Hi!!!

I've been using Linux for many years now, but I always been using it in older machines cause I always used my new ones to play games with .

Now, I've decided to install Linux in my newest machine:

Processor: Intel Pentium 4 - 2 GHZ
HD: 120 Gigas
Sound Card: Sound Blaster Audigy
Video: Ge-force4 Ti 128
RAM: 512
Mother Board: Intel Desktop Board D850EMV2
Network card: Intel(R) PRO/100 VE Network Connection (inbuilt I suppose)

I've tried to install the following distributions: Red Hat 7.3, 8.0, 9.0 and Mandrake 9.0 and 9.1. All of them crashes exactly the same way:

"after some minutes online, the hole computer randomly crashes and emits an awful sound from the speakers".

It's possibly a network card related problem. Into Mandrake Expert Homepage they suggested me to use a patch. I did it with Mandrake 9.0 and now, after another crash, the boot time takes tooooo long time, so long time that I give up to let it boot. Would take hours....no kidding. Back to mandrake expert, they recommended me to change the network card. That I cannot do for warranty issues, besides, it's a SHAME that my hardware is still not supported after so many updates. In fact, very feel changes happened since Red hat 7.3 to 9.0 besides the packages. Same from Mandrake 8.0 to 9.1. It feels more like "Who will release a new distro first, Mandrake or Red hat" instead of a good update.

Well, I've just took away Mandrake 9.0 and installed 9.1. The system crashed just like the same way and got mad... It's not logging into graphical mode and many other errors during the boot....

I've two questions if you guys could please help me with:

1 - Have you guys any idea what may be causing the problem? Would the only way to fix it by changing the network card?

2 - Well, if the only way is to buy another hardware, I don't wanna use Linux in this machine... How do I get rid off Lilo and let it be the former boot loader for Windows 2000?

Thanks in advance

P.S: it really is a total system crash. The kernel locks up and I cannot use alt-ctrl and the F keys...

You can log in to Linux as root, and then type the following command:

lilo -u

Another solution is to boot MS DOS, or MSDOS prompt and type the following:

fdisk /mbr

Thanks for the help jt1020. I will try a little bit more to figure it out how to make any Linux distro to run in that machine, but It's great to know it's easy to restore the previous boot loader. Thanks again

no prob....

it'll be interesting to see if windows has the same problem. You said you can't remove the network card for warranty reason... who made the machine? is it a gateway, dell, etc?

Mandrake is RedHat based... maybe try another linux distro... Suse, Debian, Slackware?

Just some suggestions. Its very odd for linux to just lock up like that.

LOL realy weird
have you turned Plug and Play off in the BIOS?

my network card (d-link) is unaivalable to my system if PnP is on... maybe it can crash your.

can you turn off the network card in the bios?
I don't think any warranty would be voided by adding
hardware, like a new $4 network card.
does it have one of those stickers on the back that
says warranty void if removed?
you can call the place and tell them the sound card quit
working, and the card seems loose, and you want
permission to open the machine and make sure the
card is full inserted. that way you'll have permission
to open the machine, and say yeah, it was loose.
i pushed it back in.

Hi guys, thanks a lot for the support. I've not been checking this post for a while cause I was trying to fix this internet thing. Now here I am... win2k again trying to fix linux... just like the old times

I did the following:

Went to Mandrake Control Center and disabled the network card from boot in there. Rebooted the system and bang... crashed the very same way. So I believe it's not network related anymore cuz:

- I was not on internet
- The internet was not starting at boot.

Well, I then downloaded some nvidia drivers with win2k and it asked for dependencies... Went again to Mandrake Packaging (praying to the system does no lockup) and... oddly, instead of Linux open the default DVD-Rom(master) to install the needed package (butils), it opened the CD-R(slave). Odd, because the hole installation was made by the DVD-Rom (master). Do you know what happened when it started to read the CD-r? The system crashed EXACTLY the same way, a loud noise from the speakers, kernel total crash and the 3 lights (caps, lock and num) stay glittering...

I will try your tips in this order (I will reinstall mandrake 9.1 first )

- Disable Network Card from Bios.
- Try another Distro

@jpbarto

The computer was made by a Nordic(?) company called JME Data, I don't think it's famous out of here, doubt even inside here...

Thanks a lot guys I will post here again as soon as I have some more tests .

checked out their website: www.jmedata.se

only I don't speak anything but really bad english (I'm teaching myself japanese at the moment). so it was fun perusing the website... just kinda kept clikin on things... could find any helpful details though...

Try Debian or Slackware.

That is not a good troubleshooting tip, that's distro whoring.

Solve all your problems with Gentoo!

I am assuming you are running a gui when you crash, so it would make sense to eliminate X configuration problems, but I would think the funny noise would come from the monitor in that case. Did you mean sound card or speaker?

See if it crashes if you are running only command line? Open an X terminal, su - and command init 3. Run in command line. Use links to browse the web and use one virtual terminal as root with this command:

tail -f /var/log/messages.

You might want to examine the results of:

dmesg

And sit back, browse through /var/log/messages and find any error messages that might give a hint.

Cool guys Thanks a lot for all replies. It seems that I got it to work. Not in the wisest way, but seems (may yet crash, not sure because they were mostly random crashes into internet ).

I did all that you guys said and really appreciated. jpbarto I went to JME Data, thanks a lot for the help finding the site I've been browsing around and did not find anything about warranty issues. My computer also does not have any seals into the back as whansard suggested. I was just afraid it should be one of those chassis that has a eletronic seal inside. I got that once and my computer broke after, it wasn't pretty .

So, believing it was the inbuilt Intel Network card crashing the system, and making sure I had no stickers at the back or inside, I disabled the this network from the bios, took another network card from another computer (W-Link, the cheapest around I think) and it seems to be working greatly . What should I do without you guys

Not afraid of warranty, I even set another CD Burner of mine instead of the crap one that came with lol. This computer CAN NOT broke now...

Thanks a lot for all suggestions. Though, I got very interested about other distros.... I will try Slackware... I know I want that.

Thanks once again to everybody in this thread

have fun. i hope it keeps working.
i tend to dismiss the cost of hardware since stuff is so
cheap here. i understand that hardware costs more
in other countries, i think. everything is expensive in
stores, but mail order is cheap. a cheap network card
costs the same as the cheapest 6 pack of beer would.

@whansard

That's true. I am used to choose also not so "important" computer parts as cheap I can find. Unfortunately computer parts are not so cheap in Sweden... Very few are. I cannot complain much, it's mostly me who wins too, really tooooo little money . A part of my family is from Brazil and you simply won't believe how computer parts are expensive there. A hard-drive there is over 2 times more expensive then here . I've heard that in Spain though, is much cheaper then here... I wonder why it's like that :S. The incoming salaries in Sweden are usually higher then Brazil or Spain (depending, of course, of where you life and what you do), and even so, one is the opposite of the other one . Hope you can understand what I mean... I really am bad when I've to clarify things...lol