Hey everyone, I have a major problem with linux and a sun box. I have a SS20, and I tried to install Mandrake 7.2 on a 4.5Gb drive. After installing, the drive is not accessable, I cannot format it through the sun Format program, and no Linux distros can do anything with it. It keeps saying that my Partition table is invalid. I tried to repartition it through a solaris boot CD, and I keep getting read/write errors on track 0. This has happened to two of my best drives! Both worked fine with Solaris. Has anyone else had this problem??? Please help! Thanks!

I've not had the same problems, but I would suggest booting a Solaris CD until you get the option to drop out to a command line. Then run the "format" utility on it and re-partition it, then re-label it. (You may need to label it before changing partitions.) After that you should be able to restart the "suninstall" program or reboot to the CD to install.

I would also recommend dropping the idea of Linux on SS20 if it keeps tweaking your HD or try something else (I successfully ran RedHat 6.2 on a SS20 about 4 years ago). You might just settle for Solaris 9 with a Gnome gui for that Linux feel.

--------------
Jeremiah

I tried to use the sun format utility from a solaris 9 cd, and it will let me mess with the partitions(only resizing, nothing else), but when I try to label the disk, it gives me write errors on track 0, and it drops me back to the main menu of the format prog. I try to format, and it gives me the same. Is there any way to just totally wipe out the disk and start anew? Maybe something like a low-level format? I am desperate, and will try almost anything. This has happened to me twice, on two different sun boxes

what does the prtvtoc command show on that disk?

I used the prtvtoc command, and it says "Unable to read disk geometry".

Use the format utility to define the disk type, then label the drive.

Ok, I defined the disk, and when I try to label it, it says "Error for command: read""Requested block: 0""error level: fatal""error block:0""Sense key: Media error" I am now looking for some kind of low level format utility, but havent found anything for a sun box yet...

ouch, that doesn't sound too good, this drive may be toasty.

What's the age of these drives? If they have been around awhile, then they may be done. I had a 4.5G drive in an array go bad on a E6500 and it had similar errors. Couldn't write a label on the disk. I tried many things including upgrading the firmware (on the disk) and nothing seemed to help.

Well, one of the disks that is bad is brand new, and the other has been used for around three years. They are both 4.5Gb Quantum Atlas II. The drives are not at fault. I believe I found what the problem is. I think that the version of Mandrake I downloaded somehow got corrupted, and therefore the format utility was screwed. Im not totally sure this is possible, as it was an ISO image. Maybe it was some sort of nasty virus. Too bad there isn't a low level format utlility for suns. Well, thanks for all your help!

Actually, you may want to try the "analyze" part of the "format" utility for sun. It does some very low level stuff, and marks bad sectors, etc... I don't have my sun box powered on right now, and I am just getting done with my day or I would give you the steps. You may want to try that before scrapping the thing.

do the write, read test, and set it for at least 2 cycles. Sure it destroys the info on there, but it might find the problem.

also, by chance what version of the eprom are you running?

I tried to do the read/write test, and it will not do anything because the disk is unformatted. I am running rom version 2.25.