Not to sound like a wet blanket, but if you have to have Linux I say give it up already and buy an Intel box, the more "standard" the better. But expect to have problems there too, especially with the Broadcom NICs that every new Intel box has these days.
I spent six months, on and off, trying to get Linux, any Linux (actually I never tried SuSE...hmm...), to behave itself with Alpha 4100s. I tried Debian and Red Hat, threw money away on new SCSI controllers, tried firmware upgrades, trolled the internet, gave up on having any kind of hardware RAID, all to no avail. I found lots of smart folks who had teased the things into life but I'm just too dumb. At the very least you should ditch the DAC960s if they don't work after a week or so of faffing around. With Intel I can get Debian running although I had to install an old fashioned 3Com NIC and if you have an eight-way box expect Debian only to be able to handle seven of them. I do think if you have to have Linux it should be Debian. Once you have accomplished the Herculean task of making Debian work, it will probably stay that way, unlike Red Hat. Plus on Intel you will need to hit "bf24" at the first prompt of the Debian CD (a non-2.4 kernel won't recognize your hardware, a 2.4 will recognize everything but the Broadcom NIC). I hear rumors Debian 3.1 will have a new installer; if it provides a nicer way to incorporate new hardware drivers it could really change the world for morons like me. I am pleased to see that HP are providing a free Debian-for-Dummies wrapper for Itanium (http://hpde.linux.hp.com); I will be trying it on an eval soon. The one they did for Red Hat on Alpha wasn't perfect but got me halfway there. If you do try Red Hat on Alpha you should use it. Best of luck John -----Original Message----- From: Jim and Kelly Younkin [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, June 05, 2004 7:36 PM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: Debian Installer - Problems Partitioning Is there anything more I can do to get the necessary information for someone to be able to diagnosis the problem and suggest a solution? Should I try RedHat, or another flavor of Linux that supports Alpha? If I cannot get some version of Linux running on my Alpha by Tuesday I will have to order an Intel box. I have fallen way behind on this project. Thanks to all for you help. Jim -----Original Message----- From: Steve Langasek [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, June 05, 2004 3:39 PM To: [email protected] Cc: Helge Kreutzmann; Jim and Kelly Younkin Subject: Re: Debian Installer - Problems Partitioning Importance: Low On Sat, Jun 05, 2004 at 06:36:34PM +0200, Helge Kreutzmann wrote: > Hello, > On Sat, Jun 05, 2004 at 12:10:33PM -0400, Jim and Kelly Younkin wrote: > > I am ashamed to admit, but I *still* don't get how I am supposed to run > > FDISK so I can get to an FDISK prompt. > There is nothing to be ashamed of! > > ~# fdisk /dev/sda > > /bin/sh: ~fdisk: not found > I don't know the PATH on this busybox. Try > cd /sbin > ./fdisk /dev/sda > and then (after partitioning) return to the installer. This will absolutely not work, you must use devfs-style paths to all devices when running inside the debian installer. But this is an exercise in futility anyway -- if the disk could be seen by the kernel, partman would've let him partition it to begin with. It doesn't matter which partitioner he tries to use, he is *not* going to be able to partition the disk until we figure out why the DAC960 module won't load for him. -- Steve Langasek postmodern programmer -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] ===================================================================== Please note that this e-mail and any files transmitted with it may be privileged, confidential, and protected from disclosure under applicable law. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering this message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any reading, dissemination, distribution, copying, or other use of this communication or any of its attachments is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately by replying to this message and deleting this message, any attachments, and all copies and backups from your computer.
