Graphical Display Failure on Certain x86 Systems Using ATI Graphics Driver

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A regression introduced in the x86 ATI graphics driver:

1. Impact

A regression introduced in the x86 ATI graphics driver with Solaris 10 patch 125720-33 and OpenSolaris may cause systems to fail after installation of an affected image, or cause complete graphics failure when the Solaris 10 patch is installed on systems which use this graphics driver.

2. Contributing Factors

This issue can occur in the following releases:

x86 Platform

• Solaris 10 with patch 125720-33
• OpenSolaris based upon builds snv_87 through snv_106
  

Note 1: Solaris 8 and 9 and Solaris on the SPARC platform are not impacted by this issue.

Note 2: OpenSolaris distributions may include additional bug fixes above and beyond the build from which it was derived.  To determine the base build of OpenSolaris, the following command can be used:

    $ uname -v
    snv_86

Note 3: Only selected systems using the affected ATI graphics driver are impacted by this issue. At this time it is not clear why some systems are not experiencing this issue.

To determine if there are ATI components on the system, execute the following command:

    # /usr/X11/bin/scanpci | grep ATI
    ATI Technologies Inc ...

To determine if the system has attempted to run using the ATI graphics driver, execute the following command:

    $ grep modules/drivers /var/log/Xorg.0.log
    (II) Loading /usr/X11/lib/modules/drivers//ati_drv.so

3. Symptoms

If the described issue occurs when installing OpenSolaris or Solaris 10 from a net install image that includes patch 125720-33, during installation, when the graphics screen is displayed, the screen will be blank. If installed in text mode, after installing, and upon reboot, the screen will be blank.

If this issue occurs when adding patch 125720-33 to a Solaris 10 system, the next time the X server is run, (after logging out, or after a reboot) the screen will be blank.

4. Workaround

To avoid the described issue, do not install patch 125720-33 to a net install image, or directly to a system. If patch 125720-33 has been installed directly, boot from DVD or an alternative location, or log in remotely, and remove the patch using patchrm(1M).

5. Resolution

This issue is addressed in the following releases:

x86 Platform

• OpenSolaris based upon builds snv_107 or later

A final resolution is pending completion for Solaris 10.

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