RH 9 Install Problem
 

This'll be my third install of linux... I first tried with RH 8, couldn't get it to work. I managed to get Mandrake 9 running, but there was no sound + I really screwed it up + I didn't really like it too much.

So, I'm trying to install RH 9 now.



I have 2 drives, a 40 gig and a 10 gig. The 40 gig is running Windows XP, and the 10 gig is empty, except for a 2 gig FAT partition.


I have a CD drive, and a DVD/CD drive. I know that the DVD drive is recognized, so I'm using that one.

I can't boot off the CD, since either
A - My comp won't allow (which would be odd, since both drives are fairly recent) booting from CD.
B - I'm too incompetent to figure it out
C - I've forgotten/haven't changed the BIOS.
So, I created a boot disk, using the bootdisk.img file from CD1.

Oh ya, and I've still got the LILO boot loader on there from mandrake.



To the problem:

It boots up, and goes to the RH 9 disk start thingy.
I hit enter (I've tried a number of boot options), and it starts listing all my hardware (no clue why, as I said, I'm a newbie). It runs through things, then gets to this message:

ide0 at 0x1f0-0x1f7,0x3f6 on irq 14
ide1 at 0x170-0x177,0x376 on irq 15


then it just *sigh*... sits there.
no clue what to do.
I'll keep trying to figure something out in the meantime, but it would be much appreciated if someone could try helping :)

I just bring this message to the front and hope there come some following up:)

I see, you bumped the thread for them, how noble of you ;)

I'd suggest looking at getting your computer to boot from the CDROM, that'll be your best bet. You said you got Mandrake to install, is that because you were able to boot from CD then, or was it from floppy also? If your hardware is new (as you mentioned) your BIOS should support booting from removable devices, as well as CDROM's. Simply select the CDROM (or DVD) that you are wanting to use to boot from, and slide the disc in. Make sure in your BIOS that it's your first boot device.

Cool

and here is already a thread here on the dual harddisk installation and I think that's useful.

Ya, I used a boot disk for the mandrake install...


These messages appear before the CD even needs to be put in, or it asks for where the files are on the hard drive though... actually, before the graphical install interface even starts. I'll try and get the CD to boot anyways though... who knows, maybe it'll work :)

I'm going to format the disk again, and try downloading the bootdisk.img from the RH 9 errata page... maybe it'll be a newer image.



I forgot to say something important though... this all happens before it prompts for install media... All just after the part where you're able to type things like 'linux lowres <ENTER>', or 'linux hdX=cdrom <ENTER>', or hit things like F2 for options, F4 for kernel... etc.


The only thing I can think of is that my hardware is not supported, or the bootdisk.img file is messed up... I'll try and navigate the Hardware Compatibility List, though it may be hard, since my PC was built by someone I know, and I'm not certain exactly what hardware I've got in there. :(