Errors When Installing/booting From Live CD and actual installation

[FirefoxRocks 0]

On my new computer, I decided to install Linux as I need it for development purposes. Wanting to take a shortcut, I tried using Wubi, the Windows-based Ubuntu Installer. Everything went fine as it installed. I restarted the system to find revalidation errors when booting.

It kept on repeating the same thing over and over so I thought that the Wubi installation was corrupted or otherwise damaged. I downloaded Ubuntu 8.04 and burnt it onto a CD-R and tried that instead. I couldn't even boot into the Live CD session because the same error came up. It looked like this:

ATA1.00: revalidation failed (errno=-5)

I went into the system CMOS and changed something from IDE to RAID (I think it was hard drive controller or something). Linux boot into the Live CD session successfully after that, and also installed properly.

After that, I noticed that I couldn't boot into Windows Vista anymore. It would come up as © Microsoft Corporation and reboot itself. I switched it back to IDE and Vista booted fine. 1 problem though, Linux can't boot.

The same error occurs when booting and it leaves me in a command prompt thing called BusyBox. I have looked at this page: https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=773225 and tried the 2 options suggested on page https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=767668 but they don't work.

I do not want to have to switch settings in the CMOS everytime I switch operating systems. What should I do?

[Jeigh1405241495 0]

I don't personally know the way to fix this, however, I would recommend the forums at https://ubuntuforums.org/ (I think that is the address, it's the official ubuntu forums wherever they are) and search or post there. The users on the forum are very helpful when having problems with Ubuntu and more often then not someone else has already encountered the problem you are facing so you might be able to find usable results after a simple search. Good luck!

[FirefoxRocks 0]

If you reread my post, you'll already notice that I checked Ubuntu Forums.

[yordan 10]

Maybe you should give us some more infos about your hardware. And about your vista's system history.Did you buy a ready-to-use package with your system and Windows ? Who performed the installation ? Who configured the disks ?Clearly there is a discrepancy between the Windows and the Linux needs.It seems that your disk controller has several options, and it seems that- Windows has been installed with the IDE option, and boots from an IDE disk.- The Ubuntu boot disk does not recognize your IDE disk controller, so it cannot boot. It recognizes the RAID mode, but in this mode you have not Windows boot sector on your disk. I would say that, rougly, there are two ways fixing that :1) finding the Ubuntu driver for your IDE settings, and find how to give this info to the Ubuntu install program.2) find another Linux distro, Proably Redhat 5 will know your disks. By the way, I heard that the dual boot with Linux and Vista is not always managed correctly, be sure to use a very recent Linux distro (a release dated from far after Vista arriving).Hope this helpedYordan

[FirefoxRocks 0]

My hardware information:Dell Inspiron 530 system, Intel Core 2 Duo Processor 2.66 GHz, 500 GB hard drive, 4 GB memory.Vista is Dell-installed OEM version, service pack 1 was installed separately. The OS and disks were configured by the manufacturer.As mentioned in previous post, I am trying to use Ubuntu 8.04, the most recent version of Ubuntu. How do I configure the IDE driver for it to work?If I were to try another Linux distribution, would Kubuntu or Mandriva help?

[toby 0]

Kubuntu shouldn't be different enough. I would suggest Colinux or Gentoo, but Mandriva is good as far as I know.

[xboxrulz1405241485 0]

You need a clean installation of Windows Vista since it never installed the AHCI driver. It is better to keep your system in AHCI than IDE because it enables all the SATA functionality. IDE is just for backward-compatibility sake with the other hard drives but if all your internal hard drives are connected through SATA and not ATA then you will be fine by using AHCI.However, Windows Vista needs to be reinstalled in order to do so. That's what I did when I found out that my BIOS defaulted to IDE and not AHCI. (I reinstalled it after my system had system issues.)xboxrulz

[FirefoxRocks 0]

That presents another issue:I cannot reinstall Vista. I can only revert it to factory-default settings using Dell Restore (or something like that).Also just to confirm, the only 2 options for the drive is IDE and RAID, not AHCI.Is it also possible to find the IDE driver for Linux instead of using the other driver for Windows? Because Linux I can reinstall, but Windows I can't.

[xboxrulz1405241485 0]

Technically you can, although this is technically not illegal, download a torrent of the install disc, reinstall Windows Vista with the serial number provided at the bottom of the laptop and activate the serial number by phone (serial number cannot be validated via Internet since it's OEM).RAID includes AHCI. As for the IDE, I have no clue, the IDE driver should be included. However, I don't use Ubuntu Linux so no comment on that part. I usually use OpenSUSE or Fedora Core.xboxrulz

[FirefoxRocks 0]

Technically you can, although this is technically not illegal, download a torrent of the install disc, reinstall Windows Vista with the serial number provided at the bottom of the laptop and activate the serial number by phone (serial number cannot be validated via Internet since it's OEM).
RAID includes AHCI. As for the IDE, I have no clue, the IDE driver should be included. However, I don't use Ubuntu Linux so no comment on that part. I usually use OpenSUSE or Fedora Core.

xboxrulz

I have a CD that is labelled Windows Vista Home Premium 32BIT, but that restores an OEM version of Windows. The serial number is located on a sticker on the side of the computer, but I don't think I will try the torrent thing.

I guess I'll keep searching for the IDE driver, or if someone could tell me how to download/activate it, that would be great.

(BTW, my computer is a desktop!! I think that my laptop purchase will occur in approximately 2-3 years.)

[FirefoxRocks 0]

Ok I found the solution.

 

By adding all_generic_ide irqpoll, it loads properly. I think that invokes the IDE drivers, but I'm not sure. Time to edit my boot.lst file, if I know how...

[docduke 0]

For the lurkers out there, this is a textbook example of why I no longer buy Dell, E-Machines, HP, etc. I go to a system integrator and spec the motherboard and CPU, then cannibalize the generic parts from another computer. Usually, but not always, costs less, since monitor, power supply, etc. get reused.

I used to get Gigabyte motherboards, but I've had one die, and another one is dying now, both with pregnant capacitors. More recently, I've been using MSI motherboards. They keep older ones available for both lower price and compatibility, and they also carry cutting edge boards. They support both Intel and AMD.

Anyway, all my computers are multi-boot. That used to be easy with Power Quest's Boot Magic, but those guys got greedy and drove away their customers. With XP and Vista it gets harder, because of the security features built in. Late-model MSI motherboards have a "Live Update 2 " BIOS that is very customizable. It has a "fast boot" option that makes it almost impossible to interrupt. I disable that first With a more normal boot, hitting F11 gives you a list of the installed drives (I have 5, including 3 in swappable bays, plus a DVD drive), and you can choose at that time to boot from any of them.

If you want to easily multiboot from a single drive, consider Terabyte BING (Boot-It Next Generation). The folks there have a really elegant solution to multiboot, which does much more than anything else I have seen (but it isn't free). I use it in conjunction with an MSI motherboard, and currently have it booting 8 different OSs in this machine.

[xboxrulz1405241485 0]

Ya, usually I never go with OEMs because they have funny hardware that gets to become an issue when you're not running Windows. This is the reason why I build all my systems with ASUS motherboards and compatible parts. Never had a broken ASUS build nor do I hope I will ever have a broken ASUS part.As for having multiple operating systems, I just virtualize them all. Just get a good dual core or quad core, and you'll be fine to virtualize the extra operating systems if you don't need 3D support.xboxrulz

[docduke 0]

Thanks for the tip, that's exactly where I'm headed! The last computer I got was about 6 months ahead of the hardware-virtualization instructions. I now have an RFQ out for a virtualization platform. Since you have already been there, I would welcome any suggestions you might have. The options I am considering include:

MSI P45 Neo -- LGA775 package, DDR2 memory

MSI P45 Diamond -- LGA 775 package, DDR3 memory

MSI E7520 Master -S2M Dual Xeon

MSI K8D Master3-133-FA4R Dual AMD Opteron

I have not looked at Dual Xeon or Dual Opteron systems before. That was recommended by one of the guys at the systems integrator. I really don't understand why the memory in their specs is so much slower than the others.

 

My primary interest is in Linux hosting of the virtual systems, so I was inclined to go with a straight Intel CPU and chipset, to get the best availability of drivers. I just took a look at the ASUS website, and I find it very frustrating. Here are 3 products:

ASUS Z7S WS

ASUS P5E

unprintable

I went after the third one to point out to you, and got Sorry! We are undergoing website maintenance ... Anyway, I find the ASUS description has lots of pretty promotional text and graphics but it omits the stuff I want to know. For example, it tells me its memory speed, but not how much memory it can support! I also want a system that can host a minimum of 6 sATA and 2 IDE hard drives. Again, I am unable to find the information. It is not clear that the promotional material even applies to the motherboard to which it is attached. For example, the F5E is a pure Intel system, yet it is claimed to have AMD CrossFire graphics.