Re: Fresh Etch netinstall problems...
Some progress...
On Sun, Oct 28, 2007 at 03:55:24PM +0000, Digby Tarvin wrote:
> > > > > It seems that the kernel used during the initial install was stable,
> > > > > but the kernel it installed on the hard disk is not.
> >
> > > > > Model: Dell Precision Workstation 410 MT
> > > > > BIOS revision A08
> > > > > CPU: 2xPIII 450MHz
> > > > > Video card: 3DLabs Oxygen GVX1
> > > > > Ram: 1024MB
> > > > > Adaptec AIC-7890 BIOS DELL-V2.01.05
> > > > > SCSI ID 0 COMPAQ DDRS-34560W ULTRA2-SE
> > > > > SCSI ID 1 SEAGATE ST173404LW ULTRA2-SE
> > > > > Adaptec AIC-7880 BIOS DELL-V2.01.05
> > > > > SCSI ID 1 MATSHITA DVD-RAM LF-200
> > > > > Primary IDE1 ZIP drive
snip..
> Try aptitude there (thus with the installer's kernel). If
> > > > that works, do a uname -a there and notice any difference.
>
> Ok, that seemed to work ok. Here is what uname -a produces:
>
> Linux precision 2.6.18-5-486 #1 Fri Jun 1 00:07:22 UTC 2007 i686 GNU/Linux
>
> vs the kernel on the hard drive, which is:
>
> Linux precision 2.6.18-5-686 #1 SMP Fri Jun 1 00:47:00 UTC 2007 i686 GNU/Linux
>
> The only difference I see is the SMP - which as mentioned, I have tried
> disabling with a 'nosmp' argument.
Oops - overlooked the 486/686 difference initially..
When I spotted that, I tried installing the 486 kernel from the
chrooted rescue media...
Bingo - It booted all the way and I now seem to have a working (though
at reduced functionality) system...
X comes up fully and everything seems to work, except that I only
have a uni-processor system now, which is a bit of a bummer...
But this is progress, and hopefully a clue as to the problem...
So now I wonder what kernel difference could be causing a problem on this
particular system. Could it be a SMP problem, even though running the 686
kernel with 'nosmp' option still exibits the instability? Or does that
mean it is some other difference between 686/486 kernel??
Any idea where I can go from here? I really would hate to have to settle for
50% of my processing power...
I suppose I could try to lay my hands on an IDE drive and do a test install
on that with the 7890 disabled. That would determine if the SCSI controller
really is complicit in my problem.
Regards,
DigbyT
--
Digby R. S. Tarvin digbyt(at)digbyt.com
http://www.digbyt.com
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