Problem Description:

During a SuSE 9 SP3 X64 installation on a Sun Fire x6250 using ILOM kvm redirection and both CD and ISO based installation media images, the graphical installer does not start with an error stating that either there is less than 96 MB of video memory (RAM) or the X Server could not start. According to Sun’s datasheet, the X6250 has an embedded AST2000 video controller with 128 MB of shared SDRAM.

Upon completing the text-based failback installation, the main OS GUI is not available.

Operating System:
SuSE Linux
Error Messages:
there is less than 96 MB memory or the X server could not be started
Troubleshooting Steps:
Using ALT+F4 to obtain a root (#) terminal, look at the X Server log by running the command:
# less /var/log/XFree86.log
Root Cause:

The XFree86.log showed X Server failed to start due to no screens found. A few lines higher showed this was because the config file had failed to parse. A few lines above that mentioned an invalid configuration parameter related to Mouse[1] and the server layout.

This problem is caused by the ILOM remote mouse mode settings. A setting of “absolute,” normally used for Windows and Solaris, will cause this problem with XFree86.

Solution:

Access the X6250 ILOM and navigate to the Redirection -> Mouse Mode settings tab. Change the mouse mode from ‘Absolute’ to ‘Relative’ and apply.

NOTE: This will reset the service processor, which will take a few moments to come back up but it should not affect the running system.