Hi,

I have Solaris 10 3/05 on a Dell Dim. L800r w/384MB, 800MHz. Got it loaded just fine. It rebooted to login screen normally. Then I typed in 'root' & pword and instantly it shut the monitor off and acted like it went into hibernation. The cpu was still on as far as I could tell because the power light was on. But nothing. I tried CTRL-ALT-BACKSPACE (does that only work in linux and the free BSDs?). The only thing I can do is power down. Could I have set my monitor/video settings too high? When I set all the freqs/color depth/etc., the color test screen looked perfect. Any ideas besides upgrading to a later Solaris? I have yet to get this OS installed in any version/edition on any machine I have. If it installs, it turns to crap soon afterwards. I'm really sick of Windows re-installs, and would like something better, but cannot afford a Mac.

T

Try login in console (text) mode, run kdmconfig and switch the X server to the other choice (Xorg or Xsun).

Ctrl-Alt-Backspace is supported with Xorg, but perhaps the issue is the X server is already dead when you got a black screen.

I suggest that you try Open Solaris instead. It is very similar to a modern linux like Ubuntu och Suse, and almost everything gets detected and setup automatically for you, sound, network, graphics, etc.

Download "Solaris Express Community edition" discs to try Open Solaris.


In many people's opinion, Solaris is superior to Mac technically, and used in large servers that weigh 1000kg and serves thousands of users. A Mac couldnt do that. However, Mac is probably easier to use than Solaris, but the latest Open Solaris comes not too far from Mac in terms of useability.

384 MB RAM is pretty low for Solaris Express, the reason why I didn't advice upgrading.

Ah, I missed that! Ever since you suggested me to try out Solaris Express, I am hooked! : o )

Maybe it would be less troubles if he upgraded ram to 512MB and installed Express version? To setup plain Solaris 10 takes some time, if you are a noob (like me). He would save much time with Express edition.

To jlliagre:

Tried the kdmconfig, and it did the same thing. There are two different selections for this video card (SiS 6326). I think I'll try the other one. Any other ideas anyone?

To the others, Yes, I would like to try Open Solaris, but it takes more computing power, which defeats the purpose of running unix on older hardware. I thought unix/linux/bsd was supposed to be faster on older hardware? It seems the easiest OS' to install for us newbies are also the most hardware hogging. What good is that?

Terry

Well, switching the Xserver did nothing. I also tried changing the resolution. All produced the same results. Solaris shuts down or the Xserver shuts down. Somehow, I don't think I'll ever get this OS working unless I buy Sun certified hardware.

Solaris really does seem to be a complete waste of time. If Sun really wants to promote it, why not make it easier to install, configure, and still run on older hardware? That's rhetorical, I know they have reasons. Cheers.

Terry

But, they ARE fixing these problems. Right now. Their solution is: Open Solaris. It is like Ubuntu or Suse. Just try it, and get rid of many hours of setting it up correctly. You save much more by bying 256MB ram and trying Open Solaris.

Of course, if you know Solaris, then it is just a breeze and takes no time. If you dont know it, then it is going to take you many hours. But that is expected? Setting up any massive enterprise server OS known for serving many thousands of users, WILL take time if you dont know the OS?

You'd either need recent hardware or at least a deeper investigation on the issue.
Try using the generic vesa driver instead of Sis.
You are mistaken. An easier to install and configure Solaris is a strong goal.
Running on older hardware is a more marginal request, but I believe there is a work in progress to lower the RAM demand.