This chapter provides you with troubleshooting information and diagnostic tests for the Dual Head VPro graphics system.
If you are having trouble with your Dual Head installation, follow these preliminary steps before going on to the next sections:
Make sure that both monitors are connected to AC power and are powered on, as described in “Connecting the Power Cables” in Chapter 2.
Make sure that both monitors are correctly connected to the appropriate graphics board set, as described in “Connecting Cables to the Monitors in a Side-by-Side Configuration” in Chapter 2 or “Connecting Cables to the Monitors in a Stacked Configuration” in Chapter 2.
Be sure you have installed any software that came with the second graphics board.
Check the Troubleshooting chapter in your Octane2 Workstation Owner's Guide for troubleshooting tips for the Octane2 workstation.
If none of these steps solve your problem, proceed to the appropriate section, “Both Screens are Blank” or “One Screen is Blank or has Faulty Images”.
If both of your monitor screens are blank when the system is running, perform the steps suggested in “General Troubleshooting Procedures”.
If the problem persists, try reseating the graphics boards, as described in “Reseating the Dual Head XIO Module”.
Once the Dual Head XIO Module is reseated, look to see if the monitors are now working. If the problem persists, try reseating the graphics boards a few more times. If the problem still remains, contact your SGI representative.
If one of your monitor screens is blank or has faulty images, you can make some determination of the cause of the problem by using the gfxinfo command, as described in this section.
From the Toolchest, click on Desktop, then select Open Unix Shell.
Move the mouse cursor to the newly opened UNIX shell window.
On the command line, type:
1%] /usr/gfx/gfxinfo |
You should get back something similar to the following:
Graphics board 0 is "ODYSSEY" graphics.
Managed (":0.0") 1280x1024
BUZZ version B.0
PB&J version 1
128MB memory
Banks: 4, CAS latency: 3
Monitor 0 type: Unknown
Channel 0:
Origin = (0,0)
Video Output: 1280 pixels, 1024 lines, 60.00Hz (1280x1024_60)
Graphics board 1 is "ODYSSEY" graphics.
Managed (":0.1") 1280x1024
BUZZ version B.0
PB&J version 1
128MB memory
Banks: 4, CAS latency: 3
Monitor 0 type: Unknown
Channel 0:
Origin = (0,0)
Video Output: 1280 pixels, 1024 lines, 60.00Hz (1280x1024_60)
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On a correctly functioning VPro Dual Head system this output will show two graphics boards, board 0 and board 1. Board 0 is the board set connected to the primary head (typically the monitor on the left) and board 1 is the board set connected to the secondary head (typically the monitor on the right).
If your system shows only one board, try reseating the Dual Head XIO Module as described in “Reseating the Dual Head XIO Module”, and then rerun gfxinfo.
If this does not solve the problem, try reversing the primary and secondary graphics heads, as described in “Reversing the Primary and Secondary Graphics Heads”, and then rerun gfxinfo.
If the problem went away, it was probably a bad connection between the graphics board set and the Octane2 frontplane. You may return the graphics heads to their original positions, as described in “Returning the Graphics Heads to Their Original Positions”, or leave them in the reversed position. Other than the silk-screened labels being upside down, there is no problem leaving the Dual Head XIO Module reversed.
If the problem persists, return the graphics heads to their original positions, as described in “Returning the Graphics Heads to Their Original Positions”.
If none of these tests solve your problem, contact your SGI representative for assistance.
If your system shows both graphics boards, but one of your monitor screens is blank or has faulty images, try reversing the monitors and cables, as described in “Reversing the Monitors and Cables”.
If the problem stays with one monitor (even though it is now connected to a different graphics board) the problem is likely in your monitor or monitor cable.
If the problem is now on the other monitor, that suggests that the problem is in your Octane2 system.
Return the monitors and cables to their original positions.
If the problem persists, try reversing the primary and secondary graphics heads, as described in “Reversing the Primary and Secondary Graphics Heads”.
Once the heads are reversed, look to see if the fault (the blank screen or faulty image) has gone away, has moved with the board set, or has stayed where it originally was.
If the problem went away, it was probably a bad connection between the graphics board set and the Octane2 frontplane. You may return the graphics heads to their original positions, as described in “Returning the Graphics Heads to Their Original Positions”, or leave them in the reversed position. Other than the silk-screened labels and the center plastic knob being upside down (both of which are purely cosmetic issues), there is no problem leaving the Dual Head XIO Module reversed.
If the problem moved with the board set (that is, if it was on the bottom graphics head before, and it is now on the top graphics head), the problem is probably in your graphics boards. Return the graphics heads to their original positions, as described in “Returning the Graphics Heads to Their Original Positions” and contact your SGI representative for assistance.
If the problem remained in the same physical location (that is, if it was on the bottom graphics head before, and it is still on the bottom graphics head, even though a different board set is occupying that position) it is probably a software problem. Return the graphics heads to their original positions, as described in “Returning the Graphics Heads to Their Original Positions” and contact your SGI representative for assistance.
This section details a number of diagnostic tests you can perform to help locate problems with your Dual Head VPro graphics system.
Sometimes problems with a graphics board are as simple as a poor connection between the graphics board set and the Octane2 frontplane. In this case, reseating the Dual Head XIO module will often fix the problem.
To reseat the Dual Head XIO Module, follow these steps:
Prepare the system as described in “Preparing the Workstation to Install the Dual Head XIO Module” in Chapter 1.
Remove the Dual Head XIO module, as described in “Removing the Dual Head XIO Module” in Chapter 5.
Reinstall the Dual Head XIO module, as described in “Installing the Dual Head XIO Module” in Chapter 1.
The diagnostic test described in this section reverses the physical locations of the primary and secondary graphics board sets.
To reverse the positions of the primary and secondary graphics board sets, follow these steps:
Prepare the system as described in “Preparing the Workstation to Install the Dual Head XIO Module” in Chapter 1.
Remove the Dual Head XIO module, as described in “Removing the Dual Head XIO Module” in Chapter 5.
Reinstall the Dual Head XIO module, as described in “Installing the Dual Head XIO Module” in Chapter 1, but install it upside down (that is, the opposite of the manner shown in Figure 1-11).
To return the primary and secondary graphics heads to their original positions, follow these steps:
Prepare the system as described in “Preparing the Workstation to Install the Dual Head XIO Module” in Chapter 1.
Remove the Dual Head XIO Module, as described in “Removing the Dual Head XIO Module” in Chapter 5.
Reinstall the Dual Head XIO module, as described in “Installing the Dual Head XIO Module” in Chapter 1, this time installing it correct-side up, as shown in Figure 1-11.
Reversing the monitors and monitor signal cables helps to determine if a problem is in the graphics boards or in the monitors and signal cables.
To reverse the monitors and cables, disconnect each cable from its 13W3 connector on the back of the Octane2 workstation and reconnect it to the other 13W3 connector.
If this causes the problem to change (move from one monitor to the other, for example) you may further diagnose the problem by leaving both cables connected to the Octane2 workstation, but disconnecting each from its monitor and reattaching it to the other monitor.