Hi there,
Discovered this gem of a forum whilst looking for info on how to netinstall my SS5 from a NeXTStep 3.3 VMWare setup (tried to do it from OpenBSD but NeXTStep comes with too many weird rpc requirements). So I can boot a kernel, and get to the point I'm asked to enter the host name after the ' network doesn't recognize the computer' message. Unfortunately, the standard Sun keyboard isn't actually recognized at this stage! So I'm basically stuck. I can't do a CD install as I no longer have a working SCSI CD drive ( checked my Ultra1's one, it just opens/closes continuously). Is there any particular kernel module/driver I should try and add to the NFS / or /private partition to get this to work? Any suggestions are most appreciated.
Well, after a bit of tinkering, I'm at the configuration stage of NeXTSTEP/sparc. Here's what I did:
1. setup the NetBoot configuration in my VMWare installation for a new host according to the Network and System Administration Manual. Make sure to allow systems to be added to the network *without* entering the domain password.
2. copied via the shell the contents of the RISC install cd to /NEXTSTEP_INSTALL with ditto and added this dir to my NFS shares
3. booted the SparcStation and followed a standard installation
4. reboot the SparcStation and press Stop-A at the PROM boot. now enter this:
boot disk mach_kernel
This will allow the workstation to boot from the hard drive.
5. Continue configuration as you would for any NeXT system. All my devices were detected perfectly, including the CGSix graphics card, and the audio.
Quote from: "Noth"Well, after a bit of tinkering, I'm at the configuration stage of NeXTSTEP/sparc. Here's what I did:
1. setup the NetBoot configuration in my VMWare installation for a new host according to the Network and System Administration Manual. Make sure to allow systems to be added to the network *without* entering the domain password.
2. copied via the shell the contents of the RISC install cd to /NEXTSTEP_INSTALL with ditto and added this dir to my NFS shares
3. booted the SparcStation and followed a standard installation
4. reboot the SparcStation and press Stop-A at the PROM boot. now enter this:
boot disk mach_kernel
This will allow the workstation to boot from the hard drive.
5. Continue configuration as you would for any NeXT system. All my devices were detected perfectly, including the CGSix graphics card, and the audio.
Congrats on getting it loaded. :wink: The Sparc 5 makes a nice NEXTSTEP/OPENSTEP system. I'm running OPENSTEP 4.2 on my 110 Mhz Sparc 5. Not as fast as an x86 system, but it's a great deal faster than a m68k box. My Sparc 5 is primarily used as my Web Server and for some dev work when needed. Enjoy the system & welcome to the forums!
Thanks a lot, mine's also a 110MHz Sparc5 with 64Mb of RAM and the CG6/GX card. 8 bit is fine... I'm looking forward to using this box for many things, and it's surprisingly fast compared to what it was like when I used Solaris 2.6 on it back in 1997 at my Uni courses. NeXTStep is ideal for these little pizzaboxen, and intel whiteboxes apart from VMWare hold very little interest for me. Thanks again for the welcome, I'm enjoying the read here a lot.
Quote from: "Noth"Thanks a lot, mine's also a 110MHz Sparc5 with 64Mb of RAM and the CG6/GX card. 8 bit is fine... I'm looking forward to using this box for many things, and it's surprisingly fast compared to what it was like when I used Solaris 2.6 on it back in 1997 at my Uni courses. NeXTStep is ideal for these little pizzaboxen, and intel whiteboxes apart from VMWare hold very little interest for me. Thanks again for the welcome, I'm enjoying the read here a lot.
Yeah, NEXTSTEP/OPENSTEP run much better on these older Sparcs compared to Solaris. I have a 170 Mhz Sparc 5 that I use as a printserver basically. It's running Solaris 9. Using GNOME is kinda painful. :wink: It's even got 256 megs of ram. I'd try to get some more ram if you can. NS3.3 will run fine w/ 64, but 256 would be a whole lot better. :D And FYI, as far as using an 8-bit card compared to the 24-bit video card that's available for the Sparc 5, the 8-bit card actually seems to work better. I've had several of the tcx24 video cards. Everyone I've had, left trails when using the mouse under NEXTSTEP/OPENSTEP in 24-bit mode. I think it's a driver problem. But I've also heard of some people not having the problem. I'd like to find a card that didn't have that problem. lol. I've tried 5 now. Oh well, the system still runs well. Take care & feel free to ask more questions if needed.
Yeah I imagine moving 24bit data around on the Sparc bus would be a bit more painful. So far it's proven quite comfortable on 8bit although I can see the extra ram coming in handy since web page rendering isn't exactly fast (compared to say, netscape3/sparc). Then again, most pages are completely different in size and structure compared to 10 years ago, so that may not be a perfect comparison. Thanks for the advice anyway, if I come up with new questions I'll post them here for sure. Nice finding knowledgeable folk!
Quote from: "kb7sqi"I've had several of the tcx24 video cards. Everyone I've had, left trails when using the mouse under NEXTSTEP/OPENSTEP in 24-bit mode. I think it's a driver problem. But I've also heard of some people not having the problem.
I have a similar issue with my 24bit card, but it is just a few bright pixels around the left side edge of windows and such, but no streaking or trails behind the mouse. It is also an intermittent problem for me, as it would go days without the problem and just start one day. Sometimes a logout or reboot would fix it, and other times it would just go away by itself.
A 110mhz SS5 was my introduction back into NeXT a few years ago, before I had acquired enough parts to get an old MonoSlab working.
Chef