Jump to content

SGI Power Indigo² Troubleshooting Guide

From RetroTechCollection

Fault finding on the SGI Power Indigo², the R8000 version of the teal Indigo². The power-on sequence, the LED colours, the IDE diagnostics and the PROM password work as on the R4000-series machines and are described on SGI Indigo² Troubleshooting Guide.[1] The checks below are the ones that differ on the IP26 board and R8000 module.

Two of SGI's warnings apply to every fault on this machine: do not use an ohmmeter on the R8000 CPU module, and do not knock or scrape the capacitors on its back, because damage to any one of them stops the module working.[2]

Quick reference

[edit | edit source]
POWER Indigo² symptoms
Symptom First checks Section
Fans run, disk LED on, no chime or picture Supply revision; supply output under load; recap Fans run
Pop and burning smell at switch-on Audio board C57 Audio board
Less memory than fitted Bank rules, SIMM sizes, seating Memory
A board that worked in an R4400 Indigo² is not recognised IMPACT, video and compression options Boards
Disk from an older Indigo² will not boot IRIX version IRIX

Checking the configuration

[edit | edit source]

SGI's check after an R8000 upgrade is to enter the Command Monitor from the System Maintenance Menu (press Esc during start-up on an Indigo²) and type:[3] 

hinv -v

SGI's expected output starts:[3] 

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: 64 Mbytes

The memory figure is whatever is fitted. Under IRIX, one owner's machine reports "1 75 MHZ IP26 Processor", a MIPS R8000 processor chip revision 2.2, an R8010 floating-point chip revision 0.1, 16 KB data and instruction caches, a 2 MB secondary cache, two WD33C93B SCSI controllers, the EISA bus, Ethernet and GR3-Elan graphics.[4] Exit the Command Monitor with exit.

Fans run but the machine does not start

[edit | edit source]
SGI Indigo2 power supply cable connectors (Owner's Guide Figure 8-23)
Indigo² chassis from above: the power supply at the rear left and its cable connectors beside the SIMM banks (SGI, Indigo2 Owner's Guide Figure 8-23)

An owner described a POWER Indigo² that spun its fans and lit the disk LED when the power button was pressed, with no start-up chime and no picture, and then ignored the power button. Reseating the R8000 module and the supply cables changed nothing, and after a while the supply fan stopped. With the supply out of the machine, its fan ran again. The same supply had run the machine before it was moved to another Indigo² and back.[5]

weblacky's advice in that thread:[5]

  • Most older SGI boards run directly from the supply's large 3.3 V and 5 V rails, with few on-board regulators, and draw little from 12 V, which runs the fans and disks.
  • An Indigo² supply of any model does not regulate its output without a load, so a supply that runs on the bench cannot be passed or failed that way.
  • A supply that starts at all is a good sign. Recapping all its electrolytic capacitors is where he would start, though a smaller regulated rail may still need tracing afterwards.
  • Removing the graphics board lowers the load and may change the result, but he would not run a rare machine on a supply he suspected.

The thread does not record the outcome.

Before blaming the board, check the supply's revision. SGI says the R8000 needs the nominal 3.45 V on the 3.3 V rail that revision S and later supplies give, and the revision is marked on the side of the supply. A supply borrowed from an older Indigo² may predate revision S.[6][7] SGI publishes no full rail table for the Indigo² supply; see SGI Indigo² Troubleshooting Guide#Power supply for the owners' measurements and for testing a supply, and SGI Power Indigo² Capacitor Replacement Guide for the recap.

On this machine the R8000 module may have to come out before the supply cables can be unplugged or reconnected; see SGI Power Indigo² General Maintenance#R8000 CPU module.[5]

Pop and burning smell

[edit | edit source]

An Indigo² owner whose machine gave a pop and a burning smell a few seconds after switch-on found a shorted 47 µF 20 V tantalum capacitor, C57, on the audio board, which had also burnt out inductor L517 and one of its pads. The machine ran with the audio board removed. He also found a report of the same capacitor failing on an R8000 Indigo² that had not been switched on for months.[8] The audio board in a POWER Indigo² is the one SGI moved across from the IP22 board during an upgrade.[1] See SGI Indigo² Troubleshooting Guide#Audio board.

Memory missing

[edit | edit source]

If hinv shows less memory than is fitted, check the SIMMs against SGI's rules for the IP26 board:[9][10]

  • Every SIMM in a bank must be the same size.
  • 64 MB SIMMs may fill only two of the three banks; the third must hold 32 MB or smaller SIMMs.
  • SIMMs in bank C and the last socket of bank B must be no taller than about 32 mm.
  • The sockets take 72-pin fast-page-mode SIMMs with parity, 36 bits wide; 8M × 72 modules do not work.[11]

SGI also warns that a SIMM fitted without its locator pins through the holes at each end can be damaged, and that a fitted SIMM should sit level with its neighbours.[12] The TechPubs Wiki reports owners running more than SGI's 640 MB limit, which SGI did not support.[11][9] To reach bank C the R8000 module has to come out; see SGI Power Indigo² General Maintenance#Memory.[13]

Boards not recognised

[edit | edit source]

Not every Indigo² option works with the R8000:

  • IMPACT graphics is not supported on the POWER Indigo². sgistuff.net says SGI planned a driver and did not release one, but notes later reports of R8000 machines running IMPACT.[11][14]
  • SGI's 1994 product guide supports the video and compression options only on R4400 and R4600 systems.[15]
  • SGI's upgrade instructions warned that some option boards might not yet be supported, and told engineers to check with SGI.[16]

XL, XZ and Extreme graphics are listed as supported on the R8000 models.[14]

IRIX will not boot

[edit | edit source]

The R8000 needs the 64-bit IRIX 6.0.1 or later.[16] A system disk running an earlier release, for instance from an R4000-series Indigo², will not serve; SGI's upgrade installed IRIX 6.0.1 from CD-ROM as part of the job.[17] sgistuff.net recommends IRIX 6.2 for the R8000, and IRIX 6.5.22 is the last release that supports any Indigo².[14]

[edit | edit source]

References

[edit | edit source]
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Silicon Graphics, POWER Indigo2 and POWER CHALLENGE M Upgrade Instructions, 108-0130-001, 1994, section 2.1, p. 2-1 (File:SGI POWER Indigo2 and POWER CHALLENGE M Upgrade Instructions (108-0130-001).pdf). Parts replaced in the upgrade; audio board moved to the IP26.
  2. ↑ SGI, 108-0130-001, section 2.1.1, p. 2-2. No ohmmeter on the R8000 module; capacitors on its back.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 SGI, 108-0130-001, section 2.5, p. 2-19. Entering the Command Monitor and hinv -v output.
  4. ↑ "New R8000 owner ... what next?", IRIX Network forums, thejpster, 20 November 2024, forums.irixnet.org. Full hinv of a POWER Indigo².
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Indigo2 MIPS R8000 power issues", IRIX Network forums, Xav101 and weblacky, 21 February 2022, forums.irixnet.org.
  6. ↑ SGI, 108-0130-001, section 1.3, p. 1-2. Revision S power supply, 3.45 V, needed for the R8000.
  7. ↑ SGI, 108-0130-001, section 2.2, p. 2-3. Supply revision marked on its side.
  8. ↑ "My SGI Indigo2 audio board give off magic smoke", IRIX Network forums, khral, 8 October 2021, forums.irixnet.org.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 SGI, 108-0130-001, section 1.6, Table 1-2 and section 2.1.2, pp. 1-7 and 2-2 to 2-3. Memory rules and limits.
  10. ↑ Silicon Graphics, 64 MB SIMM Upgrade for R8000 Indigo2 and POWER CHALLENGE M Systems, 108-0139-001, 1995, pp. 4–5 (File:SGI 64 MB SIMM Upgrade for R8000 Indigo2 and POWER CHALLENGE M Systems (108-0139-001).pdf). Height limit and bank rules.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Indigo 2", TechPubs Wiki, tech-pubs.net (retrieved 21 October 2026). SIMM type; owners' memory configurations; IMPACT not supported on the POWER Indigo 2.
  12. ↑ SGI, 108-0139-001, pp. 5–6. Locator pins; checking a fitted SIMM.
  13. ↑ SGI, 108-0139-001, p. 9. The R8000 module must come out to fill bank C.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Gerhard Lenerz, "Silicon Graphics Indigo 2", sgistuff.net, sgistuff.net/hardware/systems/indigo2.html (retrieved 21 October 2026). Graphics support, IMPACT on the R8000, IRIX recommendations.
  15. ↑ Silicon Graphics, Indigo2 Product Guide, INDIGO2-TM-GD (09/94), 1994, PDF page 8 (File:SGI Indigo2 Product Guide (INDIGO2-TM-GD-09-94).pdf). Video and compression supported only on R4400/R4600 systems.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 SGI, 108-0130-001, sections 1.2 and 1.2.1, p. 1-2. 64-bit IRIX 6.0.1 or later; option board support.
  17. ↑ SGI, 108-0130-001, section 2.6, p. 2-20. Installing IRIX 6.0.1 from the miniroot.


Retrieved from "https://retrotechwiki.com/index.php?title=SGI_Power_Indigo²_Troubleshooting_Guide&oldid=29558"