On 1/20/23 11:19, Chris via cctalk wrote: > > I have 2 IRIX sets. 15 disk 6.5.4 iinm. And a 3 diak 6.5.6. Have 2 > Indys, 1 is busted up, the 1 I'll wind up keeping for an extended period > probably. 1 Indy has an r5000 I think and a graphics card. The other is > mediocre. Also have an R1000 Impact I2.
The first thing to be aware of is that the 3-disk set for 6.5.6 will be just the "overlays" (in SGI terminology). The 15-disk 6.5.4 set will include the base 6.5 distribution (12 disks) plus the 6.5.4 overlays (3 disks). No matter what version of 6.5.x you install, you'll need the same base disks from that 6.5.4 set. Then add the overlays for whichever specific point release you want. > Question is are these versions of Irix suitable. Or couldnI do better. > And on account of SGIs licensing scheme, which attaches a specific os > version to a maxhine (or vice versa), does that entitle me to obtain and > install those specific versions. Put anotjer way if I obtained images > from somewhere, installed the correct versions of Irix, would thoae > machines then be legit? Or am I supposed to pay through the nose for a > subscription or whatever? The machines you have were supported up to 6.5.22, so you can run anything up to that. (And frankly, I don't know why you'd want an earlier 6.5.x release.) After that only the O2, Octane, and newer systems were supported. You can also go with something older than 6.5.x. Both 6.2 and 5.3 are options on the Indys. Only 6.2 would support the R10K Impact system. IRIX 6.5.x likes lots of RAM. Consider 128 MB the minimum, 256 MB is better. (Which doesn't sound like a lot today, but it was 25 years ago when these machines were current!) If you have less RAM, then definitely consider earlier IRIX. The final release was 6.5.30, but that was way back in 2006. Even extended support contracts for those paying the big money ran out sometime around a decade ago. There is simply no way to pay for a license or subscription for any version of IRIX at this point in time. I can't comment on the legalities of it, but "use what you can get" seems to be a common approach in the SGI community as a result. > Take the I2s for instance. Is the hardware any more reliable, > longevity wise, then your average good quality pc? I don't know about longevity. They were high performance systems compared to PCs of the era. The operating system was very stable. They're very different hardware than PCs of that (or any) era. Those are why people still love them today, more than longevity. You're talking about 25-30 year old machines. They will have problems these days. I don't often see SGI stuff discussed on this list. You might get more detailed info from web forums: https://forums.irixnet.org/ https://forums.sgi.sh/ (I'm a user of the irixnet.org forums.)
