I am trying to install 10.2 from DVD on an HP Netserver E800 with SCSI drives. Everything is fine until I get to the part where the RPM's are installing. It goes fine for a while then it starts spitting this error for every package.

This is the error:

There is a list of installed files and they all so ok after them.

I have tried everything, including all the other install modes, and eliminating the RAID, and even doing the default install. I even clicked through about a 100 windows but they system then crashed. I have checked the media and everything else. I did have 10.1 installed on this for a while. The only time someone else has had this error is when trying to run RPM when not in root. But those were on running systems.

Paul

I certainly don't envy you, I had the same problem with Suse 10.1. Everything apparently going fine and then suddenly the whole show coming to a halt because of a failed package - and usually toward the end, when I had been waiting for an hour or so...

I was installing to SATA II instead of SCSI, but I don't think that this makes any difference because both types of disc are treated as sd.

Unfortunately, I never was able to come up with any logical explanation. I had other distros that ran just fine on my pc so it clearly was not a hardware issue; and repeatedly checking the iso only confirmed that the disc was fine too.

I was new to Linux back then and naively assumed it would somehow, as by magic, get better providing I tried over and over. And ... it did. It probably took me 4 or 5 long, frustrating attempts, with the installer aborting at random points, but then Suse did install in the end. And then I meticulously broke the thing so badly two days later that I had to reinstall...

The second install was even more problematic and Suse would not install no matter how often I tried. I was getting hopeless and decided to fiddle a bit with the hardware. My first idea was to unplug the Sata cable from the connector and disc and plug it in again. It worked. Install in one go after that.

Sadly enough, it's not that simple. A friend of mine with similar hardware had the same issue a bit later. I thought I knew how to solve it by then but no, the cable trick did not help at all and we had to sit through 4 attempts before we finally got it installed. Puzzling...

Maybe not so puzzling. I play around with older computers that people give me, and you'd be surprised at how many times I start it up, and nothing work. Then, I take the case off, and there's dust everywhere. I just unplug every cable, gently blow them out, take out the memory module and do the same, plug everything back in and it works. I had someone the other day say they couldn't get their Windows XP computer to boot up. I looked inside and there were dust mooses everywhere! I took it home, vacuumed it all out, and started it up and it worked fine. It's the first thing I tell anyone who asks me to look at their computer. When was the last time you cleaned it?

Oh yes, dust can be a major source of headaches. Then again, I don't know about pjbgravely, but the two computers I'm talking about were brand new (only a week old or so) so clearly that was not the problem.

Thanks all for the help,

This is an old server, but it was spotless inside.

I am sure it is a hardware problem. Fedora, Ubuntu, and Solarus all refused to install. When I run Memtest-86 it just locks up before the first minute of testing. So far it is not a hard drive, DVD-ROM,or power supply problem. Checking memory and processors now.

Paul

I only had problems to install SuSE whenn the RAM was bad. Most probably this is also the case here... try other modules...

The problem isn't solved but I did get memtest to run now. It may have been dust after all, because while testing the processors I switch them, testing one at a time with the blank off in the other socket. Anyway I was able to test memory again and it is fine, not even any ECC errors, but I still can not install any distro. Ubuntu live cd runs so I may have a hard drive problem but they all test fine. I have tried even the default install with the GUI and I still get the same errors.

Paul

I finally realized this install problem must be a bug with the kernel used during install. I pulled the second processor and the install went perfectly. I then reinstalled the second processor and as I figured the kernel can only see one. I tried installing the big SMP kernel with no improvement.

So if I cannot find a fix for the kernels problem with the mother board in 2 processor mode, I will have to go back to 10.1. I looked for a 2.4 kernel without finding one. Maybe I missed it, when I have time I will look harder.

Thanks all for your help,


Paul