So not really sure why I bought this.
Don’t know the status or if it works.
It is very clean inside however the case is very yellow.
Spec:
Sun is ultrasparc 1 64 bit with 3 d creator videocard. It has some early 3d capabilities
It has 192mb of memory 167mhz cpu. 2gb hd and cdrom.
Have not yet tried to power it up as I don’t have correct video converter or serial 0 modem cable.
It’s not as cool as a SGI or next but those are very expensive.
So waiting for the correct cables. First boot in serial mode is probably best for the best check.
I can post updates.
Some pictures
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Re: Sun Ultrasparc
Posted: 02 Nov 2026 10:03
by rubber_jonnie
Nice.
To be fair, I don't know why I bought 2 SGI Octanes, but here we are...
Have fun spinning it up :)
Re: Sun Ultrasparc
Posted: 02 Nov 2026 11:59
by Oldskool
Yeah SGI has the “cool” factor.
Those cases are awesome.
This was however still in the just for fun price..
I hope I can get the system to post.
There used /seems to be some interesting software and emulators for Solaris.
Re: Sun Ultrasparc
Posted: 02 Nov 2026 12:58
by stephen_usher
You'll need to replace the battery in the NVRAM and then re-enter the MAC address into it before you'll be able to connect to a network.
The Creator 3D version of the Ultra 1 was the expensive one by the way.
You should be able to just use a 13W3 to VGA converter and then use a multisync monitor which does sync on green.
With a flat NVRAM battery the machine will start in diag mode, do a lot of tests (sending stuff out of serial port A) before it even tries to initialise the display, which happens near the end of the POST. It will then try to boot from network.
Once you have the NVRAM battery replaced and written the MAC address and serial number to the NVRAM you can run "setenv diag-switch? false" and this will return the machine to normal operation.
Re: Sun Ultrasparc
Posted: 02 Nov 2026 13:49
by Oldskool
stephen_usher wrote: 02 Nov 2026 12:58
You'll need to replace the battery in the NVRAM and then re-enter the MAC address into it before you'll be able to connect to a network.
The Creator 3D version of the Ultra 1 was the expensive one by the way.
You should be able to just use a 13W3 to VGA converter and then use a multisync monitor which does sync on green.
With a flat NVRAM battery the machine will start in diag mode, do a lot of tests (sending stuff out of serial port A) before it even tries to initialise the display, which happens near the end of the POST. It will then try to boot from network.
Once you have the NVRAM battery replaced and written the MAC address and serial number to the NVRAM you can run "setenv diag-switch? false" and this will return the machine to normal operation.
Thanks for the tips. Not much info on the net about these old Sun computers. I already bought some connector stuff.
13w3 to vga
Db25 m to m 9 pin 9 pin to 9 pin nul modem (already have a 9 pin to usb)
New nvram chip
Re: Sun Ultrasparc
Posted: 02 Nov 2026 13:56
by stephen_usher
How did you get hold of a new NVRAM chip? Dallas hasn't made them for about 20 years, unlike the versions for the older SPARCstations.
You can renovate the old one like this:
Re: Sun Ultrasparc
Posted: 02 Nov 2026 14:05
by Oldskool
Typed the chip name on eBay and clicked buy.
Was a seller in France.
It’s an ST part. M48T59Y-70PC1 At least in my computer it was.
Re: Sun Ultrasparc
Posted: 02 Nov 2026 14:12
by mgi
I have SUN Ultra 10 with Solaris 8 and CDE - I like old Unix boxes - hope you will have lots of fun with it!
Re: Sun Ultrasparc
Posted: 02 Nov 2026 16:00
by kohli79
I love all this SGI and SUN stuff. I’ve only got one external SUN SCSI hard drive for the Falcon. I think it’s 1GB.
I need more space for this sort of thing. :lol:
Have fun with it.
Re: Sun Ultrasparc
Posted: 02 Nov 2026 19:34
by Oldskool
Thanks for all the help and nice feedback.
Just put power in it.
Don’t have serial cable yet or vga converter.
I measure a healthy 12 and 5v.
The fans on the PSU are very quiet.
The cpu fan is very loud as well is the case fan at the front to cool the harddisk bay. So these need replacing those bearings are gone.
During power on the case led (green) is on and blinks one time and power stays on. I assume this is a good sign that it is executing code.