Problem with TOD clock

[Jean-Francois Panisset]

I was given the task to upgrade our SGI machines to IRIX 3.3.1. No problem
on our PIs, but I can't seem to get this to work on our 4D 210VGX. The
problem is the following: whenever I boot with the IRIX 3.3 Execution Only
tape (you can't install the 3.3.1 maint1 tape without booting off tape),
the real-time clock loses a year (i.e. we are suddenly in january 1990:
when I tried this in december 1990, it would revert to december 1989).
This change is permanent: if I reboot with the IRIX 3.3 currently on disk,
the TOD clock is still a year behind, and I have to use sysadm datetime
to set it back to the current time. Note that the TOD clock itself appears
to be working: if I reboot or power down the system without trying to
boot the 3.3 tape, it will keep the proper date. I have also tried two
different copies of the 3.3 EOE tape, to no avail. Does anybody
have any idea what is going wrong here? Is there a different version of
the 3.3 tape for the 4D/210 than for the PIs?

(Note that the problem caused by the clock is that since the 3.3.1 maint
package is installed "before" the 3.3 package, the upgrade does not seem
to come into effect and the machine continues to boot 3.3. I would
really like to be able to install 3.3.1).



-- 
Jean-Francois Panisset                    
INET: panisset at mcrcim.mcgill.ca            
      panisset at larry.mcrcim.mcgill.edu
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