The question:
---------------------------Start original question---------------------
We have acquired an Ultra 170 server which needs a terminal connected
to it in order to install Solaris on it. For that purpose we use a Digital
VT540 which can emulate a host of other terminals. This terminal is on ttya.
Booting up the system from the CD-ROM goes well, with the appropriate
messages displaying on the terminal. The boot sequence ends with a list
offering a choice of terminals. One then has to enter the number
corresponding with the terminal being used. If I enter a number followed
by Return as instructed, the cursor jumps to the left and sits there.
If instead of a Return, I hit the Down Arrow (which maps to a LF), I get
an error message that I have entered an invalid character.
I can overcome this problem by plugging in a standard Sun keyboard in the
Ultra and using that as input device, but when I then get to the
installation screens they are all messed up.
This happens no matter what terminal I emulate (I tried Wyse50 and
Televideo 925). The situation is even worse when using the terminal in
vt100 mode because then even the boot messages do not show up correctly.
I assume Digital still knows how a vt100 operates so I suspect there
is something wrong with the installation program and/or my setup.
-----------------------------End original question-----------------------
Thanks to the following:
ctm@sleepy.ns.cs.boeing.com chuck malmsten
sfeng@CAST.Stanford.EDU Susan Feng (aka. Xueshan Feng)
u00y0115@hsc.hac.com Mark Kern
john@oncology.uthscsa.edu John Justin Hough
The solution:
It's all in the eeprom!
1) Keyboard not responding: this had to do with the terminal settings being
7E1, whereas the eeprom settings which are used during boot were at 8N1.
I was misled at this point because the output to the screen looked
reasonable.
2) Screen messed up: the eeprom settings had the number of rows at 36,
while the terminal is at 24. The result of this was that the screen
was partly overwritten.
After bringing the various settings in sync, all was well. (Sort of: I
had to remap a function key on the terminal to ESC, because I could not
get the real ESC key to work...)
Just for the record: we are using a Digital 510, not a 540.
Eric Maes
UNIX System Administrator/DBA, EDS/CSG-Europe
Noorderlaan 147 email : emm@tpd.eds.com
B-2030 Antwerp Tel : +32 3 544 6328
BELGIUM FAX : +32 3 544 6755
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : Fri Sep 28 2001 - 23:10:55 CDT