[rescue] Bizarre auctions & SparcStation IPXs...

[deanders at pcisys.net]

At 11:46 PM 1/25/2003 -0500, you wrote:
>I'd install Solaris and then turn off graphical features. (Minimal 
>install will do... then add some freeware)

Well, when I get ahold of install media and an external CD-ROM, I'll
certainly do that; it may be a while, though--I am, after all, the
proverbial 'starving student'.

(Okay, not starving, exactly, but I don't exactly have much income right
now...)

>BSD feh.!.... well it's great for a last resort... and if it supports 
>what is built-in.  If you want a built-in console, just get a 13W3-VGA 
>converter... I'm not so familiar with the IPX, but I do know the LX.  
>My LX right now is on probation... it's having some hardware problems 
>that I don't have time to figure out... not while my Ultra 2 runs so 
>well. (online generating distrib folding structures along with my PPro, 
>and G3 PPC)... just waiting for the IRIX 32 client..

Again, the only problem with getting a 13W3-VGA converter is that (as far
as I can tell) the built-in framebuffer on the IPX only supports 1152x900,
which wouldn't work very well on my only current monitor (Sony XGA LCD). It
would work in the sense that it would produce an image on the screen, but
the monitor would be trying to scale the signal down to XGA; not only does
that produce an onscreen warning, but it looks *horrible* (since it is,
after all, trying to display more pixels than it actually has). Thus, I'd
rather use a serial console for the initial setup and SSH once I've got
everything running. 

I guess I could probably find a framebuffer that would output 1024x768 (or
a used monitor that'd do 1152x900, but I barely have enough room on my desk
for everything I've already got...), but I'd still have to find a keyboard,
mouse, and 13W3-VGA converter; I can't imagine that being cheaper than a
null modem and an MD8-DB25 cable, and cost is the overriding issue here. 


Derek Andersen