Appendix D. Creating a System Disk From the PROM Monitor

This appendix describes how to create a system disk from an option disk and install an operating system. It describes how to install a system disk on a system that does not currently have a working system disk. It is used in these situations:

To turn a disk into a system disk, you must have an IRIX system software release CD available and a CD-ROM drive attached to the system or available on the network. If you are using a CD-ROM drive attached to a system on the network, that system must be set up as an installation server. See the IRIX Admin: Software Installation and Licensing guide for instructions.

These instructions assume that the system disk is installed on controller 0 at drive address 1. This is the standard location for workstations; the controller number is system-specific on servers. Follow these steps:

  1. Bring the system up into the System Maintenance menu.

  2. Bring up the Command Monitor by choosing the item 5 on the System Maintenance menu.

  3. Give the hinv command and use the CPU type to determine the version of standalone fx that you need to invoke. For example, a system with an IP30 processor is an ARCS processor, so the version of standalone fx needed is stand/fx.64.

  4. Determine the controller and drive address of the device that contains the copy of fx that you plan to use (a CD-ROM drive attached to the system or a CD-ROM drive on a workstation on the network). For example, for a local CD-ROM drive, if hinv reports that the CD-ROM drive on the system is scsi(1), cdrom(4), the controller is 1 and the drive address is 4. The remainder of this example uses that device, although your device may be different or may be located on a different workstation.

  5. If you are installing over a network connection, get the IP address and host name of the workstation with the CD-ROM drive, then skip to step 8. If you are not installing over a network connection, go to the next step.

  6. Insert the CD containing the IRIX system software release into the CD-ROM drive.

  7. Give a Command Monitor command to boot fx. For this example the command is:

    >> boot -f dksc(1,4,8)sash64 dksc(1,4,7)stand/fx.64 --x  
    72912+9440+3024+331696+23768d+3644+5808 entry: 0x89f9a950 
    112784+28720+19296+2817088+59600d+7076+10944 entry: 0x89cd74d0 
    SGI Version6.4 ARCS Jan 31, 1997
    


    Caution: The fx command is intended for advanced users and should not be used unless you have a definite need for it. Refer to the fx(1) man page for complete information on using fx.

    Go to step 10.


    Note: See “Preliminary PROM Monitor Procedure” for details on how to enter the command monitor on your system.


  8. Invoke fx from the standalone version on your workstation, or from a local or remote CD-ROM. See the fx(1M) man page for complete instructions on invoking fx, or use the following procedure.

    • To invoke the standalone copy of fx on your workstation, enter

      >> boot stand/fx --x 
      

    • To invoke fx from a CD with installation tools in a CD-ROM drive on your workstation, enter this command:

      >> boot -f dksc(cntlr,unit,8)sash64 dksc(cntlr,unit,7)stand/fx.64 --x

      In the previous command, cntlr and unit are the controller and unit numbers of the CD-ROM drive (see “Getting CD-ROM Device Numbers”).

    • To invoke fx from a CD with installation tools that is mounted on an installation server named server, enter this command:

      >> boot -f bootp()server:CDdir/stand/fx.64 --x 
      

      In the previous command, CDdir is the mount point directory for the CD (for example, /CDROM).

  9. After fx is invoked, messages, prompts, and menus appear. A sample session is shown. In this sample session, the default system disk device name, controller number, and drive number chosen by fx (dksc, 0, and 1, respectively) are used. Unless your workstation is configured in a non-standard way, the defaults chosen by fx will be correct and you can respond with Enter to the prompts.

  10. Respond to the prompts by pressing the Enter key. These responses select the system disk:

    fx: “device-name” = (dksc) <Enter>
    fx: ctlr# = (0) <Enter>
    fx: drive# = (1) <Enter>
    ...opening dksc(0,1,) 
    ...drive selftest...OK
    Scsi drive type == SGI     SEAGATE ST31200N8640 
     
    ----- please choose one (? for help, .. to quit this menu)----- [exi]t             [d]ebug/           [l]abel/           [a]uto [b]adblock/        [exe]rcise/        [r]epartition/     [f]ormat
    

  11. Display the partitioning of the disk by giving the repartition command:

    fx> repartition
     
    ----- partitions----- 
    part          type         blocks            Megabytes (base+size)   
    7: efs        4 + 2722     3048 + 2074164    
    8: volhdr     0 + 4        0 + 3048          
    10: volume    0 + 2726     0 + 2077212       
     
    capacity is 2077833 blocks
    

    If what you see looks like the examples in number 11 above, you need to repartition. If the disk doesn't need repartitioning, skip the rest of the procedures.

    For a custom installation, use a powered-on Silicon Graphics system to access the Toolchest > Help > Online Books > SGI_Admin > IRIX Admin: Disks and Filesystems, or find a printed copy of this guide.

  12. Choose a standard system disk partition layout. Follow these directions:

    Choose rootdrive.

    ----- please choose one (? for help, .. to quit this menu)----- 
    [ro]otdrive        [o]ptiondrive       [e]xpert
    [u]srrootdrive    [re]size 
    fx/repartition> rootdrive  
     
    fx/repartition/rootdrive: type of data partition = (xfs) <Enter> 
     
    

    You see the following warning message:


    Warning: You will need to re-install all software and restore user data from backups after changing the partition layout. Changing partitions will cause all data on the drive to be lost. Be sure you have the drive backed up if it contains any user data. Continue?


  13. Enter `Yes' or `No' after the warning message.

    Yes or No

    If you choose yes, you see the following:

    ----- partitions----- 
    part  type         blocks                      Megabytes (base+size)  
    0: xfs             3024 + 1976184              1 + 965     
    1: raw             1979208 + 81648             966 + 40      
    8: volhdr          0 + 3024                    0 + 1      
    10: volume         0 +2060856                  0 + 1006   
     
    capacity is 2061108 blocks
     
    The above numbers vary depending on the size of the drive.
     
    To exit fx and go back to the System Maintenance Menu, enter `../exit' at the fx prompt as shown below:
     
    ----- please choose one (? for help, .. to quit this menu)----- 
    [ro]otdrive       [o]ptiondrive       [e]xpert         
    [u]srrootdrive        [r]esize          
    fx/repartition> ../exit 
     
    

See “Installing a New Version of the Operating System” for instructions on completing your task.

Installing a New Version of the Operating System

After creating a new system disk, you must install a new version of the operating system. For instructions, see the Installation Instructions booklet that came with your operating system CDs.