A.P. Lawrence

Install SCO OpenServer under VMware Workstation

I have been a SCO reseller since 1988, and I still have several clients running SCO OpenServer. I don't have a computer dedicated to running OpenServer, but it can frequently be very convenient to have access to an OpenServer system for testing. And it is not always acceptable to remotely access a client's system, because the desired testing may require rebooting or other actions that would prove disruptive to users of the system.

I have been using VMware Workstation version 4 for running Windows 98 and various distributions of Linux, so it was natural to want to do the same with OpenServer. However, I soon realized that VMware does not support OpenServer. The reason apparently has to do with how OpenServer interfaces with the hardware.

I did manage to find a brief outline of a procedure for installing OpenServer under VMware. As I am writing this, it is still available at http://www.chinaunix.net/bbsjh/4/11249.html (if you can read Chinese).

After several failed attempts, I managed to get OpenServer installed and running quite successfully under VMware. I have been using it for some time. It is very stable, and has proven very useful to me.

I wanted to fully document the procedure for installing OpenServer under VMware, for myself and for the public at large, so I went through the entire procedure and documented every step along the way. Here is the product of that process.

• Start VMware.
• Create a new virtual machine by selecting "File / New / New Virtual Machine...".
• Skip through intro to "New Virtual Machine Wizard" by clicking "Next".
• Specify a "Virtual machine configuration" of "Custom", and click "Next".
• Specify a "Guest operation system" of "Other", and click "Next".
• Specify a "Virtual machine name" that suits your taste, accept the default "Location", and click "Next".
• Specify a "Memory: Guest size (MB)" of at least "48", and click "Next".
  (I tried 32MB and the installation failed with the error "/ramFs/extractProd/extractAll terminated by signal 8".)
• Specify a "Network connection" that suits your requirements, and click "Next".
  (I prefer "Bridged networking", which makes your virtual machine appear as if it is just another system on your existing network.)
• Specify to "Create a new virtual disk", and click "Next".
• Specify a "Disk size (GB)" of at least "1", specify "Allocate all disk space now" and "Split disk into 2 GB files" as appropriate for your requirements, and click "Next".
• Specify a unique "Disk file" name, click "Advanced >>", specify a "Virtual device node" of "SCSI 0:0", and click "Finish".
• Click "Edit virtual machine settings".
• Click the "Audio" device, and click "Remove".
• Click the "CD-ROM 1 (IDE 1:0)" device, specify a "Connection" that points to the CD-ROM drive from which you will be installing, and specify a "Virtual device node" of "IDE 0:1".
• Start adding a device by clicking "Add...".
• Skip through intro to "Add Hardware Wizard" by clicking "Next".
• Specify a "Hardware type" of "Hard Disk", and click "Next".
• Specify to "Create a new virtual disk", and click "Next".
• Specify a "Disk size (GB)" of only "0.1", leave "Allocate all disk space now" and "Split disk into 2 GB files" unchecked, and click "Next".
• Specify a unique "Disk file" name, click "Advanced >>", specify a "Virtual device node" of "IDE 0:0", and click "Finish".

• Download the BusLogic MultiMaster BT-958 BTLD diskette creator.
• Start a command-line session by clicking "Start / Run...", typing "cmd", and pressing [Enter].
• Make the drive where "mmunix.exe" resides the current drive by typing "{drive}:" (where {drive} is the drive letter for the drive where mmunix.exe resides) and pressing [Enter].
• Make the directory where "mmunix.exe" resides the current directory by typing "CD {path}" (where {path} is the path where mmunix.exe resides) and pressing [Enter].
• Extract the "BusLogic Multimaster BT-958 BTLD" diskette creator by typing mmunix and pressing [Enter].
• Create the "BusLogic Multimaster BT-958 BTLD" diskette by typing "unix a:", pressing [Enter], and confirming that you do wish to continue.
• Close the command-line session by typing "exit" and pressing [Enter].
• Insert the "SCO OpenServer CD-ROM" into the CD-ROM drive, and insert the "BusLogic Multimaster BT-958 BTLD" diskette into the diskette drive.
• Return to VMware and start the new virtual machine by selecting "Power / Power On" (or by pressing [Ctrl-B]).
• Enter the virtual machine's BIOS setup utility by quickly clicking inside the virtual machine window and pressing [F2].
• Select the "Boot" settings page by pressing [Right] three times.
• Use [Up], [Down], [+] and [-] to rearrange the boot order so that "CD-ROM Drive" is first and "Hard Drive" is second.
• Use [Up] or [Down] to select the "Hard Drive" and press [Enter] to expand the selection.
• Use [Up] or [Down] to select the "VMware Virtual IDE Hard-(PM)", then use [-] to rearrange the boot order so that it is last in the boot order.
• Save the BIOS settings and exit the BIOS setup utility by pressing [F10] and confirming that you wish to "Save configuration changes and exit now?".

• At the "Boot:" prompt, type "restart link=blc Sdsk=blc(0,0,0,0) Srom=wd(0,0,0,0)" and press [Enter].
• At the "Please insert the fd(65)blc volume and press <Return>, or 'q' to quit:" prompt, press [Enter] (and then be patient).
• At the "Please enter ..." prompt, type "a" and press [Enter].
• At the "Press <Enter> to begin installation" prompt, press [Enter].
• At the "Please insert (blc) package BTLD disk ..." prompt, press [Enter].
• At the "Installing SCO OpenServer(TM) software ..." prompt, press [Enter] to "Continue" and press [Enter] again to "Accept".
• At the "Media device to be used:" prompt, specify "IDE CD ROM".
• At the "IDE Controller:" prompt, specify "primary".
• At the "Master or Slave:" prompt, specify "slave".
• Press [Enter] until you confirm the "Accept above choices" prompt.
• At the "Insert your installation CD-ROM ..." prompt, press [Enter].
• At the "Keyboard:" prompt, specify "US English" (or whatever is appropriate for your circumstances), and press [Enter] until you confirm the "Accept above choices" prompt.
• At the "License number:" prompt, enter a valid license number and press [Enter].
• At the "License code:" prompt, enter a valid license code and press [Enter].
• Press [Enter] until you confirm the "Accept above choices" prompt.
• At the "Suitability for automatic Upgrade" prompt, choose "Fresh" and press [Enter].
• At the "Select OK to continue." prompt, choose "OK" and press [Enter].
• On the "Configuring the basic system" screen, complete the choices as appropriate and press [Enter] until you confirm the "Accept above choices" prompt.
• On the "Initial system profile" screen, complete the choices as appropriate and press [Enter] until you confirm the "Accept above choices" prompt.
• On the "Preparing your disk and choosing software" screen, specify a "Hard disk setup:" of "UNIX only : Bad Blocking OFF".
• At the "Optional software:" prompt, specify whatever optional software is appropriate for your circumstances and press [Enter] until you confirm the "Accept above choices" prompt.
• On the "Configuring optional software" screen, specify a "Network card:" of "Autodetect", which should result in "AMD PCNet- PCI" being detected.
• Still on the "Configuring optional software" screen, "Video and graphics:" should already specify "VESA SVGA".
• Still on the "Configuring optional software" screen, specify whatever remaining settings are appropriate for your circumstances and press [Enter] until you confirm the "Accept above choices" prompt.
• On the "Setting your root password" screen, specify and confirm your root password and press [Enter] until you confirm the "Accept above choices" prompt.
• At the "The installation can now proceed unattended." prompt, choose "OK" and press [Enter].
• At the "Please select the floppy device you are using:" prompt, choose "(2) /dev/fd1".
  (I know this is the wrong floppy device, but there is a method to the madness, so stick with me here. We already loaded the blc driver when we booted, so the installation can complete without reloading it. After the installation, at boot-time, we will load the driver once again, and then manually install the blc driver to the root filesystem using btldinstall.)
• At the "Please insert the floppy for BTLD package: blc and press <Return>:" prompt, press [Enter].
• At the "mount: Bad address, Could not mount the BTLD floppy ..." prompt, choose "(b) Abort BTLD load, but continue installation".
• At this point, the installation will continue unattended. (Be patient.)
• At the "Press <Enter> to continue:" prompt, press [Enter].
• At the "Press <Enter> to continue" prompt, press [Enter].
• At the "Safe to Power Off ..." prompt, press any key.
• Leave the "SCO OpenServer CD-ROM" and the "BusLogic MultiMaster BT-958 BTLD" diskette in place.
• See note above about floppy drives and VMware, and ensure that the diskette drive is connected.
• At the "Boot:" prompt, type "fd(64)unix link=blc root=hd(42) swap=hd(41)" and press [Enter].
• At the "Please insert the fd(65)blc volume and press <Return>, or 'q' to quit:" prompt, press [Enter] (and then be patient).
• At the "Please enter ..." prompt, type "a" and press [Enter].
• At the "Type CONTROL-d to proceed ..." prompt, enter your chosen root password and press [Enter].
• At the "#" prompt, type "mount /dev/fd0135ds18 /mnt" and press [Enter].
• At the "#" prompt, type "btldinstall /mnt" and press [Enter].
• At the "Please enter the names of the packages you wish to install, or q to quit" prompt, type "blc" and press [Enter].
• At the "There is already a blc installed. ..." prompt, choose "y" and press [Enter].
• At the "A previous installation of BusLogic driver, 'blc', has been detected. ..." prompt, choose "n" and press [Enter].
• At the "Are you installing on a PCI-compliant host adapter? (y/n):" prompt, choose "y" and press [Enter].
• At the "Do you want to enable Tag Queuing now? (y/n):" prompt, choose "y" and press [Enter].
• At the "Do you want to rebuild the kernel now? (y/n):" prompt, choose "y" and press [Enter].
• At the "Do you want this kernel to boot by default? (y/n):" prompt, choose "y" and press [Enter].
• At the "Do you want the kernel environment rebuilt? (y/n):" prompt, choose "y" and press [Enter].
• At the "#" prompt, type "scologin disable" and press [Enter].

Note regarding running the SCO GUI under VMware:
The SCO GUI does not appear to work well (if at all) with VMware. This is probably largely because, since VMware does not support OpenServer, (unlike Linux and Windows) there is no accelerated video driver provide for it. If you require the GUI, then consider using VNC to access the GUI remotely from your host operating system. I have complete instructions and installation scripts for use installing TightVNC onto OpenServer at http://David.ComputerLandInc.com

Comments /OSR5/smithosr5vmware.html


Tue Nov 8 10:32:39 2005: Subject: A problem installing sco 5.0.4 over vmware   anonymous
Hi.


I have a problem with the install.
I see a message about errors accessing /dev/install.
I see this message is in the chinese documentation, but, I can't read chinese.
Can any give an idea to correct this?
TIA


Tue Nov 8 11:00:21 2005: Subject:   TonyLawrence
It's seldom helpful to say "I see an error". Reproduce the exact error, and exactly WHEN it happened.



Wed Nov 9 00:14:15 2005: Subject: OSR5 on VMWare   totaleklipz
Not sure about 5.0.4, haven't tried it, but OSR5.0.6/5.0.7 install and run quite well on VMWare Workstation 5 or the 5.5 release candidates now available from VMWare. No btld's required, just put in the CD and go. In all honesty, it was more work to get VMWare Workstation running on SuSE than it was to get OSR5 running under VMWare.



Sat Nov 12 00:14:23 2005: Subject: Problems with 5.0.2   anonymous
I run vmware 5.0 with sco openserver 5.0.2...I get:



Error initializing access to device /dev/install;
There may be a BIOS setup problem or other hardware configuration error on that device.

I run my harddrive as IDE... it finds the disk...

Mon Jan 16 23:15:06 2006: Subject:   anonymous
On my workstation it searched the blc package on fd(44) instead of 65.


I managed to work around this by adding btld=fd(65) at the end of the boot string. (maybe this is because I use a floppy image instead of real floppy ?)


Wed Feb 8 12:40:49 2006: Subject: Benny (fedtegreve@hotmail.com)   anonymous
Hi.



I am trying to install SCO OpenServer 5.0.4
This release needs a boot disk, it can't boot from an image.img or from the CD.

I also get the error message:
----------------------------------------------------------
Starting Initial System Load from: Floppy Disk

Error initializing access to device /dev/install;
There may be a BIOS setup problem
or other hardware configuration error on that device.
Press <Enter>; to continue

** Safe to Power Off **
-or-
** Press Any Key to Reboot **
----------------------------------------------------------

Are there anyone that can help me with this error?

Thanks
Benny

Wed Feb 8 12:46:17 2006: Subject:   TonyLawrence
There's a fair amount of material here; type "vmware" into the search at the top of the page.

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Wed Feb 8 18:31:32 2006: Subject:   BigDumbDinosaur
Hey, Benny!

Error initializing access to device /dev/install;
There may be a BIOS setup problem
or other hardware configuration error on that device.
 

Press <Enter>; to continue
** Safe to Power Off **
    -or-
** Press Any Key to Reboot **

Carefully read the above error message until you understand what it is telling you. If you can't solve BIOS setup problems (I have a hunch why you saw that message, but I'm not going to make it unnecessarily easy for you) you should consider hiring someone who is capable of that sort of thing. I'll give you one hint: /dev/install is the device file used to talk to the floppy disk (the A: drive) during ISL.

Thu Feb 23 12:49:54 2006: Subject:   anonymous
On my install it wanted to install to the 0.1GB IDE drive.



To force the install to the SCSI drive I used:
restart hd=Sdsk link="blc" Sdsk=blc(0,0,0,0) Srom=wd(0,0,0,0)

and again at the second boot from the hard drive:
defbootstr hd=Sdsk link=blc btld=fd(64) Sdsk=blc(0,0,0,0)


Thu Mar 2 15:43:00 2006: Subject: REWIND   anonymous
Create a ide disk in VM and at the SCO CD Boot type this like:


Boot: mem=1m-16,16m-512m/n
Then Install as normal installation on ide disk.
SCO use the PAE ..... with this limit to scan memory over !!!
Tested in GSX 2.5 and above !!!


Fri Apr 21 07:27:37 2006: Subject: No Floppy available to boot "BusLogic Multimaster"   anonymous
There is no floppy drive to boot "BusLogic Multimaster BT-958 BTLD" on my hardware. What can I use instead (second CD drive ?) and how to manage it. I am a SCO newbe.



I do not have access on http://David.ComputerLandInc.com for the TightVNC onto OpenServer installing hints. Has it moved ?

Tue Oct 3 11:16:04 2006: Subject: Problem with installation   anonymous
I followed your instructions exactly, except from the creation of the ide disk (this is not possible with ESX). Everything seemed to work, part from the boot command "fd(64)unix link=blc root=hd(42)swap=hd(41)" message "unix not found".



Any idea how to solve this?

Henk

Fri Nov 3 15:26:45 2006: Subject:   JMoore
I got Openserver 5.0.4 to work under VMWare Server 1.00. I gave up on these instructions and used an IDE disk instead, this way it works without any boot loader disks and I've setup a 10GB disk. The 5.0.4 boot disk won't work, you get a /dev/install error. I got the 5.0.7 evaluation media kit off SCO and used it's boot disk with the 5.0.4 CD.


It's a very easy install this way.

Mon Nov 13 17:43:05 2006: Subject:   TonyLawrence
Jonathan also provided this article:

http://aplawrence.com/OSR5/vmware_504.html

which shows how to do it using SCSI drive emulation.

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Thu Jan 25 16:45:12 2007: Subject:   anonymous
I was using a real floppy on sco openserver 5.0.7 and I had to add btld=fd(65) to the end as well to get it to boot after the install.



Mon Jan 29 15:31:57 2007: Subject:   anonymous
Extremely detailed instructions!


A problem though with mkdev hd when running fdisk that cannot open device for reading.
I should say that I have 1 non-scsi disk and I'm trying to connect a scsi one.
Regards,
Filippos

Wed May 23 09:38:51 2007: Subject:   Vincer
Thanks for the install listings


Found a few minor mods needed to install sco 5.0.6 on vmware 6.0.0
first boot line
• At the "Boot:" prompt, type "defbootstr hd=Sdsk link=blc Sdsk=blc(0,0,0,0) Srom=wd(0,0,0,0)" and press [Enter].
install blc reboot line
• At the "Boot:" prompt, type "defboostr hd=Sdsk link=blc btld(64) Sdsk=blc(0,0,0,0)" and press [Enter].


Mon Jun 11 12:07:25 2007: Subject: koen.beuselinck@gmail.com   anonymous
Did anyone managed to install a full duplex 100Mbit guest network card ? My AMD PCNet PCI compatible card only support 10Mbit. check it with # ndstat -l |grep Mbit Thanks for your help , Koen



Tue Jun 26 18:55:42 2007: Subject: pesantos@oi.com.br   pesantos
Finally I have my Openserver 5.0.5 in a VMware Server 1.0.1 virtual box. But not working so fine. Networks connections are extremally unstable and slow. FTP transfers are ridiculous (15 - 20 - 40Kbps). Its inacceptable.


Im trying everything a can; change kernel parameters, buffers size, etc. With no success.
Does anyone can help me?

Tue Jul 17 20:02:24 2007: Subject: network issues?   pjvanellayahoocom
Not sure if you all know, SCO has issues with many network boards, this usually effects boards that are set automatically detect speeds10/100. Use scoadmin network, and set the speed to 10 or 100,(do not accept the default of autodetect). I have ran into this with many clients real hardware. Hope this helps



Fri Feb 15 01:31:32 2008: Subject: Works on VMware Workstaiton 6 as IDE install   NicoKadelGarcia


I just did an SCO OpenServer 5.0.6 installation using VMWare Workstation 6 with the RHEL 5 compatible RPM's, and it worked just fine by using IDE drive configuraitons. Is there any compelling reason to use SCSI and the Buslogic painful installations?

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Fri Feb 15 03:09:26 2008: Subject:   TonyLawrence


No compelling reason..

Wed Mar 19 19:10:56 2008: Subject:   pesantos


No if you are using 5.0.5 version or later. 5.0.4 have a 8GB size limit to IDE disks.

Wed Mar 19 23:18:52 2008: Subject: Ahh, the old 1024 cylinder limit   NicoKadelGarcia


Ohhh, yes, he old 1024 cylinder limit? If it's what I think it is, it has to do with boot loaders and BIOS's and all sorts of fun games finding the boot loader anywhere past the 1023rd cylinder. From my Linux experience, this was actually affected by disk geometries, as well!

Fri Mar 28 15:27:25 2008: Subject: No Bootable Device Was Detected   Lee


Hi

I was following the guide word for word and all was going well. Up until i get to the point where you start the VMWARE session up after making the bios changes regarding Boot sequence etc.
For some reason i keep getting the error/alert saying -

No Bootable Device was detected

Now i have the floppy disk in which i created as per the guide (using the mmunix.exe file) all of which i believe went well. I also have the Sco Disk in the cd-rom. Now i think i have the right disk.....

We have three Sco Open Server disks. The one i have been using is labelled as having the following on -

SCO Open Server Enterprise System
SCO Open Server Network System
SCOUNIX Operating System

Among with numourous other things.

I have ensured that the correct devices are connected within VMWARE (floppy and cd-rom) and i am certain i have the boot priority correct.

I know the guide tells you that VMWARE can be troublesome regarding botting from a floppy and that you should just keep trying but i have many many times now without success.

Does anyone have any ideas? Obviously, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance

Fri Mar 28 18:20:02 2008: Subject:   TonyLawrence


I dunno - I recently installed 5.0.7 under Fusion without any difficulty (though networking did not work - I didn't spend any time investigating as this install doesn't need it).

Thu Apr 24 10:27:48 2008: Subject:   NicoKadelGarcia


I've just gone through this. OSR 5.0.6 also installs on VMWare ESX 3.5, reasonably gracefully, with the instructtions published here for OSR 5.0.4. Those instructions are simpler, and leave out all the 'create a tiny IDE partition" steps, which can't be done on ESX anyway due to its lack of IDE hard drive. Instead, simply install to the SCSI drive and install the drivers as described at http://aplawrence.com/OSR5/vmware_504.html

Also, unless you're running on an OS that has a 2 Gig filesize limit, or need to be able to easily transfer disk images over FTP or HTTP, simply use a full-sized disk image as one file. This makes transferring them to LUN's or physical devices noticeably easier.

VMWare Workstation 6 can just use IDE emulated disks, but VMWare ESX requires these SCSI driver installations. If you're going to pass disk images among Workstation and ESX, handle them accordingly and be ready to install these drivers.

Can we get these drivers hosted somewhere, say here, in a direct floppy image format in order to avoid needing a pre-Windows-XP machine to unbundle the drivers?

Thu Apr 24 10:41:04 2008: Subject:   TonyLawrence


If you send me the image ( http://aplawrence.com/info.html), I'll host it.

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Tue Jun 17 12:33:20 2008: Subject: Bloody /dev/install error!   Graham


I'm trying to create a vmx for SCO OpenServer 5.0.2 on VMware Player. I'm getting the same "error initializing /dev/install" message several other people report. I'm using a image of the boot disk, which appears to work up until this point.

(I have no floppy drive... I've considered adding a USB floppy (I'm using a laptop), but I'm guessing that if it wants a *real* drive for some hardware perculiarity, a drive on the other end of a USB controller isn't going to do the trick either.)

VMware's BIOS is reporting a 3 1/2" HD drive, which matches the image.

Does this definitely mean the floppy device? I've tried a physical CD, and an ISO image, makes no difference. SCSI or IDE vmdk makes no difference either, though I don't think it's getting that far.

Does anyone know what causes this? Can VMware install SOS 5.0.2 from a floppy? Is there another way to install it? (CD does not appear to be bootable.)

Cheers,
Graham.

Tue Jun 17 16:37:55 2008: Subject: ...continued   Graham


I am coming to believe that the problem is a bug in the SCO floppy driver (certainly present in 5.0.5, and fixed in 5.0.7). I am unable to use the fixed driver from SLS OSS622a ( http://sco.com/support/ftplists/osr5list.html) for 5.0.5... it seems incompatible with the stuff on the 5.0.2 boot disk.

If I use the 5.0.7 boot disk ( http://sco.com/support/update/download/release.php?rid=68), I get a lot further (into the install process), but it fails with "error 17" (unable to create symlink /bin/sh) (17 = file already exists, I believe). This technique, I'm told, *does* work for installing 5.0.4, but is obviously not compatible with the 5.0.2 install CD. This error appears to occur for other people who try mixing boot diskette and CD versions.

None of which helps me, but perhaps someone else...

Cheers,
Graham.

Thu Oct 9 10:16:32 2008: Subject: SCO 5.0.5 on ESX 3.5   juku


Thank you!!

With modifing this guide I managed to install SCO 5.0.5 to VMWare ESX 3.5

I thought it was impossible according to all manuals in the Internet, but after couple of days of trying it worked out for me.

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