Bug#323351: Package: installation-reports
On Tue, Aug 16, 2005 at 02:53:43AM -0500, Andrew Tan wrote:
> Package: installation-reports
>
> Debian-installer-version: debian-31r0a-i386-binary circa June 16th
> from www.debian.org's Bit Torrent
> uname -a: Linux (none) 2.4.27-2-386 #1 Thu Jan 20 10:55:08 JST 2005 i686 unknown
> Date: 2:01 AM - August 16th 2005
> Method: Used the bootable cd to install
> Machine: Toshiba Satellite M35-S456
> Processor: Intel Pentium M processor 735
> Memory: 512 MB DDR SDRAM
> Root Device: Enhanced IDE (ATA-5) 80 GB hard disk drive
> Root Size/partition table:
> ~71 GB NTFS partition (with WinXP already installed)
> 3.8 GB ext2 partition (made with Partition Magic 8.0) mounted with /
> 512 MB swap partition (made with Partition Magic 8.0)
> Output of lspci and lspci -n: Not sure what these are. Shell said sh: not found.
>
> Base System Installation Checklist:
> [O] = OK, [E] = Error (please elaborate below), [ ] = didn't try it
>
> Initial boot worked: [O]
> Configure network HW: [O]
> Config network: [O]
> Detect CD: [O]
> Load installer modules: [O]
> Detect hard drives: [O]
> Partition hard drives: [O]
> Create file systems: [O]
> Mount partitions: [O]
> Install base system: [O]
> Install boot loader: [E]
> Reboot: [E]
>
> Comments/Problems:
>
> Everything worked fine the first install, using all the default
> options. Set the 3.8 GB partition as bootable, ext2 filesystem, yes
> to format, rest default. Formatted the partition and the swap
> partition. GRUB detected Windows XP, so installed into the MBR. On
> rebooting, there was a blank screen with GRUB in the top left and a
> blinking cursor. Computer stayed like that for a long time, after
> which I ctrl-alt-del'd. Ran the installer again, after reformatting
> (with the installer). Tried installing LILO, which failed (error code
> 1). Same issue with GRUB on reboot. Multiple reinstalls all produced
> the same error. I'd appreciate any help you can give. Thanks.
Sounds rather odd. What happens if you use the installer to make the
partitions and use ext3 rather than ext2. It is really recomended to
always make partitions and filesystems using the OS that they are
intended for rather than some 3rd partition partitioning tool like
partition magic. partition magic is great for resizing a partition, but
that's about all it really is good for.
I also wonder if the machine has a problem with the location of the boot
files on the harddisk given they are almost at the end of the drive.
Some machines had a limit of 8G, some had 32G, some 512M, etc. A
machine as new as yours really shouldn't have a problem, but who knows.
It could also be the boot loaders somehow find the filesystem not normal
due to something partition magic did.
You could also try setting your linux partition (it has to be a primary
partition, not a logical one) as active instead of the windows one, then
install grub to the root partition instead of the MBR, and install the
generic MBR program instead to just boot the active partition. Maybe
that will make a difference.
Len Sorensen
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