Where to get EOL parts / systems ?

Most parts for EOL systems can still be purchased through SUN. Internet vendors can also be found and are for the most part reputable. I would just make sure that they have a good return policy.

I tend to stay away from direct person to person sales like EBay, but that is just my choice.

Lee_McCreerya at 2007-7-12 17:29:54 >

I purchased a Sun Ultra 40, which arrived with no keyboard.

I rang Sun Australia on Mon May 28th to try to purchase the keyboard,

however Sun said I would have to go to a Sun reseller since I am not

a big business, they advised a few resellers. The first just routed me

to voice mail, and did not return my call. So I tried one of the few

internet stores here that sell Sun gear. They seemed very helpful,

however Sun Australia have not yet fulfilled the order. I was given

an ETA of today, Thur 7th Jun, it did not arrive.

The hard lesson I am learning is that even simple parts have very

long delivery times in Australia. My software development project is

in very serious trouble, totally stuck without the keyboard.

markw22a at 2007-7-12 17:29:54 >

I guess the risk is less with small purchases on eBay. I purchased

some old Sun cards on eBay, they worked fine.

For purchasing a system, of course if an eBay item happens to be

located close where you can pick up an pay for the item, then at

least you get to check the system works before paying for it.

If the item needs to be shipped, then it would be best to ask if the

system works and if there is any dead on arrival warranty. If

there is no warranty at all, then it seems risky.

One would think that it would be less risky for a large reseller

business on eBay. However there is a large reseller of

Sun and other computer equipment on eBay here that have

a policy which you can see after reading pages of fine print

that say that if the item description says the item is not tested,

then there is no warranty. And they will not allow anyone to pickup

items. There are negative feedbacks noting that when they

say "untested", they mean tested and found faulty. What can

you expect from a large investment bank (this reseller is a

divison of a bank), there is no end to the greed, ripping off the

poor.

Years ago I purchased a Sun Ultra 60 from a small reseller.

It arrived in a non functioning state. Opening the case I found

why, it had not been fully assembled, there were various cables

that were not plugged in. Plugging these cables in fixed the

machine.

The Solaris x86 hardware compatibility section on keyboards is

short, and there is another post on this forum noting how

picky the Ultra 20 M2 is with keyboards.I may have to buy

a plain PC USB keyboard to try on the Ultra 40.

markw22a at 2007-7-12 17:29:54 >