been done once, the board may be faulty.
Steadily on Steadily on The ring is dropping in and out, or the board is not working. Check the ring and the board's MAC with smtstat -s -I xpi0 (or xpi1), restart the interface with /usr/etc/smtconfig xpi0 down up, reboot so the driver reloads the firmware, then reinstall the FDDIXPress software.
Off for over two minutes Steadily on The ring is not operational: the interface is disabled or misconfigured, a cable is faulty or disconnected, the ring is down, or the board is faulty. Restart the interface, check every cable from the board's I/O panel to the ring or concentrator, and check with /usr/etc/netstat -in that the interface is up; an asterisk after its name means it is disabled.

[15] Both LEDs flash when the board is powered or reset, and the firmware turns them off within seconds. A board reset too many times has its MAC turned off by the driver; switching the machine off and on clears it.[16]

CHALLENGEvault M

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CHALLENGEvault M symptoms (SGI Table 4-1)
Symptom Check
The host sees no vault disks SCSI cables secure and undamaged; vault switched on and plugged in; power supply fan running
The host does not see one disk Its power and SCSI connectors; bent pins; its SCSI ID; its motor-start jumper
Many SCSI errors Cables firmly connected; correct terminator fitted; bus length within limits; no duplicate SCSI IDs; whether any single-ended devices are connected to the back of the vault
External SCSI diagnostic fails at power-on Vault switched on two minutes before the host; cables and pins
"...resetting SCSI bus" after a power cut or at power-on Vault switched on two minutes before the host; an unplanned power interruption to the vault

[17] On the host, hinv lists the vault's drives as units on SCSI controller 1.[8] The differential vault, built for the CHALLENGE L and Onyx deskside, cannot be connected to a CHALLENGE M.[18] Forum member jan-jaap warns that differential SCSI connected to a single-ended or LVD controller will burn something.[19]

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References

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  1. ↑ "SGI Indigo2", Wikipedia, revision of 22 June 2026, section "Challenge M", en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SGI_Indigo2. No graphics or sound hardware.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Gerhard Lenerz, "Indigo 2 / Challenge M", sgistuff.net, sgistuff.net/hardware/systems/indigo2.html (retrieved 22 October 2026). Graphics overview and Specials section "Challenge M": an Indigo2 without a graphics option.
  3. ↑ Silicon Graphics, FDDIXPress Installation Guide for Indigo2 and CHALLENGE M, 007-2144-002, 1995, Introduction (File:SGI FDDIXPress Installation Guide for Indigo2 and CHALLENGE M (007-2144-002).pdf). One FDDI board in an Indigo2, one or two in a CHALLENGE M.
  4. ↑ Silicon Graphics, Indigo2 Workstation Owner's Guide, 007-9096-050, p. 127 (File:SGI Indigo2 Workstation Owner's Guide (007-9096-050).pdf). ASCII terminal at 9600 baud on serial port 1.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 SGI, 108-0130-001, section 2.5, p. 2-19. System Maintenance Menu, Command Monitor and hinv listing.
  6. ↑ SGI, 007-9096-050, p. 146. System Maintenance menu from an ASCII terminal.
  7. ↑ SGI, 108-0130-001, section 2.6, step 4, p. 2-20.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 SGI, 007-2155-001, "Using hinv on CHALLENGE M or Indigo2 Systems", p. 60.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Silicon Graphics, POWER Indigo2 and POWER CHALLENGE M Upgrade Instructions, 108-0130-001, 1994, sections 1.2 and 1.2.1, p. 1-2 (File:SGI POWER Indigo2 and POWER CHALLENGE M Upgrade Instructions (108-0130-001).pdf).
  10. ↑ SGI, 108-0130-001, section 2.4, step 3, note, p. 2-14.
  11. ↑ SGI, 108-0130-001, section 1.3, p. 1-2.
  12. ↑ SGI, 108-0130-001, section 2.2, p. 2-3.
  13. ↑ SGI, 108-0130-001, section 2.1.1, p. 2-2.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 SGI, 108-0130-001, section 1.6, p. 1-7, and section 2.1.2, pp. 2-2 and 2-3.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 SGI, 007-2144-002, chapter 2 introduction and "Instructions for Troubleshooting with LEDs", pp. 2-1 to 2-4.
  16. ↑ SGI, 007-2144-002, "Description of LED Signals", pp. 2-5 and 2-6.
  17. ↑ SGI, 007-2155-001, Table 4-1, p. 61.
  18. ↑ Silicon Graphics, CHALLENGEvault M Owner's Guide, 007-2155-001, 1993, "How to Use the CHALLENGEvault M", pp. 2 and 3 (File:SGI CHALLENGEvault M Owner's Guide (007-2155-001).pdf).
  19. ↑ TriOx, jan-jaap and GL1zdA, "Challenge Vault M", IRIXNet forums, August to September 2019, forums.irixnet.org/thread-1445.html.


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