Re: Two new installations

From: Colin Bearfield (cbearfield_at_ntlworld.com)
Date: 04/11/05 

Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2005 13:37:01 GMT

On Fri, 1 Apr 2005 21:01:07 -0700, Kevin Nathan
<knathan@project54.com> wrote:

>On Fri, 01 Apr 2005 10:48:04 GMT
>Colin Bearfield <cbearfield@ntlworld.com> wrote:
>
>> this O/S is nothing like what i remember from C/PM, DRDos, PCDos and
>> all the varieties of windows. It's a huge learning curve.
>>
>
>Yes, it is. :-)
>
>
>> I hope that I have not made you feel too sore (I believe that is an
>> American expression). One more thing, If you insist that this is the
>> best way forward that's what I shall do, but I was hoping to dedicate
>> only about 60Gb to Iinux, that's why I shoved in 20Gb partitions on
>> spec. I've read several times pp17-19 in the manual and it all seemed
>> more complicated than that.
>>
>
>Seriously, try installing. When you are in the installer, you will have
>a chance to setup and/or change the partitioning. Give it as many
>partitions as you want with as much, or as little, space as you'd like.
>As I said before, *start* doing it -- much more helpful than talking and
>theorizing! :-)
>
>
>> To review: One five year old computer, rock steady. never a problem.
>> I installed Sure to the 12Gb partition which was the second partition.
>> On boot up it failed to detect the hard drive and failing to find a CD
>> in the 3rd boot up device it said "Disk failure". A warm boot got me
>> going again. This was almost every start up, maybe all of them. I
>> just did a warm boot whenever it failed.
>
>We can stop trying to diagnose this online because we have *no* way of
>knowing what you did. *All* of your descriptions point towards hardware
>(failing battery, dodgy hard drive, etc., *especially* the fact that a
>warm boot worked when a cold boot doesn't -- IME, that always indicates
>a bad battery for the BIOS) but you insist on Linux. I have absolutely
>*no* idea how that could be. The fact that the BIOS is not detecting the
>drive has nothing to do with *any* OS because the BIOS knows nothing
>about installed OSes; it simply queries the hardware. It could be down
>to something you (or the hardware) is doing and you don't even realize
>it.
>
>If I could be sitting in front of it performing all these tests, I could
>figure it out. From your brief comments on it, there's no hope
>whatsoever that I, or anyone, could figure it out. Find a local computer
>expert, preferably a Linux-using one, and you may get an answer. But
>don't expect one from here. None of us have ever seen anything remotely
>like that, at least as what you describe, so we have no idea where to
>go.
>
>
>> Recently I removed Lines by removing the hard drive. Perfect booting
>> started immediately and has continued.
>
>That sounds like a bad hard drive, to me.
>
>
>> At no time was there any
>> change in any other of the factors in the equation. The only suspect
>> that hasn't been eliminated at this stage is Linux, that's why I said
>> "chief suspect" and was called stupid.
>>
>
>That's faulty, or incomplete, logic. You removed Linux by *removing* the
>hard drive, so why don't you suspect the hard drive? Why does that
>*only* point to Linux? You're leaving out *way* too many steps here. As
>I said, you will need to look to someone local that can sit down at the
>computer and figure it out.

Hi Kevin

I follow you all the way. One problem is that when I issued the
"challenge" I had already spent about 3 months on it, mostly without
recourse to this NG, so you wouldn't know that. By the time the
challenge was offered I had abandoned hope of a solution and was
actively swapping hardware around to find a way forward. I see what
you mean by suspecting the hard drive. The reason I put it this way
is because Linux (Suse 9.2) occupied the second half of the hard drive
so removing the hard drive was the only way I could temporarily remove
Linux. Before the installations the drive was fine, even with Mandrake
on it. If it was only coincidence how would it explain the other
people who had the same problem.

Everybody says it's hardware so I have to accept that there will be no
software solution. But thanks for wrestling with it.

Presently I have fitted a new mobo, Celeron D, and new memory. I
haven't offered Linux to it yet (times are interesting enough without
it).

One thing does puzzle me. With a new processor i expected the old XP
international to baulk at coping with the instruction set, but it took
it in it's stride. Apart from a slightly weird screen resolution it
preserved my network and Internet connection using a Linksys (Novell
again) router. It's still rock solid.

It is sad that my son has now no time for Linux which he bought on my
advice. On Saturday, 2 days ago, he rang to say he was dashing out to
buy another copy of XP. He is an untidy bachelor and couldn't find
the original. The reasons he offered for leaving the Linux camp, apart
from the same detection problem on different hardware at the same time
200 miles away was:

1. No Linux software for his iPod

2. No Linux software to make his Soundblaster card produce sound.

3. Only Windows software for dealing with his medical notes,
presumably interviews with patients before surgery.

Best wishes

Colin