This section contains installation issues that you need to be aware of before installing the Solaris 9 9/04 software.
Installing the Solaris 9 software on systems with certain types of ATA hard disk drives results in a system hang. The system hangs when you attempt a soft reboot after the installation has completed.
This problem occurs in systems with ATA hard disk drives that implement the revert to default conditions feature of ATA/ATAPI-6 T13 specification, with respect to the Ultra DMA mode.
Such disk drives revert from Ultra DMA mode to Multiword DMA mode after the software reset, unless the behavior is disabled. The behavior is disabled by using the SET FEATURES / Disable reverting to power-on to defaults command.
Manifestation of the problem depends upon the BIOS and the type of ATA hard drive in the system. The problem might be manifested in one of the following ways:
If the Ultra DMA mode is enabled in BIOS, and ATA hard disk drives can operate in the Ultra DMA mode, a soft reboot of the system after installation might cause the system to hang in BIOS. No error messages are displayed.
If the Ultra DMA mode is disabled in BIOS, and ATA hard disk drives can operate in Ultra DMA mode, a soft reboot of the system after installation might cause the system to hang. Messages that are similar to the following warnings are displayed:
WARNING: /pci@0,0/pci-ide@1f,1/ide@0 (ata0): timeout: abort request, target=0 lun=0 WARNING: /pci@0,0/pci-ide@1f,1/ide@0 (ata0): timeout: abort device, target=0 lun=0 WARNING: /pci@0,0/pci-ide@1f,1/ide@0 (ata0): timeout: reset target, target=0 lun=0 WARNING: /pci@0,0/pci-ide@1f,1/ide@0 (ata0): timeout: reset bus, target=0 lun=0 |
Workaround: To correct the problem, complete the following steps:
If the system hangs when booted, power cycle the system by turning the power off and then on again. The system should then boot normally.
After the system is booted, log in to the system and become superuser.
Use a text editor to edit the /platform/i86pc/kernel/drv/ata.conf file.
Add the following line:
ata-revert-to-defaults=0; |
The next system reboot should proceed without a hang.
If the Solaris Web Start 3.0 program on the Solaris 9 9/04 Installation CD is unable to locate a Solaris fdisk partition on a system, you must create a Solaris fdisk partition on your root disk.
If you change the size of an existing fdisk partition, all data on that partition is automatically deleted. Back up your data before you create a Solaris fdisk partition.
The Solaris Web Start 3.0 program requires two fdisk partitions to perform an installation.
Solaris fdisk partition
This partition is the typical Solaris fdisk partition.
x86 boot fdisk partition
This partition is a 10Mbyte fdisk partition that enables x86-based systems to boot the miniroot that is placed on the newly created swap slice. The swap slice is located on the Solaris fdisk partition.
The installation program on the Solaris 9 9/04 Installation CD creates the x86 boot partition, removing 10 Mbytes from the Solaris fdisk partition. This removal prevents any existing fdisk partitions from being altered.
This partition should not be created manually.
Consequently, you cannot use the Solaris 9 9/04 Installation CD to upgrade from the Solaris 2.6 or Solaris 7 releases to the current release. For more information, refer to Upgrade Issues.
In the Solaris 9 9/04 release, the Solaris Web Start and suninstall installation programs use, by default, a new boot-disk partition layout to accommodate the Service partition on Sun LX50 systems. This installation program enables you to preserve an existing Service partition.
The new default includes the following partitions:
First partition Service partition (the existing size on the system).
Second partition x86 boot partition (approximately 11 Mbytes).
Third partition Solaris partition (the remaining space on the boot disk).
If you want to use this default layout, select Default when the Solaris Web Start or suninstall program asks you to choose a boot-disk layout.
If you install the Solaris 9 9/04 (x86 Platform Edition) software on a system that does not currently include a Service partition, the Solaris Web Start and suninstall programs do not create a new Service partition by default. If you want to create a Service partition on your system, see x86: Service Partition Not Created by Default on Systems With No Existing Service Partition.
You can also choose to manually edit the disk partition layout by using the fdisk utility. You might want to manually edit the boot-disk partitions under the following conditions:
You want to preserve an existing Sun Linux partition on the system.
You need to create a Solaris partition, but want to preserve other existing partitions on the disk.
If your system contains an upgradable version of the Solaris software, but does not contain an x86 boot partition, you might not be able to upgrade by using the Solaris Installation CD. To upgrade a system with no x86 boot partition to the Solaris 9 9/04 release, use the suninstall installation program on the Solaris 9 9/04 Software 1 of 2 CD.
If you use the default Solaris JumpStartTM profile on the Solaris 9 9/04 media to install multiple locales on a system with a small disk, the installation might fail. This problem might occur under the following conditions:
You use the Solaris JumpStart profile that is the default to install any locale other than the C locale on a system with a 2.1-Gbyte disk.
You use the Solaris JumpStart profile that is the default to install two or more locales on a system with a 4-Gbyte disk.
If you install the Solaris 9 9/04 software on a system that does not currently include a Service partition, the installation program might not create a Service partition by default. If you are including a Service partition on the same disk as the Solaris partition, you must re-create the Service partition before you install the software.
If you installed the Solaris 8 2/02 software on a Sun LX50 system, the installation program might not have preserved the Service partition. If you did not manually edit the fdisk boot-partition layout to preserve the Service partition, the installation program deleted the Service partition during the installation.
If you did not specifically preserve the Service partition when you installed the Solaris 8 2/02 software, you cannot re-create the Service partition and upgrade to the Solaris 9 9/04 release. You must perform an initial installation of the software.
Workaround: If you are including a Service partition on the disk that contains the Solaris partition, choose one of the following:
To use the Solaris Web Start installation program to install from the Solaris 9 9/04 Installation CD, follow these steps:
Delete the contents of the disk.
Before you install, create the Service partition by using the Sun LX50 Diagnostics CD.
For information on how to create the Service partition, see the Sun LX50 Server User's Manual and the Sun LX50 Knowledge Base at http://cobalt-knowledge.sun.com.
Insert the Solaris 9 9/04 Installation CD in the CD-ROM drive.
Begin the installation.
When the installation program detects the Service partition, the following message is displayed:
The default layout for the bootdisk is one x86 Boot partition and a Solaris partition on the remaining space. The Service fdisk partition, if one exists, is also preserved by default. Select one of the following to continue: 1) Use the default layout 2) Run fdisk to manually edit the disk 3) Exit Please make a selection: [?] |
Type 1 to use the default layout.
The installation program preserves the Service partition and creates the x86 boot partition and the Solaris partition.
The Solaris Web Start installation program creates the x86 boot partition by removing 10 Mbytes from the Solaris fdisk partition. This utility prevents any existing fdisk partitions from being altered. Do not create this partition manually.
Complete the installation.
To install from a network installation image or from the Solaris 9 9/04 DVD over the network, follow these steps:
Delete the contents of the disk.
Before you install, create the Service partition by using the Sun LX50 Diagnostics CD.
For information on how to create the Service partition, see the Sun LX50 Server User's Manual and the Sun LX50 Knowledge Base at http://cobalt-knowledge.sun.com.
Boot the system from the network.
The Customize fdisk Partitions screen is displayed.
To load the default boot-disk partition layout, click Default.
The installation program preserves the Service partition and creates the x86 boot partition and the Solaris partition.
For more information on booting from the network, see the Solaris 9 9/04 Installation Guide.
To use the suninstall program to install from the Solaris 9 9/04 Software 1 of 2 CD or from a network installation image on a boot server, follow these steps:
Delete the contents of the disk.
Before you install, create the Service partition by using the Sun LX50 Diagnostics CD.
For information on how to create the Service partition, see the Sun LX50 Server User's Manual and the Sun LX50 Knowledge Base at http://cobalt-knowledge.sun.com.
Boot the system.
The installation program prompts you to choose a method for creating the Solaris partition.
Select the Use rest of disk for Solaris partition option.
The installation program preserves the Service partition and creates the Solaris partition.
Complete the installation.
For more information on booting from the network, see the Solaris 9 9/04 Installation Guide.
The Solaris 9 Device Configuration Assistant is not delivered as a boot diskette in the Solaris 9 9/04 release. To boot the Device Configuration Assistant, choose one of the following options:
If your system's BIOS supports CD booting from a CD, boot from the Solaris 9 9/04 (x86 Platform Edition) Installation CD, the Solaris 9 9/04 Software (x86 Platform Edition) 1 of 2 CD, or the Solaris 9 9/04 Software (x86 Platform Edition) DVD.
If your system does not support booting from a CD, you can copy the boot-diskette image to a diskette. The boot-diskette image is available on the Solaris 9 9/04 Software (x86 Platform Edition) 2 of 2 CD.
If your system supports Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) booting and an install image is available on the network, boot from the network.
Enable the system to use PXE by using the system's BIOS setup tool or the network adapter's configuration setup tool.
For more information, see the Solaris 9 9/04 Installation Guide.
The Solaris 9 9/04 software includes a feature that enables you to install large partitions. The system BIOS must support logical block addressing (LBA). BIOS Version GG.06.13 does not support LBA access. The Solaris boot programs cannot manage this conflict. This issue can also affect other HP Vectra systems.
If you perform this upgrade, your HP system can no longer boot. Only a blank black screen with a flashing underscore cursor is displayed.
Workaround: Do not upgrade HP Vectra XU Series systems with the latest BIOS Version GG.06.13 to the Solaris 9 9/04 release. This version no longer supports these systems.
You can still boot your system by using the boot diskette or boot CD because the boot paths do not use the hard disk code. Then select the hard disk as your bootable device instead of the network or CD-ROM drive.