Baslinux mailing list

[sindi keesan <keesan AT sdf.lonestar.org>]

DFI computer, one of three of te same model that sometimes won't boot 
linux with loadlin unless you first boot with Win9X DOS.  Given to us to 
recycle but so were several others that work fine (needed new floppy or 
CD-ROM drives).

We replaced a hard drive and a cpu fan (which was causing it to play Fur 
Elise) and now it has started whistling that tune again sometimes when I 
turn it on.

I had the following three problems with BL2:

> 1.  'Not an image file' when I boot without Win98X DOS, about 1/3 of the 
> time.
> 2.   Crashes with xinit and BL3 Xvesa and icewm if I add to .xinitrc xmodmap.
> 3.  Linux unzip in DOS partition gives 'bad CRC' and on file in linux 
partition crashes, once to the point where I needed to run e2fsck -b

Last time I tried to run startx with the xmodmap .xinitrc I had to go into 
Bl3 and run e2fsck on BL2, again, for the same set of error messages 
produced by linux unzip:
Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer.....

While in Bl3 I mounted the Cd-ROM drive and then tried to unmount it and 
got the same Unable to handle kernel Null pointer dereference at virtual 
address 0000.

Then I dialed and tried to use links and it could not find www.google.com, 
because it put an : after it (it was not me, I checked).

I typed lynx and got
Bus error.....Attempt to access beyond end of device (which I had seen on 
the OTHER computer when BL3.32 would not boot from loop unless I switched 
from Win98 DOS to any other DOS).

This computer does not appear to be very good for linux but DOS works 
fine.  Why?  Two others of the same model which I have not used much had 
the same Not a kernel image problem.  I looked up the kernel NULL pointer 
business and lots of people reported getting it while doing various things 
including an umount once, and they had to power off and on again.  I got 
past it to the next crash at least.  One was testing kernel 2.2.16-4 and 
another 2.2.10.  Perhaps this is a bug affecting this model motherboard 
and that generation kernel?

Does linux strain the hardware more than DOS?

Does anyone else have experience with a desktop pentium that gets these 
odds sorts of errors with Bl2 and Bl3?

We have a slightly slower motherboard that will take the 4 64MB SIMMs and 
the cpu at a reduced speed.  Maybe the SIMMs are causing part of this 
problem so I will try different ones first with icewm/xmodmap/Xvesa in Bl3 
and linux unzip in BL2.  Or run a memtest first on them.  We just put them 
in recently.  WOuld memory cause this sort of problem with unzipping 
files?  (DOS only uses the first of these four SIMMs).  And NULL pointers, 
and keyboard remappings in Xvesa?  Or play Fur Elise before you even get 
to DOS or linux?  At least I have two reproducible problems to test on 
now.

All ideas welcome.  It is my best computer as far as RAM and ISA slots but 
they are all overkill on the memory anyway.

Will a board that plugs into one ISA slot to make four work on computers 
other than what we found it in?

Sindi