Newbie needs help installing Red Hat 6.0 *please*

[Scanner]

I finally managed to piece together a machine from various parts laying around my home and I am determined to install a copy of Red Hat 6.0 that I've been foaming at the mouth to work with.<br>
<br>
I have checked with the hardware compatibility lists and have found no reason (I think) for any red flags (please excuse the pun). The hardware in question is an older HP Vectra VE (486/50) with 8Meg RAM/1.0Gig Western Digital HD. <br>
<br>
I read in the compatability list that 16Meg is minimum, but I've heard from a reliable source that they have managed to load 6.0 with 8Meg (command line only...not using XWindows).<br>
<br>
The CDROM is generic and has no labeling that refers to it's manufacturer, but on boot it is recognized as "Hitachi CDR-8335". The driver that DOS uses is an ATAPI driver (MSCDEX.EXE), and the CDROM is slaved to the HD on the onboard IDE controller.<br>
<br>
The bios and motherboard look to be propriatary HP (no reference to Phoenix, Award or AMI and nothing but a big "HP" sticker on the MB) and there is no onboard CDROM controller (only floppy and HD). There is no reference to CDROM configuration in the bios, and I'm not really sure if that matters. If it does, I still don't know how to update the bios, or even if it can be done for this machine.<br>
<br>
The first time I booted from the Linux disk (created using boot.img), I happily got all the way to the main installation menu. It went as far as the prompt to "load the CD", but froze as soon as I pressed &lt;OK&gt;. After several minutes, I received an error saying that it was not able to initialize the CDROM.<br>
<br>
I rebooted the machine and noticed the following error code displayed when the bootdisk was processing:<br>
<br>
hda: WDC AC21000H, ATA DISK drive<br>
hdb: , ATAPI CDROM drive<br>
ide0 at 0x1f0-0x1f7, 0x3f6 on irq 14<br>
hda: WDC AC21000H, 1033MB w/128kB Cache, CHS=525/64/63<br>
hdb: status error: status=0x18 {SeekComplete DataRequest}<br>
hdb: drive not ready for command<br>
hdb: ATAPI reset complete<br>
hdb: irq timeout: status=0xd0 {Busy}<br>
hdb: ATAPI reset complete<br>
hdb: irq timeout: status=0xd0 {Busy}<br>
end_request: I/O error, dev 03:40 (hdb)<br>
<br>
I also noticed that from the beginning of the coldboot until this part of the code I had been able to open/close the CDROM door. After this point there is no power to the CDROM and the door will not spin/open/close.<br>
<br>
I am a complete newbie (translation--Ignorant) to the world of Linux but eager to learn. I would really appreciate anyone that might be able to hit me over the head with a large object and get me on the right track.<br>
<br>
Thanks !!<br>
<br>
Scanner

 

[Kudagai]

This may sound a bit silly, but do you have a copy of Windows95 lying around? If so, try this:<br>
Reformat the hard disk for Win95. Install it. Print out the full system information. (Under the properties of My Computer). This is likely to be lots of pages of garbage, but somewhere in there you may find what you need. Also check the motherboard for an HP model number. If you know the model, someone may be able to tell you whether it is compatible.<br>
<br>
Best wishes.<br>
<br>
I feel skeptical about anything from HP, since my OfficeJet 1150C remains totally unusable with Linux, all models. HP claims in public announcements that their customers haven't asked for Linux drivers, but I personally know this to be a lie. I asked for drivers several times months before they said that. This is intentional on their part, as they have decided to keep the printer/scanner protocols secret. Any justification that I make for them has to be my complete fabrication, as they haven't given (me?) *ANY* justifier.

 

[robherc]

OK...would you rather to 40lb cement block? or the 3x18 plank? Either way; I'm gonna make a swing for ya; but look out face if I miss 'cuz being a fellow newbie my aim is off & it might mbe me that I hit ;-)<br>
<br>
All joking aside.....look through your files for creating a boot disk that is compatible with different types of CD-rom drives....this may be your only problem; the CD-ROM drive may just not be compatible with the boot disk you chose.<br>
<br>
Otherwise; let me know & I can get you a _bootable_ CD cheaply that you can try....just shut down your computer, insert the CD, and turn the power back on....the CDs boot with a _much_ wider hardware compatibility scheme than any single diskette _can_.<br>
<br>
<br>
-Robherc<br>
robherc@netzero.net