Very Computer

L.S.

When booting my old intel 386 machine from a Linux boot diskette, it
locks up at a certain stage in linuxrc. The stage where the system locks
up is after the selection of the keybord settings, and the main linuxrc
menu never appears. A manual reset is needed to unlock the machine
(<Ctrl> <Alt> <Del> does not work anymore).

I believe that the very stage at which this happens, could be a clue to
the nature of the problem (that is to more experienced Linux users than
me).

Below, I've described the hardware (in case that this information is
relevant to the problem), which runs under exactly the same
circumstances under an old MSDOS 6.2 without problems (the same hardware
has also run under Win95 previously). The Linux distribution I've been
using is SuSE 6.4.

Can the nature of the problem (more or less) be deduced from this
information ?

I'd appreciate very much some advice on how to proceed,

Thank in advance,

Erik Leunissen

==== Hardware (very old stuff) =========
Intel 386 DX 40 Mhz
8 MB RAM
1 IDE hard disk 1,2 MB
1 IDE/ATAPI CDROM (cannot boot from here, alas!)

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SuSE 6.x requires 16 Mb of RAM to install. Linux itself will run with
less memory, but SuSE's installation programme requires 8 Mb.

Try using a distribution that requires less memory. I believe that
Debian's installation may work with 8 Mb of RAM.

You can also try adding more memory, if your system supports it. Used
30-pin SIMMs are pretty cheap, and you'll definitely see the difference
in performance.

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Quote:> ==== Hardware (very old stuff) =========
> Intel 386 DX 40 Mhz
> 8 MB RAM
> 1 IDE hard disk 1,2 MB
> 1 IDE/ATAPI CDROM (cannot boot from here, alas!)

1 you need a kernel with 'math' emulation > 386 is without a fpu
2 for the current distributions, you need at least 16 mb memory

if you just want to see if linux is running on your hardware:
try 'rtbt' from http://www.toms.net/rb/home.html
it is a mini -linux with some tools on one floppy.
bye, michael

Quote:> locks up at a certain stage in linuxrc. The stage where the system locks
> up is after the selection of the keybord settings, and the main linuxrc

How far after? If it's just the setting the kbd, don't do it!

Quote:> menu never appears. A manual reset is needed to unlock the machine
> (<Ctrl> <Alt> <Del> does not work anymore).
> I believe that the very stage at which this happens, could be a clue to
> the nature of the problem (that is to more experienced Linux users than
> me).

Only if you show us the command that locks the machine. Sorry .. that's
up to you.

Quote:> Below, I've described the hardware (in case that this information is
> has also run under Win95 previously). The Linux distribution I've been
> using is SuSE 6.4.

Try something older .. slackware 3.0 or redhat 4.2.

Quote:> Can the nature of the problem (more or less) be deduced from this
> information ?

No .. I'm surprised it's an ide disk and not an rll.

Quote:> ==== Hardware (very old stuff) =========
> Intel 386 DX 40 Mhz
> 8 MB RAM
> 1 IDE hard disk 1,2 MB
> 1 IDE/ATAPI CDROM (cannot boot from here, alas!)

Try dispensing with the cdrom and see if it helps.

Peter

Thanks Alex,

I'll keep your suggestion in mind. It may come in handy when I switch to
another ditribution (which I'll probably need to do for reasons memory
requirement. As for SuSE, I believe that the consoles you mention, do
not exist yet at boot time.

Greetings,

Erik Leunissen.
==========================

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On Mon, 05 Feb 2001 21:48:03 +0100, Erik Leunissen

    8 MB is a pretty small machine for most modern installers.  You
might try a bsic Debian installation.  You can set up a basic install
from a dozen or so floppies, and Debian still has an install geared to
smaller machines.  (You can even use a floppy disk for substitute
"ram".)  Slackware is another alternative distribution that is still
relatively friendly to smaller, older machines.

Looks like you don't have enough memory for the install.  I'd try Slackware,
which should only require 8 megs for the install.

Quote:> L.S.

> When booting my old intel 386 machine from a Linux boot diskette, it
> locks up at a certain stage in linuxrc. The stage where the system locks
> up is after the selection of the keybord settings, and the main linuxrc
> menu never appears. A manual reset is needed to unlock the machine
> (<Ctrl> <Alt> <Del> does not work anymore).

> I believe that the very stage at which this happens, could be a clue to
> the nature of the problem (that is to more experienced Linux users than
> me).

> Below, I've described the hardware (in case that this information is
> relevant to the problem), which runs under exactly the same
> circumstances under an old MSDOS 6.2 without problems (the same hardware
> has also run under Win95 previously). The Linux distribution I've been
> using is SuSE 6.4.

> Can the nature of the problem (more or less) be deduced from this
> information ?

> I'd appreciate very much some advice on how to proceed,

> Thank in advance,

> Erik Leunissen

> ==== Hardware (very old stuff) =========
> Intel 386 DX 40 Mhz
> 8 MB RAM
> 1 IDE hard disk 1,2 MB
> 1 IDE/ATAPI CDROM (cannot boot from here, alas!)

> --

> Remove fake from the e-mail address to reply.

Matt and Deann,

Thanks for pointing out to me an alternative distribution, requiring
less memory.

Greetings,

Erik Leunissen
==============================================================

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