The following are some solutions to IRIX5.3 I-DEAS related FAQs, gathered from personal experience and by following the ICCON mailing list and SGI newsgroups.

Contents:

Why Does IRIX Crash With A "Out Of Logical Swap Space Error"

Ever had IRIX 5.3 crash while running I-DEAS with error messages similar to this?:

   cron [383] - out of logical swap space
   geomod.exe - out of logical swap space during fork/sproc
   Xsgi - out of logical swap space during mmap

This is caused by a bug in the X server (Xsgi) which results in leaked memory being allocated to Xsgi. Its total size increases until swap space is completely filled. The solution is to periodically stop & re-start Xsgi. You can do this several ways:

1. Simply reboot the machine, say once a week.
2. Re-start the X sever with the "Vulcan Nerve Pinch": hold down the left-Control, left-Shift, F12 and keypad slash keys.
3. Or my favourite: restart the X server each time a user logs out. To do this edit /var/X11/xdm/xdm-config, change the setting of "DisplayManager._0.terminateServer" from "False" to "True"

Patches are also available (1187 & 1255) which fix this problem. See the SGI graphics FAQ for a more detailed discussion.

How Do I Read A DAT Produced On A Non-SGI Machine?

Reading HP Tapes:

tar xvb 20

Reading SUN or IBM Tapes:

dd if=/dev/tape bs=20b conv=swab | tar tvf -

dd if=/dev/tapens bs=20b conv=swab | tar tvf -

How Can I Write A DAT So It Can Be Read by A Non-SGI Machine?

Writing For HP & DEC VMS (POSIX):

tar cvb 20 

Why Do I Get A Blank Output When Using Hardcopy To Grab The Graphics Window?

IRIX5.3 contains a bug which prevents xwd and other screen grabbers from correctly grabbing an Open GL graphics window. This is fixed by patches 1223 & 1271.

How Can I Print Out A MAN Page Without The Formatting Codes?

Use the col command to strip out the control characters and then redirect the output to a file or your printer like so:

   man "item" | col -bx > "file"

Or:

   man "item" | col -bx > lp -d"your printer"

I Don't Like The SGI Mice, What Else Can I Use?

Whilst SGI mice have improved quite a lot recently they still leave a lot to be desired. Indigo2s and Indys can use any PS2 compatible PC mouse. I like the Logitech Mouseman Sensa (the one with the snazzy blue leopard spots). Indigo1s unfortunately use a proprietory SGI interface.