VIA SATA problems
Hello, I realise that this topic has been covered quite a lot, but hopefully someone will be able to offer me some more advice. I've just bought a nice fast PC to be the main development machine for my startup software company. Most of my work involves open source, so Linux seemed the best option for me, I already run Suse 9 pro on my laptop so thought that would be the best option, especially as it supports AMD64. So obviously I was hugely disappointed to find installing it was a complete non-starter. I've tried to follow the instructions posted here, but so far no luck, and to be honest I have a business to run, and I can't afford to spend much more time on this. I know I should have checked to see if Linux would support my hardware, but I just assumed it would (it installed on my laptop so easily!). Windows XP pro is arriving today, this is the first time I've bought a Microsoft product. My PC is as follows: Mobo: GA-K8VNXP with onboard Via 8237 controller Hard drive: 2 x Seagate Serial ATA 120GB CPU: AMD64 3200XP Raid 0 has been configured in Bios and the array marked as the bootable drive. The GigaRaid option has been turned off (as I think this only applies for pata drives, I may be wrong in this), and I have configured RAID using the BIOS menus for the Via 8237 controller. I have downloaded the SATA patch CD, and have tried installing in safe mode with the settings such as poll=idle apm=off acpi=off, I have disabled the USB keyboard and mouse in bios, Booting with the patch CD gives me this message: crc error<6>ide-floppy driver 0.99.newide VFS: Cannot open root device "" or 03:06 Please append a correct "root=" boot option Kernel panic: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on 03:06 If anyone has some advice on how to get Suse installed on this machine I'd be greatful, but if it involves days (or weeks) of wrestling with kernel updates and the like, I simply can't afford to do that, I have clients waiting for their software. Otherwise can anyone give a prediction how long it will be before Suse supports SATA properly? Thankyou in advance, Andrew Mason
Hi Andrew,
Quoting Andrew Mason
Booting with the patch CD gives me this message: crc error<6>ide-floppy driver 0.99.newide VFS: Cannot open root device "" or 03:06 Please append a correct "root=" boot option Kernel panic: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on 03:06
Ok iirc same chipset, but different mobo here. My walkthrough as far as I can recall it. Install media is a local nfs/ftp mirror. Boot from patch CD choose the *normal* install that one will bomb and drop into expert mode in expert mode load the modules sata_via (or was it via_sata) and the modules for the nic and others maybe. Then go to install and choose network install etc. .... Then at 1st reboot again boot from patch CD and do same as above, but this time choose boot from installed OS (after module loading) and give the root fs. After install fully done install the (kernel etc) rpms from the directory Patch CD *from*and*ftp*mirror* of SuSE (patch CD iso somehow is borked, well mine was anyay) Add the sata_via module to the initrd option in /etc/sysconfig/kernel run mkinitrd fingerscrossed and reboot. You now own the map, the elixer of life and the spell to expell XP.
Otherwise can anyone give a prediction how long it will be before Suse supports SATA properly?
The SuSE kernel already does (from Patch CD) and the mainstream kernel from 2.6 does which will be on 9.1 which will be out soon (release is set beginning of May iirc) Hth BB, Arjen
Hi Arjen,
Thanks for the advice, but booting from the patch CD with *normal* (or any)
install does not even drop into expert mode.
It just hangs after displaying the kernel panic line.
Should I be doing something else?
How do I load the modules in expert mode. I've never seen expert mode before
as it's never got that far!
Please excuse me if I ask stupid questions, I really am not that experienced
in hardware, and things at OS level.
Thanks Andrew
----- Original Message -----
From: "Arjen Runsink"
Hi Andrew,
Quoting Andrew Mason
: Booting with the patch CD gives me this message: crc error<6>ide-floppy driver 0.99.newide VFS: Cannot open root device "" or 03:06 Please append a correct "root=" boot option Kernel panic: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on 03:06
Ok iirc same chipset, but different mobo here.
My walkthrough as far as I can recall it. Install media is a local nfs/ftp mirror.
Boot from patch CD choose the *normal* install that one will bomb and drop into expert mode in expert mode load the modules sata_via (or was it via_sata) and the modules for the nic and others maybe.
Then go to install and choose network install etc.
....
Then at 1st reboot again boot from patch CD and do same as above, but this time choose boot from installed OS (after module loading) and give the root fs.
After install fully done install the (kernel etc) rpms from the directory Patch CD *from*and*ftp*mirror* of SuSE (patch CD iso somehow is borked, well mine was anyay)
Add the sata_via module to the initrd option in /etc/sysconfig/kernel
run mkinitrd
fingerscrossed and reboot.
You now own the map, the elixer of life and the spell to expell XP.
Otherwise can anyone give a prediction how long it will be before Suse supports SATA properly?
The SuSE kernel already does (from Patch CD) and the mainstream kernel from 2.6 does which will be on 9.1 which will be out soon (release is set beginning of May iirc)
Hth
BB, Arjen
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Hi Andrew,
Quoting Andrew Mason
install does not even drop into expert mode. It just hangs after displaying the kernel panic line. Should I be doing something else? How do I load the modules in expert mode. I've never seen expert mode before
Well, what I call "expert mode" is also called manual mode. You do have that option to choose from in the CD menu. Try switching to text mode and then choose manual install. This did not work for me (dunno why). But might for you. There you see various menu options to choose from. Amongst which is the modules option. But if this is all going to technical for you it might be better to (pre-)order 9.1-Pro. This will have all the developer tools/libs and apps you need for both i386 and x86_64. BB, Arjen
Ah yes manual mode - unfortunately it never gets as far as running linuxrc.
It stops before then.
Could the 'crc error<6>ide-floppy driver 0.99.newide' line maybe indicate
the contents of the boot cd are corrupted?
I notice you mention your CD iso was 'borked'.
Thanks anyway,
Andrew
----- Original Message -----
From: "Arjen Runsink"
Hi Andrew,
Quoting Andrew Mason
: install does not even drop into expert mode. It just hangs after displaying the kernel panic line. Should I be doing something else? How do I load the modules in expert mode. I've never seen expert mode before
Well, what I call "expert mode" is also called manual mode.
You do have that option to choose from in the CD menu. Try switching to text mode and then choose manual install.
This did not work for me (dunno why). But might for you. There you see various menu options to choose from. Amongst which is the modules option.
But if this is all going to technical for you it might be better to (pre-)order 9.1-Pro. This will have all the developer tools/libs and apps you need for both i386 and x86_64.
BB, Arjen
Quoting Andrew Mason
Could the 'crc error<6>ide-floppy driver 0.99.newide' line maybe indicate the contents of the boot cd are corrupted? Good question, could be, a bootable CD has a floppy image on it from which it is booted (iirc) maybe indeed the ide-fploppy driver is used for that.
I notice you mention your CD iso was 'borked'.
Yes, but in the cd filesystem part, or the actual iso file in that part could be. Maybe you should try and burn the patch iso again. Using a slower speed, other writer, or cleaner cdr BB, Arjen
participants (2)
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Andrew Mason
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Arjen Runsink