[rescue] SGI Indigo 2

[Sheldon T. Hall]

"Curtis H. Wilbar Jr." <rescue at hawkmountain.net> writes ...

[snip]

> I don't like the second hard drive's carrier/tray ... it's a cheaper
> plastic job than the nice metal one the primary drive is on.... is
> this a third party carrier?

I think so, but I've never seen one.

> Anyone got an extra genuine SGI metal one
> like the one I have in the primary drive slot ?

I don't, but check eBay.  I bought mine there.  Budget $25 each, though you
might get them for less.

> The CD carrier/tray has a couple of problems as well... the connector for
> the drive ID doesn't attach well and it was loose causing a SCSI problem
> due to ID conflict....

Take it off and just set the CD-ROM to ID 3 with jumpers on the drive.
AFAICT, the drive-setting stuff on the sled doesn't do anything magic.

> also where the "quick connect" connector on the
> back of the tray is affixed to the metal part with two screws, one was
loose
> and in the process of tightening it, I discovered that half of the plastic
> frame that holds the quick connect connector in place is broken.... so
> I need that part or another cd tray sometime.

CD sleds are a little harder to find than HD sleds, so, unless the thing
won't work at all, I'd just use it.  It's not like you have to take the CD
drive out every day.  Also keep in mind that the connector on the sled is
supposed to move around a bit so it can line up with the chassis connector.
In a pinch, I think a small mod to an HD sled will let it fit that bay.

> I'm thinking of replacing the cd-rom with a cd writer (as I have a couple
> extra 4 speed ones kicking around).... does Irix come with any writer
> software, or would I just have to get something from the net ?

I'm using `cdrecord` with moderate success.

When contemplating replacement of the internal CD-ROM drive, remember that
"real" SGI CD-ROM internal drives will play audio CD-ROMS over the SCSI bus,
using the CD-player app that's part of IRIX.  They will also boot the
machine.

I put my CD burner and a fast CD-ROM drive in an external case, and use them
as my primary CD reader and burner.  The internal drive I just use for
playing audio CDs and CD-booting.

-Shel