Re: Problems installing Solaris 10 10/08 on Sun Ultra 30

>> My system is a Sun Ultra 30, 300 MHz, 1.7 GB RAM and a 16 GB hard
>> disk. Trying to install Solaris 10 10/08.  The initial installation
>> reboots after having copied Solaris to the hard disk and the machine
>> freezes at the line "creating new dsa pair"...  I've given it a few
>> hours on several occasions with no success.
>
> It sounds like more hardware trouble. Have you booted in diagnostic mode 
> (diag-switch true) and let it run through the complete set of tests ? If 
> it is actually dying on the key generation it is probably a bad cpu or 
> ram. I would try reseating the cpu and all memory. Also make sure all 
> the dust is cleared out of there with some compressed air.  Those cpu 
> are common and cheap so, if yo ucan find another to try it would help 
> eliminate it at least.

Hi,

The diagnostic mode indicates that everything is fine.

I hadn't even thought of the CPU. Considering that it boots NetBSD, I couldn't imagine that there could be a hardware problem. Just to be sure, I pulled an old 250 MHz processor module out of a box and sure enough Solaris generated the key and booted! So thanks!

It was insufferably slow so I replaced the 300 MHz module and it runs fine, given that the key was already generated (I suppose). Of course, running a potentially defective CPU is worrying!  Any idea if it's possibly to test the CPU for a defect?

- Alex