Solaris 8 (Intel Platform Edition) Device Configuration Guide

Identifying and Correcting Problems

Use the Solaris 8 Intel Platform Edition Device Configuration Assistant program to identify devices and the resources each device uses. If there is a problem, you must provide device names and resource parameters so the Configuration Assistant can pass this information to the Solaris kernel.

Physical Address Extension (PAE) Mode

With the release of Pentium Pro, Intel introduced a mode called PAE (physical address extension) on its advanced processors. By using PAE, Solaris Intel Platform Edition can address up to 32 Gbytes of physical memory. Individual processes are still limited to a maximum of 3.5 Gbytes of virtual address space.

PAE mode enables you to run multiple instances of databases and memory-intensive applications, and to support large numbers of online users on your machine.

It is best to use PCI disk controllers that support dual address cycle (DAC) in your machine because they can transfer data to and from any physical location. Other cards are limited to 4 Gbytes of physical memory; as a result, performance might slow down because the system needs to copy additional memory to transfer data.


Caution - Caution -

Some device drivers are not yet able to take advantage of PAE mode. PCI device drivers written by Sun have been tested on IA machines with more than 4 Gbytes of memory. Its OEM partners intend to test their machines with devices they supply on IA machines with more than 4 Gbytes of memory. In some cases, however, if you add a third-party device driver to your system, it might become unstable, and panics and data corruption might result. If your system becomes unstable and you need that driver, you must disable PAE mode.


Disabling PAE Mode

To disable support for PAE mode, follow these steps:

  1. Reboot your machine.

  2. Interrupt autoboot by pressing the Escape key.

    The Solaris Device Configuration Assistant starts.

  3. Press F2_Continue until the Boot Solaris screen is displayed.

  4. Press F4_Boot Tasks.

    The Boot Tasks screen is displayed.

  5. Select View/Edit Property Settings.

    The View/Edit Property Settings screen is displayed.

  6. Press F4_Create.

    The Create Property screen is displayed.

  7. In the Specify Property Name field, type mmu-modlist and press Enter.

  8. In the Specify Value field, type mmu32 and press Enter.

    The message "Updating Saved Configuration information..." is displayed on the Updating screen. When the property and value are saved successfully, the View/Edit Property Settings screen is displayed.

  9. Press F2_Back.

    The Boot Tasks screen is displayed.

  10. Press F3_Back.

    After drivers on your machine are loaded, the Boot Solaris screen is displayed.

  11. Continue booting your machine as you normally would.

ISA Devices

If your system hangs or resets when you scan for ISA devices, perform these tasks (in order, as explained in the next three sections) until you can successfully complete the scan.

Identifying a Problem With an Existing Device

  1. Consult the manufacturer's documentation. Ensure that the device is properly configured and does not conflict with other devices in the system.

  2. Boot the Solaris 8 (Intel Platform Edition) Device Configuration Assistant from the boot diskette or the installation CD.

  3. Select Specific Scan to identify the devices that are automatically detected.

  4. Select the device that you think caused the hang, and start the scan.

    • If the scan doesn't hang, the problem might be due to the order in which the devices were scanned. Go to Step 5.

    • If the scan hangs, there is probably a hardware conflict. Verify that the device is in your machine. Double check for conflicts by consulting the manufacturer's documentation for all installed hardware. Proceed to "Finding and Resolving Resource Conflicts".

  5. Scan for each remaining device in the system.

    If the hang is caused by a "software probe conflict," you might be able to prevent the hang by scanning for each device in a different order from the one used to scan for all devices.

  6. When the scan is successful, go to the Boot Solaris menu and select a device to boot from.

    • If you plan to boot or install from a CD-ROM, select CD.

    • If you plan to boot or install using the network and your machine is registered as a netinstall client, select NET.

    • If you plan to boot from the machine's installed hard disk, select DISK.

  7. Boot and install the Solaris software.

Finding and Resolving Resource Conflicts

  1. Boot the Solaris 8 (Intel Platform Edition) Device Configuration Assistant from the boot diskette or the installation CD.

  2. Select Specific Scan to identify only the automatically detected devices.

  3. Select each device in the system that did not cause the initial hang.

  4. Go to the Device Tasks menu, select View/Edit Devices, and examine the list of devices provided to determine if the problem device conflicts with another device.


    Note -

    This method might not work if a hardware conflict interferes with the ability of the device scan to correctly determine the configuration of a device.


    • If a conflict is found for a device that requires setting jumpers and switches, turn the system off, manually change settings for the problem device, turn the system on, boot the Configuration Assistant, and go to Step 5.

    • If a conflict is found for a device that requires a manufacturer's configuration utility, do the following:

    1. Insert the manufacturer's configuration utility diskette.

    2. Change device settings.

    3. Boot the Solaris 8 (Intel Platform Edition) Device Configuration Assistant from the boot diskette or the installation CD, and go to Step 5.

      If a conflict is not found, go to Step 2 in "Providing Information About the Device Manually". You don't have to reboot.

  5. Select Specific Scan.

  6. When the scan is successful, go to the Boot Solaris menu and select a device to boot from.

    • If you plan to boot or install from a CD-ROM, select CD.

    • If you plan to boot or install using the network and your machine is registered as a netinstall client, select NET.

    • If you plan to boot from the machine's installed hard disk, select DISK.

  7. Boot and install the Solaris software.

Providing Information About the Device Manually

  1. Boot the Solaris 8 (Intel Platform Edition) Device Configuration Assistant from the boot diskette or the installation CD.

  2. If all other devices have been found by selective scanning, select View/Edit Devices from the Device Tasks menu and manually add the name of the problem device.

    The program should warn you if there is a conflict.

  3. When the scan is successful, go to the Boot Solaris menu and select a device to boot from.

    • If you plan to boot or install from a CD-ROM, select CD.

    • If you plan to boot or install using the network and your machine is registered as a netinstall client, select NET.

    • If you plan to boot from the machine's installed hard disk, select DISK.


    Note -

    If the device hangs again when attempting to go the Boot Solaris menu or the device does not function, contact your support provider.


Unrecognized Devices

Issue

What to Do

How a known ISA or EISA device can be recognized by the Configuration Assistant software 

The I/O port address chosen for the unrecognized device might conflict with the I/O port adress of another system device. Provide nonconflicting address information for the unrecognized device using the system BIOS, the EISA configuration utility (ECU), or the configuration programs supplied by the hardware manufacturer. The Configuration Assistant uses that information to identify that device for the Solaris environment. 

Identifying ISA or EISA Devices--Sample Procedure

To set the configuration parameters for an ISA or EISA adapter, run the manufacturer's ECU. This utility must be run every time an ISA or EISA board is added, removed, or moved to a different bus slot. Although the function of this utility is standardized, implementations vary among manufacturers, each providing unique user interface screens or menus.

  1. Boot DOS.


    Note -

    Back up the board manufacturer's EISA configuration diskette before using it to configure your hardware.


  2. For each ISA or EISA add-in adapter to be configured, copy the EISA .cfg and .ovl configuration files from the board manufacturer's configuration diskette to the system EISA configuration diskette.

  3. Run the ECU.

    The program is called CF.EXE or CFG.EXE.

  4. For each device, set the appropriate configuration parameters and any special operating modes.

Autobooting

Issue

What to Do

How to recover if your machine fails to autoboot 

If you have a loopback serial cable between COM1 and COM2 with autobooting enabled, use the eeprom command to set one of the following properties:

eeprom com1-noprobe=true

or  

eeprom com2-noprobe=true