Curtis Vaughan wrote:
On 5 avr. 05, at 18:00, Roberto C. Sanchez wrote:Curtis Vaughan wrote:When trying to install Debian 3.0 on a new server we just bought, I discovered that support for a 3ware SATA RAID Card was no compiledintothe distro (i.e., I couldn't install). After looking through forumsandconsidering how to compile the drivers into the kernel, I realized I could give Knoppix a spin. Knoppix installed no problem. I have already removed from sources.list all knoppix related sites and set everything for Debian stable. I've removed pretty much every package that is Knoppix related, as well as all X11 related packages.Bad idea.So, my first question is: how Debian is my box really?Not sure.Second question: will I wack the whole thing if I upgrade to 2.6kernel?Or do I need to download the source kernel, compile in the driver and then install it?If you need newer stuff, boot with a Knoppix CD, but install actual Debian (Google search for Debian chroot install). If you are using Woody and want kernel 2.6, then use the backports.org kernel (or at least their module-init-tools, which are required for 2.6 kernels). You can always roll your own kernel.Wait a minute. Here's an unasked question. Is it possible that I need to just update my install disk and I can just do a straight Debian install?
That is possible, ff the new Sarge installer supports the hardware. However, in that case, you are installing Sarge and not Woody. That may or may not be what you want, depending on your stability/security requirements and how much time you have to maintain your server(s).
Assuming that that is not possible: What are my options? Since the Knoppix distro will install and run on my system and since it is Debian based, I was hoping this idea might work. Let's say I have to do as Roberto implies. Whereas Debian doesn't have the drivers in the kernel, I would first have to compile a kernel with the modules and then do a chroot install, right?
You can compile the kernel first in Knoppix and copy it to your chroot environment (Knoppix has kernel-package and the necessary -dev libs). You can also install everything inside the chroot (except the kernel) and compile from within there (which is what I recommend, so that you end up with a kernel compiled with the same version of gcc as your libc).
But whereas I don't know whether I will have compiled them in right, then there is the risk that after performing the chroot install, I am still left with a system that can't boot?
Possibly. The beauty of using Knoppix, is that you can use the tools at your disposal (namely the list of modules loaded by Knoppix and the commands, such as lspci, that give you info on the hardware). This way you can check everything out in detail while the chroot install is going on and you are preparing to compile your kernel. If, for some reason, the system fails to boot you can just boot Knoppix again and then fix it.
Wouldn't it be therefore easier to somehow first compile a new kernel with the necessary driver and try to install with it? Of course, I have no idea how to do that, yet...
That would require modifying a .iso (or creating a custom boot floppy). This is certainly doable and it gives you the assurance that your kernel works (i.e., if the install disk fails to boot, you won't have the opportunity install a non-working kernel). But, you will need to Google search for some information on it and the process of custumizing an install CD image is non-trivial.
Curtis
-Roberto -- Roberto C. Sanchez http://familiasanchez.net/~sanchezr
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