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Old 01-11-2004, 01:27 PM   #1
Robert0380
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istalling Solairs 9 (video card)


i popped in the Solaris CD 1 just to see what would happen if i tried to boot it. I decided to go through part of the isntall process without actually isntalling Solaris yet. When it detected everything, it didnt auto detect my sound card and my video car. I really could care less about it detecting the sound card because i dont plan on playing any sound files, but the video part is resonably important. I have an Nvidia GeForce FX 5200 (has 128MB RAM). The card wasnt on the list so i picked some other GeForce or whatever from the list of Nvidia cards.

My question is, what would i do to get my video card to work.
 
Old 01-11-2004, 07:15 PM   #2
Mega Man X
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If you are looking for 3D acceleration, simply forget it . As far as I know, you cannot install Nvidia drivers for Solaris. During the installation process you may notice that you can choose among generic drivers and monitors. You've to stick with them... One or another might set an acceptable resolution and color display for you, but that's all you can get with Solaris' WAY limited hardware detection and drivers... Unfortunately, Sun has missed the chance of doing a descent OS...

Last edited by Mega Man X; 01-11-2004 at 07:18 PM.
 
Old 01-11-2004, 09:54 PM   #3
stickman
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Quote:
Originally posted by Megaman X
Unfortunately, Sun has missed the chance of doing a descent OS...
Solaris is an excellent OS; however, if you intend to use it for graphics-intensive activities, you would be better off switching to a Sparc-based system where you can get the benefit of a 64 bit OS and processor and also use a 3D graphics card. Solaris is designed as a server OS, and most of the servers don't even come with a graphics card.
 
Old 01-11-2004, 10:14 PM   #4
Mega Man X
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I agree, partially . I mean, Solaris 9.0 actually asks for graphical interface at the beginning of the installation. The installation only can proceed after you setup the graphics correctly. After the installation, you go into a graphical display manager to choose between your desktops. The hole point is, if Solaris was/is intended for servers, the hole installation should be in text mode, since the hardware support is pretty disappointing. Take a look at Slack's install which is totally in text mode. Way easier to set up a server with Slack then with Solaris. But then again, as you said, Solaris must be outstanding in a Sparc Machine, since the hardware problems would be none, but as a x86 OS is ratter disappointing.... in my one month with Solaris humble opinion
 
Old 01-12-2004, 07:46 AM   #5
stickman
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Quote:
Originally posted by Megaman X
The hole point is, if Solaris was/is intended for servers, the hole installation should be in text mode, since the hardware support is pretty disappointing. Take a look at Slack's install which is totally in text mode. Way easier to set up a server with Slack then with Solaris.
Alas, most people prefer a GUI environment and the install just defaults to running with a GUI. In addition, having a GUI doesn't mean that it's designed for graphics-intensive activities.

As for the hardware support issue, Sun does publish a list of supported hardware. If a piece of hardware is not on the list, it shouldn't really be a surprise that it doesn't work.
 
Old 01-12-2004, 05:16 PM   #6
spyghost
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ok, now how do owners of nvidia video cards get to install the "proper driver" for solaris to work properly?
 
Old 01-13-2004, 01:19 AM   #7
Robert0380
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im not trying to play games or do graphics intensive stuff, i just want the card to work. i use Linux for my gaming needs. The problem was that when i ran the test, i got a bunch of garbage. I think i just selected the wrong card (i went with a GeForce 4 or something that was on the list or GeForce 3 or 2 i dont remember). I'll try it again with generic settings.

As for my reason for wanting Solaris....just for practice (server stuff not desktop stuff)
 
Old 01-14-2004, 08:40 AM   #8
stickman
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Quote:
Originally posted by spyghost
ok, now how do owners of nvidia video cards get to install the "proper driver" for solaris to work properly?
If the card is included in the HCL, then the proper driver is already included on the media. If it's not listed, then you probably need to get an OEM driver from the manufacturer or run the card under generic settings.
 
Old 01-14-2004, 10:27 AM   #9
spyghost
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according to hcl it will work fine with the vesa driver, but no progress at all...

well it works on a 16 color driver, but its pointless to use a 16 color driver for my video card...
 
  


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