Install LINUX OS on Sun Solaris

Hi

Problem is I have to boot with the Linux Boot CD, which i am unable to do.

When I switch on  the system, it boots automatically with sun solaris, even when I have
inserted the Linux boot CD. I am using Fedora Core Linux

Can you please suggest how do I start the installation process?

Thanks

Hi

I have a SunBlade 150 500MhZ , 80GB hard disk, 256 Mb RAM.

With solaris 9 operating system dated 12. 2003 , Ultrasparc-IIe

Is it possible to format the hard disk and install fedora core Linux ?

Can you please help

Thanks

Hello

I have not got any solutions to my question.

Can I get an answer soon ?

Thanks

Hello

Is my question very difficult to solve ? I have not received any solution to my questions

Thanks

Is it possible to tell me which version of Linux is compatible with my sunblade system

thanks

 The answer to your question is yes anything is possible, if you would like to do it, follow this link..

http://howtos.linux.com/howtos/SPARC-HOWTO.shtml

Joshua McDowell

 Here is another article, being a hard core gentoo user of course I would suggest you use this first.. :D Happy hacking...


http://gentoo-wiki.com/Sun_blade

 Joshua

Hi on aurora site, I noticed that it does not support blade 150. I am also not sure what I have to download.
I do not want to keep solaris and I want to overwrite solaris with linux.

Can you please help ?

thanks

 So, I haven't read to much of what is there, but I have read enough to understand that if you have a sun blade 150.  You just have a sparc based machine right?  So in order to get linux to work on your sun blade you will have to install linux compiled for SPARC.
  The hardest part for you will probably be setting up an HTTP server to download all this from.  Seems that you have to boot an image via the network, and then download all your install stuff, etc..  This is why I recomend gentoo, however, it will stop working many times during the install I am sure, and you will have to figure out why and how to get around this.
  I can't tell you exactly how to do this, as I do not own a sparc box and have never done such a thing before.
You should http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=Sun+blade+150+linux&spell=1 a little more and see what you can come up with.
  Actuall, checking out the gentoo download page, it would appear that they have a boot cd for what you want to do.
http://www.gentoo.org/main/en/where.xml
  Go there, read the gentoo docs, donwload your cd, burn it and read the gentoo docs all over again during the install.

 Have PhUn!

 Joshua

Hi thanks

I have downloaded gentoo linux and I will try to install

I have one more question.

I want to know if redhat linux detects and USB key. I have Redhat Linux installed on an old system
(Pentium II ) with USB ports. The USB port is working as it has USB mouse.

I have put an USB key on the system and it is not detecting. How do I install the USB flash key (to transfer files
from my Windows system to Linux system) on the linux OS

thanks

 Your USB ports may be 1.0 which I don't "think" works with a USB key.  However with that said, what version of redhat do you have?
  Plug in your usb key wait 30 seconds, go to a shell prompt and execute tail /var/log/messages you should a spot where it explains that it's assigning device sda or sdab or sdc or ddd or something to that effect.  If you do, and you have a partition on the key, then you should be able  to execute "mount /dev/sdx1 /mnt/usb"  the sdx being sda b c or d, which ever one you saw in the /var/log/message .  If you can't find it there, try executing fdisk -l and you will see a list of devices attached w/ their partitions (I beleive).  You should see there sdx x being a b c or d.
 
Joshua McDowell

thanks

I gave the above commands
and /var/log/message recognises it as sda: sda1

I gave the command  mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/usb: error message: mount /dev/sda1 does not exist

I gave the command mount /dev/sda /mnt/usb: message you must specify the file sytem type

fdisk -l gave the message bash : fdisk : command not found

any suggestions

thanks

My redhat linux version is Redhat Linux 9

 Eeew, fdisk command not found?  That's not a good sign, but onto the usb key..
  Has the key been formatted and used in windows before?  If it has, it should just work, but you telling me that fdisk isn't istalled could mean that other things aren't installed.
  So you I don't think you should see /dev/sda1 just sda or /dev/sda, if you are really seeing /dev/sda1 being detected, that is strange because the 1 is a file system not a device as the /dev/sda is an actual device.
  So go to your / directory by executing cd /
  Then execute "find . -name "fdisk"
  Also make sure /mnt/usb exsists, if it's not there you should get a "mount point does not exsist error" but could cause other problems.
  So if your usb device is /dev/sda then "mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/usb" should work, however..  If usb 1.0 really doesn't support usb key's you are probably powering the key on enough that it can get an identity string and then there isn't enough power to continue on.  
  I did a quick search on google and it seems there are keys that are designed specifically to work with 1.0, so this may be a problem for you.

  Joshua

fdisk is in the folder sbin

when I gave mount /dev/sda /mnt/usb -t ntfs, I got the message mount point does not exist
when I give just mount /dev/sda /mnt/usb I got the message "specify file system"

when I ran the command fdisk -l from directory sbin I get the message  bash : fdisk command not found.

 That is because you have do to it like this...
mount -t ntfs /dev/sda /mnt/usb
Not
mount /dev/sda /mnt/usb -t ntfs
  Last I checked you couldn't put NTFS onto a USB without some trickery or Windows 2k...  If you haven't really "tried" to put it on there then the correct statement would be
mount -t vfat /dev/sda /mnt/usb  
or
mount -t fat /dev/sda /mnt/usb

  If fdisk is in /sbin do a vi or pico /sbin/fdisk  is it really just a script that is supposed to call fdisk?  Are you posotive this system hasn't been compromised?


Joshua

thanks

I gave mount -t fat /dev/sda /mnt/usb & vfat

message mount point /mnt/usb does not exist

I guess my USB key does not work on this system.

However in the /var/log/messages, it recognises the key and gives the following messages

attached scsi removable disk sda at scsi0

vi fdisk shows binary contents
and pico does not worl: command not found

the system is a Pentoum II on which I have installed redhat linux 9

thanks

 You have to make sure that /mnt/usb exsists
So execute
mkdir /mnt/usb
Then try and mount to that directory..

Joshua

fdisk -l is working.
the folder usb under mnt was not there. I created it

I gave the command mount -t vfat /dev/sda /mnt/usb

message : wrong fs type, bad option,  bad superblock on /dev/sda
or too many mounted filesystems

thanks

the usb key was formatted with fAT32

I reformatted with option fat on windows as the file system on the linux system is fat16.

But same message as before. the file systems available in the file /etc/filesystems are

ext3
ext2
vfat
nodev proc
nodev devpts
iso9660
hfs

 If you have fat32 on the key, which is again unlikley but possible, then you have to specify this..
mount -t vfat /dev/sda1 /mnt/usb
                                     ^
  Also, keep in mind, that if you pull the key out of the socket without UNMOUNTING it first, 2 things can and most likely will happen.
  A. if you copied anything to or from the key, the changes will be lost.
  B. It will likley change scsi assignments on you.
  So if you plug it back in, execute tail -n 20 /var/log/messages
  You will likely see that it has been re-assigned to something like sdb and if you just pull it out and plug it back in again it will be assigned to sdc and so froth.
  So before you give up, plug in the key, and check what it's SCSI device is assigned to.
  then re-execute the following..

mount -t vfat /dev/sda1 /mnt/usb
                                   ^^
                                    B
                                    C
                                    D


   Joshua McDowell

thanks

but it is not working. This morning I inserted the key and on typing the command, var/log/messagen here is what I get

Dec  6 11:49:45 amman kernel: usb.c: USB device 3 (vend/prod 0x8ec/0x12) is not claimed by any active driver.
Dec  6 11:49:48 amman /etc/hotplug/usb.agent: Setup usb-storage for USB product 8ec/12/200
Dec  6 11:49:48 amman kernel: SCSI subsystem driver Revision: 1.00
Dec  6 11:49:48 amman kernel: Initializing USB Mass Storage driver...
Dec  6 11:49:48 amman kernel: usb.c: registered new driver usb-storage
Dec  6 11:49:48 amman kernel: scsi0 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devices
Dec  6 11:49:48 amman kernel:   Vendor: M-Sys     Model: DiskOnKey         Rev: 4.31
Dec  6 11:49:48 amman kernel:   Type:   Direct-Access                      ANSI SCSI revision: 02
Dec  6 11:49:48 amman kernel: USB Mass Storage support registered.
Dec  6 11:49:49 amman devlabel: devlabel service started/restarted

fdisk -l gives


Disk /dev/hdb: 41.1 GB, 41110142976 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 4998 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

   Device Boot    Start       End    Blocks   Id  System
/dev/hdb1   *         1        13    104391   83  Linux
/dev/hdb2            14      4803  38475675   83  Linux
/dev/hdb3          4804      4998   1566337+  82  Linux swap

the diskonkey is not recgnised at all

any other solutions ?

 Yes, seems you do not have support compiled into the kernel.  What version of redhat are you running?  You may just need to upgrade your kernel, or if you kernel is 2.6.xanything it just needs to be compiled into the the device drivers > usb part of the kernel config.

 Joshua

the output of uname -a is as follows:

Linux amman 2.4.20-6 #1 Thu Feb 27 10:06:59 EST 2003 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux

Now when I click on desktop, it displays floppy, cd and diskonkey and fdisk -l displays device as sda
but I have the message that file system not mounted.

on giving the command mount -t vfat /dev/sda /mnt/usb, same error as above

message : wrong fs type, bad option,  bad superblock on /dev/sda
or too many mounted filesystems

thanks

Try
mount -t vfat /dev/sda1 /mnt/usb
  You have to think in terms of linux..  /dev/sda is the device, you need a partition number to mount as well..  Although I have seen usb keys mount with a statement just like the one you posted.  I don't feel they should unless the partitions are created in a strange way..
  So again ..
try mount -t vfat /dev/sda1 /mnt/usb

Joshua

hello

sorry nothing is working. I give the command mount -t vfat /dev/sda1 /mnt/usb.
the command appears to work, but when I right click on the desktop
it displays floppy, cdrom, diskonkey. and when I click on diskonkey, I always have
the same error, file system not mounted properly.

when I do fdisk -l, sda1 is displayed as the boot disk and not as the USB key.

USB key is mentioned as sda

I have one more query. I am unable to give the permissions to all users.

I copied a program but I copied as root and now am unable to change the
permissions for the program.

Can you please give me the correct sytnax of the command to give permission to all users ?

Thanks

 Ok, so you are being vague in your question..
  If there were a single file I wanted to give everyone Read Exexcute permission to but not write I would chmod that file like this...
chmod 755 <file_name>  #-rwxr-xr-x

Say I wanted to give everyoine read write execute permissions..
chmod 777 <file_name>  #-rwxrwxrwx

Or I could get a little crazy, and create a group called programmers
I could then
chmod 750 <file_name>  #-rwxr-x---
chgrp -R programmers /path_to_program/*
 
  This will change the permissions on ALL the files and sub directories in the direcotry, then anyone added to the programmers group or group of your choosing should be able to execute the program.
  Changing all the permissions to RWXRWXRWX isn't smart, at all.  I would stick with grouping.
  If that fails, you can always chmod 755 the exexcutable, and see if it works...  It's a shot in the dark.. I would suggest googling for Linux file permissions and reading about them until you have at the least a vauge understanding.

Joshua

Hello

thanks I found the answer in fact on internet for the commands

However, I have still not solved my problem of USB key.
Is there anything else I can try to get my diskonkey working on the linux system ?

Secondly, I have a problem with the network card. When I installed it and started the system,
it was recognised and I configured it. But subsequently when i rebooted again, it gave the
message that network device not found, when I go to network settings.

Do I need to search and download drivers for the network card for linux ?

thanks

 Ok so this on this thread you had the following questions..

Can anyone suggest a method to overwrite or format sun solaris and install Linux?

I want to know if redhat linux detects and USB key.


I copied a program but I copied as root and now am unable to change the
permissions for the program.
Can you please give me the correct sytnax of the command to give permission to all users ?

However, I have still not solved my problem of USB key.
Is there anything else I can try to get my diskonkey working on the linux system ?
Secondly, I have a problem with the network card. When I installed it and started the system,
it was recognised and I configured it. But subsequently when i rebooted again, it gave the
message that network device not found, when I go to network settings.
Do I need to search and download drivers for the network card for linux ?


>>Can anyone suggest a method to overwrite or format sun solaris and install Linux?

  I beleive that was solved, you haven't really stated one way or the other..


>>I copied a program but I copied as root and now am unable to change the
permissions for the program.
>>Can you please give me the correct sytnax of the command to give permission to all users ?
 
  Again, I beleive this question was solved as well, and again you haven't really said one way or the other.

However, I have still not solved my problem of USB key.
Is there anything else I can try to get my diskonkey working on the linux system ?
Secondly, I have a problem with the network card. When I installed it and started the system,
it was recognised and I configured it. But subsequently when i rebooted again, it gave the
message that network device not found, when I go to network settings.
Do I need to search and download drivers for the network card for linux ?

   I do not think you are having a problem mounting the USB key, I beleive it is mounting properly.  However, you are clicking a link on your desktop in hopes that it will work when it in fact probably will not.
  Go back through the instructions above, and re-mount the usb key..
  Then execute cd /mnt/usb ( Or where ever you mounted it )
  The ececute ls
  You should see a listing of files there, and if and when you do, you will know that the key has been mounted properly.  However, always remember to execute umount /mnt/usb ( or where ever you have it ) or you will lose data!
  Then right click on the link on your desktop and look at it's properties, I am willing to bet it's pointing to s different directory.  If it is you can change the link or umount it from /mnt/usb ( or wheverver you have it) and mount it in the correct directory and no more troubles..  HOWEVER..  If you mount it in the right place and you know it's right but cannot access it from a normal user account.  You will need to execute man fstab and set the permissions for user mountable and unmountable partitions.  You will then have to unmount it and then click on the usbonkey shortcut and that should fix that problem IF it comes up.

  You neterwork card issue..
  You need to have the modules built for your system to load the correct modules..  You failed to mention what type of network card this is..  Is this in the solaris machine?  Is this in an x86 machine?  What's the brand make and model?  Once you have the answers to these questions, simply google for the right device drives.  If it's a sun based card the answers are pretty simple, you have to go into your kernel config and set it to build the correct device drivers.  It could be that the modules are already in place and you have to load them.  Need input..

Joshua

 Any luck?

Joshua

Hi

OK I will do a recap of all that has been done.  While awaiting a solution to install Linux on a SUn blade system with solaris 9, I installed fedora core on another system Pentium III. For this system:
The USB diskon key works.
I have not tried the network card solution as I do not need to use the network now that I can use my USB key to transfer my files.  so I am not going to spend too much time on the network card issue.

Now coming back to my main question, Install Linux on Sun solaris:
I have been trying to download different Linux versions compatbile with Solaris and I have managed to download
gentoo linux and debian linux which are supposed to be compatible.  I followed the download instructions and
made the Linux CD's one each for gentoo  & debian and they are supposed to be bootable.

So I booted with the CD, but the system does not recognise the CD's.  

So can you please help me to install linux on the solaris sun blade system 150 ?

How do I go about it

thanks