On 08/11/2018 08:19 AM, Stephen P. Molnar wrote:
I am running Debian Stretch on my 64bit Linux platform.
I am planning on installing a 500B SSD as the boot HD and have a
question about the SATA connectors on the ASUS M5A97 R2.0 MB.
I have what I thought was a simple question, but Google has not been
a friend to me. What I found via that route was that the 6 SATA
ports are the same. Should the boot drive be plugged into SATA8G_1?
Thanks in advance.
On 08/11/2018 10:21 AM, Stephen P. Molnar wrote:
> I appreciate the responses. I have looked a the MB Manual and the BIOS
> in both the easy mode and the advanced mode. (incidentally, the BIOS
> is current)
>
> I have three dives on the platform:
>
> *-cdrom
> description: DVD-RAM writer
> product: DVDRAM GH24NSB0
> vendor: HL-DT-ST
> physical id: 0.0.0
> bus info: scsi@0:0.0.0
> logical name: /dev/cdrom
> logical name: /dev/cdrw
> logical name: /dev/dvd
> logical name: /dev/dvdrw
> logical name: /dev/sr0
> version: LN00
> capabilities: removable audio cd-r cd-rw dvd dvd-r dvd-ram
> configuration: ansiversion=5 status=nodisc
> *-disk
> description: ATA Disk
> product: ST2000DM006-2DM1
> vendor: Seagate
> physical id: 0.0.0
> bus info: scsi@2:0.0.0
> logical name: /dev/sda
> version: CC26
> serial: Z560Q2JW
> size: 1863GiB (2TB)
> capabilities: partitioned partitioned:dos
> configuration: ansiversion=5 logicalsectorsize=512
> sectorsize=4096 signature=0bc7db76
> *-disk
> description: ATA Disk
> product: WDC WD5000AAKS-0
> vendor: Western Digital
> physical id: 0.0.0
> bus info: scsi@3:0.0.0
> logical name: /dev/sdb
> version: 3B01
> serial: WD-WMASY0223768
> size: 465GiB (500GB)
> capabilities: partitioned partitioned:dos
> configuration: ansiversion=5 logicalsectorsize=512
> sectorsize=512 signature=0003d403
>
> I installed the current Debian Version on the 2TB HD as it was new at
> the time.
>
> Unfortunately, the boot sequence on the EZ Mode screen is only shows
> the WD 500GB drive and the cdrom drive. I can only see the 2TB drive,
> upon which I installed grub, by hitting F8 and selecting the 1TB drive
> for booting. Now the last time I installed a HD on the system I can't
> say as I paid any attention as to which connector each drive was
> plugged into. Hence, the question that started this thread.
>
> As I am strictly a user of computers I am very hesitant to mess around
> with the hardware and the BIOS.
>
> let me finish his email by saying that I am most appreciative of the
> patience and consideration of most of the users of this list!
I will assume that you have one computer, an Internet gateway, and an
Ethernet cable between them.
Hardware can be easy. Get an anti-static wrist strap and take your
time. Read the users manual for the various components. STFW and
watch YouTube videos to learn more.
BIOS can be easy. Load the defaults and only change those settings
which you have a compelling reason. Again, learn as required.
Linux, FOSS services and applications, and their myriad settings and
interactions are all never-ending learning curves.
Looking at the motherboard users manual:
http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/SocketAM3+/M5A97_R2.0/E7438_M5A97_R20_Manual_web_hi-res.pdf
Section 1.2.9, item 4, is titled "Serial ATA 6.0 Gb/s connectors
(7-pin SATA6G 1~6)". Unfortunately, the motherboard and connector
diagram has been badly pixelated, but the SATA connectors appear to be
labeled SATA6G_1 through SATA6G_6 (?). Please confirm.
I recommend:
1. Get a small, fast, high-quality SSD to use as the system drive.
Connect it to motherboard port SATA6G_1.
2. Connect the optical drive to SATA6G_2.
3. Do a fresh install of Debian onto the SSD. Partition manually,
creating three primary partitions: /boot (1 GB), swap (1 GB), and root
(10 GB). Leave the remaining space unused. This will give you a
system image that can fit on a 16 GB USB flash drive, a 16 GB SDD, or
a 25 GB Blu-ray disc. The first allows you to carry your desktop in
your pocket, using laptops and PC's as convenient. The second gives
you the best performance. The third is for taking archival images.
4. Connect the 500 GB HDD to SATA6G_3 and the 2 TB drive to SATA6G_4.
Mount the HDD partitions and/or directories as desired. Adjust owner
and group identifiers as required.
5. Use the system drive for the operating system, applications, and
carefully-chosen data. (I keep my e-mail and CVS working directories
in my home directory on the system drive.) Keep the rest of your data
on the HDD's.
David