Redhat install question

Tue Feb 5 10:47:15 PST 2002

> I have a laptop that it is already running Redhat 7.0, and on which I 
> want to install 7.2 via the PCMCIA this time, instead of using the 
> CDROM. I downloaded the pcmcia.img and pcmciadd.img for the Redhat web 
> site and  copied on two diskettes. This laptop is using a 3COM 
> 3CCFEM556B PCMCIA card.
> 
> The laptop boots fine from the diskette containing the pcmcia.img; then 
> when it asks to insert the second diskette containing the PCMCIA 
> drivers, it freezes with the message "Initialiazing PC Card Devices".

Hmm.  Perhaps it is trying to initialize a different PCMCIA bridge than
the tupe you have.  The most common are the Intel i82365 (numbers jumble?)
a later revision of the same which Linus calls the "yenta", and the TCIC
chip (whose number I don't pretend to recall).  Not sure if that's a 2.2.x
or a 2.4.x kernel there, and if it is, then pcmcia services have two ways
of being built, too.  In short it's a bit messy.

> I have browsed Google left and right, checked a dozen or so mailing 
> lists,asked people on IRC. Nothing. I found very few messages on Google 
> of people  experiencing the same problem, but with no resolution.

1)  http://www.google.com/linux
	well, you're right, I didn't find much either.  Other than a 
	reference to a comment that CERN had to replace the network
	setup with some parts from the normal David Hinds kit, it's 
	mostly mirrors of redhat itself (yawn) and clear descriptions
	about making RH 5.0 happy (oh my, that's ancient)

2) SuSE supports spawning the installer after you've booted by some other
   method

3) My own experiences with Debian via PCMCIA (after the first 3 diskettes)
   have been good, but I usually cheat and drop in a much bigger 'base'
   these days.  Libranet's current edition has support for pcmcia, but I
   didn't need to try it so I can't say.

I have some experience with other brands but not their recent editions.

> And yes, I recreated those diskettes at least a couple of times on 
> different diskettes, and I also took the images from the 7.2 CDROM 
> instead of the Redhat web site the second time... just in case.
> 
> Any idea folks?

Well, you've followed what passes for RH' next crack at things.  Lemme
see if there's anything good on Mobilix or KHarker's pages...
(www.mobilix.org)
(www.linux-laptop.net -- make sure not to use the plural)

{grodgel grodgel}

The laptop HOWTO is useless, it's too vague.  I dunno which models don't
bear a CD-ROM so it's hard to dig among the brands for that - and they
probably didn't use Redhat, or it would have been likely to come up on
my searches.

Hmm, somebody gave up on the hassle and found a way to download the CD
contents into spare space on his hard disk, then do the HD based install.
Of course he was going to be a dual boot anyway so this wasn't a big deal
for him.

And someone suggested that the RH 6.x pcmcia floppies worked better.

I'm afraid this really isn't much to go on.

My normal backoff plan for touchy hardware is that I'm unafraid to take
the device apart, mount its hard disk on another system, load it up, and
put it back.  (Between IDE to ??? adapter bays, and the fact that I own a
couple of laptop-desktop pinout adapters, it's fairly possible.)  With 
the modern distros willing to leave your local drive alone (to support 
dual and triple booting) all you have to do is make sure it doesn't 
accidentally "improve" the boot loader on the friendly host, and that you
do properly install a boot loader on the guest disk.

The hard part is keeping track of all the itty bitty screws.

  . | .   Heather Stern                  |         star at starshine.org
--->*<--- Starshine Technical Services - * - consulting at starshine.org
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