Hi all,

Problem:
Installation of Debian Sarge (provided by www_plutohome_com) stops when it reaches 61% of the Base system install. I have tried again and again (app. 5 times) to install and I actually suceeded to install it once.. but the system gave me a 'kernal panic' and unfortunately I did not get any information about this.
I noticed that a harddisk I used could only be detected by BIOS when I reboot. If I reset the server the HDD did not get detected.

My experiencs:
In order to rule out faulty HW I tried to different CD/DVD drives (now runs with one that I know works). I also tried with another Harddisk to rule out that the one that could not be detected was faulty (now runs with one that is brand new and works).
In order to rule out that it is not Linux that is the problem I was forced to install Windows XP.. this also failed during installation and aborted.

"Conclusion":
I'm posting here under the HW section because I positive that it is a HW problem. I really want to run a Linux server (and HTPC) system and hope that one of you guys can help me.

System:
AMD 64bit Athlon 3000+, Abit A8V Deluxe motherboard.. and other HW which I spent alot of time making sure are compatible with Linux.

Best regards,
Thomas

By the way.. I'm a Linux so please do not assume I know how to get all sorts of info... but I'll give it my best shot.

You should check messages on various virtual terminals. (See below for how to access virtual terminals if you're not familiar with them.) If these messages don't mean anything to you, report the jist of what they're saying here and maybe someone can help interpret for you.

Also, download a Knoppix CD iso and burn it. Can you boot from that? If you don't know, Knoppix is a Linux distro that runs totally off a CD. It's a great tool to test out your hardware and see if it's compatible with Linux. It's also a great rescue and recovery tool.

Back to your Debian install...

When it hangs, type <ctrl><alt><F1> to switch to virtual terminal 1. <ctrl><alt><F2> for terminal 2. Etc. There should me a string of messages on one or more of these virtual terminals that might give you a clue about what's going on. You may have to wait a minute or two before messages start appearing on these virtual terminals, depending on where in the install process you've gotten to. Terminals #1 and #2 are probably the ones that are used (others may just be blank). I think Sarge puts the normal installation program on virtual terminal 5 (access with <ctrl><alt><F5>) but I can't remember for sure. Just try various virtual terminals until you find something interesting.

Also, try to rule our any harddisk failure by running one of the low level diagnostic tools. I think most manufacturers supply these now. Go to your HDD manufacturer website. I know for my Seagate drives, they put out a tool named "SeaTools". This can boot off of a floppy or CD and runs diagnostics on your drive. I'm sure every other major HDD manufacturer probably provides something similar.

Grup, if it doesn't boot either windows or linux, then it is a hardware problem. Some suggestions:

Check your BIOS settings.
Check all the cards & connectors are properly seated.
Try removing non-essential hardware.
Try swapping in a spare video card etc.
If the above fails, maybe the MoBo is at fault. Is there anything in the POST messages as it boots? Boes it make strange beeps as it boots? (If so, google for "BIOS beep code", and you'll find out what they mean).
Oh, and welcome to LQ!
HTH

Thanks haertig and tredgar for the replies

At first when Ubunto live CD did not work, then I was determined that it was in fact a HW problem.. like you say tredgar. Then I swapped back the RAM that I had borrowed from my 'old' PC... which I thought was fully compatible (to eliminate RAM problems). I then noticed that they were 166Mhz and not 400 Mhz like I needed. They worked but not good enough, like my 400 Mhz does. Well, after the swap the installation went OK. Now I'm left with a pluto backend core and the adventure of Linux begins for me. I guess I will start by figureing out how to LAN set up my new router/NAT/DHCP thing'e

Cheers,
Thomas