I sent this to the wrong address originally.
Sorry for the delay.
Tom Korte
---------- Forwarded Message ----------
Subject: Re: [Cooker] 7.1 sparc port
Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 20:17:42 -0600
From: T Korte <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
I got Mandrake 7.1 to install on my UltraSparc today - twice!
Before I did the install I reset the eprom to factory defaults so that it got
rid of the setting that was installed there by RH6.2. After that I selected
expert -> development mode and proceeded. When it came time to do partitions,
I deleted all of the existing RH partitions and recreated the same layout with
DiskDrake. I noticed that DiskDrake started the first partition at sector 1
instead of sector 0. I'm pretty sure that the RH partition started at sector 0
but whatever the case, I left it on sector 1 and proceeded.
One small recurring problem during the install. When it gets to the
"Installing System" step the mouse seems to disappear. I moved it around a bit
and noticed the buttons highlighting even though I couldn't see it. I used
it like that for a bit until I moved it all the way to the left side of the
screen. It seemed like when it got to the left side frame it reappeared and
stayed visible for the rest of the install. Perhaps that will give a clue as
to what's wrong.
When I did the first install I indicated that I had both CD's to the program.
The install proceeded and I changed CD's when asked but when it came time to
install the X server, it gave me the message that it couldn't find it. It
seems to be on the first CD but the second CD is in the drive when it gets to
that install stage so it can't load it. I exited the install at that point and
it did boot ok, but of course there was no GUI. I did a reinstall and
de-selected the second CD when it asked if I had it. The second time it just
worked with the first CD and it installed the X server (Xsun24) with no
problems.
Two other persistent glitches during the install are the crypto installation
and X configuration. Neither one of them works. It prompts about the crypto
but if you select "Yes" then it comes back with some kind of perl error I
think. As for the X configuration, after it installs the server it displays
the little menu of config choices ("Select Resolution," "Test Again," etc.) but
none of them work.
Other than that everything went rather well. It sure is nice to have Mandrake
up and running on the Sparc. The only other glitch I have noticed is that the
keboard doesn't seem to work in the "Advanced Editor". This is the editor that
has a pencil for its icon - I belive it's kwrite. I guess this is why its icon
was not installed on the bottom toolbar like it is on the i586 version. I
realize that it's a beta release so don't get me wrong - I'm not complaining.
I just though you'd like to hear the feedback.
Keep up the good work guys, this is great! It's soooo much nicer than Solaris.
I have Solaris 7 sitting in a box on my shelf and that's where it's going to
stay.
Do you suppose that getting sound working would be possible? At this
point it does nothing when I test wav files for the system sounds and the same
goes for playing CDs. When I click on the mixer it tells me "kmix: Could not
write to mixer." However, kscd works and I can plug in to the headphone jack
on the CD player itself so all is not lost.
Hope this feed back helps. If there are any install log or boot log files that
you want me to send you then let me know. Or if there's anything else that I
can do to help out for that matter.
Thanks again
Tom Korte
--
"Our plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what harbour
he is making for, no wind is the right wind."
- Seneca
> On Tue, 13 Jun 2000, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> > Hello,
> >
> > Have you tried installing and avoiding using the cylinder 0, currently this
> > causes problems, as on reboot the MBR is blanked and the partition table lost.
> >
> > So if you can delete te first partition and recreate it.
> >
> > Fran�ois.
>
> Is there a cylinder offset selection in DiskDrake? I can't recall seeing one
> but then again I wasn't looking for one either. I know that on the RH6.2
> install it asks where you want to install SILO - in the MBR or on the first
> sector of the boot disk were the choices I think. Would I be correct assuming
> that this is related? I belive I choose MBR for RH6.2 but it still worked.
For instance there are no MBR or first sector choices, this is always the first
sector of the boot disk and cylinder 0 should not be used. Using cylinder 0 causes
troubles and this force using the first sector for installation.
>
> Another concern for booting may be the eprom setup. When I installed RH6.2 it
> put a "linux" setting in my eprom. Luckily I wrote it down during the install:
> Prom alias
> linux /sbus/SUNW,fas/sd@0,0:a
>
> Would this cause a problem if it was still in the eprom when I installed
> Mandrake, or does Mandrake deal with it? For that matter, does Mandrake
> program the eprom at all? I can always reset the eprom to factory defaults
> before I install Mandrake if necessary, but if that is the case then a person
> would have to know to do so beforehand and it should be included in the
> installer to make the installer complete. One would hate to do a full install
> only to realize that you forgot to reset the eprom as the first step and so all
> of your time was wasted.
Currently there is no write into the eprom.
>
> Perhaps on the same screen where you configure SILO you could also have eprom
> setting selections and so on.
>
> Another problem that I recall having was that during one of the installations
> that I tried (unfortunately I can't remember which type anymore) involved X
> configuration. Things installed off of the first CD, then off of the second CD,
> but when the installer went to load the X server the second CD was still in the
> drive and it complained that it couldn't find the file. I think the install
> exited at that point but I'm not sure. After that I'm pretty sure that I left
> the second CD unchecked everytime it asked if I had it - the problem didn't
> reoccur and I saw it successfully load the X server.
>
> I'd like to hear some suggestions about the MBR/cylinder issue and the eprom
> issue before I try another install. If it's a combination of the two then I
> might be trying a lot of different installs with no luck. When I can proceed
> with at least a good guess at what to do for both items hen that should
> hopefully narrow the number of installs down to just a few.
There is a problem, if you use the cylinder 0 for an existing partition table,
you can reuse it when installing, but the system will not be able to reboot.
So to test, you have to delete it and recreate it (cylinder 0 will not be used by
this way, choose expert mode to see it using diskdrake). This is really a nasty
things we are working on.
>
> Thanks for the replies, I'm really impressed!
Thanks you, too,
> Tom Korte
Fran�ois.
-------------------------------------------------------
--
Never doubt that a small group of concerned individuals can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
- Margaret Mead
-------------------------------------------------------
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--
-------
"Our plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what
harbour he is making for, no wind is the right wind." - Seneca
