Can't install on a new dell e520 with an sata dvd rom?
 

I have a brand new dell e520 with an sata dvd rom and hdd and I'm having a problem installing Linux (RHEL4) from a CD. It does boot from the CD into the installer, but stops later with an error: No driver found unable to find any devices of the type needed for this installation type, but allows me to provide a driver from a diskette. I think this is because it doesn’t have a driver for the sata dvd rom or sata controller on the CD. Does anyone have any additional advice? Perhaps how to get the right driver so I can put it on a diskette?

Thanks, John

CPU: Pentium D 820 2.8GHz, Intel G965 Express Chipset
RAM: 1gb
HDD: 300gb, ST3300620AS
DVDROM: HL-DL-ST DVD-ROM GDRH10N

If the bios can change the sata channels to pata or legacy IDE try that. Once install it should the drivers needed for many sata controller capablity so you can switch back to sata mode in bios after install.

Brian

It seems that if it boots from the CD, then a driver for that drive would not be an issue.

You say you have a SATA HDD also--perhaps that is the issue. RHEL4 is pretty old and conservative, and I'm betting it does not come with a SATA driver. Google using "RHEL4 SATA" gives LOTS of hits--quick look says my guess is right.

Rather than waste time researching this, why not install something more modern?

when you boot the install CD, or DVD, there is a prompt, usually called

boot:

Before you hit enter to start the install, type this at the prompt:

install libata.atapi_enabled=1

I am having the same problem. I have tried slackware 9 and 11.
The cd or dvd will boot fine but the liveCD cannot see any harddrives. The e520 i have was just delivered as of Jan 2 2007 so it is brand stinkin new. I tried typing that "install ..." line at the boot prompt but that didn't work (obviously I guess since its asking for a boot image) and I tried it at the command prompt after logging in as root.

oh ya, the harddrives are SATA2
Anyone have any ideas for me?

Thanks,
Mike.

hi,

Same problem here... same computer... same error !

I try to install a debian (sarge version) on a my new DELL Dimension E520 but any cd-rom can be detect or mount by the installer... so i can't go further...

I tried the command : "install ..." in the prompt of a console without success because "install" seems not to be a valid command.

help ?

There is no easy way to install sarge onto a SATA drive. Sarge by default uses a 2.4.27 kernel, which is ANCIENT. What is currently debian testing (Etch) is going to become stable in a matter of days or maybe weeks. Try to install Etch, it has the 2.6.17 kernel, which is much more recent, and should support your hardware.

For a desktop system, you shouldn't use stable, that is intended for servers, with 100% uptime and only updates for security. Testing is fine, or even unstable to get the latest software.

Peace,
JimBass

We ended up dumping the E520s, I needed Slackware 9.1 to run using K2.4 for deployment in a test bed.

There might have been a solution but time was of the essence, so we ended up going with some slightly older ibm towers we had laying around (should have used them in the first place)

I wanted Debian installed on an e520 and tried many permutations of
booting from the cd and the nic, trying sarge and etch for i386 and
ia64, and using nfs, http, cdrom and filesystem sources.

The only one that worked was to disable the onboard nic, install a
supported network card, boot from the i386 etch network install cd
and perform a network installation.

In case you're wondering about Knoppix, the latest version works
like a charm. You can even load the cdrom to ram which makes it
run all the faster.

Try issuing this command to boot Sarge with the 2.6 kernel.

boot:linux26

I forgot to mention, I only install Sarge with the 2.6 kernel.
I didn't even try with the 2.4 kernel.

The problem with Sarge was that the keyboard wasn't detected.
It might be possible to install Sarge using a serial connection.

Redhat and Dell Dimension c521
 

"Something more modern" apparently is not the answer: I am having
exactly the same problem on Dell Dimension c521, with the
Toshiba-based GDRH10N DVD drive and serial ATA hard disc. The
Dell has the latest BIOS update.

I tried Redhat EL3 and Fedora 4: Same message about "no drivers",
even though the first install CD does allow setting of the language
(locale). None of the 20-odd RHEL3 or 30-odd Fedora4 drivers works.
It seems bizarre that the install could start from the CD-ROM
but could not continue because of missing CD-ROM drivers, so I
think that maybe you are correct that the (ambiguous) message refers
to the HD, not to the CD-ROM.

Also, I can't install from a USB DVD-ROM drive. Apparently, this
loads SCSI HD support which disables access to the nonSCSI HD.
I have the same problem at home, where I am running RH Linux on a
SCSI system: No problem with SCSI HDs, but booting from a SCSI
device means the OS can't find an IDE CD-ROM.

The Dell c521 problem apparently is in the Red Hat drivers, but
the minimal options in the Dell BIOS may be making it worse.
There are numerous serial ATA drivers on the RH CDs, but none
seems to work with this computer.

I have to use RHEL3, because the machines are for electronic
design software, and the sw manufacturers have certified only
this version of Linux. We are considering asking Dell for a refund
or trade-in at this point; but, if anyone knows of drivers that would
work with RHEL3 or Fedora, please let me know.

I can't possibly speak for pixellany, but I suspect "Something more modern" refers to the version of Linux, not to the hardware.

Here's a possible solution for the Red Hat distribution, probably good for most. Tell the kernel of the installation media to use all generic IDE drivers to get the installation done as mentioned in this thread below:
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...d.php?t=562103

Thanks for the idea, but booting "linux all_generic_ide" didn't make any obvious difference.

Also, Fedora 4 is from mid-2006, so I doubt that newer sw would make much difference. The computer seems to be defective -- maybe just the BIOS,
but possibly the HD interface ... I give up. We'll see if we can return them all to Dell. Buying a low-cost computer probably was the main problem.