I tried another poor mans install using the same methods that worked on another box. The kernel would not boot no matter what partition and grub entry was used. The error was 'file not found, error 15'. The box is a dual boot, win 98se and opensuse 11.3 32bit os. The knoppix version is 6.2 dvd iso. I mounted the iso and copied the files from it. All the knoppix files were listed in the iso. Could the iso be corrupt? The box does not have a dvd burner.
The first thing to tell us if whether it is a case of
1. Bootloader could not find kernel ( knoppix 'linux' file ), or
2. Bootloader could not find initrd ( knoppix 'minirt.gz' file ), or
3. Kernel could not find knoppix files ( knoppix 'KNOPPIX/knoppix' file.
According to your 'words', it is a case of (1), could not find 'linux' file or possibly the 'linux' file is corrupted. It is easy to confirm that, just do a file comparison of the file with the original. 'cmp', 'diff' or 'md5sum' or 'sha1sum' will also work.
The detail of boot messages will tell you if it is a case of (1), (2) or (3).
Assuming it cannot find the linux file and it is not corrupt please check that it is spelt correctly in the place that grub menu is calling it from and that the filename is in lower case and NOT CAPITALS.
If, after that, it is still not being found then maybe it cannot see the partition for some reason.
As always, a description of your partition structure, partition formats and your menu.lst may help us to isolate the problem.
To make sure that there is no problem with the iso file, I have copied the known good knoppix iso to a usb flash drive for use on the box in question. I am not sure if the original iso was bad because the download stopped a few times and had to be restarted. I will provide a more detailed post.
I suggest learning to use the md5 checksum. May take you only a minute or two of searching the web or reading the downloading FAQ, the test itself only takes about a minute (depending on system speed). If it passes then you know for certain that the download is good, if it fails then the download was bad.Quote:
Originally Posted by mrbojangles
If you downloaded by bittorrent then you likely have a good download, in spite of the restarts, as long as you let the download complete (and didn't rush to stop it as soon as you saw 100%). Bittorrent is self correcting that way. You could even deliberately corrupt the part that you have, restart bittorrent, and it will fix the damage as it completes the file. Still, is is a good idea to do the md5 test, it is simple and fast and beats fighting with problems created by a corupt ISO. If you didn't use the torrent then it is extremely likely that the download is bad. Heck, I was getting aboout 50% bad downloads from the mirrors before the torrents were available, even without any restarts!
md5 checksums are handy for several things. Once you are used to using them you may find additional uses than just verifying an ISO download.
As a test, I did the knoppix poor mans install on another box and it works. This install does not seem to have 3-d acceleration. No compiz fuzion at startup, no exploding windows when closed out. This box has the nvidia geforce 5200 card. Is a manual install of the nvidia driver necessary? I looked up md5 checksum in wikipedia. Is there another reference on its usage? Also, I did not use bit torrent. I always relied on the http or ftp download method.
Your "test" just isn't conclusive, although it seems likely that itwill give a good answer. But I have no understanding of why anyone would resist doing a simple and definitive md5 test. Just makes no sense to me not to use the right tool.
Old habits die hard. People tend to be back to the old ways of doing things.
It is now conclusive, I ran the md5 checksum and here it is in all its glory. A copy/paste from my shell: c29e505256e84ccb1943d92b6e6c5b24 KNOPPIX.iso
(I renamed the iso). Next, I will revisit the problem box.....
How come in one of the website which I come across the published md5 sum is not the same as yours ?
http://iso.linuxquestions.org/knoppix/knoppix-6.2/
Your md5sum is for the V6.2.1DVD-2010-01-31-EN.iso (I just put the big number into Google and it gave me many websites that have the info.) The md5sum varies by the date, version, CD vs. DVD, etc. So, that's a valid checksum for that release (you have 6.2.1), and there are other valid md5sums for other releases.Quote:
Originally Posted by mrbojangles
This happens on my present system, too. It's actually good in my case, as the processor is a bit underpowered. It definitely will happen when there's no hardware acceleration available.Quote:
2) As a test, I did the knoppix poor mans install on another box and it works. This install does not seem to have 3-d acceleration. No compiz fuzion at startup, no exploding windows when closed out.
That sounds like a good avenue to pursue. I did a quick search and found this Windows driver, which you might be able to use if nothing else is available. There are a lot of posts on this forum about using Windows drivers, so I won't go into it here - just look around for ndiswrapper.Quote:
3) This box has the nvidia geforce 5200 card. Is a manual install of the nvidia driver necessary?
There are numerous alternative articles on the web, I'm sure - but why not just use the information it gave you (md5sum is valid, so download was okay) and proceed with your real work?Quote:
4) I looked up md5 checksum in wikipedia. Is there another reference on its usage?
Torrents have built-in error-correction and validity checking, and are usually faster than old-style http/ftp downloading. There's nothing wrong with doing it the old way, but you do have to be a bit more cautious and check the download validity with md5 and/or sha algorithms if you want to be as confident in the result (using ALL of these is REALLY good, but not always convenient.)Quote:
5) Also, I did not use bit torrent. I always relied on the http or ftp download method.
Happy computing, and Cheers!
Krishna :mrgreen:
I am still having a file not found error 15 with the problem box. Windows 98 first partition and opensuse 11.3. Knoppix files are in windows partition in knoppix folder. Here is my grub entry:
# Modified by YaST2. Last modification on Sun Oct 3 07:17:56 EDT 2010
# THIS FILE WILL BE PARTIALLY OVERWRITTEN by perl-Bootloader
# Configure custom boot parameters for updated kernels in /etc/sysconfig/bootloader
default 1
timeout 8
##YaST - generic_mbr
gfxmenu (hd0,5)/boot/message
##YaST - activate
###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: linux###
title openSUSE 11.3 - 2.6.34.7-0.3 (default)
root (hd0,5)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.34.7-0.3-default root=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6B100P0_B3D199GH-part6 resume=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6B100P0_B3D199GH-part5 splash=silent quiet showopts vga=0x317
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.34.7-0.3-default
###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: failsafe###
title Failsafe -- openSUSE 11.3 - 2.6.34.7-0.3 (default)
root (hd0,5)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.34.7-0.3-default root=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6B100P0_B3D199GH-part6 showopts apm=off noresume nosmp maxcpus=0 edd=off powersaved=off nohz=off highres=off processor.max_cstate=1 nomodeset x11failsafe vga=0x317
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.34.7-0.3-default
###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: linux###
title Desktop -- openSUSE 11.3 - 2.6.34.7-0.3
root (hd0,5)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.34.7-0.3-desktop root=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6B100P0_B3D199GH-part6 resume=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6B100P0_B3D199GH-part5 splash=silent quiet showopts vga=0x317
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.34.7-0.3-desktop
###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: failsafe###
title Failsafe -- openSUSE 11.3 - 2.6.34.7-0.3 (desktop)
root (hd0,5)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.34.7-0.3-desktop root=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6B100P0_B3D199GH-part6 showopts apm=off noresume nosmp maxcpus=0 edd=off powersaved=off nohz=off highres=off processor.max_cstate=1 nomodeset x11failsafe vga=0x317
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.34.7-0.3-desktop
###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: windows###
title Windows
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
chainloader +1
###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: floppy###
title Floppy
rootnoverify (fd0)
chainloader +1
###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: puppy###
title Puppy Linux 5.0.1
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
kernel /puppy501/vmlinuz pmedia=atahd psubdir=puppy501
initrd /puppy501/initrd.gz
###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: puppy###
title Game Optimized Puppy Linux
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
kernel /gamepuppy/vmlinuz pmedia=atahd psubdir=gamepuppy append root=/dev/ram0 initrd=image.gz acpi=off PFILE=ask
initrd /gamepuppy/image.gz
title Knoppix 6.2 dvd
root (hd0,0)
kernel (hd0,0)/knoppix/boot/isolinux/linux fromhd=/dev/sda1 knoppix_dir=knoppix/KNOPPIX ramdisk_size=100000 lang=us vt.default_utf8=0 apm=power-off vga=791 nomce quiet loglevel=0
initrd (hd0,0)/knoppix/boot/isolinux/minirt.gz
savedefault
boot
Your graphics card should be supported by the nvidia legacy driver 173xx.
Package: nvidia-kernel-legacy-173xx-dkms http://packages.debian.org/en/squeez...acy-173xx-dkms
You should be able to install the driver by issuing
After installation the cheatcode xmodule=nvidia should work.Code:sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get -t testing install nvidia-kernel-legacy-173xx-dkms nvidia-glx-legacy-173xx
First, I would be suspicious here - what does PARTIALLY OVERWRITTEN mean in practice?Quote:
Originally Posted by mrbojangles
Second, you rely entirely on grub being able to mount the actual partitions and read the kernel/initrd files. I would guess this could go well sometimes, and fail sometimes, depending on hardware and setup. Exactly what you have observed.
For my poor man's installs, I always make separate subdirectories under grub's own /boot for the Knoppix kernels, so that if grub can get up and running, Knoppix can. Then you could, I think, even leave it to Knoppix's own initialization to find the Knoppix image.
Thank you klaus2008! The nvidia driver is installed and working. My initial knoppix-data.img file was too small, so I deleted it and made a larger one and the install went smoothly.
On the problem box, I have no success in booting knoppix. I have tried capricorny's suggestion and even tried the cd version of knoppix. I am thinking that the problem is with grub and not with knoppix. The Knoppix entry is not visible on the grub boot screen and I have to scroll down to make the knoppix entry visible. Is there a limit to how many boot entries grub can handle?
I ran the script and here are the results:
Boot Info Script 0.55 dated February 15th, 2010
============================= Boot Info Summary: ==============================
=> Acer 3 is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda
sda1: __________________________________________________ _______________________
File system: vfat
Boot sector type: MSWIN4.1: Fat 32
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System: Windows 98
Boot files/dirs: /IO.SYS /MSDOS.SYS /COMMAND.COM
sda2: __________________________________________________ _______________________
File system: Extended Partition
Boot sector type: Grub
Boot sector info: Grub 0.97 is installed in the boot sector of sda2 and
looks at sector 104812036 of the same hard drive for
the stage2 file. A stage2 file is at this location on
/dev/sda. Stage2 looks on partition #6 for
/boot/grub/menu.lst.
sda5: __________________________________________________ _______________________
File system: swap
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
sda6: __________________________________________________ _______________________
File system: ext4
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info: Operating System: Welcome to openSUSE 11.3 "Teal"
- Kernel ().
Boot files/dirs: /boot/grub/menu.lst /etc/fstab
sda7: __________________________________________________ _______________________
File system: ext3
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info: Operating System:
Boot files/dirs:
=========================== Drive/Partition Info: =============================
Drive: sda ___________________ __________________________________________________ ___
Disk /dev/sda: 100.3 GB, 100256292864 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 12188 cylinders, total 195813072 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Partition Boot Start End Size Id System
/dev/sda1 63 65,641,652 65,641,590 c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/sda2 * 65,641,653 195,800,219 130,158,567 f W95 Ext d (LBA)
/dev/sda5 65,641,716 66,782,204 1,140,489 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda6 66,782,268 108,727,919 41,945,652 83 Linux
/dev/sda7 108,727,983 195,800,219 87,072,237 83 Linux
blkid -c /dev/null: __________________________________________________ __________
Device UUID TYPE LABEL
/dev/sda1 3D68-1E0F vfat
/dev/sda2: PTTYPE="dos"
/dev/sda5 94df2aa6-9c9a-4820-8f96-cf31d31ad1bc swap
/dev/sda6 8e73b184-1e6f-4693-8a5e-938cd6aaec05 ext4
/dev/sda7 32cf9172-d8cf-4e3e-ae95-c401cfcd1a63 ext3
/dev/sda: PTTYPE="dos"
============================ "mount | grep ^/dev output: ===========================
Device Mount_Point Type Options
/dev/sda6 / ext4 (rw,acl,user_xattr)
/dev/sda7 /home ext3 (rw)
/dev/sda1 /windows/C vfat (rw,noexec,nosuid,nodev,gid=100,umask=0002,utf8=tr ue)
=========================== sda6/boot/grub/menu.lst: ===========================
# Modified by YaST2. Last modification on Sun Oct 3 07:17:56 EDT 2010
# THIS FILE WILL BE PARTIALLY OVERWRITTEN by perl-Bootloader
# Configure custom boot parameters for updated kernels in /etc/sysconfig/bootloader
default 1
timeout 8
##YaST - generic_mbr
gfxmenu (hd0,5)/boot/message
##YaST - activate
###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: linux###
title openSUSE 11.3 - 2.6.34.7-0.3 (default)
root (hd0,5)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.34.7-0.3-default root=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6B100P0_B3D199GH-part6 resume=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6B100P0_B3D199GH-part5 splash=silent quiet showopts vga=0x317
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.34.7-0.3-default
###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: failsafe###
title Failsafe -- openSUSE 11.3 - 2.6.34.7-0.3 (default)
root (hd0,5)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.34.7-0.3-default root=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6B100P0_B3D199GH-part6 showopts apm=off noresume nosmp maxcpus=0 edd=off powersaved=off nohz=off highres=off processor.max_cstate=1 nomodeset x11failsafe vga=0x317
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.34.7-0.3-default
###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: linux###
title Desktop -- openSUSE 11.3 - 2.6.34.7-0.3
root (hd0,5)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.34.7-0.3-desktop root=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6B100P0_B3D199GH-part6 resume=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6B100P0_B3D199GH-part5 splash=silent quiet showopts vga=0x317
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.34.7-0.3-desktop
###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: failsafe###
title Failsafe -- openSUSE 11.3 - 2.6.34.7-0.3 (desktop)
root (hd0,5)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.34.7-0.3-desktop root=/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6B100P0_B3D199GH-part6 showopts apm=off noresume nosmp maxcpus=0 edd=off powersaved=off nohz=off highres=off processor.max_cstate=1 nomodeset x11failsafe vga=0x317
initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.34.7-0.3-desktop
###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: windows###
title Windows
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
chainloader +1
###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: floppy###
title Floppy
rootnoverify (fd0)
chainloader +1
###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: puppy###
title Puppy Linux 5.0.1
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
kernel /puppy501/vmlinuz pmedia=atahd psubdir=puppy501
initrd /puppy501/initrd.gz
###Don't change this comment - YaST2 identifier: Original name: puppy###
title Game Optimized Puppy Linux
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
kernel /gamepuppy/vmlinuz pmedia=atahd psubdir=gamepuppy append root=/dev/ram0 initrd=image.gz acpi=off PFILE=ask
initrd /gamepuppy/image.gz
title Knoppix 6.2 dvd
root (hd0,0)
kernel (hd0,0)/knoppix/boot/isolinux/linux fromhd=/dev/sda1 knoppix_dir=knoppix/KNOPPIX ramdisk_size=100000 lang=us vt.default_utf8=0 apm=power-off vga=791 nomce quiet loglevel=0
initrd (hd0,0)/knoppix/boot/isolinux/minirt.gz
savedefault
boot
=============================== sda6/etc/fstab: ===============================
/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6B100P0_B3D199GH-part5 swap swap defaults 0 0
/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6B100P0_B3D199GH-part6 / ext4 acl,user_xattr 1 1
/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6B100P0_B3D199GH-part7 /home ext3 defaults 1 2
/dev/disk/by-id/ata-Maxtor_6B100P0_B3D199GH-part1 /windows/C vfat users,gid=users,umask=0002,utf8=true 0 0
proc /proc proc defaults 0 0
sysfs /sys sysfs noauto 0 0
debugfs /sys/kernel/debug debugfs noauto 0 0
usbfs /proc/bus/usb usbfs noauto 0 0
devpts /dev/pts devpts mode=0620,gid=5 0 0
=================== sda6: Location of files loaded by Grub: ===================
51.6GB: boot/grub/menu.lst
53.6GB: boot/grub/stage2
53.7GB: boot/initrd
53.7GB: boot/initrd-2.6.34.7-0.3-default
53.7GB: boot/initrd-2.6.34.7-0.3-desktop
53.6GB: boot/vmlinuz
53.6GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.34.7-0.3-default
53.6GB: boot/vmlinuz-2.6.34.7-0.3-desktop
=============================== StdErr Messages: ===============================
No volume groups found
mdadm: No arrays found in config file or automatically
Oh dear me, or words to that effect. I missed this the first time you posted your menu.lst.
You said originally that knoppix was in the Knoppix directory of the partition yet in your menu.lst you say
knoppix_dir=knoppix/KNOPPIX
that implies the knoppix file is stored in the /knoppix/KNOPPIX folder of the partition.
Have you added the file name by mistake?
try:
knoppix_dir=/knoppix
(note the leading slash to make sure we are one level from root)
or better:
knoppix_dir=/knoppix knoppix_name=KNOPPIX
At this stage of the problem it seems everyone has his own idea of what will be the cause of it.
However, I would still like to bring the attention back to the basics, is the message "file not found" something given out by :-
a) the bootloader ( ie grub ), or
b) the kernel has booted, the initrd has loaded, it's the shell script 'init' which failed to locate the KNOPPIX compressed image.
As we know, if it is a bootloader message, then the knoppix cheatcode is irrelevant; if it is a knoppix error message, then the kernel file (linux) and initrd(minirt) location are irrelevant.
If one were to actually look at the boot messages, the answer of whether it is (a) or (b) is kind of obvious. Even if it is not obvious enough, adding a cheatcode "debug" will make it even more obvious !
Well, since the original poster is not very much concern about this aspect, it remains as everyone's guess then.
Complicating things with it is that the original poster also said he could not even boot with the DVD/CDROM. Now, this is getting interesting. However, there is no error message offered in this situation. It can't be giving out the same error message, if an attempt to boot has been made to the isolinux bootloader. It will only give out the same error message if the BIOS/CMOS has not even attempted to boot from DVD/CDROM.
Last but not least, I am not personal convinced that the attempt to try out capricony's suggestion is conclusive, as there were no offer to show the location of the needed files and the needed menu.lst.
But for now I wish everyone have a good day.
I wish to say first that I appreciate the helpful replies to my problem. Second, maybe I have not provided enough detail, but that is the process of learning.
1. The box has no dvd drive. The dvd files are extracted from the iso image.
2. The bootloader (grub) can not find the kernel or initrd. I see the grub entry for knoppix echoed to the screen ending with the file not found error 15. There is no kernel booting.
3. If there is a debug script for this problem, I would like to try it.
4. A knoppix live cd does work.
You should really then try capricony's suggestion and at least show us that you have tried it, ie copy knoppix 'linux' and 'minirt' to partition 6, and modify 'menu.lst' to reflect the new location, and remove (hd0,0) from menu.lst, as likely the (hd0,0) thingie might have choked up your current grub version. The knoppix directory you should still keep it at hd(0,0) as without modification I don't think knoppix is able to handle ext4.Quote:
Originally Posted by mrbojangles
Well, that sounds good, but it might be best to take a fresh approach. I suggest you free up partition 1 (give it 8 GB) and use the flash-install routine to format it (to FAT32, but that's good enough) and copy the files to it, starting from the cd (since you don't have a dvd drive.) It (the installer) will modify the grub entries automagically, too. Once you have that working, you can replace the KNOPPIX folder with the one from the dvd-iso and it will give you the benefit of a dvd-install without having a DVD drive. Alternatively, you can do a flash-install to a flash drive on a machine with a dvd drive, then boot that flash on the target box, then flash-install using that to the first partition as described above.Quote:
Originally Posted by mrbojangles
I dunno why, but if what you want is something that works, that will be produced by the above procedure(s).Quote:
2. The bootloader (grub) can not find the kernel or initrd. I see the grub entry for knoppix echoed to the screen ending with the file not found error 15. There is no kernel booting.
To the best of my knowledge, there is no such script.Quote:
3. If there is a debug script for this problem, I would like to try it.
That's good reason to think the procedures outlined will work. You can spend a lot of time and energy on the failed install, and maybe (probably) eventually figure it out, and learn something. However, life is short, so I'd recommend using the virtually-certain-to-work fresh install method, then examine what that process produced and compare to learn the same thing.Quote:
4. A knoppix live cd does work.
Happy computing!
Krishna :mrgreen:
That will be a very drastic thing to do. The first premise of the setup is a multiboot system, coexisting Windows, other Linuxes and Knoppix. Destroying grub will be the last thing that is needed here. Life will be very simple if that is acceptable. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by krishna.murphy
The grub entries are modified - grub certainly isn't destroyed. The Windows system I put Knoppix alongside coexists nicely with Knoppix., and I expect other Linuxes would be similarly presereved. It goes without saying that backing things up is the better part of valor...Quote:
Originally Posted by kl522
Precisely.Quote:
Life will be very simple if that is acceptable. :)
Cheers!
Krishna :mrgreen:
I must have missed out something terribly obvious. I am not aware that the flash installation program ( aka /usr/bin/flash-knoppix ) is able to edit grub entries.Quote:
Originally Posted by krishna.murphy
I tried the flash install using virtualbox a while back . It worked and I made a virtual install of knoppix. Using the same method described in your post, the first partition is windows fat 32, so I would reply 'no' when the flash installer asks to format the partition and to just copy the knoppix files. After the install, will I see a modified opensuse grub menu or will it be modified with a knoppix grub menu (containing all existing entries)?
So lucky you took that approach to the trying. Anyway to be blunt, I never believe that flash-knoppix has such capability to edit the grub menus. It must be a feature which the creator who does not even know. :)
I am posting with the poor mans install of knoppix. I cheated on this and used the cd to boot it. code: knoppix vga=0 boot=/dev/hda1 This was just to prove to myself that it will boot and that there is nothing wrong with the knoppix files on the hard drive. I feel that it also points to a problem with grub.
101 % it's a grub problem. Grub version upgrade will fix the problem. However I don't think any of us here will want to prescribe that. We are all nervous about such a prescription !
I read somewhere that someone has a problem with grub 0.97 and savedefault, because the savedefault thingie was introduced somewhere in the subversion of 0.97. Give it a shot maybe, remove the 'savedefault'.
Right now I am happy with a boot up. I will look into the grub update and usb install method. I have an old computer that I reformatted the hard drive on so that is my lab rat. A correction to my cheat code: fromhd=/dev/sda1. I also am using the cd version, not the dvd version. Will the synaptic utility install additional software using the persistant home directory?
One of the items overlooked so far could be the system bios. I found on my test box that even after making a new partition and placing knoppix in the root of the new partition (fat32) that knoppix will not boot because the older bios does not see past a set number of gigabytes from the boot sector of the drive. Using a modern os can overcome the problem because it does not have that limitation. But since the disk is filled up past the point the bios recognizes, it will not see the other os.
My original problem was with a dell optiplex gx240 with a 120 gig drive.
I am not sure if I would be able to accept your explanation.
When you created a new partition, did not change the bootloader ? Are still using the older 'grub' (0.97) or you are using 'syslinux' now ?
If you haven't changed the bootloader, why do you say it is a bios problem ?
If you have changed the bootloader, how could not conclude that it is not a problem of mis-configuration of the new bootloader ?
"a modern os can overcome the problem" - in what way knoppix is not a "modern os" ? Seems that you are mixing bootloader issues with OS ( linux ).
This is from the grub manual.
18 : Selected cylinder exceeds maximum supported by BIOS This error is returned when a read is attempted at a linear block address beyond the end of the BIOS translated area. This generally happens if your disk is larger than the BIOS can handle (512MB for (E)IDE disks on older machines or larger than 8GB in general).
There will always be the possibility of what you mentioned in grub man pages which matches with you are experiencing but the fact is that :-
1. You have already tried putting linux and minirt at hd(0,0).
2. You did not mention, but we presume that opensuse is at hd(0,5) and yet it is bootable.
Wouldn't knoppix kernel at hd(0,0), is at a smaller cyclinder compared to opensuse kernel ?
What I was trying to say is that your attempt to create a new partition (FAT32) to boot knoppix ***DOES NOT*** give you any new information. There is not new conclusion which can be drawn from it just by having KNOPPIX residing on a new partition ( more so when you are still using the same dubious bootloader ), and probably the more or less "suspicious" menu.lst configuration and syntax.