Very Computer

Hi all,

I'm trying to build a linux box out of an old 486SX that has been sitting
around unused WAY too long.

Here's some info about the machine:
It's a Tandy 1000 with an Intel 486SX processor, 4MB RAM, 8X ADAPI CDROM,
and a Seagate 1275MB HD (model ST31276A).
I've been attempting to install various versions of RedHat (5.2 - 7.1), but
during the boot process the machine freezes. I booted the machine it DOS,
but when I tried to run fdisk I kept receiving messages that DOS coud not
detect the HD. I downloaded some diag aoftware from Seagate and the HD seems
to be fine now, yet the problem with linux persists...

During the initial boot sequence all seems well...all devices (HD, floppy,
CDROM, etc.) are detected. Then I get the following messages and the machine
locks-up:
Partition Check:
hda: hda1
RAMDISK: Compressed image found at block 0

The HD, once I ran the Seagate diag tools, was configured via fdisk with 1
partition

Anyone have any ideas/guidance?

Thanks in advance,
M0ng0

Does the BIOS support a 1.3 GB drive?  One thing you have to be careful
of is that when the HD makers were coming out with drives that were too
large for the BIOSes to handle, they usually included a software layer
to compensate for it.  If I remember correctly, this software sat in
place of the MBR on the disk, and the boot table was then placed
somewhere else.

Another thing that comes to mind is to be careful that the disk isn't
compressed, as it was fairly common in the 486 days to have the OS
compress the partitions in order double the capacity.  

If you haven't already and you don't care about any data that might be
on the disk, I would suggest using the Seagate partition utility that
came with the disk to do a full, clean reformat of the drive instead of
using fdisk from a DOS disk or something.  And if you go this route,
make sure you do not include the BIOS compensating software that I
mentioned above (as linux is not subjected to BIOS limitations).

Dave