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PostPosted: Sun Oct 09, 2005 3:12 pm 
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Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2005 3:50 pm
Posts: 1013
Location: Los Angeles
Hi everyone,
I'm pretty much a noob so be gentle. I've been surfing these fourms, seaching and search for an answer to my problem for a couple days, but I can't find the right answer... Here goes...

When I boot my Knoppmyth 5A16 CD-R I can only install if I choose "failsafe" option. Any other option (ie [blank], "tv") just yields me a blank screen. I can get through an installation using "failsafe." I issue the command: cd /mnt/hdinstall and I can see the installation on my HDD. I can find lilo.conf on my HDD as well. When I reboot the system, remove the CD-R, and try to boot from the fresh install I can see LILO load up and the magic begin to happen. It then hangs on this line:
Image
I noticed that the last bit of info on the bottom line is "lba48." In lilo.conf I saw a similar paramater, "lba32"
Image
Could these be related? I tried to change the "lba32" in lilo.conf to "lba48" but when I issued the lilo -v command I got an error referring to that change.

Here's a little more info on my hardware:
Asus P5S800-VM (w/SiS 964 chipset)
Celeron D 2.8 GHz LGA775
Seagate 300 GB SATA HDD (SATA 1)
Asus V9520-X 128 MB AGP card (GeForce 5200 FX)
Trendnet TEW-423PI WLAN PCI card
Win-PVR-150
FDD
52X CD-ROM
Plextor PX-712SA DVD-RW (SATA 2)
512MB DDR400 RAM

I tried ripping everything out and using the bare essentials (Mobo, HDD, processor, RAM, CD-ROM and onboard graphics to no avail). In the BIOS of the mobo, I have the onBoard SATA setting to "native" mode. This allows the SATA HDD to show up as the Third Master. The Plextor DVD-RW drive is the Fourth master. The other options are "RAID" or "Disabled." I tried setting this to "RAID" but had the same problem. PCIPnP mode is set to "off" or "disabled" as is ACPI. The mobo BIOS is the most recent available (v. 1012)

Does anyone have any ideas on how I can get this thing to boot? Do I need to recompile the kernel with the proper driver for my SiS964 chip? If so, how do I do that? I'm struggling. Any help is apprecitaed. Thank you!

Mike


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PostPosted: Sun Oct 09, 2005 3:17 pm 
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Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2005 9:18 pm
Posts: 1422
Location: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
At a guess the SIS chipset may be an issue.

Also you could try and set you SATA mode to "Compatiblity" if this mode is available. this should then turn your SATA drive into a theoretical PATA drive.

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Girkers


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PostPosted: Sun Oct 09, 2005 6:01 pm 
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Location: Los Angeles
Unfortunately there is no "compatability" mode in the BIOS. I believe (but could be way off) that the "native" mode I have it set to is similar to "compatability" mode. Possibly synonyms for one another.

Any other ideas? Thanks for replying.

Mike


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PostPosted: Sun Oct 09, 2005 6:24 pm 
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Location: Fontana, Ca
Define blank screen. You type 'tv', press <enter> then the screen just goes blank. Or you complete and install and the screen is blank afterward? or what?

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cesman

When the source is open, the possibilities are endless!


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PostPosted: Sun Oct 09, 2005 7:07 pm 
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Location: Los Angeles
blank screen defined as, I enter "tv," the vmlinuz...... comes up (I think init as well) and then the screen goes black and does not recover.

Thanks for any help.

Mike


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PostPosted: Sun Oct 09, 2005 10:51 pm 
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Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2005 3:50 pm
Posts: 1013
Location: Los Angeles
I've been messing around with the system most of the night and I was able to install by entering at the boot prompt: knoppmyth screen=800x600 depth=24. That took care of the screen going blank, but still did not solve my system hang on the initial reboot issue. After installing, I manually installed the SiS SATA driver that I downloaded from the SiS website (file is sis18x_2.6.10_1.00.00.tgz) and compiled it into a custom kernel 2.6.11.9-chw-2 (not as a module). Updated lilo.conf and rebooted, but I'm still hanging in the same place. :(

I just found a libata patch here at kernel.org, but I have yet to try it out. Can I use 2.6.11-rc5-bk4-libata-dev1.patch.gz on kernel 2.6.11.9-chw-2? I guess I'll find out tomorrow when I try.

If anyone has any words of wizdom, feel free to post them. Thanks!

Mike


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Oct 09, 2005 10:57 pm 
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Joined: Fri Sep 19, 2003 7:05 pm
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Location: Fontana, Ca
Try
Quote:
knoppmyth noacpi

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cesman

When the source is open, the possibilities are endless!


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 Post subject: Install success!
PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 11:27 am 
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Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2005 3:50 pm
Posts: 1013
Location: Los Angeles
I'm pleased to report a sucessful SATA install! Here's how I did it...

Dropped the Knoppmyth 5A16 CD-R into my drive. I selected a "failsafe" install (boot: knoppmyth failsafe). After it loaded and I got to the first menu, I hit CTL-ATL-F2. I entered "dmesg | less" (no quotes) an looked thru my boot up sequence for any errors or anything that looked suspicious in general. I found a 7-10 line section about my system BIOS which included an error (I don't recall the exact message text, but from what I remember it had something to do with the kernel was not able to get info from the system BIOS). The error message suggested either get a new updated BIOS (not possible because I have the most recent version) or to pass the option "pnpbios=off" at boot time. That seemed to be the magic option... I rebooted, and at the initial Knoppmyth slash screen I entered at the boot: "knoppmyth noapic noacpi acpi=off nopcmcia pnpbios=off vga=1280" (again, without quotes). The vga option may be optional, but it worked for me. YMMV. After that, I installed following the "manual install" instructions on mysettopbox.tv. When installation was finished and BEFORE reboot, I edited my lilo.conf and added the above mentioned options to the "append" section.

cd /mnt/hdinstall
chroot /mnt/hdinstall (this put me into a shell and sets the mount point as the root directory)
pico /etc/lilo.conf
[find the append section and add your options]
CTL-O to save
CTL-X to exit pico
lilo -v
exit
shutdown -r now
remove the CD-R
and the system booted into Myth.

Yea! Thanks to everyone for their suggestions and tips. Now for the configuration....

Mike


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PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 7:51 pm 
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Posts: 9551
Location: Arlington, MA
Nice summary! You get my coveted and seldom granted "clue snatcher of the day" award for meritorious achievements in self becluification. :D

BTW - Yes, "becluification" is a word. I should know, I made it up myself! ;-) It's also the superpower I most desire, just barely edging out the ability to teleport.


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PostPosted: Sun Dec 11, 2005 4:18 pm 
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Joined: Sun Dec 11, 2005 4:00 pm
Posts: 5
Sorry, but I am new to Linux (lots of experience with Solaris, just none with Linux), hence KnoppMyth was my first choice.

I have a K8N4-E MB, Hauppauge 350, nVidia 6200, and twin 300G SATA drives.

Prior to finding your instructions the 'disk' was readonly because it was using /dev/hda - the DVD drive.

Using your instructions I managed to partition, install and edit lilo.conf.
sda1 for root, sda2 for swap etc.

On reboot I get:

VFS: Mounted root (ext2 filesystem)
Suspend2: Initrd lacks echo > /proc/software_suspend/do_resume
VFS: Cannot open root device "801" or unknown-block (8,1)
Please append a correct "root=" boot option
Kernel panic - not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-block(8,1)

The root= field in lilo.conf is set to /dev/sda1

I chose SATA drives for futureproofing, and also improved airflow as I hope to run the fans slowly for lower noise.

It seems difficult to boot off a single drive, and I was hoping to use RAID1 to give data security.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Dec 11, 2005 6:18 pm 
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Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2005 3:50 pm
Posts: 1013
Location: Los Angeles
Keep in mind I'm pretty green when it comes to Linux. This maybe the deaf leading the blind. :D However, I'd encourage you to simplify on you initial install. Remove your 2nd SATA drive and try again. Are you using R5A16 or the newest R5A26? I'd try the most recent version, R5A26. Also, check your BIOS. Is there a "native" or "compatability" mode in your SATA Controller options? FWIW, here's my lilo.conf file:

Code:
vga=normal
# /etc/lilo.conf - See: `lilo(8)' and `lilo.conf(5)',
# ---------------       `install-mbr(8)', `/usr/share/doc/lilo/',
#                       and `/usr/share/doc/mbr/'.

# +---------------------------------------------------------------+
# |                        !! Reminder !!                         |
# |                                                               |
# | Don't forget to run `lilo' after you make changes to this     |
# | conffile, `/boot/bootmess.txt', or install a new kernel.  The |
# | computer will most likely fail to boot if a kernel-image      |
# | post-install script or you don't remember to run `lilo'.      |
# |                                                               |
# +---------------------------------------------------------------+

# Support LBA for large hard disks.
#
lba32

# Overrides the default mapping between harddisk names and the BIOS'
# harddisk order. Use with caution.
#disk=/dev/hde
#    bios=0x81

#disk=/dev/sda
#    bios=0x80

# Specifies the boot device.  This is where Lilo installs its boot
# block.  It can be either a partition, or the raw device, in which
# case it installs in the MBR, and will overwrite the current MBR.
#
boot=/dev/sda

# Specifies the device that should be mounted as root. (`/')
#
root=/dev/sda1

# Enable map compaction:
# Tries to merge read requests for adjacent sectors into a single
# read request. This drastically reduces load time and keeps the
# map smaller.  Using `compact' is especially recommended when
# booting from a floppy disk.  It is disabled here by default
# because it doesn't always work.
#
# compact

# Installs the specified file as the new boot sector
# You have the choice between: bmp, compat, menu and text
# Look in /boot/ and in lilo.conf(5) manpage for details
#
install=/boot/boot-menu.b

# Specifies the location of the map file
#
map=/boot/map

# You can set a password here, and uncomment the `restricted' lines
# in the image definitions below to make it so that a password must
# be typed to boot anything but a default configuration.  If a
# command line is given, other than one specified by an `append'
# statement in `lilo.conf', the password will be required, but a
# standard default boot will not require one.
#
# This will, for instance, prevent anyone with access to the
# console from booting with something like `Linux init=/bin/sh',
# and thus becoming `root' without proper authorization.
#
# Note that if you really need this type of security, you will
# likely also want to use `install-mbr' to reconfigure the MBR
# program, as well as set up your BIOS to disallow booting from
# removable disk or CD-ROM, then put a password on getting into the
# BIOS configuration as well.  Please RTFM `install-mbr(8)'.
#
# password=tatercounter2000

# Specifies the number of deciseconds (0.1 seconds) LILO should
# wait before booting the first image.
#
delay=20

# You can put a customized boot message up if you like.  If you use
# `prompt', and this computer may need to reboot unattended, you
# must specify a `timeout', or it will sit there forever waiting
# for a keypress.  `single-key' goes with the `alias' lines in the
# `image' configurations below.  eg: You can press `1' to boot
# `Linux', `2' to boot `LinuxOLD', if you uncomment the `alias'.
#
# message=/boot/bootmess.txt
#   prompt
#   single-key
#   delay=100
#   timeout=100

# Kernel command line options that apply to all installed images go
# here.  See: The `boot-prompt-HOWO' and `kernel-parameters.txt' in
# the Linux kernel `Documentation' directory.
#
# append=""
append="pnpbios=off pci=usepirqmask noacpi acpi=off noapic apic=off nopcmcia"

# Boot up Linux by default.
#
default=Linux

image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.13.2-chw-3
   label=Linux
   initrd=/boot/initrd.gz
   read-only
#   restricted
#   alias=1

image=/vmlinuz.old
   label=LinuxOLD
   read-only
   optional
#   restricted
#   alias=2

# If you have another OS on this machine to boot, you can uncomment the
# following lines, changing the device name on the `other' line to
# where your other OS' partition is.
#
# other=/dev/hda4
#   label=HURD
#   restricted
#   alias=3

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Dec 12, 2005 1:55 am 
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Joined: Sun Dec 11, 2005 4:00 pm
Posts: 5
Mike wrote:

> I'd encourage you to simplify on you initial install. Remove your 2nd SATA drive and try again.

Already done that.
I have tried installing Ubuntu on the other disk. It installed and booted with no problems. Unfortunately its ndiswrapper is broken (needs gcc-3.4, comes with gcc-4.0), it won't drive my ethernet, won't let me get to root, and of course is missing just a *tiny* bit of the stuff I really want - MythTV. Without a network thats quite hard to fix :-)

Also turned off PnP in BIOS, and in lilo.conf (as per your instructions)

> Are you using R5A16 or the newest R5A26? I'd try the most recent version, R5A26.

R5A26. I was fortunate in choosing to download the image two days after it was released.

> Also, check your BIOS. Is there a "native" or "compatability" mode in your SATA Controller options?

I haven't found one yet, but I'll look again.

> FWIW, here's my lilo.conf file:

Thanks, I'll compare in detail tonight.

Howard


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Dec 12, 2005 3:24 pm 
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Joined: Sun Dec 11, 2005 4:00 pm
Posts: 5
There is no compatibility or native mode switch.

lilo.conf is now identical to yours.

However...

I try three scenarios:

Run the installer disk, but without installing. Press ctrl-alt-2 to get a shell.
mount /dev/sda1 (the disk previously installed, but won't boot).

Edit/check lilo.conf (/mnt/sda1/etc/lilo.conf)

run lilo -v -C /mnt/sda1/etc/lilo.conf

gives:

Warning: '/proc/partitions' does not match '/dev' directory structure
Name change: '/dev/cloop0' -> '/dev/cloop'
Fatal: creat /boot/map~: Read-only file system

because /boot is in the cdrom, just as it is after the installer has run.

-OR-

chroot /dev/sda1 (now we should be the same as your chroot /dev/hdinstall after the installation)

lilo -v

gives:

Reading boot sector from /dev/sda
Fatal: open /dev/sda: Permission denied

I guess this is because /dev/sda is open in the 'real' root by the kernel and it cannot be opened twice.

-OR-

reinstall, and get back to:

chroot /mnt/hdinstall
edit /etc/lilo.conf
lilo -v
now gives output:

Warning: '/proc/partitions' does not match '/dev' directory structure
Name change: '/dev/cloop0' -> '/dev/cloop'
Using MENU secondary loader
Calling map_insert_data

Boot image: /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.13.2-chw-3
Mapping RAM disk /boot/initrd.gz
Added Linux *

Skipping /vmlinuz.old
Writing boot sector
/boot/boot.8000 exists - no boot sector backup copy made.

Which looks as if lilo is happy this time.

and reboot...

back to:

VFS: Cannot open root device "801" or unknown-block (8,1)
Please append a correct "root=" boot option
Kernel panic - not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-block(8,1)

Interesting because:

/dev/sda1 is device 8,1, so why is 8,1 an unknown block device? Could it mean there is no driver for major device 8 in the boot system? If so it wouldn't have worked for you Mike.

When running lilo when booted from the CDROM (but without installing) it was trying to use device "800", not "801"

I don't know if it matters, but I made all four partitions primary ones. Is this correct? Does it make any difference?

Has anyone else managed to get SATA to work on KnoppMyth?

Howard


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Dec 12, 2005 4:22 pm 
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Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2005 3:50 pm
Posts: 1013
Location: Los Angeles
Howard,
Is your BIOS on your K8N4-E up-to-date?

http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&model=K8N4-E

I know on my P5S800-VM when I press the delete key on start up to get into the system settings, the very last item on the first page of the BIOS set up is the option I change to "native" mode. I think it's called "OnBoard SATA Controller Setup" (I'm not at home so I'm going by memory). You do not have that?

When you put the install CD-R into your drive and boot with it, try to test the cd to see if it's a good burn. I believe the command is:
Code:
boot:  tv testcd


Is your CD-ROM (or DVD drive, whatever you have installed) connected to the primary or secondary IDE port? If it's on the primary, put it on the secondary and check your boot order in the BIOS. Your hard drive should be last.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Dec 13, 2005 6:32 pm 
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Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2005 3:50 pm
Posts: 1013
Location: Los Angeles
You may also want to take a peek at this thread:

http://mysettopbox.tv/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=6042

It mentions some of your same issues.

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