Old PC - ASUS P5A-B - Will not boot Linux (Ubuntu)

PC Will not boot Linux

I set up my PC BIOS to like this:

size cyls heads sectors
Pri Master HD1 USER 20515 2494 255 63 LBA

Sec Master (CD) AUTO

The option for LARGE/NORMAL is: 39761 cyls, 16 heads (which I
think corresponds to the physical layout of the HDD)

I partitioned my HD:

Number type size format partition
#1 primary 63.9M ext3 /boot (bootable)
#5 logical 1G ext3 /
#6 logical 1G ext3 /home
#7 logical 6G ext3 /usr
#8 logical 10.7G ext3 /var
#9 logical 1G ext3 /tmp
#3 primary 624M swap swap

The above is a summary of the info Ubuntu partitioning utility
gives me. All partitions were formatted. Only one partition is
bootable (/boot).

Ubuntu (v4.10) installed itself without complaint after I had
finished partitioning and then instructed me to remove the CD,
which I did.

I altered the BIOS boot sequence to boot C, A [but the original
CDROM, A, C sequence won't boot from HDD either]

During bootup attempt I see the following message:

"Detecting HDD Secondary Master ... ATAPI 52x CDROM"

It hangs around there for about a minute then tells me it can't
boot.

THERE IS NO MENTION OF IT "Detecting HDD Primary Master". The
final error message is:

"DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER"

Above that error message BIOS indicates the following fixed
disks:

Primary Master: CHS, Mode 0, 20521 MB
Secondary Master: CDROM, UDMA2

The jumpers are correctly set in the HDD and CDROM (both
masters)

PS: Previously the ROM would show that the HDD was mode 3 (or 4)
not mode 0. (When running under Windows)

The Mobo BIOS is: ASUS P5A-B (bios rev 1010, 24-02-2000) with
AMD K6-II 550 MHz chip, 256 M RAM

Some BIOS settings a

HDD SMART capability: enabled
IDE HDD Block Mode Sectors: HDD MAX
IDE Ultra DMA Mode: enabled

AGP Bus Turbo Mode enabled


Q: Did I make a fundamental mistake in partitioning my disk for
Linux. If so what should my partitions have been and why did
Ubuntu install itself without errors (if I made mistakes)?

Q: Given that I've run this HDD under Windows using Ultra DMA
mode, how suspicious is it that my computer tells me that the
HDD is "CHS, Mode 0"

Q: Is there a way to find out which particular Mobo / BIOS
versions have been tested for Ubuntu Linux?

Q: Should I burn the BIOS with an earlier version (earlier than
1010), to try to get it working? [I think I already have the
most recent BIOS]

Q: Should I change the BIOS settings for the HD (from LBA to
LARGE) ?

Q: Should I switch off "AGP Bus Turbo Mode" and try again - or
can't this possibly affect the HDD?

Q: Should I give up?

"mark4asp" skrev i meddelandet
...
PC Will not boot Linux

I set up my PC BIOS to like this:

size cyls heads sectors
Pri Master HD1 USER 20515 2494 255 63 LBA

Sec Master (CD) AUTO

The option for LARGE/NORMAL is: 39761 cyls, 16 heads (which I
think corresponds to the physical layout of the HDD)

I partitioned my HD:

Number type size format partition
#1 primary 63.9M ext3 /boot (bootable)
#5 logical 1G ext3 /
#6 logical 1G ext3 /home
#7 logical 6G ext3 /usr
#8 logical 10.7G ext3 /var
#9 logical 1G ext3 /tmp
#3 primary 624M swap swap

The above is a summary of the info Ubuntu partitioning utility
gives me. All partitions were formatted. Only one partition is
bootable (/boot).

Ubuntu (v4.10) installed itself without complaint after I had
finished partitioning and then instructed me to remove the CD,
which I did.

I altered the BIOS boot sequence to boot C, A [but the original
CDROM, A, C sequence won't boot from HDD either]

During bootup attempt I see the following message:

"Detecting HDD Secondary Master ... ATAPI 52x CDROM"

It hangs around there for about a minute then tells me it can't
boot.

THERE IS NO MENTION OF IT "Detecting HDD Primary Master". The
final error message is:

"DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER"

Above that error message BIOS indicates the following fixed
disks:

Primary Master: CHS, Mode 0, 20521 MB
Secondary Master: CDROM, UDMA2

The jumpers are correctly set in the HDD and CDROM (both
masters)

PS: Previously the ROM would show that the HDD was mode 3 (or 4)
not mode 0. (When running under Windows)

The Mobo BIOS is: ASUS P5A-B (bios rev 1010, 24-02-2000) with
AMD K6-II 550 MHz chip, 256 M RAM

Some BIOS settings a

HDD SMART capability: enabled
IDE HDD Block Mode Sectors: HDD MAX
IDE Ultra DMA Mode: enabled

AGP Bus Turbo Mode enabled


Q: Did I make a fundamental mistake in partitioning my disk for
Linux. If so what should my partitions have been and why did
Ubuntu install itself without errors (if I made mistakes)?

Q: Given that I've run this HDD under Windows using Ultra DMA
mode, how suspicious is it that my computer tells me that the
HDD is "CHS, Mode 0"

Q: Is there a way to find out which particular Mobo / BIOS
versions have been tested for Ubuntu Linux?

Q: Should I burn the BIOS with an earlier version (earlier than
1010), to try to get it working? [I think I already have the
most recent BIOS]

Q: Should I change the BIOS settings for the HD (from LBA to
LARGE) ?

Q: Should I switch off "AGP Bus Turbo Mode" and try again - or
can't this possibly affect the HDD?

Q: Should I give up?


Seems like it's not a Linux problem, reset bios to default settings, have
the HDD in Auto mode.

mark4asp wrote:
Q: Should I change the BIOS settings for the HD (from LBA to
LARGE) ?

LBA Mode? I thought that it was in Normal mode. Maybe I didn't understand the
start of your message.

Set the mode to "Normal" in the BIOS, then partition the drive and install the
software.

I also recommend that you switch off "SMART" disk monitoring. This causes
problems on some machines.

Regards,

Mark.

--

Mark Hobley
393 Quinton Road West
QUINTON
Birmingham
B32 1QE

Reply to: markhobley at hotpop dot do_not_type_this_bit com

http://markhobley.yi.org/

mark4asp writes:
I partitioned my HD:

Number type size format partition
#1 primary 63.9M ext3 /boot (bootable)
#5 logical 1G ext3 /
#6 logical 1G ext3 /home
#7 logical 6G ext3 /usr
#8 logical 10.7G ext3 /var
#9 logical 1G ext3 /tmp
#3 primary 624M swap swap
^^^^

Does this mean the swap partition is last on the disk? That's not a
good idea, if swap is ever used it should be pretty fast (best put
directly after /boot at the beginning of the disk). Unfortunately this
output is rather short. Could you perhaps try to see what "fdisk -l"
issued from a console tells you (should be available via Alt-F2 or
Alt-F3 from most Linux installation media).

THERE IS NO MENTION OF IT "Detecting HDD Primary Master". The
final error message is:

"DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER"

That probably means the boot sector in the mbr of your disk sees no
active partition. Have you checked wether your bootable /boot partition
is also the (only) active partition? You could check this from your
Ubuntu boot media or any other system with partitioning utility you have
on a bootable cd (even Windows XP cd will do).

Q: Did I make a fundamental mistake in partitioning my disk for
Linux. If so what should my partitions have been and why did
Ubuntu install itself without errors (if I made mistakes)?

Not in any way to prevent booting per se.

Q: Given that I've run this HDD under Windows using Ultra DMA
mode, how suspicious is it that my computer tells me that the
HDD is "CHS, Mode 0"

What part of your computer tells you this?

Q: Is there a way to find out which particular Mobo / BIOS
versions have been tested for Ubuntu Linux?

This is mostly a question specific to the Linux kernel. Ubuntu takes
most modifications from debian, so you might want to search both
projects' pages. But because your system doesn't even load the boot
loader it's not relevant to your problem. And the fact that the install
went fine tells me that all hardware absolutely necessary is working
fine.

Q: Should I burn the BIOS with an earlier version (earlier than
1010), to try to get it working? [I think I already have the
most recent BIOS]

Not unless you find a specific problem report.

Q: Should I change the BIOS settings for the HD (from LBA to
LARGE) ?

Not really. I think that might one day have been useful for relatively
old operating systems (think older than Win95).

Q: Should I switch off "AGP Bus Turbo Mode" and try again - or
can't this possibly affect the HDD?

I don't see any obvious connection but can't give any good
recommendation either.

Q: Should I give up?

Not at all, you are probably just stuck with a very simple problem. Not
seeing the wood for all the trees as we say in Germany is just so normal
for human beings, that even a moment of contemplation can give you just
the right idea how to tackle this.

Thomas Jahns
--
"Computers are good at following instructions,
but not at reading your mind."
D. E. Knuth, The TeXbook, Addison-Wesley 1984, 1986, 1996, p. 9

Do not forget to disable the virus protection in the bios to give Linux
acces to the Master Boot Record.
The best place for Lilo is the master boot record of the first harddisk.
You can restor the Master boot record Whith a Windows 89 floppy containing
fdisk.
command is fdisk /mbr
The rest of the bios settings cen be left standard.

"Thomas Jahns" schreef in bericht
...
mark4asp writes:
I partitioned my HD:

Number type size format partition
#1 primary 63.9M ext3 /boot (bootable)
#5 logical 1G ext3 /
#6 logical 1G ext3 /home
#7 logical 6G ext3 /usr
#8 logical 10.7G ext3 /var
#9 logical 1G ext3 /tmp
#3 primary 624M swap swap
^^^^

Does this mean the swap partition is last on the disk? That's not a
good idea, if swap is ever used it should be pretty fast (best put
directly after /boot at the beginning of the disk). Unfortunately this
output is rather short. Could you perhaps try to see what "fdisk -l"
issued from a console tells you (should be available via Alt-F2 or
Alt-F3 from most Linux installation media).

THERE IS NO MENTION OF IT "Detecting HDD Primary Master". The
final error message is:

"DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER"

That probably means the boot sector in the mbr of your disk sees no
active partition. Have you checked wether your bootable /boot partition
is also the (only) active partition? You could check this from your
Ubuntu boot media or any other system with partitioning utility you have
on a bootable cd (even Windows XP cd will do).

Q: Did I make a fundamental mistake in partitioning my disk for
Linux. If so what should my partitions have been and why did
Ubuntu install itself without errors (if I made mistakes)?

Not in any way to prevent booting per se.

Q: Given that I've run this HDD under Windows using Ultra DMA
mode, how suspicious is it that my computer tells me that the
HDD is "CHS, Mode 0"

What part of your computer tells you this?

Q: Is there a way to find out which particular Mobo / BIOS
versions have been tested for Ubuntu Linux?

This is mostly a question specific to the Linux kernel. Ubuntu takes
most modifications from debian, so you might want to search both
projects' pages. But because your system doesn't even load the boot
loader it's not relevant to your problem. And the fact that the install
went fine tells me that all hardware absolutely necessary is working
fine.

Q: Should I burn the BIOS with an earlier version (earlier than
1010), to try to get it working? [I think I already have the
most recent BIOS]

Not unless you find a specific problem report.

Q: Should I change the BIOS settings for the HD (from LBA to
LARGE) ?

Not really. I think that might one day have been useful for relatively
old operating systems (think older than Win95).

Q: Should I switch off "AGP Bus Turbo Mode" and try again - or
can't this possibly affect the HDD?

I don't see any obvious connection but can't give any good
recommendation either.

Q: Should I give up?

Not at all, you are probably just stuck with a very simple problem. Not
seeing the wood for all the trees as we say in Germany is just so normal
for human beings, that even a moment of contemplation can give you just
the right idea how to tackle this.

Thomas Jahns
--
"Computers are good at following instructions,
but not at reading your mind."
D. E. Knuth, The TeXbook, Addison-Wesley 1984, 1986, 1996, p. 9

"Thomas Jahns" wrote in message
...
mark4asp writes:
I partitioned my HD:

Number type size format partition
#1 primary 63.9M ext3 /boot (bootable)
#5 logical 1G ext3 /
#6 logical 1G ext3 /home
#7 logical 6G ext3 /usr
#8 logical 10.7G ext3 /var
#9 logical 1G ext3 /tmp
#3 primary 624M swap swap
^^^^

Does this mean the swap partition is last on the disk? That's not a
good idea, if swap is ever used it should be pretty fast (best put
directly after /boot at the beginning of the disk). Unfortunately this
output is rather short. Could you perhaps try to see what "fdisk -l"
issued from a console tells you (should be available via Alt-F2 or
Alt-F3 from most Linux installation media).


I would have thought so also, but if my memory serves me right, when you let
the install program auto partition your drive it sets up a seemingly
ridiculous number of partitions and puts the swap at the end. Perhaps if you
have multiple devices you might want to mount them differently, but IMHO the
best utilization of space on a single disk is a swap and root.

On Tue, 02 Nov 2004 18:07:27 GMT,
(Mark Hobley) wrote:

mark4asp wrote:
Q: Should I change the BIOS settings for the HD (from LBA to
LARGE) ?

LBA Mode? I thought that it was in Normal mode. Maybe I didn't understand the
start of your message.

Set the mode to "Normal" in the BIOS, then partition the drive and install the
software.

I also recommend that you switch off "SMART" disk monitoring. This causes
problems on some machines.

Regards,

Mark.

1) I checked the disk jumpers again - both set to Master

2) I reset the BIOS to LOAD BIOS DEFAULTS, followed by LOAD
SETUP DEFAULTS

3) I switched off virus boot protection (which had been switched
on by (2)). Note PnP BIOS setting was also switched off by (2).
SMART was switched off by (2).

4) Auto detected disks (& found the HDD)

5) Set disk config for master (no secondaries present) disks to
for HDD / CDROM to:

type cont size cyls heads secs mode
USER PRI 20521 39761 16 63 NORMAL
AUTO SEC 0 0 0 0 NORMAL

6) Booted a Win98 startup floppy, Ran FDISK, Got an ERROR:
"No Fixed Disks Present"

7) Reset, Booted with Partition Magic 8 floppies, Got an error:
"Error #88, Unable to find the drive specified"

Q: If my Linux partition software can see the disk why cant
floppy disk utils such as FDISK and PM8 ?

There seems to be a very serious error here if neither DOS
"fdisk /mbr", not PM8 can see the HDD. It looks like either a
HDD or controller error to me.

Q: Is this a HDD / mobo controller / cable problem ?

Perhaps I should
a) switch the controllers so that the CDROM is on controller 0
and the HDD on controller 1 ?
or b) Put both HDD & CDROM on the same controller.
or c) Change the CDROM (I can't change the HDD - it's the only
spare I have.

mark4asp wrote:
Q: Should I change the BIOS settings for the HD (from LBA to
LARGE) ?

Set the mode to "Normal" in the BIOS, then partition the drive and install the
software.

I also recommend that you switch off "SMART" disk monitoring. This causes
problems on some machines.


1) I checked the disk jumpers again - both set to Master

Ok, Master is fine.

2) I reset the BIOS to LOAD BIOS DEFAULTS, followed by LOAD
SETUP DEFAULTS

Ok, check that the drive configuration is "Normal". You do not want LBA.

4) Auto detected disks (& found the HDD)


Switch to "Normal", if this has not occured.

5) Set disk config for master (no secondaries present) disks to
for HDD / CDROM to:

type cont size cyls heads secs mode
USER PRI 20521 39761 16 63 NORMAL
AUTO SEC 0 0 0 0 NORMAL


Ok

6) Booted a Win98 startup floppy, Ran FDISK, Got an ERROR:
"No Fixed Disks Present"

Ok. How big is the hard disk ?

I am not sure why its not seeing the hard disk. This could be a bios or
hardware problem.

How big is the hard disk ?

Q: If my Linux partition software can see the disk why cant
floppy disk utils such as FDISK and PM8 ?


Ok, reboot and try again.

There seems to be a very serious error here if neither DOS
"fdisk /mbr", not PM8 can see the HDD. It looks like either a
HDD or controller error to me.

Maybe. Check the cables and try again.

When you boot the machine, sometimes the BIOS displays on the screen what
drives are present.

Have a look to see if yours is listed.

If the Linux tools are consistently seeing the drive, but the DOS ones
are not, I would not worry too much.

Just drop Linux on there. Maybe create a partition at the end of the
drive and run

badblocks -w

Or better still, if you have a boot CDROM with this capability run badblocks
against the whole drive.

If no bad blocks are order, then I'd live with it.

Just remember to back up regularly. You should always do this anyway.

Regards,

Mark.

--

Mark Hobley
393 Quinton Road West
QUINTON
Birmingham
B32 1QE

Reply to: markhobley at hotpop dot do_not_type_this_bit com

http://markhobley.yi.org/

On Tue, 02 Nov 2004 16:51:59 +0000, mark4asp wrote:

PC Will not boot Linux

I set up my PC BIOS to like this:

size cyls heads sectors
Pri Master HD1 USER 20515 2494 255 63 LBA

Sec Master (CD) AUTO

The option for LARGE/NORMAL is: 39761 cyls, 16 heads (which I think
corresponds to the physical layout of the HDD)

I partitioned my HD:

Number type size format partition
#1 primary 63.9M ext3 /boot (bootable) #5 logical 1G ext3 / #6 logical
1G ext3 /home
#7 logical 6G ext3 /usr
#8 logical 10.7G ext3 /var
#9 logical 1G ext3 /tmp
#3 primary 624M swap swap

The above is a summary of the info Ubuntu partitioning utility gives me.
All partitions were formatted. Only one partition is bootable (/boot).

Ubuntu (v4.10) installed itself without complaint after I had finished
partitioning and then instructed me to remove the CD, which I did.

I altered the BIOS boot sequence to boot C, A [but the original CDROM,
A, C sequence won't boot from HDD either]

During bootup attempt I see the following message:

"Detecting HDD Secondary Master ... ATAPI 52x CDROM"

It hangs around there for about a minute then tells me it can't boot.

THERE IS NO MENTION OF IT "Detecting HDD Primary Master". The final
error message is:

"DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER"

Above that error message BIOS indicates the following fixed disks:

Primary Master: CHS, Mode 0, 20521 MB Secondary Master: CDROM, UDMA2

The jumpers are correctly set in the HDD and CDROM (both masters)

PS: Previously the ROM would show that the HDD was mode 3 (or 4) not
mode 0. (When running under Windows)
Get it working in BIOS setup (read below), then reformat in linux when
specifying LBA mode.


The Mobo BIOS is: ASUS P5A-B (bios rev 1010, 24-02-2000) with AMD K6-II
550 MHz chip, 256 M RAM

I am not near the computers I manage which are using the P5A. I know I
have one system with the P5A with a 40G hard disk and the onboard ALi
chipset hard disk contoller with a 40G disk. I had to upgrade the BIOS at
some point to cross the 32G barrier.

Some BIOS settings a

HDD SMART capability: enabled
IDE HDD Block Mode Sectors: HDD MAX
IDE Ultra DMA Mode: enabled

AGP Bus Turbo Mode enabled


Q: Did I make a fundamental mistake in partitioning my disk for Linux.
If so what should my partitions have been and why did Ubuntu install
itself without errors (if I made mistakes)?

Q: Given that I've run this HDD under Windows using Ultra DMA mode, how
suspicious is it that my computer tells me that the HDD is "CHS, Mode 0"
That is the key.


Q: Is there a way to find out which particular Mobo / BIOS versions have
been tested for Ubuntu Linux?
You want kernel support for the ALi chipset. I don't use Ubuntu, but I
think it should support ALi. Look at the kernel configuration file for
this entry: CONFIG_BLK_DEV_ALI15X3=y


Q: Should I burn the BIOS with an earlier version (earlier than 1010),
to try to get it working? [I think I already have the most recent BIOS]
No. If it is most recent, then it should work.


Q: Should I change the BIOS settings for the HD (from LBA to LARGE) ?
No, use LBA.

Q: Should I switch off "AGP Bus Turbo Mode" and try again - or can't
this possibly affect the HDD?
Don't know.


Q: Should I give up?
Not unless you're a quitter. ;-)


Note: part of response inline.

Within BIOS setup, specify to autodetect your hard drive type- do not
specify CHS. There is a menu entry within the BIOS setup of this
motherboard which will show what is presently detected. If your hard
drive is not "detected" in that environment, then there could be a
hardware on another problem. Usually, 32G is a BIOS limit for older
boards, not the 20G you are using. So, I would expect the drive to be
autodetected correctly. By specifying CHS as a "user" type, it appears to
override any autodetected information. Also, I think that you want to
boot/format linux in LBA mode.

--
Chandra: HAL was told to lie - by people who find it easy to lie.
HAL doesn't know how.
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0086837/quotes

On Wed, 03 Nov 2004 11:07:11 GMT,
(Mark Hobley) wrote:

mark4asp wrote:
Q: Should I change the BIOS settings for the HD (from LBA to
LARGE) ?

Set the mode to "Normal" in the BIOS, then partition the drive and install the
software.

I also recommend that you switch off "SMART" disk monitoring. This causes
problems on some machines.


1) I checked the disk jumpers again - both set to Master

Ok, Master is fine.

2) I reset the BIOS to LOAD BIOS DEFAULTS, followed by LOAD
SETUP DEFAULTS

Ok, check that the drive configuration is "Normal". You do not want LBA.

4) Auto detected disks (& found the HDD)


Switch to "Normal", if this has not occured.

5) Set disk config for master (no secondaries present) disks to
for HDD / CDROM to:

type cont size cyls heads secs mode
USER PRI 20521 39761 16 63 NORMAL
AUTO SEC 0 0 0 0 NORMAL


Ok

6) Booted a Win98 startup floppy, Ran FDISK, Got an ERROR:
"No Fixed Disks Present"

Ok. How big is the hard disk ?

I am not sure why its not seeing the hard disk. This could be a bios or
hardware problem.

Yes. It must be a hardware problem. I downloaded the Western
Digital disk diagnostics prorgam and that wouldn't even run it's
2 minute test before conking out and giving an error.

How big is the hard disk ?

Only 20 GB. I've already upgraded the mobo BIOS to cope with
much bigger hard disks.

I shall have to try this HDD with a different mobo or on a
different controller.


Q: If my Linux partition software can see the disk why cant
floppy disk utils such as FDISK and PM8 ?


Ok, reboot and try again.

There seems to be a very serious error here if neither DOS
"fdisk /mbr", not PM8 can see the HDD. It looks like either a
HDD or controller error to me.

Maybe. Check the cables and try again.

When you boot the machine, sometimes the BIOS displays on the screen what
drives are present.

Have a look to see if yours is listed.

If the Linux tools are consistently seeing the drive, but the DOS ones
are not, I would not worry too much.

Just drop Linux on there. Maybe create a partition at the end of the
drive and run

badblocks -w

Or better still, if you have a boot CDROM with this capability run badblocks
against the whole drive.

If no bad blocks are order, then I'd live with it.

Just remember to back up regularly. You should always do this anyway.

Regards,

Mark.