RE: install reboots, optiplex gx1
I have used these quite a bit on Redhat and Debian, with hundred's of days uptime.
You will probably find, if it has a 3com network card "its odd" and wont work with Linux, something in the Dell bios. I ended up installing a 8139c.
Otherwise I have found them rock steady, the PSU's do go dodgy, it might be yours is Donald Ducked.
Usually the first symptoms are failure to boot when warm, but boots fine when cold...
1) Make a new boot floppy
2) It wont install via CDROM?
3) Try a redhat or other distro install.
regards
S
-----Original Message-----
From: John Summerfield [mailto:debian@ComputerDatasafe.com.au]
Sent: Tuesday, 3 August 2004 11:27 a.m.
To: debian-user@lists.debian.org
Cc: debian-user@lists.debian.org
Subject: Re: install reboots, optiplex gx1
Alvin Oga wrote:
>hi ya
>
>On Mon, 2 Aug 2004, Tim Larson wrote:
>
>
>
>>Having trouble installing debian (woody). Root floppy reboots
>>immediately, no text printed. Dell OptiPlex GX1 Bios A10
>>Anybody have a similar experience, ideas how to debug this,
>>or solutions?
>>
>>
>
>whenever the silly pc reboots by itself during bootups ...
> - it means the kernel is not quite the one for the cpu you're
> trying to boot
>
> ( c3 vs p4 vs amd vs celeron vs ... or just plain bad hw
> ( or bad power supply or .. googleplex other reasons
>
>
>
That's the first think I thought of, but
The CPU's a Pentium II and should cope with pretty much any installer
its sees.
Bootfloppies are,I believe, built fot 386.
Certainly hardware is a possibility: bad RAM for example. You can check
that out with memtest86.
Rather than boot from floppy, if you can, install off the network. These
machines can PXE-boot and PXE-booting is a fine way of installing anything.
Some of these need a BIOS upgrade, and you can easily find it on the
Dell website. You might needs freedos to do the flash.
My experience with these machines has been goof. Incomparison with, say,
Gateway and Gigabyte.
The boxes are very easy to work on. Two buttons to remove the cover. RAM
immediately accessible.
One screw to remove HDD.
Floppy. CD drive just loft out.
PCI bus lifts out (there's a locking arm to lift).
Vendor BIOS upgrades easy to locate.
Tech support actually responds to email helpfully, even on these old boxes.
Mostly, they're quiet.
Every version of Linux I've tried just installs.
What does confuse me is the model numbers, gxa, gx110, gx100, gx1 and I
think I've seen a gx1a. These all look the same.
Oh, you could also try the new debian-installer. It has an option to
install Woody, and I think that branch needs testing.
--
Cheers
John
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