[SLE] Re: 9.2 scsi install: sym53c8xx: Unknown parameter `mpar'

From: Jim Osborn (jimo_at_eskimo.com)
Date: 02/19/05

  • Next message: Jim Osborn: "[SLE] Re: 9.2 scsi install: sym53c8xx: Unknown parameter `mpar'" 
    Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2005 00:16:55 -0800
To: suse-linux-e@suse.com

    On Sat, Feb 19, 2005 at 12:40:27AM -0500, Carl E. Hartung wrote:
    > I'm not sure this will fix your install problems, but '98 to now is
    > quite a long time in computer years. And this definitely is a "rev 1"
    > board. My assessment would be to use the most mature and field-tested
    > code, which requires flashing the BIOS.

    Thanks, Carl, I'll check those links and grab the utilities. Some
    questions remain, though:

    First, wouldn't I be risking losing the machine (and with it my
    ability to connect and call for help) altogether if the new BIOS
    doesn't allow a full 9.2 install, and at the same time, breaks my
    ability to boot back to my current installation? Is the flash
    utility likely to include the ability to Restore-Exactly-What-
    Was-There-Previously? If it does, then it's no real concern,
    but I'd hate to have to order a new SCSI board to fix a failed
    experiment, particularly without a computer to help with the order.
    I live a couple of hours from the big city...

    Second, while the current rev 1 board may be old and creaky, it works
    well with the kernel 2.4.23 sym53c8xx driver. Obviously a newer BIOS
    could require a newer driver, and I can understand that a newer BIOS
    could provide improved performance, but I can't understand how a
    newer Linux driver could fail altogether to operate the older board.
    What am I missing in that thought process?

    The sym53c8xx_2 changelog ends with 2.1.17a, and the boot.msg says
    2.1.18j, so maybe there's something in there about invalidating
    older BIOSes, but I sure don't see anything like that up to 17a.

    My current sym53c8xx says 1.7.3c in the boot.msg, which is the most
    recent in the SuSE 9.2 sym53c8xx changelog. One of the entries in
    that bit of the c-log says:
        - Backport from SYM-2 the work-around that allows to support
          hardwares that fail PCI parity checking.
    as though my sym53c8xx and the new sym53c8xx_2 drivers should both
    know how to deal with a problem suspiciously like mine.

    Finally, while the BIOS issues are interesting and may prove useful,
    isn't the failure of the parameter(s) to the SCSI module occurring
    before the driver knows anything about the BIOS? Am I not dealing
    with a linuxrc/SuSE-kernel issue there, something to do with the
    format of the options/parameters, a mismatch between the docs and the
    actual driver code, or something at that level? It seems I should be
    able to turn on verbose reporting, at least, regardless of the age of
    the card BIOS. Doesn't that extra information come from the driver,
    not the card? The "Unknown parameter" error in the boot log occurs
    before the
      <6>sym0: <895> rev 0x1 at pci 0000:00:0d.0 irq 11
      <4>sym0: Symbios NVRAM, ID 7, Fast-40, LVD, parity checking
    lines, which would seem to indicate first contact with the board itself.

    I don't mean to sound like I really know what I'm talking about here,
    but these questions seem relevant and if you could straighten me out
    on them, it'd really help me understand what I'm dealing with.

    In the meantime, I'll follow those links, and maybe take another pass
    through the SuSE sym53c8xx_2 sources.

    Thanks for the help.

    Jim 

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