Document fins/I0770-1
FIN #: I0770-1
SYNOPSIS: Booting from CD-ROM on Ultra 5/10 systems might not succeed unless
the system OBP is updated
DATE: Jan/29/02
KEYWORDS: Booting from CD-ROM on Ultra 5/10 systems might not succeed unless
the system OBP is updated
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- Sun Proprietary/Confidential: Internal Use Only -
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FIELD INFORMATION NOTICE
(For Authorized Distribution by SunService)
SYNOPSIS: Booting from CD-ROM on Ultra 5/10 systems might not succeed
unless the system OBP is updated.
Sun Alert: No
TOP FIN/FCO REPORT: No
PRODUCT_REFERENCE: Ultra 5/10 systems with CD-ROM OBP
PRODUCT CATEGORY: Desktop / Service
PRODUCTS AFFECTED:
Systems Affected:
----------------
Mkt_ID Platform Model Description Serial Number
------ -------- ----- ----------- -------------
- A21 ALL Ultra 5 -
- A22 ALL Ultra 10 -
X-Options affected:
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Mkt_ID Platform Model Description Serial Number
------ -------- ----- ----------- -------------
X5246A - - XOPT INT 48X CD-ROM FOR U5/U10 -
PART NUMBERS AFFECTED:
Part Number Description Model
----------- ----------- -----
370-4353-01 FRU 48X EIDE CD-ROM -
704-7610-10 CD OEI S8U2 SB100 -
REFERENCES:
BugId: 4461113 - Ultra 5 system fails to boot from x48 speed CDROM drive
4462386 - Unable to boot SB-100 from LG cdrom drive
ECO: WO_22830
PROBLEM DESCRIPTION:
In some cases, the operating system cannot be booted or installed from
the CD-ROM on Ultra5/10 systems. This presents problems for customers
and serviceability issues for Sun field personnel.
These error messages might appear when attempting to boot the OS from
CD-ROM.
Can't read disk label.
Can't open disk label package.
"The file just loaded does not appear to be executable."
The affected configuration is a combination of:
Ultra5/Ultra10 with OBP version < 3.31.0
48x CD-ROM LG Model: CRD-8483B version 1.0 or 1.01
Any bootable CD-ROM media
The OBP version can be determined using these commands:
From the Unix command line: # prtconf -V
From the OBP ok prompt: ok banner
Determine the CD-ROM model from the command line with
# iostat -E
sd2 Soft Errors: 0 Hard Errors: 3 Transport Errors: 0
Vendor: LG Product: CD-ROM CRD-8483B Revision: 1.01 Serial No: ð
Size: 18446744073.71GB <-1 bytes>
Media Error: 0 Device Not Ready: 2 No Device: 1 Recoverable: 0
Illegal Request: 0 Predictive Failure Analysis: 0
NOTE: In the above example message returned from the "iostat -E"
command,
the system in question does contain an LG CD-ROM model CRD-8483B
Revision 1.01.
Visual inspection may also be used to determine the CD-ROM model. Look
at the identification label after removing the drive from the system.
This problem does not lie with the CD-ROM. The IDE driver resident in
the OBP (and in some cases the combination of driver and OS media
quality) has been identified as the root cause of this problem. The
IDE driver is not very robust with this particular drive and media
combination. It can fail in several different ways.
The first failure mode is within the driver 'spin-up/down' command.
The second and third modes are induced by the first. The extra time
this drive takes to spin up after being spun down causes the read
command to time-out. This leads to the third problem, where the driver
tries to issue a request-sense but the drive thinks it is in the middle
of a read. This confuses the drive and the driver, the request-sense
also fails and the read is retried. The drive does in fact return the
data but it also sets the Check-Condition bit. This confuses the
driver into believing that the read failed and the whole sequence gets
aborted.
In some cases the failure to recognize the boot media was also related
to a batch of marginal Solaris 8 U2 media, P/N 704-7610-10. This media
has been enhanced in the next release, Solaris 8 U3, P/N 704-7617-10.
Therefore, upon encountering this problem, service personnel should be
prepared to install the OBP patch and reinstall the OS with new media.
The failure rate is less than 10% and customer shipments of version
1.01 of the affected CD-ROM drive is approximately 15000.
This problem has been resolved in Engineering by improving the IDE
driver. This includes modifying the 'spin-up/down' command within the
driver and extending the timeout from 8 seconds to 30 seconds. The
driver was also made more robust by resetting the interface when a
command times out.
IMPLEMENTATION:
---
| | MANDATORY (Fully Proactive)
---
---
| | CONTROLLED PROACTIVE (per Sun Geo Plan)
---
---
| X | REACTIVE (As Required)
---
CORRECTIVE ACTION:
The following recommendation is provided as a guideline for authorized
Enterprise Services Field Representatives who may encounter the above
mentioned problem.
For Ultra 5/10 systems with CD-ROM Model LG CRD-8483BLG,
1) Upgrade the system OBP to version 3.31.0 with Patch-ID# 
106121. The
patch README provides detailed instructions for performing the upgrade.
2) If the CD-ROM is still unbootable, check the media part number and
if it is 704-7610-10 (Solaris 8 U2), replace with 704-7617-10
(Solaris 8 U3).
COMMENTS:
None
============================================================================
Implementation Footnote:
i) In case of MANDATORY FINs, Enterprise Services will attempt to
contact all affected customers to recommend implementation of
the FIN.
ii) For CONTROLLED PROACTIVE FINs, Enterprise Services mission critical
support teams will recommend implementation of the FIN (to their
respective accounts), at the convenience of the customer.
iii) For REACTIVE FINs, Enterprise Services will implement the FIN as the
need arises.
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