Topic: 5.1.2 does not boot on new Dell Optiplex GX240

[ryan]

I recently installed 5.1.2 into a small office.  They presented a brand new Dell Optiplex GX240 for SME.  Booting from the SME CD-ROM, the install when fine, but the computer would not boot after the install.

An error something like:  hda irq probe failured or failed.

Also, before this error, a floppy controller was not found, and no keyboard was detected.

Ironically, if I boot with the SME boot floppy in, SME starts fine???

Anyone have any ideas?  Is the Dell hardware to new to be supported by the 5.1.2 kernal?  If so, then why does the floppy boot disk work?

FYI:  I contacted Dell and got nowhere.  Dell's response is basically, if you change your OS, your on your own.  It appears Dell is too busy blowing Gates to help their customers.  I will not purchase from Dell again if I can avoid it.  Anyone know a source for new systems that work with SME and Windows 2000 AND don't blow you off if you change the configuration?

Thanks in advance,

Ryan

[Randy]

Dell supports Linux.  I have a poweredge 6450 and just bought a Poweredge 350.  The 350 I ordered with RedHat 7.2 just to get the support.  I won't register it until I actually get a problem.

Anyway, you shouldn't be rebooting your machine.  I would just make an image of the floppy and shelf it to move onto bigger projects.  Since it works, I would make this low priority.  Just my own opinion.

[Ryan]

Randy,

That is what I did, execept I made 2 copies of the boot disk.  

I guess this hardware boot problem must be related to the Optiplex system.  Dell is selling PowerEdge servers with Red Hat as an option, so does this mean a system that runs RH 7.2 will work with SME 5.1.2 "out of the box" without having to mess with additional linux drivers?  I don't want to recommed to a business they purchase a system for SME and it turn out not compatitble.

Anyone that has successfully installed SME on a brand new computer from Gateway, Dell, etc, please reply to this post.  Can anyone recommed certain model for use in small offices?

Thanks,

Ryan

[Damien Curtain]

Randy wrote:
>
> Dell supports Linux.  I have a poweredge 6450 and just bought
> a Poweredge 350.  The 350 I ordered with RedHat 7.2 just to
> get the support.  I won't register it until I actually get a
> problem.

You can hardly compare their server hardware to their optiplex systems.

> Anyway, you shouldn't be rebooting your machine.  I would
> just make an image of the floppy and shelf it to move onto
> bigger projects.  Since it works, I would make this low
> priority.  Just my own opinion.

It would be interesting if Ryan could:

Tell us the exact error, any relevant logging info, the output of dmesg

Make sure his kernel is installed correctly:
rpm --verify kernel

And let us know what the contents of /etc/lilo.conf are. The fact that he can boot off a floppy seem to indicate either corruption of the kernel (cd image), or lilo.conf is wrong.

Dell's bios' are sometimes problematic with disk geometry which doesn't help if you then use a feature such as linear in lilo....
--
 Damien

[David Ingram]

I had exactly the same problem with a brand new HP tc2110 server. This is a 1.7GHz Pentium 4.

I found that all problems went away when I used the esmith-up (which I think is Uni Processor) lilo option. This uses a kernel that doesn't have 'smp' in the title.

I make a change the default using the custom templates etc. The machine boot beautifully now.



Dave.

[ryan]

David,

I consider myself experienced with the SME, but I am not real familiar with the linux kernel and all the programs that operate in linux.  

Could you point me to a how-to or reply explain what you did to to the template?  I would appreciate it!!

Thanks,

RS

[David Ingram]

Ryan,

The change I needed to make was in /etc/lilo.conf
The line "default=esmith" was changed to "default=esmith-up" by creating a custom template directory.

mkdir -p /etc/e-smith/templates-custom/etc/lilo.conf
(-p builds the parents if needed)
I created a file called "80default" since this is the name that was in /etc/e-smith/templatess/etc/lilo.conf

In that file I wrote:
default=esmith-up

I then rebuilt the lilo.conf file with:
/sbin/e-smith/expand-template /etc/lilo.conf

I then ran lilo to change the boot default:
[root@emu lilo.conf]# /sbin/lilo
Added esmith
Added esmith-up *

The * means that this is the default.


I hope that this helps.


Dave.