install is hanging on formatting
 

hi all,

i'm trying to install slackware 9.0 from CD, but i'm running into a problem during the TARGET step of setup.

i fdisk and create all the partitions ok, and then i run setup and initialize the swap partition just fine. after that it automatically goes into TARGET, and i tell it to create ext3 fs, with the default density, and it hangs on the formatting.

i've restarted a few times and left it run for at least an hour, but it just sits there with the cursor blinking.

does anyone know what could be causing this, or how to solve it?

thanks,

Try cfdisk.

I tried cfdisk, but same results. I just used a manufacturer's floppy w/ disk utils to do some extended diagnostics and verify that the hard drive is error free, which should also erase any partitions and data left over. When that's done I'll try installing again. Hopefully it'll work this time...

How big is your drive, and how fast is your rig? Maybe your system isn't really hanging but instead the format step is just taking longer than you expect. I ran into the same thing - I've got 2 machines, one being an old Dell with pretty primitive hardware and the other being a sweet box I built myself using modern equipment. I originally had an old 6G drive in the old box, but it was totally insufficient so I dropped in a new 80G drive, which is what I am using in the new box. Suffice it to say that there were some significant differences in how long the format step took. Perhaps you are encountering the same thing. Have you tried just walking away for 20 minutes while it performs the format? -- J.W.