Firmware Issues

This section describes firmware issues in the Oracle Solaris 11.1 release.

x86: Some Systems With BIOS Firmware Do Not Boot If the `EFI_PMBR` Entry in the Master Boot Record Is Not Active (7174841)

Some systems with BIOS firmware will not boot if the EFI_PMBR entry in the master boot record, which is the only partition, is not active. After installing Oracle Solaris 11.1, the system does not boot. The following message is displayed:

No Active Partition Found

Possible Cause 1: The system firmware incorrectly handles the boot disk, because the boot disk is partitioned with the GUID Partition Table (GPT) partitioning scheme.

Workaround 1: Invoke the fdisk program and then activate the Protective Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) partition on the boot disk.

Possible Cause 2: The system was originally installed in UEFI mode but rebooted in legacy (BIOS) mode.

Workaround 2: Install the system in legacy mode by changing the firmware setup option, for example, by selecting “Boot Mode” or a similar option.

SPARC: GPT Labeled Disk Support

GPT labeled disk support is available on SPARC based systems. The following table describes the supported firmware for SPARC platforms.

SPARC Platform	Firmware
T5	At least version 9.1
M5	At least version 9.1
T4	At least version 8.4

If your SPARC T4, T5, or M5 system has older firmware, perform the following steps to download the updated firmware from My Oracle Support:

Sign in to My Oracle Support.
Click the Patches & Updates tab.
In the Patch Search box, select the Product or Family (Advanced) search option.
In the Product is field, enter a partial product name to display a list of possible matches, and then select the product name.
Select one or more releases from the Release is drop-down menu.
Click the Search button to display a list of available downloads that are listed as patches.
Select the patch name that you want to download.

The download page is displayed.
Click Download.

Note - If you do not have permissions to download the patch, see the How Patches and Updates Entitlement Works knowledge article that is available on MOS.

For more information, see Boot Support for EFI (GPT) Labeled Disks in Oracle Solaris 11.1 Administration: ZFS File Systems.

x86: Booting in UEFI Mode From the ISO Image Is Very Slow

Booting in UEFI mode from the ISO image is very slow, which is a known Oracle VM VirtualBox firmware issue.

Workaround: None.

x86: Oracle Solaris Does Not Boot on Disks With More Than Two-Terabyte LUN/Disk With 4 GB Emulex and Qlogic FC HBA Cards (7187083, 7188696)

On x86 systems, Oracle Solaris does not boot on disks with more than 2 TB LUN/Disk with 4 GB Emulex and Qlogic FC HBA cards.

The following error message is displayed for Emulex FC HBA cards:

error: no such device: 07528c2afbec7b00.
Entering rescue mode...
grub rescue>  ls
(hd0) (hd0,gpt9) (hd0,gpt2) (hd0,gpt1) (hd1)
grub rescue>

No error message is displayed during the OS boot with Qlogic FC HBA cards. The boot fails silently because disks with more than 2 TB LUNs are invisible to the boot loader.

Workaround: Ensure that the system boot volume is less than 2 TB.

Skip Navigation Links
Exit Print View
	Oracle Solaris 11.1 Release Notes Oracle Solaris 11.1 Information Library

Firmware Issues

x86: Some Systems With BIOS Firmware Do Not Boot If the EFI_PMBR Entry in the Master Boot Record Is Not Active (7174841)

SPARC: GPT Labeled Disk Support

x86: Booting in UEFI Mode From the ISO Image Is Very Slow

x86: Oracle Solaris Does Not Boot on Disks With More Than Two-Terabyte LUN/Disk With 4 GB Emulex and Qlogic FC HBA Cards (7187083, 7188696)

x86: Some Systems With BIOS Firmware Do Not Boot If the `EFI_PMBR` Entry in the Master Boot Record Is Not Active (7174841)