Topic: Installation problems on Compaq Proliant

[greatdivide]

Hello there, firstly my apologies if this is posted in the wrong place am a complete newbie to all this.

I am trying to install SME server 7 on a Compaq proliant 5500 server the problem I have is when the server tries to boot off the CD which contains SME server 7.0 I get the following error, Non-system disk or disk error replace and strike any key when ready.

I have tried the CD in another machine and it works fine so that rules out a problem with the CD in addition I have also tried to boot the server off a Windows 2000 CD which worked and started the install program for Win 2k.

Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated.

[cc_skavenger]

have you done a md5 check on the disk or image you downloaded to make sure it isn't corrupt?  I have issues when I use a download manager in windows to download the images.  

Just a suggestion.

[hummer5354]

I am having issues myself with a Proliant server as well.  My server is a Compaq Proliant 6000.  Here are the specs:

* Compaq Smart Array 3100ES controller
* 4 hot swappable 9.1 SCSI disks in a hardware RAID5 array
  (total storage space is about 25GB)
* 768MB of memory
* 4 Intel Xeon 400MHz CPUs with 1MB cache each

I can't get SME 7.1 installed on this server.  It seems to hang at some many stages of the install and then continues with the install for a little longer, but eventually it just hangs for good (I'm talking 3+ hours of waiting...).

Here are some of the things I've tried:

* I've burned the SME 7.1 iso image on two different CDs
* Downloaded the iso image twice (from two different places) and verified the MD5 sum to be correct
* Tested the CDs I'm using via the prompt during the install process: they passed.
* At the install prompt I've tried: "sme", "sme noraid" (because I already have a hardware RAID), "sme586" (even though this is an i686 machine)

All of the above to no avail.  The install just won't go through.  

Right now, as I am writing this post, I am attempting to install SME 7.1 again.  It has sort of hanged at two different stages during the install (stops responding for about 15 minutes or so and then continues) and so far it has gotten to the point where it is testing the CPUs (I guess that's what is doing).   It has been hanging now for a little more than 3 hours and I think that's just enough.  I will assume it has hang for good and will shut it down.

The last three lines I can see on the console read as follows:

"Intel machine check architecture supported."
"Intel machine check reporting enabled on CPU#1."
"CPU1: Intel Pentium II (Deschutes) stepping 03"

That is the very last line of the output.  I've been looking at those lines (and some more above them) for the last three hours (well, on and off; I also have a life!).

I don't know what the problem could be.  My server has been working fine running other versions of Linux (i.e., Fedora and RHES) for the last couple of years.

I should mention also that I attempted to disable ACPI within the BIOS but the SME install got rid of my Compaq Diagnostics partition as part of the install.  I guess since it wants to be the only OS on the system SME deletes any other partions it finds.  Since Compaq puts the software to access the BIOS on a hard disk partition (???) the diagnostics and my access to the BIOS on this server are gone.  

How would I disable ACPI during the SME install?

and more importantly, Is anyone else experiencing issues like this on Proliant servers (or any other computer)?  What have you done to work around this?

By the way, yesterday I was able to install an old copy of SME 6.0 I had laying around in my office onto this same server without problems.  I've since gotten rid of that installation in the process of trying to install v7.1.

Any ideas???

Thanks.

[cljunkie]

I have the same issues as the last poster. I've tried the same things with the same results. I've had the same observations and history.

We've had to abandon the server and now have been using a small backup single CPU that I've used to mirror the compaq since one of the 7.0 updates stopped working with the Compaq.

Boss and users are not happy seeing how we decided on SME over Apple XServe for our newspapers.

Is it okay to post an entire hardware configuration issue to the bug list?

[wjhobbs]

Have you had any success installing any recent Linux system on the machine?

The reason I ask is that I have encountered older machines that would work fine with a Linux 2.4 kernel and not work with a 2.6 based kernel. I believe it has something to do with support for certain drivers being dropped in the newer kernel. The net effect for SME is that on such machines SME 6.x would work and SME 7.x would not.

Just a thought. Don't know if this is actually the source of your difficulty.

John

[wtso444]

Check the battery jumpers...  If the CMOS battery has been replaced with Ray-O-Vac 405 and the jumper changed, Linux will not install...  Move the battery jumper to set the MB to see the internal battery, Install, then chagne the jumper back to the external battery....

Works for Proliant 800, 5500, and 3000's....  

Have done all three....