I am have this same problem since we moved two e450's to a rack with a dell flat screen, new PGX32 monitor boards, and a KVM switch box. I didn't see the solution to the below email chain from along time ago

Subject: Enabling CDE on Solaris 9?

Original Message
Name: PKSII
Date: December 17, 2002 at 14:19:40 Pacific
Subject: Enabling CDE on Solaris 9?
OS: Solaris 9
CPU/Ram: (2)900Mhz UltraSPARC III / 4096Mb

Comment:
After 4 hours of constant searching and trying different things out, I've convinced myself to just ask here...
We just set up Solaris 9 on our new server (SunFire V480) in the lab, and everything went as smoothe as could be. The graphics card (PGX64) went in without a hitch and is working nicely so far.

The problem is that we can't get the CDE login to come up, but we can login from the command line.

We've tried "/usr/dt/bin/dtconfig -e" and it will echo "desktop auto-start enabled" to the screen, which seems correct, but when we boot (or exit) after that it just goes to the command line login again.

From what I've picked up on, "/usr/dt/bin/dtconfig -e" edits the file:
/etc/rc.config.d/desktop
so it has a line that reads :DESKTOP=CDE
,which is read by the file:
/sbin/init.d/dtlogin.rc

Two 'problems' arise with this:
1. There is no "/etc/rc.config.d/" directory;
2. There is no "/sbin/init.d/" directory...

On our existing server (Solaris 8 on a modified workstation), I found the file:
dtlogin.rc
here: "/usr/dt/config/dtlogin.rc"

Still haven't found an equivilent file to "/etc/rc.config.d/desktop" though...

A bad install maybe? Start from scratch with a 'sys-unconfig'? Something I'm missing? A patch for the video card for Solaris 9? (the disk we got with the card only had patches for Solaris 8 and previous)...

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Response Number 1
Name: joe
Date: December 18, 2002 at 05:30:51 Pacific
Subject: Enabling CDE on Solaris 9?

Reply:
before reloading.. I would try this patch:
Patch-ID# 112622-06
Keywords: PGX m64 driver window config
Synopsis: SunOS 5.9: M64 Graphics Patch

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Response Number 2
Name: PKSII
Date: December 18, 2002 at 11:13:07 Pacific
Subject: Enabling CDE on Solaris 9?

Reply:
Tried the patch, didn't fix it. Any other ideas?
Going to add that a second or two after it gives the console login, it echo this line to the screen:
syslogd: going down on signal 15

Which coincedentally is the same thing it says when going to the ok prompt... That makes me want to think something didn't go so smoothly during the initial installation.
Of course, I've been wrong before, so I'm open to any other suggestions...

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Response Number 3
Name: PKSII
Date: December 18, 2002 at 11:15:05 Pacific
Subject: Enabling CDE on Solaris 9?

Reply:
Sorry, the line actually reads:
[date] [hostname] syslogd: going down on signal 15

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Response Number 4
Name: unixadm2000
Date: December 18, 2002 at 17:00:05 Pacific
Subject: Enabling CDE on Solaris 9?

Reply:
From command line, type:
kdmconfig
This will allow you to specify monitor/graphics card... and will test the X server. If your system passes this test, then again at the command line type:
/etc/rc2.d/S99dtlogin reset

Log out of command line and wait 30-60 seconds while your console's X server does it's thing.

(logging out is crucial, since the X server won't start up again until the console is free -- I'm speaking of course about the X server session that controls the console. Remote X sessions will work regardless of console state)

I had the same problem on an ES450. Unfortunately, I had to reboot. The reset worked once .. and then didn't work in another instance.

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Response Number 5
Name: PKSII
Date: December 19, 2002 at 09:49:30 Pacific
Subject: Enabling CDE on Solaris 9?

Reply:
just returns
kdmconfig: not found

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Response Number 6
Name: PKSII
Date: December 19, 2002 at 15:11:52 Pacific
Subject: Enabling CDE on Solaris 9?

Reply:
We were able to edit the login file to allow the superuser to login in remotely (temporarly), and sure enough, everything came up fine, CDE 1.5 and all... It just won't offer the CDE login from the system console...
At least that's a step in the right direction...

oh my friend , i think you are in real trouble
try to reset your graphics card and monitor type
use "kdmconfig" from CLI.
if it dosn;t work.
anyway, y don;t u try
"/etc/init.d/dtlogin" and make it start from CLI. if it shows your desktop login, usr a script in /etc/rc3.d , etc..
*CLI is command line interface.
good luck

admin@paklight.net

Could be a couple things, depends on if you have a complete install of solaris or not. If you only have a end user install and not complete installation with OEM support you will not have the correct frame buffer for this. You would actually see the error on boot-up. You can cd to /var/sadm/install_data do a more on install_log and this will tell you what kind of install you did.

Also sometimes installing a new card will cause cde not to start up. easy solution and if this does not work you have a problem beyond the norm.
do the following below, I work in a reman facility and run it all the time so it will not hurt you.

login command line

# rm -r .dt
#reboot -- -r

System should reboot to CDE.

Let me know if further help is needed.

P.S. Any relation to companies in Tampa Florida area with open solaris positions would be of interest to me.

thanks

Chris Adams