Solaris 8 Advanced Installation Guide

General Problems

Problem 

How to fix the problem 

IA based systems only

The system hangs or panics when non-memory PC cards are inserted. 

Non-memory PCs cannot use the same memory resources used by other devices. To correct this problem, use a DOS debugger to identify device memory usage, then manually reserve memory resources for the PC card device using the following instructions: 

  1. Boot the system using the diskette labeled Solaris 8 Device Configuration Assistant Intel Platform Edition.

  2. Go to the Device Tasks menu.

  3. Select Review/Edit Devices.

  4. Select Add Device.

  5. Select Define Device.

  6. Enter a unique name following the EISA ID naming conventions (for example, ITD4001), and select Continue.

  7. Select Memory Address from the list of resources, and select Continue.

  8. Enter the address range to reserve (for example, CA800-CFFFF), and select Continue.

  9. Return to the Device Tasks menu and select Save Configuration.

  10. Reboot the system.

Problem 

How to fix the problem 

IA based systems only

The IDE BIOS primary drive on your system was not detected by the Solaris 8 Device Configuration Assistant during the pre-booting phase. 

  • If you are using old drives, they might be unsupported. Check the Solaris 8 (Intel Platform Edition) Hardware Compatibility List.

  • Make sure the ribbon and power cables are plugged in correctly. Check the manufacturer's documentation.

  • If only one drive is attached to the controller, designate the drive as the master drive by setting jumpers. Some drives have different jumper settings for a single master, as opposed to a master operating with a slave. Connect the drive to the connector at the end of the cable to reduce signal ringing that occurs when an unused connector is dangling at the end of the cable.

  • If two drives are attached to the controller, jumper one drive as the master (or as a master operating with a slave), and jumper the second drive as a slave.

  • If one drive is a hard disk and the second a CD-ROM drive, designate one drive as the slave drive by setting jumpers. It doesn't matter which drive is plugged into which drive connection on the cable.

  • If there are persistent problems with two drives on a single controller, attach one drive at a time to verify that each works. Jumper the drive as master or single master, and use the drive connector at the end of the IDE ribbon cable to attach the drive. Verify that each drive works, then jumper the drives back into a master and slave configuration.

  • If the drive is a disk drive, use the BIOS setup utility to ensure that the drive type (which indicates the number of cylinders, heads, and sectors) is configured correctly. Some BIOS software might have a feature that automatically detects the drive type.

  • If the drive is a CD-ROM drive, use the BIOS setup screen to configure the drive type as a CD-ROM drive, provided the BIOS software offers this capability.

  • If MS-DOS does not recognize the drive, there is probably a hardware or BIOS configuration problem. For many systems, IDE CD-ROM drives are only recognized by MS-DOS if an MS-DOS CD-ROM driver has been installed.

Problem 

How to fix the problem 

IA based systems only

The IDE disk or CD-ROM drive on your system was not found by the Solaris 8 Device Configuration Assistant in the pre-booting phase. 

  • If disks are disabled in the BIOS, use the Solaris 8 Device Configuration Assistant Intel Platform Edition to boot from the hard disk.

  • If the system has no disks, it might be a diskless client.

Problem 

How to fix the problem 

IA based systems only

The system hangs before displaying the system prompt. 

See the Solaris 8 (Intel Platform Edition) Hardware Compatibility List.