I installed Mandriva using mandriva-linux-free-2008-spring-dvd-i586.iso. This is a dual boot setup where Windows XP is on the first disk partition and Mandriva is installed after it.

My hardware is as follows:
-Intel Core 2 2.13GHz
-2 GB Dual Channel RAM
-NForce 680i mobo
-Dual Nvidia 6800 Ultras in SLI configuration
-Dual Seagate 80Gb HDs in Raid 0

During the install I chose to activate the Raid 0 array that it detected, and during the video card setup I chose to setup each device individually.

After the install during the initial OS boot after I chose to boot Mandriva it just hangs at the loading progress bar. I pressed ESC to view the verbose listing, the following is the majority of the output all the way down to where it ends.

Loading dm-mirror module
Loading dm-zero module
Loading dm-snapshot module
device-mapper: table: 252:0 striped: Couldn't parse stripe destination
device-mapper: ioctl: error adding target to table
device-mapper: reload ioctl failed: No such device or address
device-mapper: table ioctl failed: No such device or address
device-mapper: deps ioctl failed: No such device or address
device-mapper: table ioctl failed: No such device or address
device-mapper: deps ioctl failed: No such device or address
device-mapper: table ioctl failed: No such device or address
device-mapper: deps ioctl failed: No such device or address
Could not resolve resume device (/dev/mapper/nvidia_dchfcfad6)
Trying userspace resume from suspend.conf file
No resume device in suspend.conf
Trying suspend2 resume
Trying tuxonice resume
Creating root device.
device-mapper: table ioctl failed: No such device or address
device-mapper: deps ioctl failed: No such device or address
Mounting root filesystem
device-mapper: table ioctl failed: No such device or address
usb 2-6: new full speed USB device using ohci_hcd and address 4
device-mapper: deps ioctl failed: No such device or address
mount: could not find filesystem '/dev/root'
Setting up other filesystems
Setting up new root fs
setuproot: moving /dev failed: No such file or directory
no fstab.sys, mounting internal defaults
setuproot: error mounting /proc: No such file or directory
setuproot: error mounting /sys: No such file or directory
Switching to new root and running init.
unmounting old /dev
unmounting old /proc
unmounting old /sys
usb 2-6: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
switchroot: mount failed: No such file or directory
Booting has failed
input: Logitech USB Gaming Mouse as /class/input/input1
input.hidraw2: USB HID v1.11 Mouse [Logitech USB Gaming Mouse] on usb-0000:00:0b 0-6
hiddev1hidraw3: USB HID v1.11 Mouse [Logitech USB Gaming Mouse] on usb-0000:00:0b 0-6

The last line above is where it just sits doing nothing. Any ideas?

Please take a look at this bug report: bug #39878

In the last couple of entries you will find problems with RAID-0, you may find some info to help you there. Also would you please add your info to that report?

I'm sorry I can't offer more help with this.

I read many of the posted responses in the bug report quoted.

Many said that mandriva-Spring is basically unable to handle Raid.
I have never read so much bunkum in my life. I am using 2008-Spring and using Raid1 as I type this post. I have been using onboard Raid1 and Raid 0+1 for years with Mandrake/Mandriva. I have used Promise Raid cards before Raid became onboard' with both Windows and Linux.

I have installed Mandriva2008-Spring in two ways.....Installing onto the drive in no raid mode then changing to raid1.............Also by setting the HDDs in Raid1 mode first and then doing the install. Result......the same, namely both ways worked without any problem. I tried both ways since I had a new mainboard, new Memory, new Videocard, new CPU and two new 320Gb HDDs. I experimented because with a new Mainboard there was a different make of bios as compared to my earlier board (which still works with all the other earlier components) and I wanted to be sure that I had the bios set correctly for the new hardware.

I can only conclude that most of them think they know something about Raid but it is obvious that they know very little about Raid and how it works or why. Most of their troubles reside in their lack of knowledge about properly setting up the bios and most don't even look there first.

How many users know that if using SATA II HDDs on early onboard SATA that they will not work unless they set a link on pins of the SATA II HDDs so that they are set to work as SATA only. Not many until they experience the problem then go looking for help and not before they blame the OS first.. That is just one example of a problem. How did I learn about this situation ???. I read the install instructions from the manufacturer BEFORE I installed the HDDs. So I never experienced the problem and thus no need to go looking for help.
I think there is a moral to this story but I could be wrong.



I am not casting a single bit of this at Anti but only to those commenter's in the bug report.
This is not to say that there are no Raid or SATA problems in 2008-Spring but I certainly haven't found any.

Anti, I am glad you do backups constantly, it is good practice and shows a responsibility to self.
In reality there is very little to be gained from Raid0 with modern Hard Drives which are so quick with read/write compared with old drives that were so slow. Your 80Gb drives were the early of the quicker HDDs that ruled until the SATAs came out.
You would be better off just using them normally as two separate drives and partitioning them basically as you do now. and still doing your backups. If you lose a drive then you only need to restore data to your new replacement drive that would have been on the failed drive.
A lot quicker and easier, especially since the drives would now be getting on in years and one could go at anytime (not wishing this on you but just facing a reality).

Cheers. John.

Ok, so I broke my Raid array then reinstalled Windows on a 40Gb partition of the first disk. Afterwards I attempted to install Mandriva using the remaining space on the disk and the second disk and it keeps giving me errors where it's trying to create the EXT filesystem partitions. It basically says "unable to create EXT partition on (insert disk name here). I tried this in a few combinations such as simply installing Mandriva to the second disk and I always get the same error.

Now that you have broken the array I believe that Windows installed OK. Now the fact that Mandriva won't install on either Hard drive points to a corrupted Mandriva.

In another thread, did you not say that you did a checksum on the iso and burnt it at lowest speed ???. Was this post here, before or after that ???.

Does it bootup and get to the section where you do your partitioning for Mandriva ???. What does it show the non Windows space as.

If you can give me this info then I may be able to help a little further.

I just this moment backtracked to your other thread and I see that you are able to do the install ok but that when it reboots that is when you have trouble. Please disregard the earlier comment since I thought you were still unable to install.

Can you give me the precise point where the bootup fails. Can you please make a note of the 6 or so lines prior to the fail, this will help us to help you better.


Cheers. John.

Hi,

I've got the same problem with my RAID-0.
But AFAIK the problem's core is in bootloader, which supports or not special types i-nodes. I use GRUB which unfortunately doesn't. My previous Mandrivas was fine, until I've installed 2008.1 (both 32 and 64-bit). Now I'm writing under MDV 2008.0, which had no probles during installation, as well as WindowsXP 32 and 64-bit.
I tried to install GRUB 2.0 from sources, which should be fine and could help solve this issue, but it seems like it can't be installed (installation proceeds fine, as it's described in INSTALL file, but I've got still old GRUB as a bootloader, strange).
Does anyone have any idea, how to cope with this problem ? I'm not interested in having LILO, or waiting for 2009 :-/