[rescue] Is this a POS?

[Matthew Haas]

On Sun, 19 Aug 2001 wa2egp at att.net wrote:
>
> I went to a hamfest today and spotted an SGI Indigo
...
> drive, no memory.  Is this thing worth putting money
> into it to get it going or is it just a POS (I don't
>

The first order of business is to determine the type of processor...
either R4k or R3k. The R4k machines are much more usable and you would
definitely have a great machine, both in looks and performance.

Take the processor board out and note any part numbers... also if the CPU
has a heat sink (I believe that is an important discerning factor).

The downside to having an R3k Indigo is that is uses proprietary 64-pin
memory (a little more difficult to find), where the R4k Indigos use 72-pin
parity (80nS or faster).

If you don't have a keyboard/mouse then things will be interesting,
especially if you want to use it as a graphical workstation. While the
connector is PS/2 style, the signals are not compatible (it uses a serial
keyboard/mouse, not bus).

As for hard drive/any other SCSI device... chain it on the outside
(easiest way, especially if you don't have any sleds)... jumper it for ID4
- ID7... everything else is for internal devices (SCSI host is ID0).

And the graphics- either an LG1/LG2 8-bit framebuffer or an express
graphics (24-bit) based card... XS24, XS24Z, XZ, and Elan.

A good site I have found useful as well as interesting is:

http://www.irisindigo.com/

Links to lots of useful sites as well as FAQs, and even a for sale forum.

Good luck :)

-Matthew