Linux Debian support - Flaky CD-ROM?

Author

Flaky CD-ROM?

Kevin J. Cheek

2007-03-09, 1:16 am

After yet another install session with 3.1, this time with Release 5, I'm
still without a boot to desktop. However, at this point I'm unsure if
it's the same problem noted with Release 4 or an incomplete install from
a flaky CD-ROM.

I downloaded all 14 ISOs for i386 through jigdo, and verified the burned
image of each disk. I chose linux26 at install boot, went through the
configuration, partitioning a slave drive using the desktop option, and
got to the boot stage. Continuing install after boot, I selected the
desktop package. Up to this point everything was going well. But during
the disk shuffle, the computer (running an AMD Duron 750 MHz) would go
out to lunch, displaying this error message:

ide-cd: cmd 0:28 timed out
hdc: DMA timeout retry
hdc: timeout waiting for DMA
hdc: status timeout status=0xd0 {Busy}
hdc: status timeout: error=0x00
hdc: ATAPI reset complete

It then repeats, giving a new ide-cd: cmd timed out each retry.

Opening the CD-ROM causes an Ack! error, but the install gracefully
allows me to go back to the package selection. The error does not repeat
on the same CD, and the install program apparently gets the files that it
failed to retrieve the first time.

After several round of this, I finally got to a login prompt, but not the
desktop. If I have a flaky CD-ROM, then I probably need to replace it
before going through any troubleshooting procedures.

Thanks in advance
- Kevin J. Cheek

F8BOE

2007-03-09, 1:16 am

Kevin J. Cheek wrote:

> After yet another install session with 3.1, this time with Release 5, I'm
> still without a boot to desktop. However, at this point I'm unsure if
> it's the same problem noted with Release 4 or an incomplete install from
> a flaky CD-ROM.
>
> I downloaded all 14 ISOs for i386 through jigdo, and verified the burned
> image of each disk. I chose linux26 at install boot, went through the
> configuration, partitioning a slave drive using the desktop option, and
> got to the boot stage. Continuing install after boot, I selected the
> desktop package. Up to this point everything was going well. But during
> the disk shuffle, the computer (running an AMD Duron 750 MHz) would go
> out to lunch, displaying this error message:
>
> ide-cd: cmd 0:28 timed out
> hdc: DMA timeout retry
> hdc: timeout waiting for DMA
> hdc: status timeout status=0xd0 {Busy}
> hdc: status timeout: error=0x00
> hdc: ATAPI reset complete
>
> It then repeats, giving a new ide-cd: cmd timed out each retry.
>
> Opening the CD-ROM causes an Ack! error, but the install gracefully
> allows me to go back to the package selection. The error does not repeat
> on the same CD, and the install program apparently gets the files that it
> failed to retrieve the first time.
>
> After several round of this, I finally got to a login prompt, but not the
> desktop. If I have a flaky CD-ROM, then I probably need to replace it
> before going through any troubleshooting procedures.
>
> Thanks in advance
> - Kevin J. Cheek

Funny, I though I downloaded 15 CDs...

Kevin J. Cheek

2007-03-09, 7:14 am

In article <45f0eee0$0$28893$426a74cc@news.free.fr>, f8boe@bluemail.ch
says...
> Funny, I though I downloaded 15 CDs...

R4 is 15 disks. R5, released in February, 2007, is 14.

--
-Kevin J. Cheek

AJackson

2007-03-10, 1:15 am

On Mar 9, 5:36 am, Kevin J. Cheek <kev...@planttel.net> wrote:
> After yet another install session with 3.1, this time with Release 5, I'm
> still without a boot to desktop. However, at this point I'm unsure if
> it's the same problem noted with Release 4 or an incomplete install from
> a flaky CD-ROM.

(Hmm, you realy sould use Debian/Etch 4.0 instead of Sarge)

> I downloaded all 14 ISOs for i386 through jigdo, and verified the burned
> image of each disk. I chose linux26 at install boot, went through the
> configuration, partitioning a slave drive using the desktop option, and
> got to the boot stage. Continuing install after boot, I selected the
> desktop package. Up to this point everything was going well. But during
> the disk shuffle, the computer (running an AMD Duron 750 MHz) would go
> out to lunch, displaying this error message:
>
> ide-cd: cmd 0:28 timed out
> hdc: DMA timeout retry
> hdc: timeout waiting for DMA
> hdc: status timeout status=0xd0 {Busy}
> hdc: status timeout: error=0x00
> hdc: ATAPI reset complete

Had this problem with an old Dell laptop computer. No problem reading
CDROM, except when installing. An boot option to installer got me
through this. Some thing like ide=nodma or something. After
installation, CDROM worked ok without any problems.

> It then repeats, giving a new ide-cd: cmd timed out each retry.
>
> Opening the CD-ROM causes an Ack! error, but the install gracefully
> allows me to go back to the package selection. The error does not repeat
> on the same CD, and the install program apparently gets the files that it
> failed to retrieve the first time.

Then you can install the rest. I usally installed Sarge by going to a
realy minimal installation, and later installed rest, like X11.

Good luck

F8BOE

2007-03-10, 1:15 am

Kevin J. Cheek wrote:

> In article <45f0eee0$0$28893$426a74cc@news.free.fr>, f8boe@bluemail.ch
> says...
>
> R4 is 15 disks. R5, released in February, 2007, is 14.
>

OK I'm afraid RC5 didn't arrive here (lip6.fr and esslingen.de)

Kevin J. Cheek

2007-03-12, 7:13 am

In article <1173499676.748008.101150@v33g2000cwv.googlegroups.com>,
anders.jackson@gmail.com says...
> (Hmm, you realy sould use Debian/Etch 4.0 instead of Sarge)

I'm intimidated by the term "testing," particularly the fear of a bad
grub install. Which is probably unfounded, but is still there. I did look
at the Etch download after reading your post, and was taken aback by the
22 disks. But that's another story.

> Had this problem with an old Dell laptop computer. No problem reading
> CDROM, except when installing. An boot option to installer got me
> through this. Some thing like ide=nodma or something. After
> installation, CDROM worked ok without any problems.
>
>
> Then you can install the rest. I usally installed Sarge by going to a
> realy minimal installation, and later installed rest, like X11.
>
> Good luck

Thanks. If I don't try Etch, I'll try this.

--
-Kevin J. Cheek

Neil Ellwood

2007-03-12, 7:13 am

On Mon, 12 Mar 2007 06:10:31 -0400
Kevin J. Cheek <kevinc@planttel.net> wrote:

>
> I'm intimidated by the term "testing," particularly the fear of a bad
> grub install. Which is probably unfounded, but is still there. I did look
> at the Etch download after reading your post, and was taken aback by the
> 22 disks. But that's another story.
>
Do try 'Etch'. It really is stable, much more so than that 'other'
operating 'system'.

--
Neil
Reverse 'r' and 'a', delete 'l' for email.

Bitey

2007-03-19, 1:13 am

On Mon, 12 Mar 2007 06:10:31 -0400, Kevin J. Cheek wrote:

> In article <1173499676.748008.101150@v33g2000cwv.googlegroups.com>,
> anders.jackson@gmail.com says...
>
> I'm intimidated by the term "testing," particularly the fear of a bad
> grub install. Which is probably unfounded, but is still there. I did look
> at the Etch download after reading your post, and was taken aback by the
> 22 disks. But that's another story.
>
>
> Thanks. If I don't try Etch, I'll try this.

Look for the Etch "netinstall". It is an ISO image to download and
burn to ONE disk. You then have the option during the install to get the
rest of the installation from a server you choose closest to your area.

My Bob.. I wouldn't even think of downloading 14 or 15 CDs, not to mention
the drain on the servers by doing so.

--
-=Bitey=- *Da2fy1 ChiX0r* vV''Vv
"I'm scared by Debian etch. It'll probably become the worst
Debian release ever. It's going to hurt our reputation. [...]
Nowadays it just works? Where's the Debian we all knew?"
http://www.infodrom.org/~joey/log/?200609102259

AJackson

2007-03-21, 7:13 pm

On Mar 12, 11:10 am, Kevin J. Cheek <kev...@planttel.net> wrote:
> In article <1173499676.748008.101...@v33g2000cwv.googlegroups.com>,
> anders.jack...@gmail.com says...
>
>
> I'm intimidated by the term "testing," particularly the fear of a bad
> grub install. Which is probably unfounded, but is still there. I did look
> at the Etch download after reading your post, and was taken aback by the
> 22 disks. But that's another story.

If you have good Internet connection, you realy only need the first
CD. To download the other CDs is only waisting time, becouse you cant
install all software on all CDs. And if you choose plain Debian
installation, you get Gnome. But there is a KDE and Xfce version of
first CD too.
See http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-installer/

# Gnome (debian-testing-amd64-CD-1.iso)
# KDE (debian-testing-amd64-kde-CD-1.iso)
# XFce (debian-testing-amd64-Xfce-CD-1.iso)

Good luck

AJackson

2007-03-21, 7:13 pm