SUSE won't install on AMD64 with SATA HDD

[linuxoid]

Hi,

Well, just as I feared... Just bought a new comp with

AMD64 3200+ S939
Asus A8N-SLI
Asus EN6600GT-TD128
Seagate SATA 250GB
Pioneer DVR-109

Windows installs perfectly, so all hardware is obviously OK.

Put a Suse DVD in, it showed the first menu / installation screen, I chose install - and then there was silence... and a black screen...

OK, 64-bit is stuffed, then I put a Suse CD in, it asked me if I really want to install a 32-bit version on a 64-bit comp, I said yes, it installed everything, I chose a root password, then it rebooted...and then there was silence... and a black screen...

I've downloaded the patch CD, put it in, booted, it asked me to make sure the CD1 is in the drive so I put the DVD in, pressed install, it started doing something, got to loading YAST and that was IT! Black screen! S**T! What the h*** is the matter with it?

Then I thought to h*** with 64-bit and started installing 32-bit again from the CDs. I went through the whole installation process without a problem, then when it finally rebooted - black screen! What the h*** doesn't it like? My SATA HDD? but the 32-bit got installed. My Pioneer DVR? But again the 32-bit got installed. It didn't load YAST though.

Has anyone installed it on a Seagate SATA HDD, Pioneer DVR-109 and Asus A8N-SLI with AMD64-3200+ S939?

Help anyone, I'm about to pull my hair out! I only have a dialup connection so downloading the DVD image is out of the question.

[petergriffin]

Was the SuSE DVD the 64bit version as well? I know that installing the 32bit version on an AMD64 isn't a good idea, I have had problems myself with that one, although it ran fine once it loaded.

[Krendoshazin]

i believe you have to use scsi to install on a sata hdd

[techieMoe]

The problem is more than likely not your SATA harddrive, unless you have it set up in a RAID configuration. If you have it set up reguarly, SuSE (and any other Linux) will detect it as a normal SCSI drive and act accordingly.

I've never worked with an SLI board, but I'd be willing to bet the problem is with your onboard Nvidia nforce chipset. Nforce has given Linux fits before on my machines.

As for what petergriffin mentioned, I've never personally had any trouble running a 32-bit OS or program on my AMD64. It runs 32-bit code natively, so there's really no harm it can do.

Have you checked the integrity of your DVD? I found that the 64-bit section of the retail DVD had a bad sector on it that caused problems with ASUS boards (though not with MSI).

[petergriffin]

As for what petergriffin mentioned, I've never personally had any trouble running a 32-bit OS or program on my AMD64. It runs 32-bit code natively, so there's really no harm it can do.

I *knew* someone would contradict me

[techieMoe]

As for what petergriffin mentioned, I've never personally had any trouble running a 32-bit OS or program on my AMD64. It runs 32-bit code natively, so there's really no harm it can do.

I *knew* someone would contradict me

Haha. I did notice some errors that popped up when I installed the 64-bit retail DVD on a non-ASUS board. Might that be what you were talking about? If that's the case, perhaps the bad sectors cause ASUS boards to freeze and just give other boards package errors.

[petergriffin]

Haha. I did notice some errors that popped up when I installed the 64-bit retail DVD on a non-ASUS board. Might that be what you were talking about? If that's the case, perhaps the bad sectors cause ASUS boards to freeze and just give other boards package errors.

I had problems loading SuSE... Often it would just hang there on the initializing software page or something & I would need to reboot.

[linuxoid]

OK, I think I've finally got to the bottom of the problem.

PART I

Hardware:
AMD64 3200+ S939
Asus A8N-SLI (standard)
Asus EN6600GT-TD128
Seagate SATA 250GB
Pioneer DVR-109

Problem:
When installing 64-bit Suse 9.2 Pro from DVD installation freezes when trying to load YAST, all hardware seems to be detected correctly incl. SATA HDD.

My steps:
I've installed the 64-bit version using text mode. Everything installed without a problem. The system booted OK, I can see all the drives and everything. I've installed all the development software incl. kernel sources.

Then I've installed the latest NFORCE-Linux-x86_64-1.0-0301-pkg1.run and NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-1.0-7174-pkg2.run Linux drivers. The nVidia installer complained that my kernel is only 2.6.8 and may be unstable and that I need at least 2.6.11. But I've installed it anyway. So, after the system boots:

#> login: root
#> password: root_password
#> init 3
#> cd /drivers_folder (folder where the nforce and nvidia drivers are)
#> sh NFORCE-Linux-x86_64-1.0-0301-pkg1.run (and follow the prompts)
#> sh NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-1.0-7174-pkg2.run (and follow the prompts)
#> modprobe nvidia
#> sax2 -m 0=nvidia

Here's the problem: now the sax2 starts, shows the nVidia screen, goes to the monitor setup screen for a few seconds and drops out back to the prompt.

OK then, this means that the problem is with the video card and monitor. The video card is detected by YAST correctly but when I click setup it spits out rainbow garbage on the screen and freezes. Does anyone know how to twick the video card?

If I reboot in graphical mode it shows a warning that the monitor is out of frequency:
HF: 74.5 kHz
VF: 60.0 kHz

HF: 30-70 kHz
VF: 50-160 kHz

Does anyone know how to change the monitor frequency? If I use YAST it again spits out rainbow garbage on the screen and freezes.

Hope this can help someone to get this far. I would really appreciate if someone helps me to nail this SOB and configure it properly.

To be continued...

[linuxoid]

Thank you, guys for all your help.

First, I've installed the Linux source and did make cloneconfig and prepare-all before installing a 6111 driver. It didn't work, most probably because it doesn't support the new 6600GT chip.

Second, I've uninstalled the 6111 and installed the latest 7174. It complained that it should be used with kernel at least 2.6.11 but I've only got 2.6.8. And I've installed it anyway. But how can I update the kernel if I don't even have the whole system working properly.

Then, I've changed the monitor vertical and horizontal frequencies - this didn't help. By the way, how do I know what values I should put in there, I've got LG 17" Studioworks CRT.

Could anyone please tell me how I can update my kernel to 2.8.11, sax2 to 4.8-142 and xorg to 6.8.2 knowing that I can only work in text mode. I've got the latest kernel source in tar.bz2, latest sax2 and xorg as rpm files. Do I have to delete the old ones first or I can install everything on top of them?

Thank you.

[techieMoe]

Second, I've uninstalled the 6111 and installed the latest 7174. It complained that it should be used with kernel at least 2.6.11 but I've only got 2.6.8. And I've installed it anyway. But how can I update the kernel if I don't even have the whole system working properly.

What was the exact message it gave you? I've installed 7174 on my SuSE 9.2 and it didn't give me this warning, so that's new to me. Could it be some peculiarity with the 64-bit driver?