Delay in boot up with "Looking for DVD in: /dev/hda&quo

[jim1944]

I've got Knoppix 5.0.1 on CD and DVD. I've tried it on three different machines and on two of them there is an approximate 2 minute delay at a message that says "Looking for DVD in: /dev/hda" (or it says "Looking for CD...")

The two machines that experience this delay have OS/2 and OS/2's Boot Manager on them. The one that does not experience the delay (I don't even recall seeing the message) only has Windows XP on it.

Could the presence of OS/2's Boot Manager be causing the delay? Is this a known issue?

Thanks
Jim

[ralbrux]

Unfortunately this is not an answer but a similar problem perhaps. I am new to Linux/Debian/Knoppix. I have recently installed Sarge on a machine I assembled (ASUS PC5CR-L mobo + Intel Prescott P4) to run as a file/print server for our small LAN. Webbing about and reading up to initiate myself I came across Knoppix and immediately got latest (5.0) version, among other things, to test my machine before installing Sarge and to have a useful tool (also I hope to use for itself).

Before installing Sarge, I ran Knoppix 5.0. It loaded up quickly right off the bat and found all my harware - real gem. But now, after installing Sarge, I can't get 5.0 to load. Immediately after scanning for USB, it hangs when "looking for CD on /dev/hda. hda is the CD-ROM drive (HDs are SATA on sdx) and is there and working - found first by Knoppix before installing Sarge when 5.0 loaded and then by Sarge since I installed Sarge and a few subsequent packages from CD.

In the course of my learning process I gathered a total of 3 versions of Knoppix - 3.4, 3.9 and 5.0. Of the three, the only one I can load on my Sarge machine is version 3.4 which runs under Linux kernel 2.4.26. I can run all versions on any Windows machine, but not 3.9 or 5.0 on my Sarge machine.

I installed Sarge with its 2.6 kernel option (because of SATA HDs and GB NIC). Both 3.9 & 5.0 version of Knoppix use a 2.6x kernel.

Is there some problem between Sarge 2.6 kernel and Knoppix 2.6 kernels?

I have tried a number of cheat codes, some of which go further than looking for CD but all eventually fail.

Any suggestions would be most welcome.

Thanks,

[ckamin]

jim1944:

There may be a tool you can use to make life simple. I have used a program called Smart Boot Manager that is installed onto a floppy disk and used during the boot process. It has solved similar issues to the one you described, although I don't think I have any more machines loaded with OS/2 anymore. Here is a link describing the tool: http://www.knoppix.net/wiki/Downloading_FAQ#Q:_My_computer_won.27t_boot_from_C D._What_should_I_do.3F

ralbrux:

You might try the above link also. I would also suggest trying the cheatcodes: "knoppix dma" or "knoppix nodma" along with noapic, failsafe, noswap, and any others that appear to apply. The dma/nodma would depend on the version of Knoppix you are using and your hardware requirements. Some versions of Knoppix have dma on by default and others have it off.

[PaulBx1]

Of the three, the only one I can load on my Sarge machine is version 3.4 which runs under Linux kernel 2.4.26.

ralbrux, maybe try the "knoppix26" cheatcode with your 3.4 CD, just to eliminate another variable (you seem to be suggesting the 2.6 kernel is causing your problem). 3.4 came with both kernels, I think.

[Flying2Eagles]

Hi Jim1944,

I too noticed quite a delay on my machine using XP.
Try the cheatcode knoppix "noraid" (without the quotes) at the boot prompt.
This will tell Knoppix to skip looking for Raid deviced and search for IDE and or SATA devices instead.
You should get an almost immediate "Welcome To Knoppix!" greeting.

I didn't have to do this before V5.0 and earlier.

See if using "acpi=force" with the above mentioned command works, if the first command doesn't do it.
I use both together on the command line, and Knoppix boots just fine.
Also my USB connected hard drive is recognised, SDB1,ect.

Hope this helps.

Flying2Eagles :D

[ralbrux]

Thanks guys for your suggestions:

ckamin:
It's not a boot priority issue for me. I gave SmartBoot Manager a try just to see (already planned to get a copy for general needs). Since I'm on my first Linux/Debian machine I had to made a DOS floppy which I assume doesn't matter. Anyway this version doesn't know DVD (Knoppix 5.0).

More to the point was your suggestion on dma/nodma (cheatcodes I didn't know). Using dma the Sarge box finally found hda when loading Knoppix 5.0 (saying "enabling DMA for hda [Lite-ON DVD RW ...]) and then beginning install. Unfortunately it got stuck when trying to autoconfigure hardware saying "Auto-detection seems to hang. Please check your computer BIOS settings". Perhaps a clue, when first starting up (showing the penguins) it says "IRQ 18 disabled". This same message about IRQ 18 appears again (twice) when it fails autoconfiguration.

In BIOS I have the option of letting BIOS configure PCI devices or letting a PnP OS do it. The problem is the same whatever way I set this BIOS option.

Which points further to questions about the combination of the Linux kernel and my hardware relative to IRQ & PCI.

PaulBx1:
Thanks for your suggestion. When loading Knoppix ver 3.4 (Linux 2.4.26) with kernel26 code it installs, starting with the message "Enabling DMA for hda - locating CD ROM at /dev/scd0", which seems to point to the dma issue. When I try to load Knoppix ver 3.9 (Linux 2.6.11) with either the dma or the nodma code the same problem arises: starts by saying "cdrom_pc_intr: drive appears confused ireason=0x01", then "IRQ 18 nobody cared", then "IRQ 18 disabled", then info on handlers, and finishing by saying that Knoppix can't find file system so dropping to very limited shell. Indeed I could only get a response from pwd & echo, not even ls responded.

Knoppix 3.4 using Linux 2.6.6 works but versions 3.6 (Linux 2.6.11) & 5.0 (Linux 2.6.15.4) don't. Does it mean that some Linux versions of 2.6.x (Sarge using 2.6.8 is working) is having problems with my hardware?

It is a mystery to me, but my knowledge of Linux/Debian/Knoppix is very limited. Clearly somewhere in between IRQ 18 and DMA there's a mix up. In my (AMI)BIOS there is no mention of IRQ higher than 15 and configuration options appear limited to 3 & 4.

Your suggestion has allowed me to make some progress, but I remain uncertain about what to do. I am trying to run a few fire drills so that I would have Knoppix as a tool at hand in case of big problems. Although version 3.4 runs it can't see the ext3 file system on the Sarge box's HD. Maybe that because I need to configure Knoppix 3.4 to be able to mount/read an ext3 file system. Since I can't get 3.9 or 5.0 to load I can't know if it's that or that I need a more recent version as a rescue tool.

[ckamin]

ralbrux:

Closer you may be, but still a mile away from shore. I would probably suggest trying several more cheatcodes before throwing in the towel. Since the irq message is being displayed, I would start with the noapic cheatcode in addition to the dma/nodma. There are a few more to try if the noapic is not successful. Look at this link: http://www.knoppix.net/wiki/Cheat_Codes You could try pnpbios=off, acpi=off, or pci=bios might also offer some help.

[ralbrux]

ckamin:

You're right. However, the gods smiled on me. In my reading on Debian & searching for useful tools I came across mention (Debian 3.1 Bible) of SystemRescueCD for which I downloaded an ISO to try out. Yesterday whilst mulling over IRQs and DMAs I decided to give it a try. It too failed to boot raising IRQ issues, but was nice enough to put up a suggestion on screen - use the "irqpool" switch to boot. I have never seen this switch mentioned anywhere else in Linux/Debian/Knoppix literature. I tried it on SystemRescueCD and it worked. What could I losse with Knoppix on my Sarge box - I didn't really expect it to explode or catch on fire.

Using "knoppix irqpool dma" 5.0 loaded very nicely thank you, even if a bit slow. It found all hardware, partitions, files etc, etc.

Bytw, pci=irqbios didn't work. After several hours of trying numerous cheatcodes, and having found a set which works, I didn't look further.

Spending a good number of hours on this issue did finally leave me more or less where I wanted to be. I have at least 3 useful tools (Knoppix, SystemRescueCD and Smart Boot Manager) for rescue, maintenance and general survival as I move a little bit further up the Debian/Linux learning curve and further away from Windows.

Thanks for your help. If you would like to have a nice resuce/maintenance tool check out SystemRescueCD. Haven't yet had to use it thank god, but it looks quite nice.

Thanks and best regards,
ralburx

[ckamin]

Using "knoppix irqpool dma" 5.0 loaded very nicely thank you, even if a bit slow

I will make note of this one for future reference. I have come across several cheat codes that were not mentioned in Knoppix, but actually did work. This one is now on the list.

Glad to hear it's working for you and thank you for the details of your resolution.

[ralbrux]

ckamin:

As a newbee, I was wondering if and how to let this apparent solution to IRQ issues, but it looks like this is on your agenda.

However, reading your last reply I saw my message on the solution had a typo.

The saving cheatcode I used is 'knoppix irqpoll dma" and not irqpool.

Sorry about that.

Another point: this cheatcode workaround (and/or Knoppix 5.0) seem a little bit buggy. This morning I wanted to try loading to ram (toram) but 5.0 wants 3GB+ and I only have 2GB, so it said this and then tried to load but didn't succeed. Thereafter it could succeed to load until I flushed out the box by letting sit quite for a while and booting Sarge a couple of times.

Last point: this workaround doesn't work (on my box anyway) with Knoppix 3.9 (Linux 2.6.11).

Best regards