If you can get read access to root, john the ripper can reverse the hashes in /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow.

https://github.com/openwall/john

For 'other things', NT4 supports ultrasparc.

Nope, nevermind the confused old man. It got cancelled due to 'difficulties' between MS and SUN, or so I am reading.

A period Sparc Linux distro is significantly faster than Solaris, there is a reason people called Solaris "SLOWaris" back in the day. However, you are mostly going to want to stick to Solaris if you want to explore Sun hardware and software.

Solaris 2.6 is a good choice for an Ultra 1.
Solaris 8 is also good to go with 64Mb or more RAM.

If you are mostly interested in graphics capability, be prepared to be underwhelmed. The only thing SUN had graphically over PC at the time was CAD software at high resolution and high refresh rates.
If you have genuine interest in UNIX history and alternative CPU architectures, you will have plenty to dig into.

Networking can be a little confusing to set up compared to modern operating systems. I remember Solaris's DHCP client expects to get it's hostname from the DHCP server by default. Static configuration may be easier to get working.

If I remember correctly, the Ultra 1 140 is not capable of installing a Creator3d. You will most likely be stuck with an 8Bit (256 color) TGX or TGX+ framebuffer.

Be forewarned, Solaris through to 9 dose not include a C compiler. That needs to be installed separately, either Sun Workshop/Studio or GCC.

personally i see linux on old sun/sgi as pointless. you can run linux on raspberrypi or whatever, the fun is in running solaris or irix or hpux etc. the proper os for the proper hardware.

The biggest improvement is not to run CDE, it was always horrendously slow on all but the bigger Sparc machines, and whilst not 'slow', the UltraSPARC 1 was never a speed demon, especially with a basic framebuffer.

Zzyzx wrote on 2026-06-11, 14:37:

Good morning, all! […]
Show full quote

Good morning, all!

I recently won an auction for a Sun Ultra 1 Model 140 that included the Type 5 keyboard and mouse. It currently has 64MB of RAM installed, but I've already ordered 2 sticks of 128 MB RAM. I'm always pushing the envelope and love seeing just how far I can push retro gear. Fortunately, I already have a NEC MultiSync LCD1970NX and the seller is including a 13W3 adapter, so I think I should be set there. Currently, it has Gentoo installed. I've already ordered a ZuluSCSI Blaster.

I'm planning to see if I can recover the password for the Gentoo install in single user mode, and I definitely want to test Solaris 2.6 on the ZuluSCSI. Any other suggestions of other installs to try and general things to do on the UltraSPARC? I only really have experience with x86 as far as retro gear is concerned, so I appreciate any guidance you all can provide.

Thanks so much!

Back around 1997 we used an ultra-1 at work with
Dual graphics cards ( frame buffers ) and 256mb ram
Dual SCSI drives
Dual 20-inch Sun Monitors
Sun OS Solaris 2.6

It played Quake pretty good too.
We use to play against the Windows PC users. ( 🤣 )