questions on how to install Solaris 10 via DVD/RW external device

Whoa...glad to see this forum si up and running, as a few weeks ago I tried to check in and found it directing me somewhere else and felt maybe this board was being hijacked or someone was closing down this forum.

Here is a problem I am having. I got a SunFire V100 and disc with Solaris 10 on it. I tried to boot cdrom via the ok prompt, and herein lies the problem. The CD drive on the V100 is not a DVD and the CD with Solaris 10 I have is formatted for a DVD.

I found a LITE-ON External DVD and plugged this into the V100 and found some info on the internet that if I do a cdrw -l it should show this external device, which it does. But how do I go about executing the boot command from the ok prompt to boot from this device (the LITE-ON external drive)?

I figure there must be some changes I need to make in the PROM or somewhere else to detect this as a boot device.

Hope you guys can help me!

Thanks!

you can also download solaris 10 as cd images... would be a lot easier...

So gotta use what is given to me. Come on impart your knowledge!

I know it is possible to boot at the ok prompt and be booting from the external DVD...just don't know how.

Hope someone can chime in with the how-to-do...

Thanks!

what kind of drive is it and how did you connect it to the machine? but as mentioned above, it would be the easiest thing to download the cdrom version of solaris 10... there is nothing to be changed in obp, you have to find the device to boot from. usefull commands might be:

probe-scsi-all
probe-ide

When I am connected to the box via the tip hardwire, I execute cdrw -l and it shows

/dev/rdsk/c1t0d0s2 at Node
LITE-ON DVDRW SHW-160P65 PSOB at Connected Device
CD Reader/Writer = Device Type

This LITE-ON box is connected via a cable that looks like a keyboard/mouse connector and connected to the back of the box in a thin slot connector, don't know what you call this.

I am not sure why you would say you have to find a device to boot from. Being this is an external device, I thought there may be a specific way to boot from external devices.

Thanks for your help.

so it IS a scsi device... and yes, there is a command to boot from an external device! the command is "boot /path/to/device".
have a look at "devalias" there should be an alias called cdrom. this is the path to the internal cdrom drive. if you've an external device you have to use this path. so the "probe-scsi-all" command will help you to find the external drive.

Duke,

Do do you know from the info I gave you that it is indeed an scsi device?

I am unable to do the probe-scsi-all command at the ok prompt, get the error message like "This command may hand the system if a Stop-A or halt command has been executed. Please type reset-all to reset the system before executing this command". I did a reset-all and still get this message to come up.

However, doing the devalias brings up something and the cdrom has this path:
/pci@1f,0/ide@d/cdrom@3,0:f

At the ok prompt, I did this boot /pci@1f,0/ide@d/cdrom@3,0:f

And the system rebooted amd came up to the console prompt. I think I have to remove some of the characters at the end of the command I did, such as removing the 0:f? It looks like this path is for the internal cdrom? For the external cdrom drive, do I look doe the cdrom in devalias?

As stated, I need to boot to this external device and this is all new to me, don't think I ever needed to do this before. Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks.

try this:

ok setenv auto-boot? false
ok reset-all

after the reset:

probe-scsi-all

if there is no other path to a dvd drive, the external drive is not recognized!

I did what you said and the probe-scsi-all brings up nothing? But when I am in the console, and do a cdrw -l it shows the DVD drive.

I have just resorted to copying down the Solaris Sparc CD 1/2/3/4/5 for CD-R. This is taking way too long but what the heck...gotta do it. Too bad this darn DVD drive is not working for me, it would make my day go quicker. The V100 does not have the DVD drive.

Thanks for your help though. :b: