Identifying and Correcting Problems

Use the Solaris 7 Intel Platform Edition 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.

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.

• Identify a problem with an existing device.

• Find and resolve resource conflicts.

• Provide information about the device manually.

Identifying a Problem With an Existing Device

1. Consult the manufacturer's documentation and Device Reference Page, if there is one. Ensure the device is properly configured and does not conflict with other devices in the system.

2. Reboot the system with Solaris 7 (Intel Platform Edition) Device Configuration Assistant Boot Diskette.

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 may 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 may 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. Reboot the system with Solaris 7 (Intel Platform Edition) Device Configuration Assistant Boot Diskette.

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.

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   Note -

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

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   • 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 diskette, and go to Step 5.

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

   1. Remove the Configuration Assistant diskette.

   2. Insert the manufacturer's configuration utility diskette.

   3. Change device settings.

   4. Remove the configuration utility diskette.

   5. Insert the Configuration Assistant diskette, 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. Reboot the system with Solaris 7 (Intel Platform Edition) Device Configuration Assistant Boot Diskette.

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.

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   Note -

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

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PC Card Devices

PC Card devices can be inserted at any time during the boot process or after the Solaris operating environment is running because PC Card peripherals are hot-pluggable and configured automatically by the software.

Allocating IRQs--Sample Procedure

1. Boot with the Configuration Assistant diskette so you can review the resource usage.

2. Select View/Edit Devices from the Device Tasks menu, and review the list of devices to see how many IRQs are being used.

   There are 16 IRQs, from 0-15. Several IRQs are already assigned. For example, IRQ 3 is reserved for the second serial port, COM2.

3. If your system has a COM2 port but it is not being used, delete the port to free the IRQ resource for a PC Card.

   1. Select the serial port device using IRQ 3, and choose Delete Device.

   2. Choose Continue to return to the Device Tasks menu.

   3. Save the configuration.

4. Boot the Solaris software.

Unrecognized Devices

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.

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   Note -

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

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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.

5. Some adapters have special operating modes that can be set using the ECU.

   Check the Device Reference Pages to see if your board has special configuration requirements.

Autobooting