Last year I was given an Axil 235, which I believe to be a
SparcStation 2 clone. The monitor has subsequently broken for no
obvious reason (just after I replaced the broken CD-ROM drive so I
could install a new OS!). I have no other suitable monitor so I tried
using my PC as a serial console for it, but with no success. Can
anyone give me specific instructions for using a serial console on
this machine?

--
Ben Hutchings
Quantity is no substitute for quality, but it's the only one we've got.

On Sunday 11 January 2004 3:07 am in comp.sys.sun.hardware Ben Hutchings
wrote:

> Last year I was given an Axil 235, which I believe to be a
> SparcStation 2 clone. The monitor has subsequently broken for no
> obvious reason (just after I replaced the broken CD-ROM drive so I
> could install a new OS!). I have no other suitable monitor so I tried
> using my PC as a serial console for it, but with no success. Can
> anyone give me specific instructions for using a serial console on
> this machine?

Unplug the keyboard.
Set your terminal to 9600 8N1
Use a null-modem cable.


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Chris Newport wrote:
> On Sunday 11 January 2004 3:07 am in comp.sys.sun.hardware Ben Hutchings
> wrote:
>
>> Last year I was given an Axil 235, which I believe to be a
>> SparcStation 2 clone. The monitor has subsequently broken for no
>> obvious reason (just after I replaced the broken CD-ROM drive so I
>> could install a new OS!). I have no other suitable monitor so I tried
>> using my PC as a serial console for it, but with no success. Can
>> anyone give me specific instructions for using a serial console on
>> this machine?
>
> Unplug the keyboard.
> Set your terminal to 9600 8N1
> Use a null-modem cable.

I have the cable and tried those settings before. Possibly I made the
mistake of leaving the keyboard plugged in, so I'll try again without.

I wrote:
> Chris Newport wrote:
>> On Sunday 11 January 2004 3:07 am in comp.sys.sun.hardware Ben Hutchings
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Last year I was given an Axil 235, which I believe to be a
>>> SparcStation 2 clone.

SparcStation 10, rather.

>>> The monitor has subsequently broken for no
>>> obvious reason (just after I replaced the broken CD-ROM drive so I
>>> could install a new OS!). I have no other suitable monitor so I tried
>>> using my PC as a serial console for it, but with no success. Can
>>> anyone give me specific instructions for using a serial console on
>>> this machine?
>>
>> Unplug the keyboard.
>> Set your terminal to 9600 8N1
>> Use a null-modem cable.
>
> I have the cable and tried those settings before. Possibly I made the
> mistake of leaving the keyboard plugged in, so I'll try again without.

Well, that works. Which brings me on to the next problem:

--- BEGIN LOG ---
ok boot cdrom
Resetting ...
..
Axil-235 (1 X 390Z55), No Keyboard
ROM Rev. 2.10, 64 MB memory installed, Serial #8789255.
Ethernet address 0:0:3b:80:20:b, Host ID: 72861d07.
Rebooting with command: cdrom
Boot device: /iommu/sbus/espdma@f,400000/esp@f,800000/sd@6,0:d File and args:vmunix
SMemory error during DMA transfer.
DMA control register = a400030e , DMA address = ffec4013
Extra scsi data. Fatal error.Memory error during DMA transfer.
DMA control register = a400010e , DMA address = ffec4013
can't clear interrupts
Can't read disk label.
Can't open disk label package
Data Access Exception
Type help for more information
--- END LOG ---

A quick look around suggests that this means the drive is returning
whole sectors (2048 bytes) when the host requests 512 bytes. Is that
right? Is there any way around it?

I think I can manage to boot the installer from a floppy disk but it
would be nice to be able to boot from the CD-ROM.

--
Ben Hutchings
The generation of random numbers is too important to be left to chance.

On Friday 16 January 2004 1:21 am in comp.sys.sun.hardware Ben Hutchings
wrote:


>
> A quick look around suggests that this means the drive is returning
> whole sectors (2048 bytes) when the host requests 512 bytes. Is that
> right? Is there any way around it?
>
> I think I can manage to boot the installer from a floppy disk but it
> would be nice to be able to boot from the CD-ROM.

Sounds like that cdrom drive came from a nn-Sun machine.
Most scsi cd drives have a jumper to set the block size, usually
marked 512. If you are lucky, just insert that jumper and try again.
Otherwise find a more suitable drive or borrow one from a Sun box.




--
My real address is crn (at) netunix (dot) com
WARNING all messages containing attachments or html will be silently
deleted. Send only plain text.

> + On 16-Jan-04 03:38:09
+Chris Newport <me@see-my-sig.invalid> wrote

>> A quick look around suggests that this means the drive is returning
>> whole sectors (2048 bytes) when the host requests 512 bytes. Is that
>> right? Is there any way around it?

>Sounds like that cdrom drive came from a nn-Sun machine.

Or more correct, a CDROM that is not made for a "real" workstation
or server.

Sun,SGI and if I recall it right, HP and DEC all needed this kind
of CDROM's..

>Most scsi cd drives have a jumper to set the block size, usually

No, I would say that pretty few have this.. but SOME have, and
some are autosense, like the old (crappy) NEC multispin 2.5x.

I good bet is to buy a Plextor SCSI CDROM, AFAIK all plextors
can read the correct blocksize.

>marked 512. If you are lucky, just insert that jumper and try again.
>Otherwise find a more suitable drive or borrow one from a Sun box.

Or SGI.. or probably any other big "UNIX-company"..

Chris Newport wrote:
> On Friday 16 January 2004 1:21 am in comp.sys.sun.hardware Ben Hutchings
> wrote:
>
>
>>
>> A quick look around suggests that this means the drive is returning
>> whole sectors (2048 bytes) when the host requests 512 bytes. Is that
>> right? Is there any way around it?
>>
>> I think I can manage to boot the installer from a floppy disk but it
>> would be nice to be able to boot from the CD-ROM.
>
> Sounds like that cdrom drive came from a nn-Sun machine.

I think it was in a Mac originally.

> Most scsi cd drives have a jumper to set the block size, usually
> marked 512. If you are lucky, just insert that jumper and try again.
> Otherwise find a more suitable drive or borrow one from a Sun box.

I don't think it has such a jumper, but I'm having trouble finding
documentation for it so I don't know. Thanks anyway.

Glenn wrote:
>> + On 16-Jan-04 03:38:09
> +Chris Newport <me@see-my-sig.invalid> wrote
>
>>> A quick look around suggests that this means the drive is returning
>>> whole sectors (2048 bytes) when the host requests 512 bytes. Is that
>>> right? Is there any way around it?
>
>>Sounds like that cdrom drive came from a nn-Sun machine.
>
> Or more correct, a CDROM that is not made for a "real" workstation
> or server.
>
> Sun,SGI and if I recall it right, HP and DEC all needed this kind
> of CDROM's..
<snip>

So "real" computers have firmware that can't deal with different
sector sizes? I'm glad I normally deal with PCs, then...

I managed to net-boot the installer, anyway, and Linux is able to read
from the CD-ROM so I suppose I don't *need* to sort this out.

> + On 20-Jan-04 01:09:07
+Ben Hutchings <ben-public-nospam@decadentplace.org.uk> wrote

>>>> A quick look around suggests that this means the drive is returning
>>>> whole sectors (2048 bytes) when the host requests 512 bytes. Is that
>>>> right? Is there any way around it?
>>
>>>Sounds like that cdrom drive came from a nn-Sun machine.
>>
>> Or more correct, a CDROM that is not made for a "real" workstation
>> or server.
>>
>> Sun,SGI and if I recall it right, HP and DEC all needed this kind
>> of CDROM's..
><snip>

>So "real" computers have firmware that can't deal with different
>sector sizes? I'm glad I normally deal with PCs, then...

Not the "workstation" part.. it also goes for servers.. please remember
that it wasnt many years ago the x86-platform got a useable *ix.

And please note that this standard was set long before PC's even
had CDROM's as standard.. and is there ANY PC that can boot from
a SCSI CDROM at all ? ..probably there is, but they usally can't.

>I managed to net-boot the installer, anyway, and Linux is able to read
>from the CD-ROM so I suppose I don't *need* to sort this out.

Dont remember how it is on sunmachines since my trusty plextor
can do both blocktypes, but I seem to remember that on SGI machines
its only for the boot you need the correct blocksize..

Come back when your peecee can boot from it )

Glenn might have said:

>And please note that this standard was set long before PC's even
>had CDROM's as standard.. and is there ANY PC that can boot from
>a SCSI CDROM at all ? ..probably there is, but they usally can't.


Mine have been able, for almost ten years.