[PLUG] Linux hardware issues

[Keith Lofstrom]

On Wed, 2003-11-05 at 20:18, Karol Kulaga wrote:
> Okie dokie. I seem to have a possessed machine that just doesn't seem to
> want any version of Linux on it. Sorry about the length, but I wanted to get
> a lot of details in here.

Two almost identical machines, and one works?  This makes the test pretty
easy, though it may still take a number of tests to narrow down the 
diagnosis.  This will take time, but your chances of success are good.

First, on the balky machine, try running Knoppix 3.3 straight off a CDROM.
This may not help you diagnose the particular failure, and Knoppix may
not run, but if it works it will give you the confidence to keep going.
If KNOPPIX doesn't work, well, you've learned something valuable.

If you can run the machines side by side, bring them both up into CMOS
mode (on some machines, hitting DEL during boot does this ... your startup
screen will tell you).  Look for differences.  Sometimes there is a feature
turned off - or on - and that can make a difference.

If you have your working Linux system set up to autodetect hardware, then
you can swap the different pieces into the working system one by one until
things quit.

You can also swap the hard drives between the machines.  If the working
drive doesn't work in the balky system, you've narrowed it down to hardware.

This should "just work" of course, and most of the time it does, but 
installing Linux is still only a 95% thing, and we need to do more work
with the corner cases.  I wish I had the time to help you debug, because
we could learn important things to improve Linux install for everyone
from it.

In any case, write down what you discover and put it up on a web page
somehere.  Even if - especially if! - it turns out to be "something 
dumb".  There are probably hundreds of people out there on the planet
with the same linux install problem right now, and if your discoveries
help them solve their problems you have done a Real Good Thing.  That
is what is so very cool about Linux, is that there are no laws against
us helping each other!

Keith

-- 
Keith Lofstrom           keithl at ieee.org         Voice (503)-520-1993
KLIC --- Keith Lofstrom Integrated Circuits --- "Your Ideas in Silicon"
Design Contracting in Bipolar and CMOS - Analog, Digital, and Scan ICs