Initialization hang installing DL'ed 9 or store-bought 8.1

[Guest theuejos]

When i try to install from CD, i get the same problem, but only occasionally get the following error:

 

Error in exec of stage2

Trying to execute '/usr/bin/runinstall2' from the installation volume

Following fatal error occurred:

FATAL ERR in stage1: not a directory

I can't recover from this

 

This happens with the MDK 9 CDs i burned in WinXP, so i thought it might be a checksum problem, and downloaded new ISOs and burned to new CDs. Same issue. So i tried the storebought CDs for MDK 8.1, got the same problem.

 

The initialization begins, but suddenly stops, the CD stops spinning, and nothing else happens. Poof. I realize that it's probably my BIOS config, since the 8.1 CDs worked in an older system i had but are now giving me the same problem as the 9.0 burned CDs.

 

Here's a rundown of my hardware:

Athlon 1.1GHz

ASUS A7V133 (VIA Apollo KT133A chipset)

Master HDD: WinXP Pro SP1

Slave HDD: blank, but partitioned for NTFS

Video, Audio, etc: brought in from previous system, Mandrake compatible.

 

Nothing too unusual in my peripherals, but don't see how it would matter, as it doesn't go that far.

 

Any ideas, anyone?? Please?

 

-Joe

[Counterspy]

For a wild stab in the dark, if you intend to install Mandrake on your second drive, reformat it to Fat32 and see if that makes a difference.

 

Counterspy

[Guest theuejos]

Problem is, the install program isn't even getting to the hard drive. It's supposedly still loading into memory to perform install initialization. i've removed the partition on the drive altogether, but still nothing happens.

 

i've had 8.1 installed on that drive before, so i know the CDs are fine, but for the $25,000 question, why does it lock up now?

 

When i try installing 9, the screen shows the red progress bar of loading the install program to memory, then begins the hardware probe. It tends to get through that (though not always), then locks up going into stage2.

 

With 8.1, almost identical problem: gets to the hardware probe, but halts while detecting the drive partitions. i don't know if this is coincidence or what, because it's done it with NTFS or with no partition at all. i'll try with FAT32 and get back. i may try disconnecting the master drive and install to the slave as a master, then work out the dual-boot issues after (if there is an after)...

 

But if anyone has ideas in the mean time, i'd be grateful.

 

joe

[scoopy]

I guess a couple more shots in the dark won't hurt.

Be sure the plug and play option is set to Non-pnp OS in your bios setup.

Also, about a year ago, I found I could not install Mandrake due to a drive overlay that had reproduced itself from an old Compaq harddrive onto my newer replacements. It was called EZ bios and was a bitch to get rid of. I could try and dig up the info if you need this.

[gewb]

Another shot in the dark that worked for me -

 

I assume your "new" system has a different, probably faster, CD-ROM than your "older" sytem (which did read your disks).

 

I have had problems with "faster" CD-ROMs not reading disks properly, both purchased or ones I burned on another system.

 

The "fix" is to reduce the drive speed. You do this by pressing that "second" button on the CD-ROM (next to the OPEN/CLOSE button).

 

The button has two or three arrows ( > >> ) on it.

 

PRESS and HOLD the button for three to four seconds to reduce the speed one major drop (say from 48x to 36x). Repeat to slow it more.

 

Try running it at 24x and see if the problem goes away.

 

Regards,

GEWB

[Guest theuejos]

Hmm...thanks for the suggestions. i hope something comes out of this. i really appreciate people taking the time to help me solve this.

 

#1: i'll try the non-pnp BIOS, if i can find it in my config.

#2: If you could locate the info on that drive overlay, i would be grateful. This isn't a Compaq (custom built from scratch, more or less), but if there's a similar problem here, i'll take all the info i can get.

 

#3: i don't think it's the CD-ROM speed. Sadly, i wasn't able to upgrade the whole system, just the other acronyms (MOB, RAM and CPU). All other hardware came from my old system.

 

Now, while we're taking stabs in the dark, there's one other detail that i wasn't sure would be relevant, but perhaps it is...

 

When i changed over my hardware, my floppy drive burned out. i haven't been able to replace it, but didn't see the need as almost everything is CD-bootable now. Is the install program seeking a floppy drive? Is there a way to bypass that if it is?

[scoopy]

Just a little something to think about while we dig into this further.

 

If it is a drive overlay thing - my problem with it came as I began to rebuild my system piece by piece. I don't remember, but I probally copied the original harddrive to another along the line, then reformatted, but the EZ bios stayed and cause problems later on. You would know you have this as it states EZ bios starting or something like that as you first boot up in one of those text messages that flash by.

 

I don't know about the floppy seek or not being important here, but I would try leaving it plugged in (as long as it is not smoking or something)

[gewb]

If the FD is trashed but still plugged in OR if you removed the drive but DID NOT change your BIOS settings, that could be a problem.

 

Go into the BIOS setup an remove the first ("A>") floppy drive - probably in the "Standard CMOS Features" section of the BIOS/CMOS setup.

 

Regards,

GEWB

[Guest theuejos]

i covered those bases when i realized the floppy was fried. Removed the drive, removed any and all references to its existence in the BIOS.

 

i don't see any EZ BIOS message when i load, but i'll try to take a close look at what does come up when i boot next time.

 

i hate being stuck like this, because i'm really interested in having Mandrake running on my system. :?

 

But i appreciate the continued suggestions. i may to go out and pick up a FD over the weekend and see what happens.

 

Is there any variable i can set when i run the install? Like linux nofloppy or something? If in fact it does turn out to be the missing floppy drive, that is...

 

jt

[Counterspy]

Try linux nopentium and see if that works.

 

Counterspy

[Guest theuejos]

i'm still having no luck with this installation. i've changed the BIOS to Non-PNP, tried linux nopentium, and the damn thing still freezes in the same place.

 

The progress bar shows the install program loading, then it goes back to the text-based screen, shows "install second stage" (or to that effect), and the CD stops spinning, the keyboard is disabled for CTRL-ALT-DEL restart, and there's no disk activity.

 

My last resort is to unplug my primary hard drive and try to install to the slave as the master, and hope i can figure out the adjustments if successful.

 

This bums me, because i like using Mandrake.

[Ixthusdan]

I've had this happen under two different circumstances. The first was of course a bad burn or bad download.

The second was a bad read from the CDROM, which I replaced. While there could be other exotic possibilities, these are the most obvious under the described circumstances. Please note that replacing the ribbon connectors might also solve this problem, since a bad cable could make the CDROM look bad.

[Guest theuejos]

Ok, i've done a complete re-download of all 3 ISO images, but they're in my WinXP filesystem. i intend to burn these to new CDs, but i want to make sure the checksums are correct. However, i'm finding no info on how to see the checksum of an ISO in Windows. Plenty on seeing it in Linux...Any help on this one?

 

i picked up a new FD drive, so we'll see what happens now. *sigh*

[Counterspy]

Try doing a hard drive install as discussed in the message one or two above this one near the end of the thread. That means direct from the download, not copying the CD back to the hard drive.

 

Counterspy

[Guest theuejos]

i don't know why the Linux install program cares so much about a floppy drive being present on a computer, but this was apparently the problem.

 

PC without installed FDD = Linuix installation lockup.

PC with FDD = Linux installation possible.

 

Go figure.

 

i successfully attainted the install menu, so i'm going to go take care of that now. i really appreciate everyone's contributions and suggestions for help on this one.

 

So yay me, gonna get my Mandrake going.