Re: SPARCstation 20 only recognizes 2 of 4 CPUs

Andreas Wiese wrote:

Wikipedia says, the SS20 needs 'updated firmware' for being capable of
using four CPUs, but further investigation suggests that the minimal
revision for using four CPUs is 2.10.

I've got an Firmware-Image with rev. 2.25r here and am planning to flash
the EEPROM with it when getting adequate equipment for doing this task
(BTW: is there another way for updating the firmware than taking out the
EEPROM, flashing it with a flash device and installing it again? Does
this way work at all?)

I think you will find the original firmware is in a OTPROM, but not an EPROM. By this I mean it it *one* time programmable. EPROMS cost more than OTPROMs and I don't think Sun put EPROMS in there - of course someone else might have added one. But personally I would not risk it, but buy a new device - an ERROM is not expensive. (They are available from both RS and Farnel in the UK - I can't speak for other countries).

After reading that 2.10 should do the job, I'm not actually sure if it's
worth the effort or if my dear SS20 has another problem...

Casper thinks the devices are not dual CPUs. Experience suggest Casper is almost always right (I can probably remove 'almost'), so if he thinks they are not duals, then they are not.

I've got 5 SS20's here, but whilst I think they were a great machine in their time, I would question whether its worth spending money on one, given the price of things like an Ultra 60.

If you live in the UK, and want to pick one up, make a cheque for a fiver payable to the RSPB or RSPCA, and you take an SS20 away form my home in Essex.

.

Relevant Pages

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