Ensuring You Have the Proper Device Drivers

Before installing the OpenSolaris software, determine whether your system's devices are supported. The Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) for OpenSolaris, at http://www.sun.com/bigadmin/hcl/data/os/ provides information about hardware that is certified or reported to work with the OpenSolaris software on the x86 platform.

The following utilities can also be used to determine whether a device driver is available:

Sun Device Detection Tool
The Sun^TM Device Detection Tool reports whether the current OpenSolaris release supports the devices that have been detected on your x86 based system. This tool runs on many different systems, including several different Solaris 10 releases, Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, and FreeBSD.
Device Driver Utility
The Device Driver Utility provides the same information as the Sun Device Detection Tool. This tool is available on the OpenSolaris Live CD and on an installed OpenSolaris system. The utility reports about only those devices that are supported in the specific OpenSolaris release.

How to Use the Sun Device Detection Tool

If you do not have an OpenSolaris Live CD for use on your x86 based system, you can use the Sun Device Detection Tool to determine whether the current OpenSolaris release includes drivers for all of the devices on your system.

Open a web browser and go to the Sun Device Detection Tool 2.2 web page.
Locate the section Using Sun Device Detection Tool.
Click the Start Sun Device Detection Tool option.
Select the Platform and Language and accept the software license agreement. Click Continue.
Note - You do not need to install the tool on your system to run it.
Select OpenSolaris as the Target Operating System. Click Start.
The Sun Device Detection Tool examines the devices on your system and produces a report that provides information about the following:
- Devices with drivers that are included in the OpenSolaris software
- Drivers that are available for installation from an OpenSolaris package repository
- Drivers that are available from third-party web sites
This report is similar to the report that is produced by the Device Driver Utility, which is described in the following section.

How to Use the Device Driver Utility

The Device Driver Utility provides information about your system and add-on devices. The utility reports whether the OpenSolaris operating system supports the devices that are detected in your system. If device driver support is not available in the installed system, the Device Driver Utility recommends a driver package from the IPS repositories or from a third-party driver.

You can also submit your system information to HCL for OpenSolaris by using the Device Driver Utility.

Start the Device Driver Utility. Choose Applications > System Tools > Device Driver Utility.
The utility scans your system and displays a table that provides more information about devices, including the manufacturer, model and device name for each detected device, and the name of the driver that manages the device.
To display more details about a particular device, right-click a device entry, then select Show Details from the popup menu that is displayed.
Note - If the current system does not include support for a particular device, that device is highlighted in the output.
- If the highlighted entry shows the status, “Driver Available”, a driver is available in the IPS repository. The tool can download and install the driver package for you.
  To install a device driver, your system must have Internet access, you must be running the Device Driver Utility on a system that has the OpenSolaris operating system already installed. Also, you cannot install device drivers by using the tool directly from the Live CD.
- If the highlighted entry shows the status, “Third-party Driver,” that means a third-party driver is available for the device. A URL to the recommended driver is displayed in the Details window. You can manually download and install the driver by going to that location.
  For detailed instructions, see Locating Device Drivers.

How to Share Information About Device Drivers With Other Users

If you install a third-party or an early access driver, or any driver that is not known to the Device Driver Utility, you can use the utility to share information about the driver with other users.

To share information about the driver, click the Submit button.
The Submit Information To Hardware Compatibility List window opens, displaying all of the information that was collected about your system.
(Optional) Provide any additional comments about the driver in the Hardware Compatibility List window.
To submit the report to the HCL for OpenSolaris, click the Submit button.
- If you currently do not have Internet access, you can click the Save button and submit the report later.
  The report is saved to your system.
To find out more about using the Device Driver Utility, click the Help button.
For other questions, send email to driver-utility-feedback@sun.com.