SparcStation 20 No Video Problem

[DMAN3021]

I've seen this question posted a little everywhere but there doesnt seem to be an answer, so here goes.

I have a SparcStation 20, which used to work fine. However, since its last shutdown, there doesnt seem to be any video. We've played with all the cables, and it still wont display anything.

Basically what happens is, on startup (either from the switch in the back or the button on the keyboard) the machine beeps, and the lights for the different command buttons on the keyboard (capslock, scrolllock, etc) flash on then off. Then the computer seems to continue on its booting, checking the different periferals.

Nothing ever displays on the screen though... and when I try to click on the different keyboard commands, the lights don't turn on anymore...

Little help...

 

[djr111]

the machine is up and running?

can you log in as root, then type 'eeprom'

what does input-device and output-device say?

if it says 'ttya', then this may be your problem

 

[DMAN3021]

Well, the machine is up and running, yes. But the monitor itself remains in "powersave mode", so I dont see anything on the screen itself. (so I wouldnt be able to run those commands)

We've tried the monitor out on another Sun machine, it works. Also, We've tried connecting the serial port of the machine to a PC running HyperTerminal, then booting without a keyboard. Nothing gets displayed in HyperTerminal...

Oh, and when its booted without a keyboard, it doesn't beep...

 

[djr111]

it is not suppose to 'beep' if there is no KB present

I thought you would be able to log into the machine via ssh,rsh,tlenet..etc.. to check the eeprom seetings


how do you know the server is even up?, if the server is not acutally up and running, you might check your memory installed in the box. for instance, if you have 1 stick of 128mb, and that stick is bad, of course your system will not run, but you also will not see video output to your monitor.

 

[cndcadams]

DMAN3021;

I would first try to ping the box and see if it is up as djr111 is saying. If it is up and running, telnet in and run eeprom and check the output-device is screen and input-device is keyboard.

If you can't ping the system, then the system is not up. Also as djr111 says if you have only one simm then you may want to try another one if you have spares.

Are you using the onboard video port (If yes then maybe your vsimm is bad, If you do not have a vsimm you can't use the onboard port). If you are using a graphics card then maybe this is bad (doubt it).

Last resort;

If you have not made any custom settings to the nvram as far as boot devices etc.. Then I suggest you power off the system, then press and hold the L1A key(upper left) and the N key at the same time, while holding them down power on the system and continue to hold them down until you see the keyboard leds run their cycle. If still no video then you have a bad video card, memory issue, vsimm issue, or worse.

Other troubleshooting;

minimize hardware. If you have dual modules try one at a time, MBUS 0 needs to be populated. If multiple simms try 1 simm at a time, j0201 needs to be populated first. FYI there is a specific memory configuration setup you need to follow,, you can't just put the memory back to back. If you need help with what slots need to be populated in what order let me know.

Thanks

CA

 

[DMAN3021]

Thanks for the help everyone...

> how do you know the server is even up?

Well, when we turn it on, we can hear the fans whirling, see the green light come on, as well as keyboard keys flash, and we see that the comp seems to acces the tape drive and HD attached to it.

However, we tried to ping the machine, no response. Tried the L1A key, and it didn't work (not to sure what the L1A key is, I have to admit...) And tried replacing different hardware inside the machine, (different memory, different video card).

In all cases, we got the same result, cycling keyboard leds, peripheral acces, but no display...

 

[cndcadams]

dman3021;


L1A key(upper left) and the N key at the same time

the L1A key used to be an actual key on older sun keyboards, if you have a newer sun keyboard then it is the stop key, should also be in the top left.

you need to make sure that you hold the L1A(stop)key and the N key at the same time and continue to hold them while powering on the system. And continue to hold them.

Did you try another keyboard and mouse?

Make sure that the mouse is plugged tightly into the keyboard as a loose mouse cable can cause problems.

Did you try 1 cpu and 1 simm?

 

[djr111]

Well the green light in the corner just tell you the system actually has power, but not much more.

The L1A key is the same as the 'stop' key on a sun keyboard.
so you would do <stop> <a>

What I suggest you try is setting the NVRAM back to its default setting.
(NOTE - if you have custom settings for your boot device amoung other things set in your NVRAM, they will be reset to default)

To reset the NVRAM:

1) power down the server
2) power up server (immediatley do step 3)
3) hold down <stop> <n> buttons for 10 secs or so. I think it beeps, but sometimes it is not noticable.

You say you hooked up a laptop to the SS20 but were not able to see anything, did you use a null modeom as required to get the connection established?

check out this pdf, it tells you a couple of things about what the lights on the KB mean on bootup

http://sunsolve.sun.com/data/801/801-6189/pdf/K.postnew.pdf

I hope this helps a little, it has been a while since i have worked on a SS20

 

[SamBones]

Have you tried using a known good video card? Have you tried the video card in a different SBus slot? Have you tried a different (known good) monitor?

Accessing the different peripherals sounds like it is going through the power on self test. What exactly is the flashing on the keyboard keys? Some of those can indicate POST failures. See the link djr111 gives in his post.

 

[artk1]

I have a similar problem. I have been able to attach a console and see the process but always wind up at an
{0} ok prompt whcih doesn't seem to allow normal commands. How can I get to a "normal" Solaris prompt and
more importantly how can I get display information to come out on my graphical monitor?

 

[djr111]

you should just be able to type: boot from the ok> prompt and the system should use its default disk to boot up into run-level 3.

MAKE SURE YOU DO THE FOLLOWING BEFORE TRYING TO BOOT THE SYSTEM...just to make it easier on you.

if you do a printenv from the ok> prompt, you probably see, amung many other things.

input-device=ttya - telling it to use serial
output-device=ttya

I believe you have to change it to

input-device=keyboard - as it states, upon boot up
output-device=screen

you change it like this

setenv input-device screen
setenv output-device keyboard

ALSO
check to see if you have auto-boot? set to false, if so change it to true, if it is false then every time you reboot the system it will only go to the ok> prompt, set to true it will boot up into Solaris.

setenv auto-boot? true