SuSE 9.2 Pro: How to force -default install?
 

I have several computers with SuSE 9.2 Pro installed. All show OS as kernel 2.6.8-24-default.

On a new Dell POS system, SuSE installs as 2.6.8-24-smp instead. This system has a touchscreen on it, and it requires a driver from 3M (there is a "mutouch" driver included in SuSE, but it's for an older model 3M and doesn't work properly - no calibration software and horizontal motion is reversed), which will only install on 2.6.8-24-default system - their rpm has a pre-install script that specifically checks for the designation 2.6.8-24-default and since it doesn't find it, won't install.

I installed the driver on one of the other systems that does show as -default, and putting the touchscreen on that computer, it works fine.

I tried to fool the install by replacing uname with a script that reported the -default, and it seemed to go okay, although I had to manually move some files from xxx-default directories to xxx-smp ones.

But the driver doesn't run (it reports "invalid driver format"), so obviously there is some different code in the -smp installation.

3M tech support says the -smp version is for "symmetric multiple processors" and there is no way their driver will run on multi-processor machines.

The Dell POS box is NOT a multi-processor machine, and I have no idea why SuSE thinks it is and installs the version it does. Possibly the SATA drive, or perhaps the Broadcom gigabit NIC? Whatever...

What I want to do is try to FORCE an installation as -default and see if it runs the hdd and nic okay... and then try the 3M driver.

Anyone know how to force -default?

Have you tried disabling hyperthreading in the BIOS ?

Noooo. The system's in a box right now, ready to travel to client's warehouse. I'll see what's in the BIOS - I didn't actually notice hyper-threading when I changed it to boot from the DVD for installing Linux, but I'll look - thanks for the idea!

Okay, I looked at the BIOS, and hyper-threading is NOT enabled, so that's not it. I looked at all the hardware settings, and see nothing out of the ordinary.

Did you try to install the default kernel?
http://portal.suse.com/sdb/en/2004/0...nelswitch.html

That's what I was looking for... I've been using RedHat for some time, not used to YAST yet!

Looks like it'll work once I get rid of the -smp stuff...

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Yep - that was the magic. No doubt it was documented somewhere, but danged if I could find it... I'm sure I looked right past the kernels part a half-dozen times.

Thanks!!