Installing Deb-woody to /dev/hde (HPT372) being mean....
 

I'm finding the install of Deb impossible on my configuration, and I'm almost certain that it's a kernel configuration problem.

I downloaded the network-install Deb disc and tried to install with that. It didn't like me, on any of the install kernels, because it doesn't like my wireless LAN, and wouldn't let me access iwconfig to set up the SSID/encryption. Ok. Boot back into the windows partition I was planning on blowing away, download the full ISO using Jigdo from the NRC mirror. (they're on the opposite end of a 145mbit pipe that serves as one of my ISP's main links to the net.) MD5 the download, burn the ISO, and boot up. Here's where the problems begin....

Only one of the install kernels can even see /dev/hde. Every other install kernel included on the CD does *not* have support for HPT 372 controllers. So I boot up with the bf24 kernel, in hopes that it will work, only to find that cfdisk freezes, and doesn't write the partition tables completely. I know this, because I boot up with BootItNG to check the tables, and find that it didn't create the logical/swap partition.

Ok. Use BootItNG to repartition the drive. Reboot. Try to run the install again. Nyet. This time, it can't see the partitions on the drive, and asks to wipe the boot sector to repartition. I'm starting to wonder by this point, but I let it do it. It claims to partition correctly, but then the mkswap freezes.

So I've got 1GB of RAM, I figure it's worth trying without any swap at all at install time. I can always leave some empty space at the end of the drive and repartition it for swap after install. Except that this time, the file system creation doesn't work.

I reboot with my Slack 10 install CD. cfdisk works perfectly, as long as I load it with "cfdisk /dev/hde". Repartition the drive. mkswap /dev/hde5, works perfectly. mkreiserfs /dev/hde1, works perfectly. Reboot from Woody, try to install, does exactly the same thing.

Ok. Reboot/repartition/reformat again. This time, make /dev/hde1 an ext3. Same behaviour.

I'm at a lot of a loss, here. I want to run Debian, specifically because I'm lazy and I like apt-get. But if I can't get the system installed at all, it doesn't exactly bode well. I've ended up reformatting and installing Slack 10 and slapt-get, but I still want to try Debian. I've left myself 30gb of free space on the hard drive so I can try Debian out, and would appreciate some advice, because right now I think it's the install kernel that isn't configured right for my system.


/dev/hda => LG 16X DVD
/dev/hdc => LG 40x12x40 CDRW
/dev/hde => Maxtor 120GB SATA HDD, controller is a Highpoint HPT372
CPU => Athlon XP 2200+
RAM => 1024MB (4*256MB) PC3200 DDR
Sound => Soundblaster Live! 24-bit w/digital out (that I'd like to get working)
Graphics => ATI Radeon 9550/256MB

And yeah, I plan on getting Wine working, or if not that, Cedega. :)