[plug] Trying to install Red hat 6.2 on a new box

[Alan Graham]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys.  It eventually turned out to be an
incompatibility between the mobo and the 36x cd-rom drive (and the 32x
cd-rom that I also tried).  A new 52x cd-rom (same make, diamond data)
sorted it.  Which makes me think that the PIO and DMA settings should have
helped...  but they didn't


Ah well, a new cd-rom was only $55.  Wished I'd shelled out at the
beginning, instead of wasting a week.

Alan (a happy chappy)

----- Original Message -----
From: Craig Ringer <craig at postnewspapers.com.au>
To: <plug at plug.linux.org.au>
Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2001 3:36 PM
Subject: Re: [plug] Trying to install Red hat 6.2 on a new box


> The machine has a 40gb HDD as primary IDE master (ATA-100) and the cdrom
as
> secondary master (ATA-33).  I've tried a different cd drive, same results.
> I've tried a cd rom as primary slave, same result, but then on a warm boot
> it actually booted from the cd.  The boot failed while loading vmlinuz
tho'
If I understand you correctly, you've got 3 (4?) ATA ports, supporting 6/8
drives. Drives are arranged accordingly:
ATA33 (ide0) MASTER: none SLAVE: none
ATA33 (ide1) MASTER: cdrom? SLAVE: none
ATA100 (ide2) MASTER: hdd SLAVE: none
ATA100 (ide3) MASTER: cdrom? SLAVE: none

If the cdrom is on ATA33/1, move it to ATA33/0 (I've seen one bios that
refuses to read the rest of the ATA bus if the primary master is empty).

If its on ATA100/1 move it to ATA33/0 (many biosen won't boot off the
tertiarty ata100 controllers and have fits trying to access non-hdd devices
off them if they're really crap).

> I'm thinking that there's either something in the bios, maybe a delay,
'cos
> it almost worked an a warm boot over the ATA-100 channel, or maybe a cable
> problem in the second IDE cable that I'm using to the cd-rom.  I don't
have
> a spare to hand, so I can't check that at the mo'.
BUY A PAIR OF NEW ATA/100 RATED CABLES SUPPORTING CABLE SELECT. Or if you
can
come around to the Subiaco POST Newspapers, 2 Kiehtley Rd Shenton Park, I'll
give you a couple.


Alternately, make sure your cd is squeaky clean. If you can do so on another
machine, duplicate it and use the new copy. Its possible your is damaged in
the early sectors, confusing the cd-rom or linux kernel.


That said, your problems are downright strange given that windows installs
and runs OK. Try booting into windows and checking if you can read the red
hat cd. Yick, I know, but it can't hurt read-only-media *grin*.

Good luck