Replacing Vista with Linux on my new computers
 

Hi,

I'm trying to replace vista with Linux. Vista came packaged on my new machines. I've installed the same Linux on two others, also prepackaged ala Vista, with no problems.

My Linux installer loads the basic stuff then halts with message: "unable to find any devices of the type needed for this installation type", and gives me a list to choose from. None of these load, but I'm using the list to find possible drivers on the web and load them by floppy when it gets to this part. So far haven't found one that works. Most of them I have no idea what they are though I'm learning somewhat as I go.

I think the problem is missing chip controllers, because the older machines are Pentium D processors, the new ones are Pentium E. Motherboards and chipsets are also different.

I tried an upgrade of my Linux version, also another similar distro, but same result. Below is the info I hope helps.

LINUX version: Scientific Linux (same as Redhat Enterprise) 5.0

NEW MACHINES:

Compaq Presario SR5450F
Pentium E2180F
Socket 775
NVIDIA GeForce 7100 /NVIDIA nForce 630i (chipset)
motherboard manufacturer & name: Foxconn MCP73M01H1
HP/Compaq motherboard name: Napa-GL8E
hard drives: Hitachi HDP725050GLA360 500GB SATA

OLD MACHINES:

1.)
Compaq Presario SR5050NX
Pentium D925 (P)
Socket 775
Intel 945G (chipset)
motherboard manufacturer & name: Asus P5LP-LE
HP/Compaq motherboard name: Leonite-GL8E

2.)
Compaq Presario SR2180NX
Pentium D820 (S)
Socket 775
Intel 945G (chipset)
motherboard manufacturer & name: Asus P5LP-Le
HP/Compaq motherboard name: Leonite-GL8#

Thanks for your time. Sincerely,

R.Soares

==================

P.S. This is the "choose from list":

3ware 9000 Series Storage Controller (3w-9xxx)
3ware Storage Controller (3w-xxxx)
ACARD ATP870& PCI scsi controller (atp870u)
ARECA (ARC11xx/12xx) SATA RAID Host Adapter (arcmsr)
Adaptec AACRAID (aacraid)
Adaptec AHA-2740, 28xx, 29xx, 39xx (aic7xxx)
Adaptec Aic79xx SCSI Host Bus Adapter driver (aic79xx)
Adaptec aic94xx SCSI Host Bus Adapter driver (aic94xx)
Advanced Host Controller Interface SATA (ahci)
Compaq Smart Array 5xxx Controller (cciss)
Compaq Smart/2 RAID Controller (cpqarray)
Emulex FC Controller (lpfc)
Future Domain PCMCIA SCSI driver (fdomain_cs)
HighPoint Rocket RAID SATA Controller (hptiop)
I2O Block driver (i2o_block)
IBM ServeRAID (ips)
ICP RAID Controller (gdth)
Initio 162x SATA controllers (sata_inic162x)
Intel PIIX/ICH ATA controllers (ata_piix)
K2 SATA controllers (sata_svw)
LSI Logic Fusion MPT Base Driver (mptbase)
LSI Logic Fusion MPT FC Host Driver (mptfc)
LSI Logic Fusion MPT SAS Host Driver (mptsas)
LSI Logic Fusion MPT SPI Host Driver (mptspi)
LSI MegaRAID Controllers (megaraid)
LSI MegaRAID Controllers (megaraid_mbox)
LSI MegaRAID Controllers (megaraid_sas)
Marvell PATA controllers (pata_marvell)
Marvell SATA controllers (sata_mv)
Mylex DAC960 RAID Controller (DAC960)
Pilicon Image PATA controllers (pata_sis)
Promise PATA controllers (pata_pdc2027x)
Promise SATA SX8 block driver (sx8)
Promise SATA controllers (sata_promise)
Promise SX4 SATA controllers (sata_sx4)
Promise SuperTrak EX (stex)
QLogic 2xxx (qla2xxx)
QStor SATA controllers (sata_qstor)
Qlogic 1280/12160 (qla1280)
Qlogic 4xxx (qla4xxx)
SIS SATA controllers (sata_sis)
Silicon Image 3124/3132 SATA controllers (sata_sil24)
Silicon Image SATA controllers (sata_sil)
Symbios 53C896 (sym53c8xx)
ULi SATA controllers (sata_uli)
VIA SATA controllers (sata_via)
VSC7174 SATA controllers (sata_vsc)
nVidia nForce SATA controllers (sata_nv)
========================

You may need to specify pci=nommconf and/or acpi=off to the boot loader.

I suggest try a cheaper distribution than RHEL. CentOS is a free alternative to RHEL.

Linux is different than Windows. If it does not have chipset modules (drivers), it will use software that closely resembles it.

The real problem is the processor. A Pentium D is basically two Pentium 4 processors. The Pentium E2180 processor is a Core 2 Duo that uses a letter that designates a performance category and performance rating in the category. The kernel (Linux) and Core 2 Duo processor does not mix well because how the processor executes data. A Core 2 Duo processor resembles a VLIW processor.

If else fails, install through command line.