Installer problem report (dual boot loadlin)
Package: Linux i386 V3.1 r1
Boot method: CD
Image version: debian-31r1-i386-binary-1.iso
Downloaded from: Debian mirror ftp.iinet.net.au
Date: 2006-02-21 10:00 am
Machine: Homebuilt
Processor: Intel 800 mhz
Memory: 384 meg
Partitions:
Disk /dev/hda: 20.2GB
/dev/hda1 12.0GB fat32 Windows 98 boot partition
/dev/hda2 1.0GB ext2 Linux root partition (kernel 2.2.20)
/dev/hda3 0.2GB swap Swap space, currently unused
/dev/hda5 5.0GB ext2 /home partition
/dev/hda6 2.0GB ext2 Spare space
Base System Installation Checklist:
[O] = OK, [E] = Error (please elaborate below), [ ] = didn't try it
Initial boot worked: [0 ]
Configure network HW: [0 ]
Config network: [0 ]
Detect CD: [0 ]
Load installer modules: [0 ]
Detect hard drives: [0 ]
Partition hard drives: [0 ]
Create file systems: [0 ]
Mount partitions: [0 ]
Install base system: [0 ] NB: see below, didn't ask before copying
Install boot loader: [O ] NB: see below, loadlin not an option?
Reboot: [E ] NB: see below, loadlin doesn't work
Comments/Problems:
I'm having some difficulty installing a new version of
Linux (Debian 3.1r1), and I'm sure the answer is easy
but I just don't know what it is. Basically I installed
Debian ISO disk 1 but it won't boot from Windows 98 using
loadlin16c.
My 20GB hard drive was working fine, partitioned as above.
With the installer I reformatted /dev/hda6 as format ext3,
then the installer automatically put the root/kernal 2.4.27
files onto that partition (without asking me, which was fine
because that was what I wanted, but also annoying that it
just went ahead and did that). Now /dev/hda6 is in an extended
partition or some such beast, like /dev/hda5, which is why
there's a gap in hda numbers (I think).
Anyway, I have loadlin16c.exe installed on Windows, and I use
it to boot the 2.2 kernel, which still works fine, and I
can mount /dev/hda6 read-only and look at it, and it's fine,
and I was able to copy the kernel 2.4.27 vmlinuz file from
/dev/hda6/boot/ to the Windows partition, which was all fine.
But: when loadlin launches that 2.4 kernel with root=/dev/hda6,
it starts booting but then gets to a page full of text and
prints "kernel panic, can't boot" and then just sits there.
I've exactly duplicated the loadlin command used to boot the
2.2 kernel, except I changed the parameters to use the new
kernel file and root filesystem.
The installer did want to write GRUB to the MBR of /dev/hda1
but I wouldn't let it. Then it got upset and said I really
should install GRUB somewhere, so I relented and installed
it on /dev/hda6. But since I want to use loadlin, I found
this insistence that it wanted to change _some_ MBR somewhere
both annoying and petulant. AFAIK loadlin16c.exe should work,
and should avoid me having to install GRUB or LILO, or mess
with any MBR. Also AFAIK, installing GRUB on /dev/hda6's
MBR shouldn't do anything bad. (Admittedly I could have put
it on a floppy, but that would have requiring finding a
blank floppy whilst in the midst of the installation.)
NB: I didn't reformat the swap partition, and I didn't tell
the installer that it could use it. I don't want a swap
partition really; with 384MB RAM I'd rather not use one at
all. The only thing the Partitioning step did was reformat
/dev/hda6 as ext3 and then install files there; that's
all I wanted that step to do.
Any ideas what's wrong or how to fix it? Ta.
Loki
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