I am trying to install slackware 9.1. I partitioned the drive correctly - a root partition of 20 GB (primary) and a logical swap partition of 500 MB (which I used the mkswap options and set to type linux swap etc..). Through the slackware install, I formatted the drives with the filesystem ext3. The first time I attempted to install, it made it through the install packages part of the install, but froze when i hit okay after the LILO install. When I tried booting from the boot disk it gave me a filesystem error of some sort, so, I figured a fresh install would be the easiet way to diagnose this. Now when I try to install I format the partition, and start installing the packages. All goes well and then during the middle of the install both lights on my computer stay on and it comes up with a message saying it couldn't install a certain package. When I hit okay to continue the same message comes up for every one. Switching to another virtual console gives me:

mount: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/hdd, or too many mounted file systems (could this be the IDE device where you in fact use ide-scsci so that sr0 or sda or so is needed?)

Here is some hardware info:
/dev/hde:
WDC AC32 2300D (Master) <-Drive I'm running windows from
/dev/hdf:
WD 1200JB (Slave) http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...=101205-315002 <-drive I'm attempting to install linux onto)

p3 500 mhz, 160 MB SDRAM, Ultra 66 controller (I updated BIOS/drivers, I also updated my motherboard BIOS)

I recently uninstalled Red Hat 9.0, because on boot it was repeating this over and over and finally booted:

hdf: dma_timer_expiry: dma status == 0x61

PDC202XX:Primary Channel Reset

hdf: timeout waiting for DMA


I was told to run these commands using the terminal in Red Hat:

/sbin/hdparm -i /dev/hdf

/dev/hdf:

Model=WDC WD1200JB-00FUA0, FwRev=15.05R15, SerialNo=WD-WCAES1016450
Config={ HardSect NotMFM HdSw>15uSec SpinMotCtl Fixed DTR>5Mbs FmtGapReq }
RawCHS=16383/16/63, TrkSize=57600, SectSize=600, ECCbytes=74
BuffType=DualPortCache, BuffSize=8192kB, MaxMultSect=16, MultSect=16
CurCHS=16383/16/63, CurSects=16514064, LBA=yes, LBAsects=234441648
IORDY=on/off, tPIO={min:120,w/IORDY:120}, tDMA={min:120,rec:120}
PIO modes: pio0 pio1 pio2 pio3 pio4
DMA modes: mdma0 mdma1 mdma2
UDMA modes: udma0 udma1 udma2 udma3 udma4 udma5
AdvancedPM=no WriteCache=enabled
Drive conforms to: device does not report version: 1 2 3 4 5 6

/sbin/hdparm -v /dev/hdf

/dev/hdf:
multcount = 16 (on)
IO_support = 0 (default 16-bit)
unmaskirq = 0 (off)
using_dma = 0 (off)
keepsettings = 0 (off)
readonly = 0 (off)
readahead = 8 (on)
geometry = 14593/255/63, sectors = 234441648, start = 0

I created a FAT32 extended partition and logical drives and I see them in windows and everything works fine there (so I'm wondering if the drive is the problem or not.)

If I wasn't clear or you need more information please tell me how I can get it and I'll be glad to give it to you. I'd like to install slackware but these problems are getting a little frustrating.

Thank you =)

ok. no expert, but i am experienced in trashing harddrives: try a direct hardware install.
put the slack disc into a cd/dvd drive in the box, and do a direct bootable install, rather than through a proxy or net/hd install. you may have too much junk between your install source and the final destination, including OS conflicts.
if so, ensure the unit to be linux-ed is isolated from its net or frame, then rock on! you're creating life, not emulsifying a party!
luck -O.

I was trying the install again, and during the installation of one of the packages I saw the same line scrolling across the screen but I only got a part of it:

EXT-fs error (device ide2(33,65) .....

I was looking in the console window the whole time and wrote down a few things I thought were fishy:

failed to generate UUID

journal-615: buffer write failed!

Kernel BUG at prints c:341!
invalid operand : 0000
CPU: 0
EIP: 0010:[<c01b22da>] Not tainted
EFLAGS: 00010282

Also, right at the beginning of the install it had this (which is similar to the error in my first post):

mount: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on (/dev/hdf) or too many mounted filesystems

Also (I just remembered) it said that my swap partiton or resource was busy. Don't know if that helps but if anybody could help I'd like to get this up and running.

Thanks!

I'm going on the assumption that the drive you are trying to install Slackware on is controlled by an add-on IDE controller. Is this correct? If so, that is the most likely source of your problems. Make sure it is supported in the Slackware kernel that you are trying to do the install from and that Slackware is identifing it correctly. Another problem that could rear it's ugly head in this situation is an IRQ conflict or something like that. I'm not exactly sure what all tools are available for you to use to diagnose such a problem during an install though. You can try lspci to list your PCI devices. "cat /proc/interrupts" to list the IRQs in use. "cat /proc/pci" will also list everything on the pci bus. "cat /proc/iomem" will list the I/O memory range of each device. But again, I'm not sure they'll be available before/during an install.

It seems the kernel it uses is 2.4.22, but where can I find the compatibility list?

That's not exactly what I meant. Slackware comes with several, 12 or 13 maybe more I forget, differently configured kernels. bare.i is the default one. Look at slackware/kernels/bare.i/config on your CD and see if support for your particular controller is included. Or post the manufactor & model if you're not sure.

Eeek.. I just opened the config file in notepad and found a mess..I foudn the word Ultra a few times but I don't know if that was what it was. It's a Promise Ultra 66, and I was using bare.i =)

In the device manager under Hard disk controllers it says:
Intel 82371AB/EB PCI Bus Master IDE Controller
Secondary IDE controller (dual fifo)

Is that all the info you needed?

Look in window's device manager under "SCSI Controllers". But I think the Promise drivers are enabled by default..Will look

Under SCSI controllers it has:

Iomega Parallel Port Zip Interface
Win95-98 Promise Untral 66 (tm) IDE controller

(but I don't have the zip disk plugged in or anything)

Yes, the 2 drivers are:

CONFIG_BLK_DEV_PDC202XX_OLD=y
CONFIG_BLK_DEV_PDC202XX_NEW=y

Both enable by default in bare.i. Although there is no official driver for the Ultra66 on Promise's website, the drivers above support these:

Old:
PDC20246
PDC20262
PDC20265
PDC20267
PDC20268

New:
PDC20268
PDC20269
PDC20270
PDC20271
PDC20275
PDC20276
PDC20277

Does this rule the controller out as being the problem then?

Ok, so windows doesn't say what the model # is. Some of the Promise controllers will tell you on bootup, or you could get the exact model # off the controller itself. But my guess is the drivers and the kernel you are trying to install under do support it and you have an IRQ problem. But that's just a guess. I don't know what type of motherboard you have, but if your BIOS will allow you too, you can force a certain IRQ upon the PCI port that is hosting the controller, if that is in fact your problem. Again it depends on the BIOS. Else you can try removing whatever card is conflicting with it, assuming the conflict is with another PCI/ISA card.

What I'd do is boot back into the slackware install, or use a CD based distro of Linux like Knoppix, and get to a command prompt. Then use the cat /dev/interrupts command to list the IRQs for you and see if the controller is sharing an IRQ with something else. If it is then that's probably the problem, even though modern PCI devices are suppose to be able to share IRQs, my experience has been that it doesn't work very well with IDE controllers. You "may" can run the cat /dev/interrupts command from the prompt in the slackware install that you get for fdisking the drive at the beginning of the install process, I'm not sure. Keep in mind though, that using something like Knoppix could be misleading, as it's not written in stone that it will assign the same IRQs and etc to everything like Slackware does. But since you were having problems under Redhat too, then it just might.

Also, as a last draw, you could move the hard drive to the motherboard's primary IDE controller and see if that fixes your problem. Be warned though, that Windows will not boot with it in that position unless you fix the mbr. And if you install Slackware with it that way, you'd have to manually fix your lilo.conf and rerun lilo in order to get Slackware to work from the Ultra66 if you moved it back later.

No, I'd be willing to bet that the controller is the problem, whether it's a driver problem, IRQ conflict or something else.

BTW, whatever you do, before you go to monkeying with it too much, be sure and back up anything you need on the Windows install incase you lock yourself out of Windows.