Bug#267522: Installation report -- new nforce hardware is problematic
Package: installation-reports
Debian-installer-version: RC1 netinst image from
http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-installer/
uname -a: Linux shiny 2.6.8.1 #1 Fri Aug 20 12:46:15 EST 2004 i686 GNU/Linux
(This is after I installed a _working_ kernel, namely 2.6.8.1 =)
Date: Friday 20 August 2004
Method: Install from a bootable CD-RW created from the netinst ISO image.
Machine: Custom AMD Athlon64 box (but installing the i386 sarge distribution)
Processor: AMD Athlon64 3200+
Memory: 1 Gb
Root Device: 200Gb SATA WDC WD2000JD-00G disk drive on an nForce 3 Gb on-board
SATA controller (part of a MSI K8N Neo Platinum M/B)
Root Size/partition table:
Disk /dev/sda: 200.0 GB, 200049647616 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 24321 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 5099 40957686 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2 5100 7531 19535040 83 Linux
/dev/sda3 7532 7655 996030 82 Linux swap
/dev/sda4 7656 24321 133869645 f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/sda5 7656 24321 133869613+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 -> /, /dev/sda5 -> /home, both reiserfs
(again, these partitions are using the 2.6.8.1 kernel with SATA support. The
installer refers to the drive as hda, not sda).
Output of lspci and lspci -n:
lspci:
0000:00:00.0 Host bridge: nVidia Corporation: Unknown device 00e1 (rev a1)
0000:00:01.0 ISA bridge: nVidia Corporation: Unknown device 00e0 (rev a2)
0000:00:01.1 SMBus: nVidia Corporation: Unknown device 00e4 (rev a1)
0000:00:02.0 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation: Unknown device 00e7 (rev a1)
0000:00:02.1 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation: Unknown device 00e7 (rev a1)
0000:00:02.2 USB Controller: nVidia Corporation: Unknown device 00e8 (rev a2)
0000:00:05.0 Bridge: nVidia Corporation: Unknown device 00df (rev a2)
0000:00:06.0 Multimedia audio controller: nVidia Corporation: Unknown device
00ea(rev a1)
0000:00:08.0 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation: Unknown device 00e5 (rev a2)
0000:00:09.0 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation: Unknown device 00ee (rev a2)
0000:00:0a.0 IDE interface: nVidia Corporation: Unknown device 00e3 (rev a2)
0000:00:0b.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation: Unknown device 00e2 (rev a2)
0000:00:0e.0 PCI bridge: nVidia Corporation: Unknown device 00ed (rev a2)
0000:00:18.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 NorthBridge
0000:00:18.1 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 NorthBridge
0000:00:18.2 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 NorthBridge
0000:00:18.3 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] K8 NorthBridge
0000:01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation: Unknown device
0045 (rev a1)
0000:02:0c.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): VIA Technologies, Inc. IEEE 1394 Host
Controller (rev 46)
lspci -n:
0000:00:00.0 0600: 10de:00e1 (rev a1)
0000:00:01.0 0601: 10de:00e0 (rev a2)
0000:00:01.1 0c05: 10de:00e4 (rev a1)
0000:00:02.0 0c03: 10de:00e7 (rev a1)
0000:00:02.1 0c03: 10de:00e7 (rev a1)
0000:00:02.2 0c03: 10de:00e8 (rev a2)
0000:00:05.0 0680: 10de:00df (rev a2)
0000:00:06.0 0401: 10de:00ea (rev a1)
0000:00:08.0 0101: 10de:00e5 (rev a2)
0000:00:09.0 0101: 10de:00ee (rev a2)
0000:00:0a.0 0101: 10de:00e3 (rev a2)
0000:00:0b.0 0604: 10de:00e2 (rev a2)
0000:00:0e.0 0604: 10de:00ed (rev a2)
0000:00:18.0 0600: 1022:1100
0000:00:18.1 0600: 1022:1101
0000:00:18.2 0600: 1022:1102
0000:00:18.3 0600: 1022:1103
0000:01:00.0 0300: 10de:0045 (rev a1)
0000:02:0c.0 0c00: 1106:3044 (rev 46)
Base System Installation Checklist:
[O] = OK, [E] = Error (please elaborate below), [ ] = didn't try it
Initial boot worked: [O]
Configure network HW: [E]
Config network: [E]
Detect CD: [O]
Load installer modules: [O]
Detect hard drives: [E]
Partition hard drives: [O]
Create file systems: [O]
Mount partitions: [O]
Install base system: [O]
Install boot loader: [O]
Reboot: [O]
Comments/Problems:
Two pieces of hardware were problematic during the install. The first was the
ethernet card, which is an onboard ethernet interface using the nForce 3 Gb
chipset. It is supported by the 'forcedeth' driver in the linux kernel, but
both the 2.4 and 2.6 kernels in d-i rc1 are too old to support this
particular chipset. The 2.4 kernel simply failed to detect the chip. The 2.6
kernel detected the chip but did not work (even after manually configuring
the interface from the shell prompt I was unable the local gateway machine).
I gave up on trying to make the installer use the network correctly.
Kernel 2.6.8.1 has working forcedeth support for this chipset.
The SATA interface did not work with the 2.4 kernel in d-i. The drive was
detected correctly, and kept working until the mkfs stage of the install. The
install appeared to freeze while running mkreiserfs on the /home partition. I
gave up after an hour or so with no progress. The 2.6 kernel, on the other
hand, worked fine.
Basically, everything would have worked perfectly if a newer 2.6 kernel was
used by default.
=)
Peter
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