InstallAreaInstructions

Instructions for the OpenSolaris Install area at Tech Days conference

Please follow these instructions at the install area to avoid potential issues with the installation of OpenSolaris:

  • IMPORTANT: due to various issues with the OpenSolaris installer, paritioning tools, GRUB, etc., I recommend to tell people to install OpenSolaris into VirtualBox. Dual boot should be attempted only in the case that the person insists that he/she really wants dual boot, but they need to be warned about the following issues:
  1. Installing OpenSolaris in dual boot can lead to data loss in some cases; if, for example, the user has a specific setup of partitions (Solaris fdisk doesn't understand extended partitions, the installer can get confused about linux-swap because it has the same partition type as Solaris). The installation should not be attempted if the person has important data on his other partition.
  2. The OpenSolaris installer is going to overwrite any existing boot manager. In case the person has any boot manager installed special caution needs to be paid - make a backup copy of the configuration.

If the person still persists to install dual boot, here are the instructions. Make sure you have the latest OpenSolaris CD and also a GParted bootable CD.

Things to check

  • Make sure that their laptop hardware is supported in Hardware Compatibility List, run "Device Detection Utility" first.
  • Make sure there is a free primary partition for OpenSolaris (e.g. using fdisk or GParted). Create it if necessary with fdisk or GParted.
  • Check that there is at least 6 GB of free disk space available and that the system has more than 512 MB of RAM. Additional 512 MB RAM is needed if the installation will be done in VirtualBox. Note that RC1 of 2008.11 currently requires 768 MB but that should change in the FCS.
  • Refuse to install if there are extended partitions - the OpenSolaris installer does not support extended partitions.
  • Refuse to install if any other boot manager than GRUB is currently being used.
  • Check the partition table using fdisk in GParted and OpenSolaris fdisk (from live CD). If there are any differences, refuse to install because the installation may overwrite the data on other partitions.

Windows and OpenSolaris

  • Shrink the NTFS partition if necessary. Vista's disk manager can do it or it can be done using GParted (much slower). Defragmentation of Windows partition might be necessary if there's not enough space for the resizing.
  • Create a new primary partition using GParted (it should be located after the Windows partition).
  • OpenSolaris overwrites boot manager in MBR but it will be possible to boot into Windows, the installer can detect Windows. So user will have 2 boot options after installation.

Linux and OpenSolaris

  • This installation is more dangerous than Windows and OpenSolaris, because OpenSolaris can't detect Linux OSes. Make sure the person knows about the dangers and he has a backup of his data.
  • Make a backup copy of Linux GRUB boot loader configuration (/boot/grub/menu.lst). Do not attempt to install if the users uses any other boot manager.
  • Create a new primary partition using GParted (after Linux).
  • Install OpenSolaris. MBR will get overwritten.
  • Add the instructions from the Linux GRUB boot loader into the OpenSolaris GRUB configuration (/rpool/boot/grub/menu.lst) and reboot. Do not try to use Linux's GRUB because it can't boot into ZFS.
  • More detailed instructions to be added based on future experiences.

Windows+Linux+OpenSolaris

  • Again a very dangerous scenario. Follow the "Linux and OpenSolaris" instructions above, Windows should be added automatically to GRUB configuration. Lengthy tutorial available starting here.

Solaris+OpenSolaris

  • Change the type of the partition where Solaris is installed to something else (e.g. FAT32 or NTFS). You can use fdisk or GParted to change the partition type.
  • During the installation you will be able to create a new primary Solaris partition after the first partition and the installer will install without any issues because it won't be aware of the second instance of Solaris/OpenSolaris.
  • After the installation switch the first Solaris partition type back to Solaris and update your GRUB's /rpool/boot/grub/menu.lst file (add the other Solaris entry from original menu.lst) and you have now a working dual boot with two instances of Solaris/OpenSolaris.

Helpful Software To Have With You

The network connection is not always reliable and is frequently slow. Further, some of the software listed here is only available in an SVR4 package, so until there is an IPS repo. that has this stuff, you might as well have the software with you.

Resources

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