FC2 install problem VIA C3 moobo reboot look: SOLUTION

From: J.W. Vraets (jwvraets_at_NOSPAM.sympatico.ca)
Date: 07/10/04 

Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2004 16:30:59 -0400

With some help from "Lenard" in response to my earlier post re the
reboot loop problem with my VIA C3 based motherboard during the initial
stages of an FC2 install, I finally got it working. However, the
solution references were not all that clear (to be polite) and did not
work. In case some other poor devil has this problem here is my
confirmed workig step-by-step solution:
=================

The original basis for this approach to a solution was taken from
         http://www.fedorafaq.org/#installreboot
  The format follows from the original source. JW Vraets
------

Q: My computer reboots when I try to install Fedora Core 2!

A: You either have an ASUS P4P800 motherboard, or a VIA C3 processor.
Here's how to fix it:

(Note: Assumes you have the 4 Fedora Core 2 installation CDs already at
hand)
(Note: Do not type quotes unless told otherwise)

1. Download a fixed CD-ROM image, either for the VIA C3
(http://people.redhat.com/arjanv/c3boot-2.iso) or for the ASUS P4P800
(http://people.redhat.com/arjanv/asusp4p800-2.iso).

2. Burn the image to a blank CD. On working a Linux PC launch a
Terminal, and then at the command line enter the following :
cdrecord -dev=/dev/cdrom -data name.iso
Where "name" is the name of the file you downloaded in the above step.
(Also, your CD burner could be cdrom1 if you have two CD drives.)
If you do not have access to a Linux PC you can also get this file and
burn it using a Windows PC. Regardless of how you produced the CD, this
will be referred to as the "Fixed CD".

3. Gather up the 4 CDs you have previously burned from the Fedora Core 2
iso's and keep them ready to use. Do not boot the PC using CD#1 of the
FC2 installation set. Instead, boot from the Fixed CD from steps 1 and
2) you just burned. When the Fixed CD launches in the main window simply
let it time out to start the installation process. It will ask you for
your language and keyboard choice. Then it will ask for the location of
the actual installation media - in our case we specify the "Local CDROM"
because we have the 4 disk installation set ready. The Following Message
is then displayed:

"CD Not Found: The Fedora Core CD was not found in any of the CDROM
drives. Please insert the Fedora Core CD and press OK to retry."

Remove the Fixed CD and insert CD#1 of the 4-disk Fedora Core 2
installation CD set, and activate the OK. Just follow the normal
instructions, inserting the rest of the FC2 CDs as asked. This will
install a Fedora Core 2 with the same/original problem, so we have to
fix that.

4. Boot from the Fixed CD (from steps 1 & 2), again, but instead of
installing (by either hitting the Enter" key or simply letting it time
out), enter the rescue mode by typing at the prompt at the bottom of the
screen:
"linux rescue"

The system asks for your choice of language, keyboard type, and then it
asks:

"Rescue Method: What type of media contains the rescue image? Local
CDROM, Hard Drive, NFS image, FTP, HTTP"

Because I want to use the local CD ROM with CD #1 of the FC2 set, select
"Local CDROM". The system then responds with:

"CD Not Found: The Fedora Core CD was not found in any of the CDROM
drives. Please insert the Fedora Core CD and press OK to retry."

Remove the Fixed CD and insert CD#1 of the 4-disk Fedora Core 2
installation CD set, and activate the OK. This continues the rescue
installation process.

The system then asks:

"Setup Networking: Do you want to start the network interfaces on this
system?"

Since the idea is to install a VIA C3 compatible version of the kernel
from a Internet accessible remote location, the response is "Yes". It
then asks to confirm the "Network Configuration for eth0" which by
default is set to use DHCP. This is fine for my case so I accept this
default by hitting "OK". After confirming the network configuration, a
screen is brought up saying the following:

"Rescue: The rescue environment will now attempt to find your Linux
installation and mount it under the directory /mnt/sysimage. You can
then make any changes required to your system. If you want to proceed
with this step choose 'Continue'. You can also choose to mount your file
systems read-only instead of read-write by choosing 'Read-Only'

If for some reason this process fails you can choose 'Skip' and this
step will be skipped and you will go directly to the command shell."

I selected "Continue". A confirmation message is then posted as follows:

"Rescue: Your system has been mounted under /mnt/sysimage. Press
<return> to get a shell. If you would like to make your system the root
environment, run the command: 'chroot /mnt/sysimage'. The system will
reboot automatically when you exit the shell"

Hit "ok"

You are now at a normal Linux command line prompt.

5. When you get a prompt, type the command:

     chroot /mnt/sysimage/

6. Perform an RPM installation from the Internet accessible web site
containing an updated kernel by issuing the following command (all one
line):

rpm -ivh
http://people.redhat.com/arjanv/2.6/RPMS.kernel/kernel-2.6.7-1.478.i586.rpm

For the ASUS P4P800, this will look like:

rpm -ivh
http://people.redhat.com/arjanv/2.6/RPMS.kernel/kernel-2.6.7-1.478.i586.rpm

7. Remove the CD. Reboot your machine.

8. When Grub comes up, use the arrow keys to select the new kernel
instead of the original defective one. (If you want to have the new one
the default, you will need to edit the /boot/grub/grub.conf to change
the original line:

default=1 to default=2

Apparently the numbering does not start at 0 anymore by default.)

10. You now have a running system compatible with a VIA C3 processor
that boots by default into a version of FC2 Linux.

(Original Thank you: A big thanks to Tarjei Knapstad and Alan Cox for
this info.)

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