Rainer Heilke wrote: >>> Seems odd that I can install OS on a Sun Blade 100 with 512MB RAM >>> in full graphical mode, but can't even get the text mode to work >>> on an x86 system with the same amount of memory... >> Most of the difference is directly due to running the miniroot out >> of a ramdisk rather than directly off the media. > > So, on SPARC, the miniroot runs off of the CD, but on x86, it loads > into a ramdisk? Do I understand your statement correctly? Why the > difference? Is this due to GRUB requirements? >
Yes, it's all about the boot architecture. SPARC will be doing something similar in the not-too-distant future. > If I [i]have[/i] understood the statement correctly, then the > installer is problematic for exactly those people that would most > likely be one of our new target audiences; that is, users trying OS > out on an older spare x86 system. Is there a way around this? It also > means that people like me (experienced, wanting to build a system for > someone else) are also toast. I [i]really[/i] don't want to load some > Linux variant on this system, because I would then have to build and > support something I don't even use myself. :-( (I also don't want to > spend $$ on memory for a system I am giving away.) > It's possible we can reduce it, but it requires some actual engineering, and for us it hasn't been high enough priority. One thing that will run on less memory right now, at least theoretically since I don't have any convenient boxes with less than 1 GB to try it on, is the Live DVD prototype we have been working on which is over on the Live Media project[1]. We're going to try to put some sort of minimal installer on it soon; meantime you can try out the Belenix version which is similar and already does have an install. It ain't Solaris, but it is OpenSolaris, and I think it's a dandy way to try out a lot of things. Dave [1] http://www.opensolaris.org/os/project/livemedia/
