Other Help Topics :: Major boot process issue - Southbridge
Hi,
The boot process (livecd 4.2.2) can't detect the southbridge on my motherboard, which has the HDD/RAID/Audio controlers embedded in it and is the major I/O junction of the PC.
The bridge is from VIA (VT8237A, nothing out of the ordinary) and works in other Linuxs just fine.
The boot process goes only up to this line:
"VP_IDE Unknown VIA Southbridge, disabling DMA."
Booting with failsafe, sata support, expert, what ever, nothing helps. I have both IDA and SATA drives, but the problem seems to be even before DSL checks the drives... I mean it fails at the southbridge it self.
Booting with the SATA drive disabled in the bios also didn't change anything, which shows the process has a problem a stage before that.
I also have the Audio and RAID disabled by default, which of course doesn't really matter here because they come after the OS can talk to the southbridge.
Hmmmm... help? 
You probably already did this, but you could try both with/without the "dma" boot option?
Might have related code that was added in upstream 2.4.35? http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v2.4/ChangeLog-2.4.35 and see patch at http://lkml.org/lkml/2007/6/1/78
DSL-N might have better support OOB if you wish to try it.
Hmmm nope, didn't try the DMA switch, isn't it there to "force" DMA? (going from memory).
Yea I see now that current DSL kernel (2.4.31) probably doesn't support the southbridge on my board 
Am I correct that 2.4.34 is enough to support it?
I know my way around PCs networks routers bla bla bla, but totaly green when it comes to Linux 
Can I simply change/replace the kernel on the livecd?
Or can (and how ) I can install/apply that patch?
Cheers,
Amit
Wait a few days as there might be something in the works.
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