Subject: Install from Zip drive

From: Bernhard Mogens Ege <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 18 Sep 1997 08:28:30 GMT

Hi,

Yesterday I made an attempt to install ARMLinux from a parallel port Zip
drive on my RPC600, 1280Gb HD, 32Mb DRAM, 1Mb VRAM, IDE ATAPI CDROM
drive and a temporally Zip drive.

Yes, it failed.

I downloaded RedHat/RPMS and RedHat/base and placed them in the
linux subdirectory on the Zip disc. I also downloaded !PartMan,
!WriteDisc, !LinConfig, !Linux, RPC, RPC-ROOT and supplemental.

I am aiming at the harddisc install option.

I have partitioned my HD to 900Mb RiscOS, 292Mb Linux Native and 30Mb
Linux swap (1222Gb does not add up to 1280*1024*1024 but rather
1280*1000*1000) with !PartMan.

I think I set things up correctly with !LinConfig, and did create the
root-rpc and supplemental discs and was ready to go. After a
some failures trying to start !Linux, I noticed that !LinConfig did not
create the Choices:Linux directory which I had to create myself. I did
so and ran !LinConfig again. Now it produced a config file.

Then I tried to start !Linux with -bootkernel
ADFS::HardDisc4.$.ARMLinux.RPC and an error something like this: Buffer
overflow (arose from the line executing !RunImage). I also kept getting
this error, but cannot remember how I got rid of it: Invalid bmap file
(&EA000006). I circumvented it with my own Obey file (like this one):

WimpSlot 2048k 2048k
<Linux$Dir>.NewSetMode (or something like that)
<Linux$Dir>.!RunImage -config Choices:Linux.Config -list -bootkernel ADFS::HardDisc4.$.ARMLinux.RPC

Does that look wrong?

I changed the mode in NewSetMode to be one that my VRAM allowed
(1024x768x256).

I started the obey file and the kernel booted. It loaded the root
floppy, the installer showed up, I selected harddisc install and it
loaded the supplemental disc. Here I noticed that something was wrong
(not fatal):

The console driver kept messing the bottom lines up (made them
unreadable). When I switched with ALT-F1/ALT-F2 it did not redraw
correctly. When I scrolled the screen and the messy lines reached the
top, the text became readable again. Any further scroll made it all
start over. This also happened in 640x480x16. What can I have done
wrong?

Well, I went on, trying to ignore the previous error. I loaded the ppa.o
module with: /sbin/insmod /modules/ppa.o ppa_base=0x278
I created a node: mknod /dev/sda4 b 8 4
and mounted (just to check): mkdir /zip;mount -t vfat /dev/sda4 /zip
I checked the files and they looked ok (they did, so I unmounted the zip
again, as the installer wouldnt use a premounted directory. Or will
it?).

I let the installer carry on installing everything from zip to hda3
(292Mb partition). It estimated that it would need about 11 hours to do
so, so I left it the night over. When I woke up, I saw that it was not
able to find a kernel. I did not know where to place the kernel (and
where should I get it from? Is it the same kernel as the install
kernel?).

During the installation above I checked how the installer mounted the
zip disc, and it mounted it as type msdos. This did not seem to affect
the installer in any way (even though the long filenames had turned into
6chars~n.rpm). If it did affect the installer, could this be the cause
of the missing kernel?

As far as I could check (cd /mnt; bin/du -k), about 242000 Kb was
installed.

If I did forget to download the kernel, where kan I put it to complete
the install (I assume I should now select upgrade instead of install as
I have install the rpm files?).

regards,

Bernhard

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---

From: Russell King - ARM Linux Admin <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 18 Sep 1997 22:07:04 +0100 (BST)

> 1280*1000*1000) with !PartMan.

That's because as far as the manufacturer is concerned (who is still on
planet Decimal), the drive is 1280MB.  However, as far as everyone else
is concerned, 1MB = 1024 * 1024 bytes.  So, the manufacturer says 1280MB
-> 1280000000 bytes -> 1220.7MB according to everyone else using the
right conversion factor.  It's basically a con that hard drive manufacturers
subscribe to.

> (&EA000006). I circumvented it with my own Obey file (like this one):

If you followed the instructions in INSTALL, you wouldn't get this problem!
What happens is that the installer expects a valid partition to be accessible
if you have a configuration file (so that it can read the menu entries).
However, you haven't got that far.

The solution is do *not* create the configuration file before you've installed
Linux.

> I changed the mode in NewSetMode to be one that my VRAM allowed

This should not actually be necessary - RiscOS should choose a mode that
your hardware does support.  I am at the moment taking my RiscPC into 
work, and have to keep switching monitor types (AKF85 (1280x1024x256) to
AKF60 (1024x768x256)).  RiscOS appears to `do the right thing'.  Maybe
your monitor definition file for RiscOS isn't correct.

> start over. This also happened in 640x480x16. What can I have done

Which version of !Linux are you using (it'll tell you when it lists the
menu entries)?

> again, as the installer wouldnt use a premounted directory. Or will

The RedHat installer has many bugs.  Even the debugging in the installer
is buggy!  I wonder how RedHat ever got it working!

You should be able to select the ppa module straight out of the SCSI
host list (yes, it is a SCSI device, with a parrallel interface slapped
on the back).  You will need to tell it 'ppa_base=0x278' still.  A possible
speed up might be achieved with ppa_speed_high=0 and ppa_speed_low=3.  This
may give some performance enhancement, or may cause data corruption.  You
basically have to try some values to tune the driver to your parrallel port.
The defaults are ppa_speed_high=1 and ppa_speed_low=6.

> where should I get it from? Is it the same kernel as the install

Please see the FAQ.  There is a question on there (and the answer ;))
to tell you what to do for this.

> 6chars~n.rpm). If it did affect the installer, could this be the cause

That is interesting actually.  I wouldn't have thought that it would
have found the files, but obviously I'm wrong.  Eek!  I was wrong - the
installer scans the hard drive for the partitions and works out what's
what - it's not neccessary to preserve the names at all, just so long as
they're unique! ;)  That means that it is possible to use the ADFS hard
disk to install Linux (after a few mods to the installer to recognise ADFS
drives).  Thanks for that bit of info! ;)

> I have install the rpm files?).

Again, see the same question on the FAQ.
   _____
  |_____| ------------------------------------------------- ---+---+-
  |   |        Russell King        [email-masked]        --- ---
  | | | |    http://www.arm.uk.linux.org/~rmk/home.html      /  /  |
  | +-+-+                                                     --- -+-
  /   |               THE developer of ARM Linux              |+| /|\
 /  | | |                                                     ---  |
    +-+-+ -------------------------------------------------  /\\\  |

---

From: Bernhard Mogens Ege <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 20 Sep 1997 17:29:16 GMT

>>>>> "Russell" == Russell King <- ARM Linux Admin <[email-masked]>> writes:

> This should not actually be necessary - RiscOS should choose a mode
> that your hardware does support.  I am at the moment taking my RiscPC
> into work, and have to keep switching monitor types (AKF85
> (1280x1024x256) to AKF60 (1024x768x256)).  RiscOS appears to `do the
> right thing'.  Maybe your monitor definition file for RiscOS isn't
> correct.

I changed the mode-def back, and it did not change anything.

> Which version of !Linux are you using (it'll tell you when it lists
> the menu entries)?

I am using v3.13. The error appears in X, too.

> have found the files, but obviously I'm wrong.  Eek!  I was wrong -
> the installer scans the hard drive for the partitions and works out
> what's what - it's not neccessary to preserve the names at all, just
> so long as they're unique! ;) That means that it is possible to use
> the ADFS hard disk to install Linux (after a few mods to the installer
> to recognise ADFS drives).  Thanks for that bit of info! ;)

Glad I could help. :-)

About the ppa.o module, it seems as it is much faster now Linux is
installed. I wonder why. I did not use any of the speedups you suggested.

I tried to start glint for rpm management , but it needs python
installed. This appears not to be supplied as an rpm file.

I tried to run some of the x-games (on guy wrote a lot of them, e.g.,
xsnooker, xcannon, but they all core-dump) (might be because of the
display problem).

I am interrested in using the loop device, but as I understand, I need
losetup. I have been searching for the source for it, but cannot find
it. Can you direct me to a location where I can find it?

Bernhard