Disk is 8 to 16 times slower under 4.02

[JeffBonn]

Using the CD version of Knoppix 4.02, hdparm -t /dev/hda shows that my
drive is only working at 4 MB per second. Under Knoppix 3.6 and Fedora Linux,
hdparm reports 60 to 62 MB/second.

hdparm -t /dev/sda shows that my USB memory key is 1 MB/second, but
it runs at 8 MB/second under Knoppix 3.6 or Fedora.

hdparm -I /dev/hda reports exactly the same information under Knoppix 4.02,
Knoppix 3.6, and Fedora. Specifically, they both show that my ATA 100 drive is
definitely using the UDMA5 mode.

The slowdown is real, not a quirk of hdparm. I use this dd command to back up my system.
dd if=/dev/hda1 of=/dev/hdc1 bs=2M
Under Knoppix 4.02, the backup takes unbearably long. Under Knoppix 3.6 the drive to drive
copying is done at more than 50 megabytes per second.

My hard drives are identical ATA 100 Seagate Barracudas. My motherboard is a GA=7N400,
which has the nForce2 chipset.

[buus]

I had the same problem. The solution was to load the usb 2.0 driver, ehci-hcd. Once I did that, I got the 2.0 speeds.

FMI, see:
http://www.linux-usb.org/usb2.html

[ruymbeke]

I noticed the same problem, found a patch a made a fix. CF:
http://www.knoppix.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=97923#97923
Gilles

[JeffBonn]

Hello Gilles, can you please tell me how you installed the patch?
I downloaded minirt_usb2.gz, mounted the CD image .iso file, copied in
the new minirt_usb2, and burned an new CD. The new CD doesn't boot.

Do I have to do the entire "remastering" procedure to apply the patch?
Is there a checksum that I must update before burning a CD?

[ruymbeke]

Hello Gilles, can you please tell me how you installed the patch?
I downloaded minirt_usb2.gz, mounted the CD image .iso file, copied in
the new minirt_usb2, and burned an new CD. The new CD doesn't boot.
Do I have to do the entire "remastering" procedure to apply the patch?
Is there a checksum that I must update before burning a CD?
The patch for the linuxrc boot script file (included in the minirt.gz) is described in here:
http://lists.debian.org/debian-knoppix/2005/12/msg00031.html
I always boot from the ISO files stored on the hdd and use the minirt_usb4.gz
(which includes the USB2 patch + other nice features) instead of the minirt.gz off the cd.
(read how to make it work from the forum or wiki: http://www.knoppix.net/wiki/Win_Partition)
I never tried to make a new iso after having replaced the minirt.gz by the minirt_usb4.gz ... it may work...
Get the minirt_usb4.gz file from here: http://www.knoppix.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=98940#98940
and in order to make a new bootable Knoppix CD, you will need to follow this FAQ:
http://www.knoppix.net/wiki/Knoppix_Remastering_Howto#Live_CD_ISO
and use this command from Linux (or cygwin):

mkisofs -pad -l -r -J -v -V "KNOPPIX" -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 \
-boot-info-table -b boot/isolinux/isolinux.bin -c boot/isolinux/boot.cat \
-hide-rr-moved -o /mnt/hda1/knx/knoppix.iso /mnt/hda1/knx/master

Hope this helps,
Gilles

PS: If I have time, I will try to make that ISO...

[mikekgr]

>PS: If I have time, I will try to make that ISO...

yes PLEASE do so...

[ruymbeke]

>PS: If I have time, I will try to make that ISO...
yes PLEASE do so...
I just tried, and it doesn't work as is... more work to be done for cd boot...

Edit:
I just got the CD boot working now with the minirt_usb4.gz (tested with qemu):
For some reasons the isolinux boot loader used by the Knoppix official cd
doesn't like the minirt_usb4.gz file. Problem of size ?
But I do not have the time to investigate now...
I got it working using grub as a bootloader and the following command to generate the iso:

mkisofs -pad -l -r -J -v -R -N -V "KNOPPIX" -no-emul-boot -no-iso-translate \
-boot-load-seg 0x1000 -b boot/isolinux/grldr -c boot/isolinux/boot.cat \
-hide-rr-moved -o ../iso_usb.iso ../cdrom

And I used the following menu.lst in the root of the CD:

title Knoppix
kernel (cd)/boot/isolinux/linux ramdisk_size=100000 init=/etc/init lang=us apm=power-off vga=791 nomce quiet dma screen=1600x1200
initrd (cd)/boot/isolinux/minirt_usb4.gz
boot

Best Regards,
Gilles

[JeffBonn]

Gilles, thank you for the detailed instructions. Your post describes several
different issues that I did not know about. -- Jeff

[ruymbeke]

>PS: If I have time, I will try to make that ISO...
yes PLEASE do so...
Here it is: http://s94002264.onlinehome.us/grub/iso_usb.iso (md5: 3b70c1b7fdb1b1659404925fdcd379d2)
This is just for demo purpose. I won't keep this link alive too long, since I do not have unlimited bandwidth.
So please let me know when your download is done.
Thanks,
Gilles

[mikekgr]

Dear Gilles,
thanks for the iso. I download it now and I will test it then.

Thanks again

[OErjan]

Thank you Gilles,
I am downloading it now.
OErjan

[|enouf|]

I noticed the same problem, found a patch a made a fix. CF:
http://www.knoppix.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=97923#97923
Gilles

apologies if i missed something, but how does a USB 2.0 patch fix the HDD ATA speed that the OP complained of (unless ofcourse if it's in an external USB 2.0 enclosure - which the OP doesn't imply or state)

[ruymbeke]

I noticed the same problem, found a patch a made a fix. CF:
http://www.knoppix.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=97923#97923
Gilles
apologies if i missed something, but how does a USB 2.0 patch fix the HDD ATA speed that the OP complained of (unless ofcourse if it's in an external USB 2.0 enclosure - which the OP doesn't imply or state)
I was referring to:

... hdparm -t /dev/sda shows that my USB memory key is 1 MB/second, but it runs at 8 MB/second under Knoppix 3.6 or Fedora...
and the following reply:

I had the same problem. The solution was to load the usb 2.0 driver, ehci-hcd. Once I did that, I got the 2.0 speeds. FMI, see: http://www.linux-usb.org/usb2.html
I have never pretend solving all Linux problems.
I agree with you that the USB2 fix should only help with USB devices,
including USB2 HDD enclosures and USB2 dongles, which was my problem
and according to other posts, was also the problem of other Knoppix users.
On a side note, I believe that this way to patch the official CD/DVD iso
could be very usefull for other bug fixes and is quite interesting
since it will prevent the need for a Knoppix remaster.
cf: http://www.knoppix.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=96888#96888
I still hope that my post helped some one...
Best Regards,
Gilles

[|enouf|]

double post :shock:

[|enouf|]

[snip]
I still hope that my post helped some one...
Best Regards,
Gilles
I'm certain it did :D there was no offense at all intended (and I'm sure none taken), and I personally find much of the work you've done invaluable, and the info you've posted here at knoppix.net forums extremely useful - thanks for clarifying the matter for me.

[mikekgr]

Dear Gilles,
I tested your "corrected" knoppix and it works perfectly right in my case.

Many many thanks.

Mike

[JeffBonn]

Gilles, thank you for making the custom ISO image, but it will not boot my computer.
I downloaded the file and got the correct md5sum. Then I burned a CD
and tried to boot it. The system showed "Launching GRUB..." and then hung.

[ruymbeke]

Gilles, thank you for making the custom ISO image, but it will not boot my computer.
I downloaded the file and got the correct md5sum. Then I burned a CD
and tried to boot it. The system showed "Launching GRUB..." and then hung.
Just as a curiosity, do you have the same problem with Kanotix ?
AFAIK, Kanotix is also using grub as a bootloader.
If Kanotix is working, I can try to make a better CD grub boot
so it will work on more computers. There is always more than one way to do things...
But it is hard for me to fix a problem that I cannot reproduce on my computers.
Best Regards,
Gilles

[JeffBonn]

Hello Gilles, my system boots fine with Kanotix. My hard disk has Windows 2000 on the
first partition and Fedora on the others. Its BIOS is set to boot from CD if available, and
then from the hard drive. Thank you for your interest in my problem.

[JeffBonn]

Hello again, Gilles. I burned a new iso_usb.iso CD, then installed an
old hard disk that contains only one Windows 2000 partition. But my system
still does not boot with your CD.

I also tried booting with no hard disk at all. As before, all I get is the
"starting GRUB..." message. This proves that my boot problem is completely
unrelated to my system's hard disk partitions.

My system has a Gigabyte GA-7N400-L motherboard with an nForce2
chipset, 1500 megabytes of RAM, and an AMD XP3200+ processor.

[ruymbeke]

Hello Gilles, my system boots fine with Kanotix...Thank you for your interest in my problem.
Hi JeffBonn,
I just made a new iso file using the same grub binaries and boot mechanism as Kanotix
which I hope will work better for you. This iso contains the the official KNOPPIX 4.02 release
with a patched initrd boot ramdisk to fix the USB 2.0 and persistent ext2 problems
and add some extra features as custom (and dynamic) hostnames, ...
http://s94002264.onlinehome.us/grub/iso_usb2.iso (md5: 147b03e54ad4b2260b015b041391cf4b)
One more time, this is just for demo and test purpose, so please let me know when your download is done
and obviously what is the result of your test.
Best Regards,
Gilles

PS: I used the following command line for the generating the iso file:
#!/bin/sh
mkisofs -pad -l -r -J -v -V "KNOPPIX_usb2" -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 \
-boot-info-table -b boot/grub/iso9660_stage1_5 -c boot/grub/boot.cat \
-hide-rr-moved -o ../iso_usb2.iso .

[JeffBonn]

Thank you Gilles, it works! hdparm -t shows that my hard drive and
my memory key are both running at their correct speeds. The grub menu
is different from regular Knoppix, but the "e" command let me add
the home=/mnt/sda1/knoppix.img cheat code.

Also, thank you for providing the exact mkisofs command. This will be
helpful if I try to do my own further customization.

I hope that Klaus will include your fix in the next release.