SATA RAID 1 Install trouble Deb 3.1r1
 

I'm new to Debian and RAID in Linux. I bought a Gigabyte 8S661FXMP-RZ motherboard ( http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/...e=8S661FXMP-RZ ) to use with a 2.5 GHZ P4 proc I had. This MOBO has hardware SATA RAID for two drives. I have two Western Digital WD800 HDD's attached. The on-board RAID controller works.

I can get through the install process until I go to create an array. (It looks like Debian doesn't recognise the on board controller.) I select use both drives in RAID 1, no spares, and get to a screen that asks me to check two boxes to use the two drives. No matter what keys I press, I can't select the drives. What do I do to select them? :confused:

Recheck info on what kind of raid you have. What chip exactly handles "raid"? Most of the "raid" setups are fakeraid or software raid. Do you really want raid setup? You could always enter BIOS and change settings to use HDs separately.
You may also want to review/consider LVM install method.
Sarge installer notes will tell you which "raid" chips it supports(not netinstall notes) with 2.4x and 2.6.8(linux26 at boot instead of enter to start install). Newer daily Sarge netinstaller build may have a more recent kernel available too.
Welcome to debian:)

I have the SIS 964 Southbridge. Deb 2.6.6 supports fake RAID with that chip set. Trying to install with either linux26 or expert26 only allows me to go as far as 38% in "Starting up the partitioner". I am assuming that this version of Deb is earlier than 2.6.6 or something else is making the install hang. Since I can't RAID these two drives, I'll just use Mepis for a while more.

Beside reviewing Debian Sarge Installer regarding RAID setup/and LVM setup you can check out this informative webpage http://debian.lp.hu/. The English sexn has links to many useful articles including Root on RAID for ASUS P4P800(as an example howto) which discusses 1)what the kernel must include for raid setup,2)importance of using new drives,3)installing on one drive then making 2nd drive identical to 1st(partitions) and needing 4)mdadm(and what command must be passed before partitioning if disks are pre-used). Good luck.

Thanks, I'll look at it. Maybe the problem is that I'm trying to do it with the Deb installer and not mdadm. I did quite a lot of reading both before and after I started this adventure but don't recall the URI you gave in your post. I like Deb of course, as I like Mepis, but want the RAID support that Mepis does not include. Thank You for your help.

I spent several more hours trying to get the installer to go past the 38% in "Starting up the partitioner". No matter what I do, if I use the linux26 thing, it will not install. The install works fine with win XP, Mepis 3.4.3 and Debian without the linux26 thing. At this time I'll just stick to Mepis not RAIDed and try Debian again sometime in the future. Thank You for the help.

another SATA problem
 

Hi, I am a newbie in Linux world.

I tried to install Debian Sarge in my PC (GAK8NS motherboard, Sempron 2500+, SATA Harddisk). The installer fail in detecting my harddisk. It says no medium found. I repeat installation few times, and still no change. I watch installation process and I'm sure it has load sata_nv module for SATA.

Could anybody help me?

Sarge + sata
 

Does Sarge install fail with bf24 kernel as well as linux26 kernel? If it works with 2.4 kernel good. If linux26 fails and you need a 2.6x kernel, then look for latest daily build of Sarge net-installer that has 2.6.12 kernel I think. Or you can try Etch net-installer with newer kernel too. Good luck.
If you have Suse then you can compare its lspci,and lsmod with Debian's. Mob specs would be handy too.