Baslinux mailing list

[baslinux AT lists.ibiblio.org]

On Fri, 19 Oct 2007, baslinux AT lists.ibiblio.org wrote:

> Promise Ultra100TX2 PCI IDE controller, now working in Win98 after
> disabling com2 to free up an IRQ (computer has 2 pairs of USB, 2 com port,
> ethernet and sound cards, etc.).
>
> Win98/System/SCSI Controller (!)/Resources says the device is using:
> I/O  B400-B407, B000-B0003, A800-A807, A400-A403, A000-A00F
>
> ide0 and ide1, I presume, since I disabled onboard ide.
Nope.

A BIOS update to 2.20.0.15 let me boot from Ubuntu Live Cd, and
it found (dmesg from a terminal):
ide2:a000-a007  hde: pio, hdf: pio  (not dma like the onboard ide0 and 1)
ide2:a008-a00f hdg: pio, hgi: pio
(I think it also found the disabled ide0 and ide1).

I installed Ubuntu to ext2 with lilo in MBR and it still boots to DOS. 
Maybe it tried to install to hda?  I will set it up to boot with loadlin 
by copying the kernel via another computer, or maybe Windows and DOS can 
find the CD-ROM now after the controller BIOS update.  I vaguely recall 
Ubuntu needing initrd.gz as well as kernel.  If it boots, the problem is 
not in loadlin but in BL.

> Linux cannot find any ide devices so won't boot, except for the 2-floppy
> BL3.50, which says
> ALI15X3:  device enabled (Linux)
> ALI15X3:  not 100% native mode:  will probe IRQs later

I booted BL2 ramdisk with loadlin (because BL3 loop version will not 
work from hde or hdf) adding at line end
ide2=0xa000, 0xa007
ide3=0xa008, 0xa012 (is this a00f + 2?)

This time BL2 did not get stuck, but booted to Login:
I typed root Enter and got error message
Unable to change to /dev/tty1:  Illegal seek.

Why is this illegal?

I tried loop bl3 and it did try probing hde hdf hdg hdh hdi hdj repeatedly
using STATUS instead of ALTSTATUS, finally gave up, then said it could not 
find fs.img on hda b c or d (it is on e, ide2).   If I get BL working with 
this card, could the next BL3 loop also boot from hde1 and hdf1?  I can 
try to edit initrd.gz to add them.

What are hdi and hdj?  I have only four IDE controllers total (and a 
disabled SYMBIOS SCSI that does not appear to actually exist onboard).

The hd's use pio not dma. 
idex=autotune will tune interface speed to fastest PIO mode supported
Speed is not yet the issue here.

hdx=cyl,head,sect - do I specify the geometry of it?
idex=base,ctl,irq - specify base, ctl and irq number

I should check ubuntu for the irq, but what are base and ctl, the
i/o numbers I am already entering?

There should not be spaces between the two i/o addresses for each idex, 
says the bootprompt-howto.

idebus=ata100 is supposed to make it go faster (at least after inserting 
the driver module or putting it into the kernel) but I cannot even access 
hd's with BL yet.

Sindi