Can't boot from HDC

Forum: User Feedback
Topic: Can't boot from HDC
started by: BorderGeek

Posted by BorderGeek on Aug. 20 2006,23:19

We use a computer only sporadically, so I would like to leave at least the CPU running all day once it is powered on. But for the sake of Planet Earth and because we have no air conditioning, we need a machine that is quiet, low power, and low heat. I bought a machine that uses the Via CV860A motherboard packaged in a small case which has room for only one drive, a slimline 2.5" HDD. (The machine came with no drives.) The board has a 40 pin IDE1 connector and a 44 pin IDE2, so the 2.5" drive would have to be the on IDE2. The board has a Compact Flash (CF) adaptor which, if used, is the Master on IDE2. Because there is no space in the case, I can't put any HDD on IDE1, though I COULD use a Disk on Module (DOM).

I decided to go only with a 2GB CF card which is limited to being HDC. DSL runs beautifully when booted from CDROM. I tried a frugal install with LILO, but DSL says that it supports only HDA for LILO. So I did a GRUB install, which went OK. But when I try to boot from the CF (HDC) it gives the message "GRUB: Hard drive error". Yet, if I boot from CDROM and mount the CF, I can read and write files on the CF, so it doesn't look like hardware problems.

BTW, the Menu file in the GRUB directory on the CF doesn't look exactly like the example in the DSL Wiki, which has the extra lines "make active" and "boot", but it does resemble MENU files on other distros.

If all else fails, I could install a DOM on IDE1 and try a LILO install, but there is no guarantee that will work. Any ideas? Thanks a lot for any help.

Posted by axy on Aug. 30 2006,19:01

I don't now maybe it's a problem in the hd boot, make a scandisk in other so and try again, or look the dillo and try this way to install in hd :cool:

Posted by BorderGeek on Aug. 30 2006,23:47

Thanks. Research on the Internet showed that the error I get means that GRUB can't determine the drive geometry, and I have no way of finding the geometry. A problem that goes with some Compact Flash cards. So, just today, I ordered a DOM, which I will use as HDA. Will report on the results when the DOM arrives.

Posted by BorderGeek on Sep. 23 2006,02:54

The 64MB DOM finally arrived (took 3 weeks), so I installed it as HDA. Did a frugal LILO install, and everything works OK. I will likely use this computer more than our big machine. If I had known before about DSL and my hardware restrictions, I would have skipped the Compact Flash and just gone with a bigger (128MB or 256MB) DOM for program storage, since I am using a pen drive for all data anyway. But I'm happy as is!

Posted by humpty on Sep. 25 2006,20:45

you only need the boot files on the DOM (minirt24.gz, linux24..etc, the same as on the boot floppy).

once loaded, DSL should automatically go searching for the 50mb knoppix image on hfc, or if not, you can specify it in syslinux.cfg.

if you motherboard can boot off hdc, a surefire way is to install freedos on hdc and use loadin to start the boot files (be sure to use freedos-8 for fat16 or freedos-9 for fat32, they are not interchangeable).

Posted by BorderGeek on Sep. 26 2006,03:17

Thank you for the information. I still have a lot to learn about Linux, even though I have done installs on several different distros. But I ususally fool around mostly with the GUI, so haven't gotten into the internals or command-level stuff nearly as much as I should. Thanks to people like you, I can gradually accumulate more knlowledge and understanding.