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-   -   Redhat EL$ does not detect HDD/partition for installation, Fails! (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-software-2/redhat-el%24-does-not-detect-hdd-partition-for-installation-fails-501354/)

ajitup 11-13-2006 11:06 PM

Redhat EL$ does not detect HDD/partition for installation, Fails!
 
Hi!

I have following hardware:

HP Pavilion 1521 Desktop - D820 - 2.8GHz , 1GB RAM, 160GB SATA, 16x DVDRW (LITE ON DVDRW SHM -165H6s HP10)

Windows XP is already installed on one primary partition (active) of 80 GB and I have left 80 GB space as another primary partition.

when I try to install Redhat linux entterprise 3 or 4, it reaches to the level of partitioning and system reboots giving following error (I have tried autopartition as well manual and it gives same error):

"An error occured - no valid devices were found on which to create new file system, please check your hardware for the cause of the problem"

I also tried Fedora Core 6, but in this case the screen blanks out with some arbitrary characters after the very first screen of selecting mode of installation (txt vs graphics).

Please help me in installing RHEL 3 or 4


ajit,
indore

geoff_f 11-15-2006 11:55 PM

Need more info about the hard disk...
 
We need more info to find out what is happening with your computer. Start up the installation process again, and when you get to the partitioning screen, don't select any of the actions; instead, press CTRL-ALT-F2. This will take you to an interactive shell - a black screen, white characters, with a flashing cursor. In the shell, type the command:
Code:

fdisk -l
then press Enter. (that's a lower-case 'l' (ell)). This will give a listing of all partitions on the hard disk, their start and end sectors, the total number of blocks in each partition, and the type of partition. Copy the listing and post it to here. This will help us understand what is happening.

To get back to the graphical installation screen, press CTRL-ALT-F7.

ajitup 11-16-2006 09:56 PM

It was surprising that SuSe Linux 10.1 detects the partitions and loads (ofcourse with some problems!). Whereas RedHat EL4 does not detect it at all!

The HDD is a 160 GB SATA.

I tried as suggested. It does not yield any output, the shell prompt returns once you type 'fdisk -l' .

As mentioned, I have two windows partitions of 65GB and 25GB AND left 90 GB for Linux. I have installed SuSe Linux 10.1 (32 bit) on this 90GB parition (4GB Swap, 86GB /). Suse has other problems (e.g. inserting DVD hangs the system). Also, my codes do not run on SuSe linux.

Please adivse on what to do next

thanks
ajit

geoff_f 11-16-2006 10:18 PM

Although SuSe 10.1 might have problems, it might be sufficiently workable to get the output from 'fdisk -l'. Boot into Suse 10.1, open a console, and type in the command. Then post the results here.

One thing to check is whether the BIOS setting for Plug and Play OS is set to No. If it's set to Yes, it could be causing RH EL to miss out on getting the hard disk data.

ajitup 11-17-2006 03:33 AM

Hi!

here is the partition listing from SuSe console. ALso, I checked "Plug n Play OS' in the bios, it was 'No'.


Edited
-----------------------------------------------

ajitup:/home/ajitup # fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 200.0 GB, 200049647616 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 24321 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 8286 66557263+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda2 8287 11474 25607610 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda3 11475 24321 103193527+ f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/sda5 11475 11736 2104483+ 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda6 11737 14347 20972826 83 Linux
/dev/sda7 14348 24321 80116123+ 83 Linux
-------------------------------------------------------------------

geoff_f 11-17-2006 06:13 AM

Since 'Plug and Play OS' is set to No we can safely assume that the BIOS is passing motherboard config data to the RH EL installer. As well, the partition info seems to be in order. In short, your problem is a puzzle to me.

How is the disk connected? Is it connected via a SATA cable to a motherboard connector, or is it connected to a plug-in PCI card?

It's possible that the RH EL installer is having problems addressing the motherboard configuration. You could try adding a couple of command line parmeters when starting the installer. When the installer starts, you get the option of adding your own boot parameters (watch the prompts and hit the appropriate key). Try entering this:
linux noapic acpi=off
See how that goes. Other than that, I'm out of ideas.

ricstirato 11-20-2006 02:52 PM

Looks more like your SATA controller is not supported. Even RHEL 4 is a bit outdated.
Try to find a driver disk for your controller on the web which can be loaded during the installation process.
Eventually you have to compile it from source, using an already working RHEL4 system.

I'm not much into Redhat anymore, but I can remember the installer asked for "additional drivers" or something.

Regards
ric.


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