Before
You
Install

Before You Install Checklist

1. Make Sure Your System Can Run 6.5.12
   
   
2. Check For Important Caveats That Affect Your Installation
   
   
3. Confirm That The Applications You Rely On Are Supported
   
   
4. Create A Full System Backup
   
   
5. (Optional) Read About The CDs You Will Use
   
   
6. (Optional) Check For Key Changes In This Upgrade
   
   
7. (Optional)Request A License Password
   

To Install

IRIX Operating System Installation Methods

The installation instructions for installing/upgrading the IRIX operating system in the IRIX 6.5 Installation Instructions CD booklet use either the Inst command line program or the Software Manager program, the graphical version of Inst that uses a graphical user interface (GUI). To obtain more details on either of these programs, see the following:

• For more information on using Inst, you have a few options:
  • See the online book, IRIX Admin: Software Installation and Licensing (choose Help > Online Books from the Toolchest, or use the Base Documentation CD).
  • Use the command line help provided in Inst by entering help help at the Inst prompt.
  • See the inst(1M) man page.
    
    
• For more details on using Software Manager, use the Software Manager (swmgr(1M)) Help menu.

IRIX Operating System Installation Instructions

After you have read through the checklist above, return to the relevant installation instructions in the IRIX 6.5 Installation Instructions CD booklet that came with your CDs.

PDF file of IRIX 6.5 Installation Instructions CD booklet.

Resources

• IRIX 6.5 Overview Information
  
  
• General Documentation
  
  
• Technical Support
  
  

This section lists the resources that are available to you before and during installation, or during configuration and use of your SGI system.

IRIX 6.5 Overview Information

This section provides information about hardware system platforms and peripherals, the IRIX CD descriptions, internationalization, and supported third-party software.

Supported Hardware System Platforms and Peripherals

To find out more information about the supported hardware and peripherals, see the Minimum Requirements page.

CD Descriptions

See the CD Descriptions page for a detailed description about each CD.

Internationalization

See the Language and Cultural Support page for information on how to set up your system for different locales.

Supported Third-Party Software

To find out about supported third-party software and peripherals, see the SGI Applications & Solutions Directory (http://www.sgi.com/products/appsdirectory.dir/appsdirectory.html). It is a comprehensive guide to third-party software applications, peripherals, and services for SGI workstations and servers. Over 3100 products are included in this web edition of the directory.

General Documentation

This section provides information on the types of documentation that are available with this IRIX release.

Release Notes

You can access release notes for each software product in a few different ways, including:

• Before installation, you can use the Base Documentation CD.
• On systems running 6.3 or later, you can use Software Manager to read the release notes by selecting the product name from the distribution list and choosing Selected > Release Notes... .
• After installation, choose Release Notes from the Toolchest Help menu.

Check for Caveat and Release Note Updates, which contain late-breaking information, at http://support.sgi.com/6.5/caveat_updates.html

IRIX Man Pages

The IRIX man pages are available on the Technical Publications Library Web site at http://techpubs.sgi.com.

IRIX Manuals

Installed | Printed | On the Web

Installed

SGI documentation is installed by default. Most applications have a Help menu or Help button. You can also use the Help menu on the Toolchest.

Some things you will find under Toolchest > Help:

• InfoSearch: "One-stop shopping" and searching for virtually all installed documentation, including online books, Man pages and Release Notes. (To launch InfoSearch from the command line, enter infosearch in a shell.)
• Quick Answers: Quick answers to common questions related to the tasks and tools that are a part of your system's end user software environment, including personal system administration tasks. Includes search capability.
• Hints and Shortcuts: A visual overview of hints and shortcuts for the IRIX Interactive Desktop.
• Online Books: A searchable library of online books.

Note: You can also access online documentation before (and after) installation, by using the Base Documentation CD.

Printed

Each system comes with an Owner's Guide. Hardware boards and peripherals also come with printed documentation. In addition, some hardware documentation is shipped online, and most hardware documentation can also be found on the Technical Publications Library Web site (listed below).

On the Web

Another place to find general documentation is on the Web:

• http://techpubs.sgi.com

  The IRIX 6.5 bookshelf on the Technical Publications Library Web site allows you to access all IRIX 6.5 books on the Web. It includes hardware books as well. You can search for a manual by entering its title or document number in the keyword search. You can download PDF files by clicking on the book's download link.
  
  

• http://www.sgi.com/developers/technology/index.html

  Tech Focus provides easy access to FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions), Newsgroups and much more.
   

Technical Support

SGI Global Services

Complete information about SGI Global Services, including Worldwide Support Sites, can be found at http://www.sgi.com/support/.

Telephone Support

The Customer Support Center (CSC )is for:

• Hardware and software telephone technical assistance
• Opening a service call or checking the status of an existing call
• Requests for on-site assistance or replacement parts
• Ordering spare parts
• Registering or obtaining information about our Customer Education courses
• Referral to your local service office for information about our support programs

(Please note that service will be provided in accordance with your system's current level of support. Service varies by warranty coverage and support program.)

Phone Number: 1.800.800.4SGI (4744)

Online Support

Supportfolio Online (http://support.sgi.com) offers you the ability to access and download the latest patches, find technical information, and open support cases all with an easy-to-use Web interface. You can also sign up for our email notification service to automatically receive updates on new support information and features. Anyone is welcome to become a Supportfolio Online member. To take full advantage of all the features, you must have a support contract with a software component. For more details, see http://www.sgi.com/support/online/.

General Software Patches