Topic: loading linux params'

[boss_hog]

Hey yall,
i have an older dual p2 that has been a reliable box. I am not ready to update (re:$$) just yet. Two issues I could use some thoughts on.

1). how do I pass the HDD specs to the kernel during install? I need to let linux know what the C/H/S values are.(older bios with big drives). In the past I have gotten around the BIOS problem by telling Fedora "linux C/H/S /dev/hda" which would set the drive geometry to the proper settings at the boot prompt. Anything that I could do with kickstart or changes to lilo.conf?

2). do we need to make a custom template for lilo.conf when making adjustments to lilo?

The 60bg drives (both of them) are being reported as 30gb approx. which is causing a LI on reboot of the box after initial install. However, I can boot the box "normal" with the rescue floppy that was created during install.
As always, any help is appreciated!
Joe

[MSmith]

Can you update the BIOS?  If not, and you never find anything that works, why not let the server boot from the floppy?  It shouldn't have to do that very often!

[boss_hog]

Hey MSmith,
the BIOS is as far as it can go, most recent firmware has been flashed.

I have pondered the boot floppy idea myself. This would work fine for me except for one small problem. The issue with the drive geometry is causing the 60gb drives to only show up as 30gb.

However, this may still be a viable option (the floppy thing). If anyone has any thoughts on how to correct the drive geometry at install issue, please share any and all ideas!
Thanks
Joe

[raem]

Luck of the draw I suppose. I have a IBM P233 box where the BIOS recognises a 200Gb drive as a 4Gb, but Linux (sme) happily formats and indentifies it as a 200Gb drive.

[boss_hog]

Luck of the draw I suppose. I have a IBM P233 box where the BIOS recognises a 200Gb drive as a 4Gb, but Linux (sme) happily formats and indentifies it as a 200Gb drive.

Hi Ray,
do you remember when you installed on the IBM, did Parted pop-up early after anaconda loaded and give you any warnings? That "geometry was mis-matched.. etc. etc." If the geometry errors came and went, did you need to muck around with lilo to pass any info to linux?
Thanks
Joe

[raem]

boss_hog

> Do you remember when you installed on the IBM, did > Parted pop-up early after anaconda loaded and give > you any warnings?

No.
I fitted the drive and turned the machine on (no OS yet installed on the HDD) and the BIOS pops up saying the hardware config has changed. I just go into the BIOS, accept the changes (which said it is a 4Gb drive).
Then on the next boot to the sme CD I just ran the install all the way through without problems (except it didn't properly recognise the on board Intel Pro 100 NIC, I had to disable it and insert a PCI Pro 100 NIC which then was recognised correctly).

I forget the exact size that Linux reported the disk as, but it was around (ie just under) the 200Gb mark, so I was happy.

[boss_hog]

Hey yall,
I am posting this as a follow-up/conclusion to my original questions. These are MY findings, on my specific hardware, but hopefully something in here helps others. My findings are for SME 6.5rc1, test box.

In the BIOS, I set the detection to AUTO and NORMAL, this lets Linux "see" the HDD's for what they are.
This allowed both of my 60gb drives to be recognized at the proper size.

SME(Redhat based), by design, will ignore the BIOS info. The problems I was having is that after installing, the boot process would stop at LI. When the disc's were incorrectly identified the system would boot as expected. The system would still boot from a floppy but not from the HDD.(2 disc Raid). After much testing of the lilo.conf, what fixed(?) my booting problem was, remove the "linear" and add "lba32" to lilo.conf. I don't understand enough of the magic of lilo to see why this made a difference, only that it did.

If this is not clear please post any questions here, I will do my best to share my experience or clarify my results.
Joe