Installing applications not designed for UnixWare

The applications tested on the UnixWare system include applications originally targeted for other operating systems, such as SCO UnixWare 1 and 2^® and OpenServer^®.

Applications designed for other UNIX systems might not be installable using the Application Installer or pkgadd, but might require you to use tools such as cpio(1), custom(1M), and tar(1). If the installation instructions which came with the product instruct you to use one of these tools, do so.

In addition to using a different installation tool, you might need to perform minor modifications to the installation or the software package to install and run it correctly. The following list contains many of the common problems and solutions encountered when installing such software:

• The custom(1M) command, which is used to install many applications, checks for the operating system release number to know how to install the application. If your custom installation fails, before attempting to install again, delete the file with the name of the application in /etc/perms.
  

• Many applications copy the installation files to hard disk using the tar(1) command, then run an application-supplied install script to complete the installation. Because UnixWare system device names are different than those in UNIX systems, you must to use tar as shown in the following examples:
  
  tar -xvf /dev/rdsk/fn
  tar -xvf /dev/rdsk/fnt
  tar -xvfi /dev/rdsk/fnt

  n is replaced by 0 or 1, depending on which disk drive you are using.

• Cartridge tapes vary in storage capacity. For example, if the tape cannot be read on a 150MB tape drive, it might have been written on a higher capacity tape drive. Try the tape on a machine with a higher capacity tape drive. Use the pkgtrans(1) command to read the tape onto the machine. The data can then be transferred to the target machine using a network or other media. Then, use pkgadd(1M) to install the application from a directory.

• The displaypkg(1M), pkginfo(1), and custom(1M) commands do not always display information about packages installed in formats with which they are not familiar. Try each of the package display commands if the application you are looking for does not appear with the first command you try.

• Check that you have enough available disk space to install the software. Many applications tell you how much disk space you need to install the application (either in the documentation or when you start installation). Enter /etc/dfspace at the command line to see if you have enough space.

• Verify the device names. Different versions of UNIX have different device names associated with disks, CD-ROM, and tape devices.

• Some applications check that your operating system is running System V Release 3.2, and fail if it is not. You can fool the application into thinking the UnixWare system is a 3.2 system by typing SCOMPAT=3.2;export SCOMPAT in an xterm window just before you install the product.

• If the application installs by copying an archive file containing all the application's files and executables to disk, you might exceed your ulimit. The ulimit(2) function sets the maximum file size that can be created on the system. It prevents users or runaway processes from creating files that will consume an entire hard disk. To increase your ulimit, enter ulimit 40000 at the command line while logged in as root. After making this change, users can create files up to 40,000 blocks in size.

• If the application recommends the product be installed by a particular login ID (such as root), be sure to log in as that user. If you do not, the installation might fail or cause permissions problems later on.
  

• Some applications are designed to be installable on multiple operating systems and provide installation options that let you select the operating system you are using. If SVR4.2 MP is not a choice, select the most recent operating system, for example SVR4.2 or SVR4.0. If UNIX System V is not a choice, try choosing the native operating system for the application.

• In general, applications can be installed on any filesystem that provides sufficient hard disk space. Occasionally, an application will check for sufficient space on the root (/) filesystem, regardless of the filesystem on which you are installing the application. If space in the root partition is insufficient, your installation will fail. The workaround is to edit the installation script so that it checks the filesystem on which the application is actually being installed.

• An application might fail to install or run because of incorrect permission settings on a file or directory. Such a failure will usually be reported by the installation script or program executable. Check permissions on files indicated by application error messages and change them appropriately using the chmod(1) command. In particular, file and directory permissions must be set appropriately to enable non-root users to install or run an application.