I want to install RedHat 7 on my Highpoint UDMA66 controller, but Linux doesn't see the drive!

[spamboy]

OK, I'm new to Linux and trying to put it on my computer in a dual boot with a fesh install of Windows ME. I made two partitions in fdisk, one for 38 GB that I put Windows ME on, and a second partition of 2GB for Linux. I also have an 8 GB drive formatted in FAT32 that I use for media files. The big drive is on the Highpoint ATA66 controller built into my Abit BE6-II. The small drive is on the standard UDMA disk controller.

When I tried to boot and install Red Hat Linux 7.0 from the CD, it seemed to only see the small drive. I disconnected it so Linux wouldn't try to hurt my precious media data, but then it just says it can't find a media drive to write info to. Sounds like it isn't seeing my main hard drive at all. Can Red Hat be installed directly onto a hard disk on a ATA66 controller (keep in mind this is a second controller in addition to the UDMA one)? I know my Windows startup disk will try to set the 8GB drive as "C" unless I disconnect it, but when I actually boot Windows, it boots fine from the 40GB drive, and says the big drive is C, and the 8 GB is a higher letter.

Am I just missing something, or am I just out of luck? Any help would be appreciated, and thanks in advance, you're helping to free me from Bill Gates' evil clutches.

 

[spamboy]

Before bed bump.

 

[spamboy]

Morning Bump.

 

[ASmurf]

I'm a bit confused, but here's my best shot:
I'm a semi-newbie and have tried out caldera and mandrake so far on my W2K/linux dual boot on my laptop.

Yes, there are issues with ATA66 in linux...I think there's info on it in the linux HOWTOs (mirrored up the wazoo everywhere)
one way to do it is install RH7 using the UDMA disk controller and then enable ata66 support in RH7...then switch everything back (a bitch to do, but it should work)
here's something to start ya off with:

http://rtfm.phpwebhosting.com/tips/2000/04/07/9.shtml

in google just do a search with 'linux ata66 howto'

 

[spamboy]

Thanks, Asmurf, I didn't think to just move the big hard disk over to the slow controller, that just might work. I'll look into to it a little more and check out your link. In the mean time, I'm still open for suggestions.

Edit: Took a link at the link, but "it's all Greek to me."

 

[spamboy]

It looks like I'm supposed to enter something at the boot prompt to make it use the driver, which I've gathered should be on the CD somewhere. But I can't find where they tell me what to type...

 

[spamboy]

This is what it said about my ATA66 controller:

"This chipset is commonly found as the UltraDMA/66 controller on many PCI IDE adapters, as well as on some motherboards. If this is the only enabled IDE controller in the system, you should have no problems (although, you will only get 33MB/s speeds), but if it's the second of two (or more) then you will have to pass the kernel a parameter at the LILO boot: prompt, as documented in /usr/src/linux/Documentation/ide.txt."

Where can I find /usr/src/linux.Documentation/ide.txt? Can you give me a link for it, or copy and paste the text into a private message?

 

[ASmurf]

The link I mentioned only talks about getting ata66 to work by adding
append="udma=1" in /etc/lilo.conf under the linux image

To get the controller to work at all....you have to check your distro and kernel version (it needs 2.3+)

I'm not an expert at getting controller cards to work in linux, so just keep lookin.

 

[spamboy]

Yeah, but the problem isn't really getting it to work, but getting it to use it as the boot controller. I've found tons of places telling you how to add in controllers, but none telling you how to install to one. Hmm, I'm about ready to give up on Linux.

 

[spamboy]

Friday Bump.

 

[spamboy]

Saturday Bump.

 

[spamboy]

Sunday Bump, getting ready to give up on you guys.

 

[spamboy]

I guess you guys are all either newbies like me or idiots. Guess I'm on my own for this one.

 

[20_MuleTeam_Borax]

I don't think it'll work, but you can try entering "udma=1" in the initial boot prompt. Couldn't hurt.

 

[littleprince]

i dunno about redhat
but if you say you tried those instructions, and you understand them, than b4 you install, you type in the command line
so that it installs with those command lines that make your ata controller work.

i use mandrake so...
also, it would probaly help if you had a different title in the thread thats more specific

 

[spamboy]

Thanks guys, I'll try the UDMA=1 trick, I read something about that command somewhere, maybe it will help. I never found the instructions Redhat's website refered to...

I may need to just do what Asmurf suggested and move the drive over to the UDMA33 controller for the install. Actually, if I did that and then changed the BIOS boot order back the UDMA66, it might boot up just fine (although at UDMA33 when in Linux because it wouldn't be running the right drivers). I think I'll give the udma=1 a try and then try switching controllers just for the install. I'll let you know how that works.

And I'll change my title, you're probably right about it being too vague.

Thanks again.

 

[spamboy]

udma=1 just gave me an error, I'll try switching controllers just for the install in a while.

 

[afropick]

Hey spamboy,

I'm not a linux expert, by any means, but I don't believe Red Hat 7 can "see" highpoint controllers very well. I have an ABIT KT7A-RAID mobo w/ a highpoint controller and tried installing rh7... got errors. When I tried Linux-Mandrake 7.2 & SuSE they both detected the controller just fine. I think RH's kernel is a lower version, like someone else mentioned, and doesn't have the functionality built into it yet.

In other words, just try a different distribution. From my understanding Mandrake is based off of Red Hat, so they work pretty much the same, including Red Hat Package Management (RPM). I've read its one of the best distro's for newbies.

Hope this helps.

 

[spamboy]

Thanks for the advice, afropick, I might have to try Mandrake. I just installed Red Hat by switching the drive to the slow controller, but when I tried to switch it back to the 66 controller, it wouldn't detect the disk again. I think you guys must be on the right track about the version not being new enough. I'll see if I can track down Mandrake. Then main reason I was trying Red Hat is because it came with my Linux for Dummies book.

 

[superbaby]

Everyone on Anandtech are probably only familiar with Windows and which Detonater version works best with which game Asking here probably would get you nowhere.

I'd suggest http://eunuchs.org/cgi-bin/lct.pl, this is a dedicated Linux users group, if they can't help you... then I would post something on slashdot

 

[SUOrangeman]

Hehe, superbaby.

Mandrake now detects ATA66 and possibly ATA100 controllers without any user intervention.

The reason why things didn't work with RedHat *after* you moved the working install to the ATA66 ports is that your mount points were still /dev/hda#. Had you changed the /etc/fstab file to make your mount points /dev/hde#, it would have worked. It's just one of those things you'd have to know beforehand in order to get it to work.

-SUO