Force Single User Mode on Sun Ultra 5

[Cobalt60]

I have successfully installed Debian on a Sparc Ultra5, 270MHz SparcIIi CPU, 384MB RAM, 40GB HD. However, once Debian tries to load Gnome (right before the login screen) the screen goes blank, and so the machine becomes unusable. I booted of the NetInstall CD, into rescue mode, and executed a shell, but apparently there is currently a problem when running nano from a live CD, so I can not edit the xorg.conf file when I boot the live CD. So, I would like to just boot the install into single user mode, but I dont know how.

Currently, when the Ultra5 is powered on, it tries to boot with command "boot", so I hit "Stop A". From there I type "boot Disk1" to boot Debian normally. To boot from a CD, I would type "boot cdrom" So any idea on how I can boot from Disk1 in Single User Mode?

My only other idea is to hook up another monitor I have which may be able to deal with whatever resolution Gnome is defaulting to. However, Id rather just boot into single user mode.

Thanks

-Chris P

[HROAdmin26]

* Booting Sparc:

You need to Google "openboot prom" to understand the Sparc version of a "bios."

printenv

Values to check:

auto-boot?
boot-device

I recommend using:

set-defaults

* Single User Mode:

Booting to single user mode is the same for any linux - modify the Grub entry.


** I doubt highly Debian + Gnome will run well on such an old system with 384MB RAM.

[Cobalt60]

I have already set auto-boot? to false. Dont know about boot-device but Ill look into it, same with printenv.

As for modifying the grub entry, how is that done? If its done with a text editor such as nano, I cant do that, without actually booting into single user mode first.

As for how well it will run, I wont know until I try. The machine was originally running Solaris9 w/ Gnome. I have considered running Aurora instead of Debian, but Ive always been a Debian fan, and Aurora, as far as I can tell, doesnt have a net install image, and Id really rather not burn 7 CDs.

[Cobalt60]

OK so I typed set-defaults. Then I set auto-boot to false. The I set boot-device to disk1. So now, to boot into Debian normally, I just type boot.

Thats great and all, but typing boot -s does not work, it says something along the lines of the argument is not specified in Silo.conf

[Cobalt60]

I re-installed Debian without choosing to install the Desktop environment. So now I have a fully functional Linux install on a Sun Ultra5. However, I still want to get a GUI at least functional. I think I will indeed give up on trying Gnome, and so am decided that my next try will be Xfce.

So to get back on topic; Before I install xorg and Xfce, I want to make sure that my install, by default, still boots into single user mode. So that if I want to launch the GUI, it will be done manually.

Im sorry I am not a Linux expert, and am definitely a noob when it comes to Sun systems. I can navigate through the command line fine though so locating and editing config files is not a problem. BTW, I have been searching google for an answer but have had no luck.

Thanks for any help.