[Solved] PA-2013, K6-2 and AGP TNT2: Windoze runs, but Linux crashes
Hi,
Just want to share my experience. Loading Linux 2.0.36 from windows
(loadlin) worked for me. No crashes on hard loads (8 hours of
continuous kernel copilation + gzip/gunzip of 0.5Gb file + data
transfer over the net).
I'm quite certain that the problem is in initialization of VIA chipset,
especially it's IDE part. I read quite a few mails where people had
troubles with FIC or more generally VIA chipset, it looks like there is
some trick in initialization of IDE, which VIA kindly keeps in secret,
and provides only in win98 patch.
Just for reference things that I tried and they FAILED. BUT I must say
that they helped quite a few people to solve there hardware problems.
BIOS (award):
Turning off CPU - PCI cache
Disabling UDMA mode
Forcing PIO mode0
Kernel:
2.2.13 + PCI quirks
2.2.13 + recent IDE patch (includes big routine for VIA chipset)
hdparm:
turning off DMA (makes Linux lifetime longer, but it would still fail)
hdparm -X34 -d1 (Linux fails right away)
IBM disk ATA33 utility (make disk report UDMA33 - rather than UDMA66)
> Hi, Noah!
>
> Thanks for your comment. I went to the closet and took old VGA card
> out. Unfortunately it did not help. Swapping cables, moving cards
> around does not help either. I can reproduce the problem if I try to
> move 1Gb of data from one place into another. Windoze does it, but
> Linux gets stuck somewhere in the beginning.
>
> Strange thing that I found a couple of messages blaming PA-2013, and
> people switch to Tyan, and it seemed to help, despite the fact that
> both motherboards carry exactly the same VIA chipset.
>
> It smells like bad motherboard.
>
> Thanks again,
> Sasha.
> > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> >
> > On Mon, 13 Dec 1999, Alexander Kushnirenko wrote:
> >
> > > MB : FIC PA-2013 (revision 2.0)
> > > CPU : K6-2-450 with huge fan on top of it.
> > > HD : IBM 15 Gb
> > > CD : CD-DVD Toshiba
> > > Sound : SB live (value)
> > > Video : AGP Diamond V770 TNT2
> > > Modem : Actiontech PCI
> > > Linux : Debian Slink installation
> >
> > I've got many of these same components...PA2013 board, K6-II 450. The
> > notable difference is the video board (mine is a 3dfx voodoo3). All this
> > hardware is supported fine by Linux, with only possible exceptions being
> > the modem (PCI modems are usually not compatible) and the video board (I'm
> > just saying that as a disclaimer, since I don't know anything at all about
> > it.)
> >
> > I am inclined to believe that you are in fact facing some kind of hardware
> > problem that windows is able to ignore for some reason. Nothing on your
> > hardware list should be crashing Linux if it's working properly. I would
> > try swapping some stuff out with different, similar hardware. Try
> > different HD cables, a different disk, a different video board. It might
> > even be the motherboard.
> >
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