Hardware

Hi All,

I'm a total SUN newbie, but I had a problem with booting from CDROM to install Solaris 10 on my Sun Fire v120.

So, after doing a lot of research I found the solution to my problem and wanted to share it with you, maybe it will help somebody in the future.

I was triggered when I used the probe-ide command from the OBP (Open Boot Prom). It didn't list my LG slimline DVD / CDRW drive.

So, I replaced it with a drive from my HTPC in order to make sure the drive wasn't faulty. This drive is a brand new MATSHITADVD-RAM UJ-85JS slimline DVD drive.

It wasn't listed either.

So I did some investigating work to answer some questions:
- is my ISO corrupt? --> wasn't verified it with MD5 checksum.
- are both of my slimline drivers broken? --> not the case they both worked in my HTPC flawlessly
- Do they have a problem reading the ISO? --> No, I could read them from the HTPC fine
- Do they require to be master / slave or do they use cable select?

I figured out they usually are hardcoded to be "master". Opening up my Sun Fire v120, I was puzzled with the little jumper J17 next to the IDE connector.

I looked into the SUN manual and found the following information:

JP17 1-2 (Open) This jumper tells the DVD or CD-ROM drive (if one is installed)
that it is a Master ATA device. For the DVD and CD-ROM
drives currently available for the Sun Fire V120 and Netra 120
systems, this jumper must be Open.

The Factory Default for this jumper is that it is open. However, to let the IDE port work with slimline dvd drives that are hardcoded to be master on the IDE channel, you have to close it.

I put the jumper in place, connected the dvd drive up and I'm now installing:

ok boot cdrom
Boot device: /pci@1f,0/pci@1,1/ide@d/cdrom@0,0:f File and args:
SunOS Release 5.10 Version Generic_127127-11 64-bit
Copyright 1983-2008 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Use is subject to license terms.
Configuring devices.
Using RPC Bootparams for network configuration information.

So, as some advice for users that face the same problem, check if your J17 jumper is in place (or not) and check with the Manufacturer of your slimline DVD drive if it is hardcoded to be "master".

Hope this helps some people!