Well, I should also be visiting that valley, tonight. I don't know how you
are setup, and my Linux knowledge is quite limited (2 months), but I'm
usually pretty good at making things work.
My old machine is a dual boot with Win/95, as that's what I used to figure
out what hardware settings to give Linux. It would have been many moons to
figure it out without the Win/95 system resource usage screen info. It
wasn't easy, even given that to get rolling due to the number of devices
(all IRQ's in use).
My old machine is a Pent 200 w/64mb ram, and I need to replace it as its so
slow as to be painful in X windows apps (Netscape 30 sec to 1 min per screen
change). The machine is maxxed out CPU wise, and memory could only be
upgraded by tossing the 64mb, max is 128mb. I guess I'll do that if I have
to, and just use the Linux in text mode as a server, and reload the new box
under Win/2000 as a desktop on my Linux served home LAN if I can't get the
new machine to run. Until reading Tom's message below, I hadn't considered
the possibility of needing to do so. I worry about the technical skill
level needed for a Linux newbie to survive, but there isn't anything that
can be done, as we keep buying bigger, faster, trickier machines, which are
inherently more difficult to get running.
LOL, my new machine is much faster, being a Dual PIII-600 with 512mb sdram
and Dual UW Adaptec SCSI 7895 on board, but as per above, it looks to be
more complicated, with the sharing stuff you have found as well. I have
serious doubts if I'll be able to overcome this after reading the messages
below and looking at the referenced site, with its nice generalized stuff,
but very little useful for loading a Linux Mandrake 7.2 machine. I had a
devil of a time just getting Win/98 loaded due to a Ricoh IDE CDRW that
can't boot and an NEC IDE CD Changer that can't boot. I don't have the
sound board or 2nd NIC in, and I'm already out of IRQ's, and the 1st NIC
(Intel P10) is failing, even under Win/98. So my only alternative will be
to shut down my Linux server, cannabalize it, get the new one up on Win/98,
and then try to get Mandrake 7.2 loaded and running once I know what
settings will run under Win/98. Because of the IRQ problem, I can't see how
I'll get the Soundblaster 16 card to work, as well as 2 NIC boards. Sounds
like a tall order, but its the only way I know. I'll probably have to go to
a PCI sound card that will share an IRQ, from the looks of it. I already
have one of those that won't do Linux (Ensoniq with ES1370 chip), but I'll
give it another chance, LOL.
I agree with part of Tom's sequence, that being get hardware issues
resolved, 1st, then the OS. It certainly can't hurt and will likely help,
the more you read up, but I don't like calling it "user error", that things
are very tricky, and wish things were more doable. Even for me, its
daunting. If I figure out the IRQ stuff, I'll let you know what it took, if
not, I guess we can add a techie to the "user error" list and I'll try
Win/2000 on it...
BTW, I hate MS with a passion, but not so much as to be willing to give up
my new dual 600,
BobC
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Tom Brinkman
Sent: Monday, January 08, 2001 9:11 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: [newbie] Interrupt sharing
On Sunday 07 January 2001 01:07 pm, Jorge Ramírez Llaca wrote:
> Ok, I read al the relevant info provided there but still I'm not a
> bit closer to the solution.
<big snip>
>So far, I've come to the
> conclusion that the hardware is Ok and the problem must be Linux
> related.
>
> Any thoughts?
Well, I gotta say it. I've found that I'm best served if I
approach problems as caused by user, hardware, OS. In that order.
It seems to me, people who have the most problems, tend to try and
approach them in just the opposite order.
Your best source for getting IRQ's sorted out is your mainboard's
documentation. Many board manufacturers specify which slots various
cards should be in, depending on the combination of cards used. You
might have to go as far as d/l'ing the technical docs and studying them.
Next best bet would be to email your board's tech. support and ask them
for assistance.
I suspect your hardware is OK, but it's not configured properly.
Which is a user error, right ? In any event, after you've become
intimate with your hardware and it's configuration, I believe you'll
get better help on the LM expert list, or from the linux setup and
hardware newsgroups.
--
Tom Brinkman [EMAIL PROTECTED] Galveston Bay
>
> > On Sunday 07 January 2001 04:10 am, Jorge Ramírez Llaca wrote:
> > > I remember having read that linux does not support IRQ sharing.
> >
> > http://www.pcguide.com/ref/mbsys/buses/types/pciInterrupts-c.html
> >
> > First it's advisable to read up a little on IRQ's, and the
> > difference between system and PCI IRQ's. I believe you'll find
> > that interrupts are a hardware function and Linux handles them as
> > well or better than any other OS.
> > --
> > Tom Brinkman [EMAIL PROTECTED] Galveston Bay
