Installation

[skiddieleet]

So I got tired of bad downloads that never worked and decided to order redhat 9 from linuxcd.org. I try to install it and the first time it had an error right after formatting and before beginning the installation. After trying it about 10 times half had the error, a few exited about halfway through the install, and then I tried the minimal install and it went all the way through but wouldn't boot. After trying almost close to 10 distros I have only gotten one to install and that was lycoris. But I would really like to get redhat 9 to boot. I have 3 theories:1. according to the knoppix live cd my computer is i686, what is the difference between all the 86's? I tried arch linux which is optimized for the i686, but I could not get it to run the setup and it wasn't doing what the documentation said it was supposed to do. The md5sums matched perfectly. 2. The hard drive I have been trying to install on is secondary slave and I thought maybe it had to be primary master. 3. Maybe I'm not burning it right or nero is messed up. I do the burn as image but right before you tell it to burn I noticed a box that says create as image. Maybe I am supposed to check that.
So if anyone can help I'd like to know the diff. between the 86's, whether or not the hd has to be the primary master, and if i'm supposed to check the box on nero.
One other quick question. Will i have to change the setup if I switch the cables and make the hd the primary master.
I appreciate any thoughts anyone has.
thanks for replies.
h3r3tic

[Phat_Penguin]

h3r3tic

.... when I am having trouble (install freezes etc) getting nix on a machine I always drop back to the prompt (usually a choice on the start up installation screen - F1 or whatever) and type in - "linux ide=nodma" (no " 's) - and this generally gets me over that hurdle.

[lumpyporridge]

I had a similar problem with a couple computers and i believe t was due to a memory problem , one was a laptop that would not install anything (many discouraging attempts %$&$$$#%%#^#%#@#),but once it did finally take freebsd, after a few attempts. When i tried to buildworld it failed every time , from the error and reading i got the impression it was hardware and not me , thank god as i was about to pull my hair out . You may want to try doze and do something very stressful (memory wise not physical) to it and see if it fails ?? good luck

[roswell1329]

h3r3tic -- Could you provide a bit more information about the problem that is occurring? Specifically, could you give us the exact error messages you were receiving when trying to install each of the flavors of linux you were using? Often times we'll be able to tell you exactly why you are receiving a specific error. Also, could you tell us your machine specs? That may have as much to do with it as anything. With those pieces, we may be able to help you.

[skiddieleet]

Hey,
thanks everyone. I just got back from a three day trip to the coast so I'm a little tired. I'll probably try those things tomorrow and also try to post some specs and the errors i'm getting.
Goodnight everyone.

[embro1001]

If you guys really want a smooth install, I would suggest Mandrake 9.1. I just installed it along side XP on my Toshiba laptop, and it's running without a hitch (with the exception being the winmodem, but I connect throught the LAN, so it's no biggie.).

[whoisnull]

HI

Yes there i'm again,

also try OpenBSD, it will install on anything, plus the manuals are triple tiptop, which is easy for those multiboot commands, (winXP/W2k)(so easy and fun)cause they trick M$( oh those Man page's you can find on there site, and they will reveal every bit of mystery for You! )

NULL

[theuser]

I must say though, before deciding to switch to a different flavor of *nix, you should research what you are getting into. The major linux distros (Red Hat, Suse, Mandrake, ...) tend to have the easiest installation setup, while others have quite difficult ones. I found Mandrake 9.1's install to be very intuitive, while freebsd's was very taxing (although I made it through.) Sorry that I couldn't provide any further help regarding your install issue though.