Install from CD-ROM problems
> Hello, > I'm having trouble installing Debian 2.1 from CD. Specifically, I'm > stuck at the "Configure Device Driver Modules"/"Install Base System" point > in the installation process. My CD-ROM drive is a 4x from Creative Labs > (I'm not sure of the exact model - I can't find it in my manual!) that I > purchased about 5 years ago in a SB16 bundle. I'm pretty sure it uses an > IDE interface, but every IDE option in the Debian install procedure fails, > giving the message "Unable to mount CD-ROM." I've installed every device > driver module that looks remotely like it might help recognize the drive. > I've tried configuring it as a proprietary device, with no success. I've > read every relevent document I could find (Debian install FAQ, CD-ROM > How-to, all the documentation on the Debian CD itself), and I'm stuck. > As for the installation procedure, I used the rescue and drivers > floppies to boot up. Then I partitioned my 1GB HD to have 128MB for > MS-DOS, 50MB for root, 32MB for /swap, and the rest for /usr. If I had my > way, I'd like to have a Linux-only machine, but all the documentation I've > found is geared toward setting up a Linux partition. When in Rome... > I realize that this list is already quite busy, so if anyone would > like to carry on a one-to-one correspondence to help me through this and > prevent further cluttering of the list, I would be very appreciative. I > am a Linux rookie, but I worked on a Unix workstation for over a year. > I'm an RPG programmer looking to explore my creative side in a Linux > development environment as a hobby. > > Thanks, > Jeff J >
FW: bash scripting
> -Original Message- > From: Michael Talbot-Wilson [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Monday, July 26, 1999 4:54 AM > To: Ben Lutgens > Cc: debian user list > Subject: Re: bash scripting > > It is bad netiquette to paste part of the man page, because it creates > traffic delivering something that the recipient already has. And no-one > owes the newbie that kind of favor. He can cut from the man page > himself. He has it, and he can do it. The rest of us are busy people > and life is running out. > > Sorry to butt in. I'm a Linux newbie, and have not yet been flamed for > asking questions because I have the patience to read pages upon pages of > documentation. I can sympathize with someone who has a question but would > rather not study a 500 page manual for the answer, particularly if someone > else can spit out the answer in 5 seconds. Just because someone is a > Linux expert doesn't mean their time is more valuable than the newbie's. > Some Linux newbies are tenured professors. They are busy people, and life > is running out. > > Speaking for myself, I *don't* already have the man pages. I have the > base kernel installed, but have run into complications installing the rest > of Debian, which (I presume) contains the man command. Thanks to the > folks on this list who have sent helpful suggestions. > > Jeff J
SB16 PnP CD-ROM - proprietary or IDE?
I apologize for the consumption of bandwidth. I have queried the distributor from whom I purchased Debian for support, but this particular problem appears to be quite specific and I'm hoping someone on the list may have already encountered it. Here are two lines from the CD-ROM howto: "If you recently bought a CD-ROM drive, don't assume that if it connects to a SoundBlaster card it should use this [sbpcd] kernel driver. Most CD-ROM drives being sold by Creative Labs are now EIDE/ATAPI drives." "Some documentation may refer to proprietary interfaces as IDE, leading some to mistakenly believe they are ATAPI drives." So, the CD-ROM howto didn't clarify which I should be using for my particular case. It's a SB16 PnP, with a 4x CD-ROM that plugs into the soundcard. The manual refers to the drive as IDE. I have installed the base linux kernel installed (from my DOS partition), and can boot up without a hitch. I tried installing the sbpcd driver from the bootstrap menu until my face turned blue, to no avail. I also tried installing from CD with every IDE option, opening and closing the drive door regularly for good measure. Here's a scenario. I boot up DOS, along with the PnP drivers, so my soundcard and CD-ROM work fine. Then I soft boot using my Linux boot disk. During boot up, I observe these messages: hdh: Matshita CR-581 ATAPI CD-ROM drive ide3 at 0x168-0x16f, 0x36e on irq 10 These messages do *not* appear if I hard boot straight into Linux. Once I sign on, I type the following commands and get the following output: (the * indicates items appearing only when I soft boot into linux from DOS, having already loaded my DOS drivers) cat /proc/devices Character devices 1 mem 2 pty 3 ttyp 4 ttyp 5 console 7 vcs 10 misc 12 tpqic02 36 netlink Block devices 1 ramdisk 2 fd 3 ide0 7 loop 9 md 34 ide3 * 36 ed cat /proc/filesystems ext2 minix msdos nodev proc iso9660 cat /proc/interrupts 0 timer 1 keyboard 2 cascade 8 + rtc 10 + ide3 * 13 math error 14 + ide0 cat /proc/ioports -001f dma1 0020-003f pic1 0040-005f timer 0060-006f keyboard 0070-007f rtc 0080-008f dma page reg 00a0-00bf pic2 00c0-00df dma2 00f0-00ff npa 0168-016f ide3 * 01f0-01f7 ide0 036e-036e ide3 * 03c0-03df vga+ 03f0-03f5 floppy 03f6-03f6 ide0 03f7-03f7 floppy DIR >From a DOS application I use called ICU (interrupt configuration utility), I can see my SB16 PnP is set up to use IRQ 5 and 10, DMA 1 and 5, I/O ports 108, 168-16f, 200-207, 220-22f, 330-331, 36e-36f, and 388-38b. I have tried all these IO ports and more with sbpcd, both after a soft boot from DOS and a hard boot straight into Linux. Finally, the command ln -s /dev/hdh /dev/cdrom does not work. There is no /dev/hdh, although linux finds hdh:Matshita CR-581 ATAPI CD-ROM drive during start-up. I have tried everything short of opening the case and playing with the jumpers on the CD-ROM drive. That will be a last resort only - my hands are too big to perform such tasks safely. Jeff J
RE: debian installation
> -Original Message- > From: Ed Cogburn [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Saturday, August 21, 1999 5:00 AM > To: Debian-Users > Subject: Re: debian installation > > Now, I believe that > the ease of install depends entirely on the hardware of the box > being installed onto, and not the distribution. If Linux is happy > with the hardware and its configuration, i.e. standard serial > mouse on ttyS0, hayes standard modem (not PnP) on ttyS1, etc, then > the install will be virtually painless regardless of whether you > are installing Debian, RH, Caldera, etc. > I think you're absolutely right. I'm still working on my first installation (2 months and counting). Linux is *not* happy with a PnP soundcard and CD-ROM. From everything I've read, it appears to be necessary to recompile the kernel when configuring PnP hardware. Unfortunately, this can not be done when you only have the base kernel installed. So, it seems, first-time installation from a PnP CD ROM is impossible. My next attempt will involve copying the entire Debian CD #1 onto my DOS partition and installing from there. Jeff J
SB16 PnP CD-ROM
Hi, It appears that getting these SB PnP CD-ROMs has been difficult for several newbies, including myself. I finally got mine working by installing from a DOS partition. I duplicated the directory structure of the first Debian CD on my DOS partition, included the *.deb files in some of the more important-sounding subdirectories (base, utils), and pointed dselect to my hard drive. Once I got enough installed to enable "gcc," I used the module written by Jeff Epler (thanks!), found at: http://www.roestock.demon.co.uk/isapnptools/README.ide My CD-ROM works like a charm now, and I can get dselect to install from CD. It wasn't exactly elegent, but I was getting desparate. Jeff J
