SCSI Timeout booting Linux

[stritzgi]

Hi

I am getting a sci timeout whenever I try to boot my compaq AP500 into Linux(SuSE 8.1). The system passes diags, installs ok on the same drive, controller etc.

I have tried swapping cables and used another disk but not getting anywhere. Ahve also reflashed the bios on the AP500.

Also tried putting an adaptec 2940 in but have not managed to get that to boot the system, still have possiblities there with changing PCI slots.

System is dual PII 400 cpus.

Messages output as below


ncr53c8xx: at PCI bus 0, device 11, function 0
ncr53c8xx: 53c875 detected
ncr53c875-0: rev 0x4 on PCI 0 device 11
ncr53c875-0: ID 7, function 0 IRQ 11 Fast-20 parity checking
scsi0: ncr53c8xx.3.4.3b-20010512
scsi: aborting command due to timeout: PID 0, scsi 0, channel 0, id 0 lun0 0x12 00 00 00 24 00
ncr53cxx_abort: pid 0 serialnumber=1 serial_number_at_timeout=1

Anybody got any ideas what I could check next?

 

[DanMc]

I had a similar problem over a year ago. Compaq uses modified symbios (ncr) SCSI chip. The kernel detection is sometimes wrong, because there are something like 100 different cards from different manufacturers in the ncr53 family. I think what finally solved it for me was using the module sym53c8xx. I also had to learn about mkinitrd...

LSILogic owns the ncr53 technology now, and supports a new version of the linux driver called sym53c8xx_2. (I have'nt used it)

I can't link to the section because LSI uses dynamic pages. Search for drivers for "lsi53c875"

Here's the readme.

http://support.megaraid.com/support/dlcenter1/txt1/linux8xx.txt

 

[stritzgi]

Thanks for the pointers, I got it going ok with a suse 7.0 install, I think I might swap the processors and disks with my other AP500 that runs windows and install Linux on the other one which has not had any such problems before, and windows on this one.

Must just be the chip version being different. The one that failed is an ncr53c875j, not sure about the other system but it has clean installed in the past.