https://www.zyxbac.me/tags/sun/ Recent content in Sun on zyxbac - running code Hugo en-gb Sun, 14 May 2017 23:23:23 +0200 https://www.zyxbac.me/posts/grumpy-rant/nvram-u13/ Sun, 14 May 2017 23:23:23 +0200 https://www.zyxbac.me/posts/grumpy-rant/nvram-u13/ <p>After several years of gathering dust in the cellar, I&rsquo;ve finally dug out my Ultra SPARC again. Unfortunately, though, it wouldn&rsquo;t boot straight away. The cause was (or still is) a flat buffer battery in the NVRAM U13. The fault was originally described in the <a href="http://www.squirrel.com/sun-nvram-hostid.faq.html">Sun NVRAM FAQ</a>. Just like the Sparc, the page is no longer available online, but can still be accessed via the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110902144447/http://www.squirrel.com/sun-nvram-hostid.faq.html">Wayback Machine</a>.</p> <p>I haven&rsquo;t yet managed to track down a new chip to replace it. It&rsquo;s likely that this won&rsquo;t be possible any longer. The chips are no longer in production, and even if there are any remaining stocks anywhere in the world, it&rsquo;s safe to assume that the backup batteries in those have also already exceeded their lifespan. In the meantime, therefore, the information in the NVRAM must be corrected at every boot.</p>