Installation of SuSE 7.3 on Pentium-4 machine
I am attempting to install SuSE 7.3, and am having the following difficulty:-- 1. My CPU is an Intel Pentium 4. SuSE's standard bootdisk for installing v7.3 continues to suffer from the architecture-reporting problem -- previously affecting v7.0 -- which is described at ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/i386/update/7.0/kernel/pentium4/README . The problem is that (quote) 'the Linux kernel [on the bootdisk] reports this architecture [i.e. the Pentium-4 architecture] as "i?86", which is an unknown architecture for RPM and it therefore fails to install the packages'. 2. For this reason, I have only been able to install the SuSE system by using a bootdisk created (with rawrite.exe) from the online image ftp://ftp. ... [etc (as above)] ... /7.0/kernel/pentium4/p4-bootdisk -- which is an adjusted version of the image for the kernel required by SuSE Linux VERSION 7.0. This adjusted image was created and published by SuSE specifically for the purpose of solving the above problem concerning installation on Pentium-4 machines. Unfortunately, though, there doesn't seem to be any adjusted kernel for VERSION 7.3 currently available (for Pentium-4 users) from the SuSE site. 3. It seems, moreover, that version 7.3 cannot be installed PROPERLY with the currently-available Pentium-4 bootdisk for v7.0 (see para. 2 above). By this I mean that it CAN be INSTALLED -- and I have, in fact, installed it -- but that the resulting installation is DEFECTIVE in various annoying respects. E.g.:-- -- Subsequent attempts to update or install software forming part of the version-7.3 CD package are hampered/frustrated by the fact that the SuSE version number recorded to the hard disk via the bootdisk (during the installation procedure) differs from the version number on the CD actually inserted (for subsequent update/installation purposes) into the CD drive. -- Various files and directories required by version 7.3 are either installed in wrong places or not installed at all. An example is /usr/share/doc/susehilf/var/pac_en/KDE/index.html -- which is reported as non-existent every time I try to find any info via the SuSE Helpcenter (in KDE). [In fact, I keep getting the message that the Helpcenter "could not even open english.pkd (as fallback) at ./pacsearch.pl line 76"] 4. Please note that the following have not helped in any way:-- -- Inserting the line "arch-compat: i?86: i686" in /usr/lib/rpm/rpmrc -- Manually creating a directory /mnt/usr/lib/rpm [There is no such directory by default after my installation of v7.3] and then placing inside it a newly-created text file rpmrc containing the single line "arch_compat [etc (as above)]" I assume that these and similar problems affect all Pentium-4 users attempting to install version 7.3 (?). If anyone here knows of any specific example of a SUCCESSFUL installation of the 7.3 default system (with or without office or other software) on a Pentium-4 PC, please could you let me know how it was done? Otherwise, can you please make any suggestion(s)/comment(s) which you think might be suitably informative and/or useful. Unfortunately, I am quite new to Linux and am not yet in a position to be able to edit or compile a Linux kernel -- so if that is what is required then I would appreciate any links to sites which explain (for the benefit of newbies) how to do so. This is a very frustrating situation :-( Michael Alachouzos
I assume that these and similar problems affect all Pentium-4 users attempting to install version 7.3 (?). If anyone here knows of any i installed a p4 system two weeks ago. i had bo problems installing suse 7.3 from the cd's using disk 2 and yast1. there were no error on unsupported
hi, On Mon, Dec 31, 2001 at 11:38:27PM +0200, SMD Alachouzos wrote: platform. ciao sascha -- Sascha Andres linux@programmers-world.com http://www.programmers-world.com
Dunno.. Worked totally ok for me with P4 1.5Ghz processor - i installed/reinstalled 7.3pro numerious times in past few weeks, playing around with distribution and kernel options, and i never had a single problem that has been described in original message. IMHO - i have doubts that its CPU type that cause troubles.. Check your bios settings for cpu type, OS type.. (i am sorry if i am sound as ye old professor, but.. :) ) Cheers, Sergei -- If a listener nods his head when you're explaining your program, wake him up.
That's very strange. I tried disk 2 also, and still found the installation to be impossible. Was this a NEW installation that you were doing, or just an update? I am trying to do a new installation, and it seems that it won't work unless I have a bootdisk with a 7.3 kernel image suitably adjusted to report the Pentium-4 architecture correctly. My problem is that I can't find such an adjusted image ready-made on the SuSE site, and I don't know how to go about making one. Michael Alachouzos On Mon, 31 Dec 2001 22:55:17 +0100, Sascha Andres wrote:
I assume that these and similar problems affect all Pentium-4 users attempting to install version 7.3 (?). If anyone here knows of any i installed a p4 system two weeks ago. i had bo problems installing suse 7.3 from the cd's using disk 2 and yast1. there were no error on unsupported
hi, On Mon, Dec 31, 2001 at 11:38:27PM +0200, SMD Alachouzos wrote: platform.
ciao sascha
Well, now I'm REALLY puzzled. I had already checked everything in the BIOS exhaustively, but I'll go back and have another look. I've managed to install 7.3 with no trouble at all on my wife's Pentium-III computer -- but the best that I have been able to do on my Pentium-4 machine is to install it DEFECTIVELY (as described in my original message) by using SuSE's adjusted-image bootdisk for version 7.0 On Mon, 31 Dec 2001 16:38:59 -0600, Sergei Rodionov wrote:
Dunno.. Worked totally ok for me with P4 1.5Ghz processor - i installed/reinstalled 7.3pro numerious times in past few weeks, playing around with distribution and kernel options, and i never had a single problem that has been described in original message.
IMHO - i have doubts that its CPU type that cause troubles.. Check your bios settings for cpu type, OS type.. (i am sorry if i am sound as ye old professor, but.. :) )
Cheers, Sergei
hi, On Tue, Jan 01, 2002 at 12:40:55AM +0200, SMD Alachouzos wrote:
That's very strange. I tried disk 2 also, and still found the installation to be impossible. Was this a NEW installation that you totally new. that was an installation for two hw & sw identically servers that was duplicated via dd. both the installed and the duplicated systems runs without any problems. correctly. My problem is that I can't find such an adjusted image ready-made on the SuSE site, and I don't know how to go about making i don't think you find any if you don't tell suse support. perhaps tell them about your specific hardware (eg mainboard which ram) so they may test it. i believe there are many things acting together. did you try to reset your bios data to defaults?
bye, happy new year sascha -- Sascha Andres linux@programmers-world.com http://www.programmers-world.com
On Monday 31 December 2001 04:38 pm, SMD (Michael) Alachouzos wrote:
I assume that these and similar problems affect all Pentium-4 users attempting to install version 7.3 (?). If anyone here knows of any specific example of a SUCCESSFUL installation of the 7.3 default system (with or without office or other software) on a Pentium-4 PC, please could you let me know how it was done? Otherwise, can you
I installed both 7.2 and later 7.3 on my P4 system with none of the difficulties that you're describing. They included the 2.4 series kernels that fully recognize the P4. I even played with a 2.2 series kernel briefly and nothing bad happened. I'm wondering if the problem is that you are "upgrading" rather than doing a fresh install, causing you to have problems with older things that don't work. I suggest if you feel you need the "upgrade" mode in order to keep important data that you back up the important data instead and do a fresh install.
No -- it's a fresh install. I'm very puzzled by the whole thing. Still investigating. Michael Alachouzos On Tue, 1 Jan 2002 06:56:29 -0500, Joshua Lee wrote:
I installed both 7.2 and later 7.3 on my P4 system with none of the difficulties that you're describing. They included the 2.4 series kernels that fully recognize the P4. I even played with a 2.2 series kernel briefly and nothing bad happened. I'm wondering if the problem is that you are "upgrading" rather than doing a fresh install, causing you to have problems with older things that don't work.
On Tuesday 01 January 2002 08:48 am, SMD (Michael) Alachouzos wrote:
No -- it's a fresh install. I'm very puzzled by the whole thing. Still investigating.
It seems to me to be obvious that it's not because it's a Pentium 4, but for some other reason; as I'm typing this message on a Pentium 4 as we speak. :-) Have you tried booting in safe mode?
Solved it! Here's what I had to do in order to install SuSE 7.3 on my Pentium-4 PC with ASUS P4B motherboard (just in case anyone else has the same problem in future):-- 1. Boot from SuSE-7.3 CD2. 2. At "boot:" prompt, type "linux disableapic" (no quotation marks). Enter. 3. Change to CD1 when prompted to do so. Enter, and proceed with normal YaST2 installation. It WAS a Pentium-4 problem -- but one specific to this particular board and BIOS. Apparently, the Dell P4 system has a similar problem: see http://sdb.suse.de/en/sdb/html/swiegra_delldimension8100.html Michael Alachouzos On Tue, 1 Jan 2002 09:09:41 -0500, Joshua Lee wrote:
It seems to me to be obvious that it's not because it's a Pentium 4, but for some other reason; as I'm typing this message on a Pentium 4 as we speak. :-)
participants (4)
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Joshua Lee -
Sascha Andres -
Sergei Rodionov -
SMD Alachouzos